Judges 11:31

Whatsoever cometh forth. Whom should Jephthah expect to come from the doors of his house to greet him returning in victory, except his wife, or his daughter, or possibly a slave? Some have attempted to show that an animal, such as may often have been found in the homes of the ancients, could be here implied. But the Hebrew term he used for “meet” seems to rule against this. This term is most generally used of men (see Gen. 18:2; Ex. 18:7; 2 Kings 1:6; etc.). It has been observed that it would not have been an extraordinary vow to have promised to offer a lamb or an ox for a marvelous victory. Such sacrifices would have been offered by numerous Israelites.

One must remember that although Jephthah worshiped the God of Israel, and in the undertaking relied on Him, he had grown up in an alien land among heathen people. Among these heathen nations human sacrifices were offered in times of great crisis. Compare the act of the king of Moab who sacrificed his eldest son to his god Chemosh as a final act of desperation to save his city from the attacking Israelites (2 Kings 3:26, 27). The law of Moses prohibited the offering of human sacrifices (Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31; etc.), yet this prohibition was flouted from time to time down to the days of Ahaz and Manasseh (2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6).

The Spirit of God came upon Jephthah in order that Israel might be saved from destruction. But the presence of the Spirit does not guarantee infallibility or omniscience. The one who receives the Spirit remains a free moral agent, and is expected to make appropriate progress in spiritual growth and knowledge. Jephthah, in his ignorance of what was right, rashly vowed an evil thing. In the same way, although the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon and wrought great deliverance through him, the Spirit did not prevent him from setting up an illegal worship. This narrative of Jephthah’s rash vow is related, as so many in the Scriptures are, without note or comment, indeed neither is needed. The only judgment possible in the case of Jephthah is that of condemnation.

Be the Lord’s. Apparently in the same sense that Jericho and its inhabitants had been devoted to Him (see on Joshua 6:15).

And I will offer. Some have endeavored to translate as “or” the Hebrew word for “and,” at the beginning of the phrase. They believe Jephthah to have said, in effect, “Whatever comes from the doors of my home to meet me as I return shall be devoted exclusively for the Lord’s service, if it is a human, or, if it is a clean animal, I will offer it as a burnt offering.” Since it was Jephthah’s daughter who came out to meet him, such interpreters say the first phrase applies, that is, “shall surely be the Lord’s.” Commentators who take this point of view explain Jephthah’s statement to mean that the girl never married but devoted herself to religious service for the rest of her life (see on v. 39).

It. Some commentators prefer rendering the pronoun, thus translated, as “Him,” thereby making the statement read, “I will offer [to] Him [God] a burnt offering.” It is true that the Hebrew pronoun, standing alone, may mean either “him” or “it.” But attached to the verb, as here, the pronoun must always be understood as the direct object of the verb. This invariable rule requires the translation, “I will offer it for a burnt offering.” Furthermore, Jephthah’s grief (v. 35), his daughter’s mourning (v. 37), and the impression made upon contemporaries (vs. 37, 40), require something entirely out of the ordinary, something more than a common burnt offering.