Torah Study Blog

Part of today’s Torah portion is from Numbers 21 and it contains a passage where the Israelites, who were still wandering in the wilderness, ask for permission to pass through the land of the Amorites, but permission was not granted. A battled ensued and the Israelites won, “So Israel occupied the land of the Amorites.” (Numbers 21:31)

The Haftarah for this week comes from the Book of Judges and it offers a retelling of how the Israelites got the Amorite land. The neighboring people were the Ammonites, who were a different group and worshipped a different god. At one point, the Ammonites attack the Israelites and the Ammonites win. The Haftarah portion tells about the warrior Jephthah who eventually frees the Israelites from the Ammonite occupation. (As an aside, the Ammonites are an attested people and the capital of Jordan, Amman, gets its name from them.)

Before we talk about Jephthah, it would be helpful to have some background information. Judges is the seventh book in the Bible and it tells of the time when the Israelites were loosely banded tribes, and “there was no king in Israel; every man did as he pleased” (Judges 17:6)

Following a typical scenario in the Book of Judges, the Israelites promise to worship God, but then incorporate some of the customs of their neighbors and worship other gods including, in this case, the Ammonite god. God, being a jealous god, is angered and turns his back on the Israelites who, in this case, are conquered by the Philistines and the Ammonites. After pleading for deliverance, God acquiesces and saves his people, in this case, through Jephthah who, “crossed over to the Ammonites and attacked them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands.” (Judges 11:32)

Jephthah was the son of a prostitute who was driven out of his household by his half-brothers. But Jephthah proved to be a great leader and warrior which we know because, “Men of low character gathered about Jephthah and went out raiding with him.” (Judges 11:3) Apparently, this experience proved to be beneficial because, “when the Ammonites attacked Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back [and they said] come be our chief, so that we can fight the Ammonites.” (Judges 11:5-6)

As was mentioned above, Jephthah was victorious, but at what price? In Judges 11:30-31 Jephthah made a vow to God: “If You deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s and shall be offered by me as a burnt offering.”

Jephthah could have said whatever comes first out the door will be dedicated to the Lord. Or he could have vowed in some other way. But he vowed a burnt offering sacrifice and God must have accepted the vow, because he gave Jephthah a victory. Then God must have influenced what came out of the house first – the only child of Jephthah! His daughter, who is unnamed in the Bible.

The story goes on to tell how the daughter of Jephthah tells her father that he must keep his vow. She asks for two months to go with her companions and “lament upon the hills … and it became custom in Israel for the maidens of Israel to go every year, for four days … and chant dirges.” (Judges 11:37-40)

What were the writers trying to tell us with this horrific story? There are several possibilities:

1. This story may have been written at a time when child sacrifice was practiced and there were other stories following a similar pattern. For example, in II Kings 3 there is the story of the Moabite king who sacrificed his first-born son in an effort to win a war against the Israelites. And it worked!
2. Or, perhaps there was a custom of young women going to the hills and singing, and this Bible story provides an origin for that custom.
3. Or, perhaps the writers want us to know that vows must be taken seriously and kept.
4. Or, perhaps is simply a story to warn against making rash vows.

misquotes or misunderstandings in what Rabbi Jaech taught us are the responsibility of Tara Keiter