The Lamentation
All the wailing concerns the fact that she would go to her grave being a virgin. She was an only child (11:34). Jephthah’s vow left him without any possibility of grandchildren. Notice that she asked permission to bewail her virginity—not her death. Wacaster says that this phrase does not mean “she mourned dying as a virgin, but that she would have to live as a virgin all the days of her life!” (219). In those days, it was considered a curse not to be able to bear children.
Then consider the final comment regarding this particular issue:
She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite (11:39-40).
Did any such custom exist for someone who had died? None comes to mind. Where did the women go to lament for the young heroine each year? Did they go to where she was and commiserate with her? The text does not specify either one, but the latter option makes more sense.
God Could Not Accept Such a Sacrifice
Another immense consideration involved in this matter is that God could in no way accept such a sacrifice. Even if Jephthah had made a vow to offer a human sacrifice, God could never have accepted it because for such practices he condemned Moab and Ammon. In fact, it is likely that He would have interrupted the sacrifice as He did when Abraham was offering Isaac. Likely, He would have prevented it before it began. How could “the Spirit of the Lord” come upon Jephthah as he did battle against God’s enemies but say nothing to prevent him from committing an abomination?
God would have sought vengeance on Jephthah for committing such a grievous sin. He would also have condemned and destroyed any priests who took part, and the nation that allowed such a heinous act.
Giving an Occasion to the Enemies.
When David sinned with Bathsheba, Nathan the prophet confronted him. David repented and Nathan assured him that God had put away his sin. Then he added: “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child who is also born to you shall surely die” (2 Sam. 12:14). If Jephthah had actually sacrificed his daughter, the enemies of God would have had great occasion to blaspheme. Those of Moab and Ammon might have said something like this:
You Israelites with your air of moral superiority are nothing more than hypocrites. You say that your law is holy and that your God is holy and that it is an abomination to the Lord for anyone to burn their sons and their daughters in fire to their gods [Deut. 12:31]; yet one of your leaders has committed this very act. How are you, then, any better than we are?
At heart we are the same. Do not tell us that we do it more often or that we are more vicious; such words are hollow, to say the least. The fact that you have done it even once shows that you have no more respect for human life than we do. Your God is no holier than ours. We are in fact of the same family. Lot, our patriarch, was Abraham’s nephew.
You try to take the moral high ground, but with Jephthah’s sacrifice of his daughter, you have no moral authority left. If your God would accept such a sacrifice, He is no better than ours. Do not attempt to speak to us of a better way than we alleged “heathens” have. You have forfeited any right you had to make us feel guilty or ashamed. Do not entreat us to consider your “holy” law. You cannot pronounce us guilty when you practice the same things that we do.
The fact that no one in Moab or Ammon ever made such a speech is significant; they surely would have if Jephthah had made a human sacrifice of his daughter. Not only would such an act give occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme then, the same would be true today. In fact, Kyle Butt addresses this situation as it relates to a recent debate he had:
Twelve minutes and 45 seconds into Dan Barker’s opening statement in our Darwin Day debate on February 12, 2009, he claimed that the God of the Bible cannot exist because the Bible presents contradictory information about God’s acceptance of human sacrifice (“Does God Accept Human Sacrifice?” www.apologeticspress.com).
He goes on to explain that the situation with Jephthah’s daughter is specified in the debate. If the judge over Israel sacrificed his own daughter as a burnt offering, the atheist would certainly have a case. Because Jephthah dedicated her to God, he does not. Those who staunchly insist that the young woman was killed ought to think very carefully about the door they are opening up to the enemies of God.
[Editor’s note: Several sources were cited in this article. Old Testament Survey is a denominational source. The Annual Denton Lectures always provides a wealth of excellent material. Christian Courier usually contains good articles, although we have taken issue with brother Jackson’s articles on praying to Jesus. Generally, we do not cite Apologetics Press because the head of it has taught error on two important subjects: elder re-evaluation and Marriage-Divorce-Remarriage. An exception was made this time because of the relevance of the debate.]