What fatal mistake did Jephthah make?

Answer 1

He made a vow to God and it cost him his only daughter according to the book of Judges in the OldTestament: Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, "If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."
Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: Though well intentioned, this was a foolish vow. Such vows can be attempts to get God "on our side." It is far more important to be on God's side than to try and persuade Him to be on your side.
Even a Spirit-filled man can do foolish things. The Holy Spirit does not overwhelm and control us, He guides us - and that guidance can be resisted or ignored at smaller or greater points.
Whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me . . . I will offer it up as a burnt offering: Jephthah did not have a human sacrifice in mind. This is indicated by the ancient Hebrew grammar: "The masculine gender could be translated 'whatever comes out' or 'whoever comes out' and 'I will sacrifice it.'
When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it."
When he saw her, he tore his clothes: Jephthah made his foolish vow sincerely, fully intending to keep it. Yet he had not seriously considered the consequences of the vow. Therefore he was grieved when his daughter was first to greet him out of his house.
I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it: Jephthah knew the importance of keeping our vows to God. He would keep an oath even when it was to his own hur
So she said to him, "My father, if you have given your word to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon." Then she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I." So he said, "Go." And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. 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.

Answer 2

He made a rash vow concerning his daughter.
Judges 11:30-40

Answer 3

One of the judges in ancient Israel. According to the Book of Judges, he was the son of a Gileadite and a prostitute. After being cast out by his father's legitimate sons, he joined a band of brigands. When the Gileadites were oppressed by an Ammonite army, they asked Jephtha to aid them. He led them to victory, having first promised God a sacrifice of whatever he first saw when he left his house; his first sight happened to be his daughter. His significance in the Book of Judges is as an exemplar of Israel's fidelity to God.

Jephtha (Heb. יפתח Yiftach) is a character in the Old Testament who served as one of the Judges in Israel for a period of six years (Judges 12:7) between the conquest of Canaan and the first king. Jephtha lived in Gilead and was a member of the Tribe of Manasseh. He is also called Jephthah in other bible references. His father's name was also Gilead.

Being driven out by his half-brothers, he took up dwelling in Tob, east of Gilead. Here some men opposing the Ammonites put themselves under his command. (Judges 11:3) When Israel was gathering to go to war against Ammon, they looked for a God-appointed man and decided to go to Jephtha.


The Return of Jephtha, by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini.He is best known for a rather unfortunate episode, and is recalled in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:32) as an example of a man of faith for the same. Before leaving for the war, he made a vow to God that if he was to return home victorious, "whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house" to meet him would be given to God. He was victorious, and return he did, but he was met by his daughter and only child. It is written that after much mourning she died as a childless, unmarried virgin.

The event has been the subject of many debates among readers. Some have argued that this was a practice of dedicating women to virginity, but it is likely that he really sacrificed her as an offering. Ancient Jewish writers interpreted it as a human sacrifice, as seen explicitly, for example, in the classical Pseudo-Philo, where the daughter sings a lament about her impending death and its necessity to fulfil Jephtha's vow. That Jephtha's daughter was indeed offered as a holocaust was also the common opinion amongst Fathers of the Christian Church since the Holy Spirit is said to be upon Jephtha when he made his vow. According to their interpretation Jephtha was foreshadowing the sacrifice of Jesus. Leviticus 27:16-29 is used in support of both positions. On one hand it can be argued that these items are destroyed, but the cited text also allows for ransoming and also mentions land which can not be destroyed and was traditionally turned over for temple use. Some Jewish sources claim that Jephtha may have expected an "unclean" animal such as a dog to greet him upon returning home. Alternatively, the main point of this story may be to instruct young girls as to how to behave should they ever be selected for service (verses 37-38). That is, it could be a normative tale.

Later, Jephtha went to war against the Ephraimites, who refused to acknowledge him. The story is remembered for the killing of the fugitive Ephraimites who were identified by their accent; they said the Hebrew word shibboleth as sibboleth. In this rebellious action, 42,000 people lost their lives. (Judges 12:5,6) It should be noted that the method, while innovative, is by no means unique and has seen use throughout the centuries - for example, during the Finnish Civil War in 1918.

Answer 4

He vowed to offer a burnt offering of whatever came out of his house when he returned home (Jud 11:30,31) His daughter came out and he had to sacrifice her.

Answer 5

He should of invested in oil instead of goat and sheep

Answer 6

Who the hell knows?

Answer 7

I don't know

Answer 8

http://www.meridianchristian.org/Pages/Messages/onfolio-files/060305%20Verdict%20on%20Judges%20-%20Crumpled%20Leader.pdf