Hi Aziz
Hi Lynna,You probably haven't forgotten about it, but I'll ask anyway: How do you reconcile the story of Jephthah and his sacrifice of his daughter with a loving, just and powerful God?
Okay. Let me see if I can adequately address your question about Jephthah's vow.
The vow is recorded at:
Judges 11: 30 Then Jeph?thah made a vow to Jehovah and said: ?If you without fail give the sons of Am?mon into my hand, 31 it must also occur that the one coming out, who comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Am?mon, must also become Jehovah?s, and I must offer that one up as a burnt offering.?
Please take note of the words
must also become Jehovah?s. That seems clear enough to me. As in, Jeph'thah intended to give the first one coming out of his house to the serve of Jehovah. So,(1) it would be a good idea to understand what that meant.
It is my thought that understanding that would have some effect on how to understand the words that follow. Those being,
I must offer that one up as a burnt offering. It is my thought that we would have to consider(2) what was and (3)what was not an acceptible burnt offering.
Another point that I found interesting was (4) information in the account that would indecate that Jeph'thah's daughter continued to live.
(1) An example of another parent that offered their child to Jehovah is Han'nah. Her vow was that her as yet unborn child would be give to Jehovah's. If you would like to look at that the vow part is at 1 Samuel 1: 11. Anyhow reasons for mentioning this are to show that parents could things like that to their children and also to show some one was given to Jehovah and continued to live.
(2) What is an acceptible burnt offering is explained at:
Numbers 15:3 and YOU must render up an offering made by fire to Jehovah, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to perform a special vow or voluntarily or during YOUR seasonal festivals, in order to make a restful odor to Jehovah, from the herd or from the flock; 4 the one presenting his offering must also present to Jehovah a grain offering of fine flour, a tenth of an e?phah, moistened with a fourth of a hin of oil. 5 And you should render up wine as a drink offering, the fourth of a hin, together with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice of each male lamb. 6 Or for a ram you should render up a grain offering of two tenths of fine flour, moistened with a third of a hin of oil. 7 And you should present wine as a drink offering, a third of a hin, as a restful odor to Jehovah.
8 ??But in case you should render up a male of the herd as a burnt offering or a sacrifice to perform a special vow or communion sacrifices to Jehovah, 9 one must also present together with the male of the herd a grain offering of three tenths of fine flour, moistened with half a hin of oil. 10 And you should present wine as a drink offering, half a hin, as an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah. 11 This is the way it should be done for each bull or for each ram or for one head among the male lambs or among the goats. 12 Whatever may be the number that YOU may render up, that is the way YOU should do for each one according to the number of them. 13 Every native should render up these in this way in presenting an offering made by fire, of a restful odor to Jehovah.
Also at Leviticus 1:2-17 there is more information.
There is however
no information about how to offer a burnt human sacrifice.
(3) There is however information about the unacceptibleness of burnt human sacrificies:
Leviticus 18:21 ??And you must not allow the devoting of any of your offspring to Mo?lech. You must not profane the name of your God that way. I am Jehovah.
Jeremiah 7:30 ?For the sons of Judah have done what is bad in my eyes,? is the utterance of Jehovah. ?They have set their disgusting things in the house upon which my name has been called, in order to defile it. 31 And they have built the high places of To?pheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hin?nom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart.?
Deuteronomy 18:9 ?When you are entered into the land that Jehovah your God is giving you, you must not learn to do according to the detestable things of those nations. 10 There should not be found in you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, anyone who employs divination, a practicer of magic or anyone who looks for omens or a sorcerer,
Clear enough for me. human sacrificies were not (still are not) acceptible to Jevovah.
(4) In Judges 11:40 we can read: From year to year the daughters of Israel would go to give commendation to the daughter of Jeph?thah the Gil?e?ad?ite, four days in the year.
>Please notice the purpose of the daughters of Israel going (to Jerusalem) was to give Jeph'thah daughter commendation. This could not have been done if she was dead.
Also consider what is said at Judges 11:37 And she went on to say to her father: ?Let this thing be done to me: Let me alone for two months, and let me go, and I will descend upon the mountains, and let me weep over my virginity, I and my girl companions.?
>I don't know about you but I would not be weeping about my virginity if I was about to be burned alive. I would be weeping about my life that was about to be cut short.
You will have to deside for yourself what you think. However as for me, I think that there is enough evidence that Jeph'thah's daughter was not burned up with fire. The account indicates to me that she, like Samuel, was given to Jehovah's serve at the temple.
If I have not been clear enough for you please let me know and I'll see what else I can find out.
Thanks for the question that cause me to look more carefully at this account about Jeph'thah's daughter.
Lynna
Topic: Putting Faith in its Place