Show VOW A lucid explanation of a striking passage in the bible editor deseret news in IB my attempt at a criticism of col Inser inger sells reply to mr gladstone I 1 advocated as you will remember the view that jephthah did not kill his daughter but consecrated her to the service of the lord A friend of mine has kindly pointed out to me that he did not think this interpretation was consistent with the hebrew text of the passage and that in tact fact the argument was misleading I 1 cheref therefore ore thought I 1 would submit the following to your perusal it you think the subject important enough to warrant a reconsideration in your valuable paper I 1 would be much pleased to me the subject is important it shows how a grave objection to the bible may be solved by a careful study of the objectionable passage it vindicates the glory and the honor honer of god by siding aiding in ascertaining the truth and I 1 firmly believe th that at the latter day saints have this work appu amongst t others to perform to be the sukru successful i defenders of revealed truth against the horrible hydra of infidelity fidelity ia the idol of our age my attention was called to this sub j eject act many years ago while a student a at t regents park college london I 1 h heard eard a very able discourse on jeph t hahs vow since then I 1 have examined the subject carefully and the more I 1 think the matter over the more convinced I 1 feel that jephthah Jeph thab was no murderer OPINIONS DIVIDED I 1 am fully aware that the opinions concerning jephthah have been divid ed among bible commentators most of the ancient fathers think that thai the judge really immolated immo his daughter but I 1 also know that che weight of argument ament is now generally considered to be e that she was wap not sacrificed but consecrated the subject is briefly briefe discussed in a note nete found at the e end of the eleventh elo v nth chapter of judges jud henry he band and scotts commentary published lisl fad by the religious religions tract society london londo 1841 I 1 quote the follow following though josephus Josep hns and man many commentators e t ore after him are of the opinion that je jephthah h did really immolate h his dang daughter r the probability is that she was not s sacrificed further onither ther it is not at saw said that ha sacrificed her but that he did with her according cord in to his vow the sab subsequent sequent remark k of 1 the sacred historian aishe she knew knew no man is uncalled for it if she were sacrificed reed but not it she were compelled to remain s amele m ae on the whole we may safely con e elude iu that Jephtha hs daughter was not sacrificed but consecrated to a stole state of celibacy dr joseph angus a distinguished member ol of the riyal asiatic society and a member of the committee who completed the last revision of the english bible in his bible lHand handbook book page says human sacrifices were expressly forbidden all who even touched a de dead a b body 0 d were unclean and moreover no d devoted 0 t thing could be sacrificed jephthah probably devoted his daughter to perpetual virginity such is the testimony of the ablest bible scholars of the present time insurmountable difficulties it we suppose that jephthah killed his bis daughter we meet with the following difficulties which I 1 confess my utter inability to see my way clear of 1 we are the advocates of the killing theory that jephthah in an evil moment made a rash vow which he did ill to make and worse to perform henry and scott but the whole character of jephthah is against this supposition jephthah was not only a brave deliberating and a peaceful man but at the time he made his bis vow the spirit of the lori lord was upon him for we read the spirit of the lord came upon jephthah and he passed over gilead 1 and ma manasseh and passed over mizpah 0 of gilead and from mizpah of gilead he passed over to the children of ammon and jephthah vowed a vow unto the lord etc judges xi 29 2930 30 the whole narrative shows that the judge acted under the direct influence and guidance of the spirit how is it possible that under this influence he could involve himself in the necessity of oto killing his own child I 1 find no answer 2 human sacrifices were forbid den by god whosoever he be of the children of israel or of the stringers strangers that sojourn in israel that any of his seed to bolech lie he shall surely be put to death lev levix 2 take heed to thyself that thou be not lot snared by following them the canaanite ill for every abomination to the lord M which he habeth have they done unto their gods for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt iii in the fire to their gods dent xii human sacrifices are condemned and declared tw to be a abominable bo before the lord also in the following passages Ps pa vel 31 40 jer vii 31 rez xvi 20 21 jephthah must have known that human sacrifice was abominable before god and yet we are re requested to suppose suppo that thai he be under the influence of the holy spirit made a vow to commit the abominable act of sacrificing his child we are to believe that the unfortunate father bound himself to commit a crime the penalty of which was capital punishment lev 2 3 Jephtha hs vow bound him to offer a burnt offering olah there are at least twenty one different kinds of af offerings mentioned in the scriptures but Jephtha hs was wap a burnt offering the law concerning this kind of sacrifice is very vary minute in lev 1 it should consist of a male animal to be slain at the door of the tabernacle it was to be an atonement the blood should be sprinkled by the priests upon the altar and the victim should be flayed clayed and cut into pieces and the whole burnt up except the skin which belonged to the priest and the priest that off ereth any mans burnt offering even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering lev vii 8 must we suppose that jephthah did according to this law with his daughter although the law required a male animal for this kind of offering it if not she was not slain as a burnt offering at all and he did not keep his vow 4 another difficulty is this it if jephthah promised the lord as the common reading is to give to him whatever should meet him and to offer it up for a burnt offering then he promised to do what he must have cnown known that he could not do since no thing that was given to the lord could be sacrificed A sacrifice must be offered from a mans ans own possessions from the moment it was given to the lord it did no longer belong to the giver and the giver elver could conse bently no longer offer it as a ace ce the law Is is very clear on this point what was the lords already as for instance the firstlings first lings could not be sanctified a second time the firstly firstling in of the be beasts 1 ests which should be the lords firstling ling no man shall sanction 1 it it is the lords lev 5 in leviticus i 1 8 the command to is given to the priests aarons sons that they should lay the parts of tae victim in order upon the altar when a burnt burat offering was to be offered but the priests were expressly forbidden to touch a ead dead body neither shall he be go in to a any n dead body nor defile himself for h bis v father or lor or his mother lev axi 11 whosoever whosoever was defiled by touching a dead body had to go outside the camp and be unclean numb v 4 see also lev 47 4 7 hence the u utter dimpes impossibility all ability lor for jephthah to offer bis daughter as a burnt offering to the lord even it if he had bad been disposed to do it 6 the author of the epistle to the hebrews gives jephthah a prominent place among tho the ancient saints who through faith wrought righteousness and obtained promises heb xi 32 and this the holy spirit again repeats ln in the book of doe doc and cov lecture 1 20 now to sum up the difficulties here pointed out we are expected to believe that jephthah out ut of gratitude to god fo for received blessings killed his only child ild 1 in direct violation of the sixth commandment that he offered god a human sacrifice although he knew that this was an abomination before the lord that he be induced the priests of god to defile themselves and the sanctuary of god in short that he inspired by gods spirit committed orne obe of the greatest crimps crimes a man could commit during the old dispensation pensa tion and that he notwithstanding this has twice by inspired writers been ranked among the greatest saints on onearth held up as an elaml example ale of faith for all the world this is what to me seems impossible difficulties SOLVED Fortunately none of these difficult difficulties t exists those conversant with the hebrew grammar know that J e h tb a h g vo w a recorded in judges x xi W 1 can b be rendered t thus hus I 1 nto into egli E english gli a b and JP jephthah hab h vowed a vow unto the L lord ord and said whatsoever hat comes out of the doors of my house shall be for the lord and I 1 will offer him the lord a burnt offering dr randolph among others advocates this rendering of the passage the hebrew word beha he says ought to be rendered 1 I will offer mm him a burnt offering fot foi the word hoo may with much more propriety be referred to the person to whom the sacrifice was to be made than to the thing sacrificed rif it if not understood in this way it must have been the vow of a heathen or a madman it if a dog or other unclean animal had bad met him he could not have made it a burnt offering the above is from the cottage bible p the curious investigator is advised to read the whole passage in this ibis work it is found in the free reading room main street salt lake city similar constructions are found gen 4 2 sam xv 4 5 it if we adopt this rendering then Jephtha hs vow is in full accord with the law almost anything could be given to the lord by a vow in lev men and women in indifferent different ages clean beasts and unclean beasts houses and fields are particularly enumerated but as burnt offerings only the following in could be used A male animal of tue toe herd or of the sheep or goats or of turtle doves or ot young p pigeons lev i 1 17 hence jephthah promises that whatever should meet beet him should be for the lord and besides he would offer a burnt offering what confirms this is the narrative itself the sacred historian says bagster informs us that she bewailed her virginity that she knew no man and that the women went yearly lethan noth to comfort or lament with with the daughter of jephthah 11 ingram cobden in his briel brief commentary p says and every year the daughters of israel went to condole with her on her misfortune in being separated from the mothers of israel romaine says in the original the words are and it was a law in israel that the daughters of israel went yearly to make presents to the daughter ol of jephthah the four days in tile the year the world word here bete rendered lament is elsewhere translated reward hire gift the vow of hannah samuels ro other bears a striking resemblance to the vow of jephthah we read and she vowed a vow and said 0 lord of hosts if thou wilt indeed look hookon on the affliction of thine handmaid and remember me and not forget thine handmaid but will give five unto thine handmaid a man child then I 1 will give him unto the lord here indeed is no burnt offering mentioned in the vow but when the time came to deliver samuel to the lord then she took him up with her with three bullocks and brought him unto the house of the lord and they slew the bullock and brought the child to eli I 1 samuel i 1 11 25 there is no doubt in my mind that this is exactly what jephthah did too he slew a bullock as his burnt offering and he brought his daughter to the house of the lord it was customary to devote certain p persons to the service of the lord in numbers 40 we read react of 0 thirty two virgins thus given to the lord they performed various offices in the house of god some belonged to the choir see ezra li ii 65 ind and all seemed i to be excluded from performing any secular work including marriage one more remark jephthah had bad just at this time commenced to rise to prominence ence in israel his victory had aromin rought brought him to the front of the nation and through his daugh daughter tV his only child he had prospects of being associated with the most notable families of israel at this moment he makes his vow which separates him from his child and deprives him of having posterity through her let it be remembered that this was a voluntary get act for jephthah could according to the law lev 4 have bought his consecrated daughter back for the sum of 30 shekels but instead of doing this I 1 he ie gives fier up and she is willing to be given up to the cie lord when I 1 reflect on this uy 1 find no difficulty in seeing why the epistle to the hebrews and the book of doe doc and cov place jephthah among the great saints of the earth he well deserves the place |