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BIBLICAL REFERENCE JUDGES 11:1-40 1 Now Jephthah, the Gileadite was a
mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead
begat Jephthah, Every conscientious Eastern Star, who continually probes and studies the lessons of our Order in search of the hidden meanings, is often perplexed by some staggering problems. In the lesson of Adah, if one commences his studying with a review of the place of the Book of Judges in Biblical History and proceeds from there, each point of perplexity may be met and resolved. The Book of Judges, according to the most conservative of compilations, covers a period of about three hundred and seventeen years, and according to other authorities, well over four hundred years. The whole book is concerned with the affairs of the Hebrews from the time of Moses and Joshua all the way to the time of Saul. During this period of time, the nation was governed by judges. There were alternate periods of peace and war which were directly relative to the piety or impiety of the people. According to the Bible, the Hebrews strayed from the way, and then were punished by God. When the Hebrew people proved their intention to abide by God’s Word, God provided a means to relieve them of their oppression and punishment. By the time Jephthah assumed the Judgeship, the Hebrews had erred and been punished by oppression by the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, Amalakites and the Moanites. Each time, God had delivered the Jews from the oppression of the enemy. Now, once again, the Hebrews had forsaken God’s Word and had worshipped Baalim. When the people had repented, God took pity upon them, and the Hebrews anxiously awaited the means of their deliverance. Their deliverance came to them in the form of Jephthah, "a mighty man of valour." A proper understanding of the story of Adah demands a complete understanding of Jephthah, the extent of his power, and. the role he assumes in this lesson. First of all, the function of a judge should be examined. A judge was the enforcer of the law, the highest governing official. The judges, however, did not make nor interpret the laws. The judges only administered God’s Law according to God’s Direction. Now, the understanding of this point is absolutely essential to a sound interpretation. It must be understood that for Jephthah to administer God’s Law according to God’s Direction, it was necessary that Jephthah have contact with God Himself. Thus, the judge had to be invested with the Spirit of God, and having been thus invested, Jephthah as judge, became almost an "holy" man. It is true that the reader is made aware of this slowly. First, the Bible relates how Jephthah was driven by his brothers out of Gilead, and how he then fled to Tob. While Jephthah was in Tob, he was surrounded by a very undesirable group of men. It is said that it was these men that he organized into a band of fighting raiders. While Jephthah was in Tob, the Hebrew people began to seek a strong leader of men who would save their nation from the destruction planned by the Ammonites. By this time, the enemy forces had been marshaled together and were ready to march against the Israelites. The Elders of Gilead had let it be known that the command of their forces was open to any man who could accept. No one having come forward, the elders approached Jephthah and asked him to assume the command. Jephthah reminded them of how they had expelled him from his father’s house. The elders admitted to Jephthah that they had been unjust and unfair in their treatment of him. They promised Jephthah that, were he victorious over the enemy, he should become the head of all Gilead. Then, according to the Bible, Jephthah appeared with the elders before the people and received their approbation. Next, as was deemed necessary at that time, Jephthah called out his intentions to God. Thus, the selection of Jephthah as the Leader and Judge of the Hebrew people was a threefold consideration. He had been selected by the Elders, approved by the people, and finally, sanctioned by God. Jephthah immediately sent messengers to the King of Ammon. He asked why it was that the Ammonites were preparing to march against Israel. Much credit must be given to Jephthah for attemptting to settle this disagreement peacefully. The King of the Ammonites sent the messengers back to Jephthah with the explanation that the Ammonites felt that the Israelites were occupying territory which rightfully belonged to Ammon. The Ammonites claimed that Israel had wrongfully claimed the land from Amon to Jabbok and to the Jordan when the Israelites had come up out of Egypt. When Jephthah received this information, he sent word over again to the King and told him that the Israelites had not wrongfully taken the land from Moab nor from Ammon. He explained that when the Israelites had come up out of Egypt that they had stopped at Kadesh. From there, the Israelites had sent messengers to the Kings of Edom and Moab requesting permission to travel through their lands. This request had been denied. Then, the Israelites went through the wilderness, and around the boundaries of Edom and Moab to the far side of Moab and pitched their camp on the other side of Arnon. But, they did not enter Moab, as the Arnon itself constituted the boundary line of Moab. The Israelites sent messengers to seek permission from the King of the Amorites, Sihon, to travel through the land of the Amorites to their Promised Land. This permission not only was denied but King Sihon organized all of his men at Jahaz. There he prepared to march in battle against the Israelites. The Israelites were victorious over King Sihon’s forces. Thus it was that the Israelites came to possess the land of the Amorites. Jephthah further informed the Ammonites that they possessed the lands which the god of the Ammons had given to them and that it was only right that the Israelites possess the land that Jehovah had given to them. In addition, Jephthah reminded them that the Ammonites’ alleged claim to the land had occurred some three hundred years previous to the time at which the children of Israel had won it from the Amorites. The Ammons had lost claim to it during a previous contest that they had with the Amorites. Had the Ammonites any legitimate claim to the land, they could have challenged the Amorites’ possession of it in any of the three hundred years preceding the battle between the Israelites and the Amorites. Jephthah told the Ammonites that the Israelites had done the Ammonites no wrong and that the warlike intention of the Ammonites was unjustifiable. Jephthah declared that God, the Supreme Judge, would determine who was right in this difficulty and would judge between them. Jephthah was deeply anxious to be victorious, but he had serious misgivings about his ability to handle this Herculean task without some Divine Assistance. At this point, the Spirit of the Lord came to Jephthah, and Jephthah told the Lord that, if he were victorious over the enemy, and if he were returned home safely, he would sacrifice to the Lord whatsoever came out of his house first. Having communed with God, Jephthah started forth to do battle against the enemy. Tremendous battles ensued and Jephthah’s forces drove the enemy from Aroer to Minnith, out of twenty different cities, and out of the huge plain of vineyards until his forces were finally victorious over the Ammonites. Then, Jephthah and his men turned their steps toward Mizpeh. This was an hour of great triumph for Jephthah. In his heart he was deeply thankful to God for His Help, and he was overcome with joy as he once again saw the beloved lands of his home. Then, bounding out of the house came his beloved Adah! In this instant, the joy of victory, the happiness of his homecoming, and all of the supreme exultation of his triumph vanished. For, as Jephthah looked at the gay, shining face of his young daughter, he remembered that according to the terms of the vow which he had made of his own free will and volition, he had committed his one and only child to death. Adah, the young and innocent, realized that she was not ready to face death and she asked Jephthah for time to prepare herself to carry out the terms of his vow. In the company of a group of young women, Adah went to the mountains to pray. Adah was gone for two months. During this time, she sought communion with God that she might gain His Divine Assistance in facing the ordeal of her life. Adah returned at the end of two months, confident, obedient, and willing to fulfill the terms of her father’s vow. Her courage made it possible for Jephthah to do those things which he had promised God that he would do. The problems which faced Jephthah may be simply stated. Jephthah had made a promise to God which was both irrevocable and unqualifiable. There is no doubt whatever that Jephthah had not intended to sacrifice his daughter’s life when he had made his vow. Further, this situation was wholly Jephthah’s own responsibility. God had not demanded the sacrifice of Adah’s life in return for His help in overcoming the enemy... Jephthah had wanted to make a sacrifice to God. God had given Jephthah the assistance that he needed and when the time came for Jephthah to fulfill his vow to God, Jephthah realized that he had no choice but to keep faith with God. The problems which faced Adah may also be simply stated. Adah had been included in a vow to God which was in accordance to the law of the times. Legally, and morally, Jephthah was free to make any and all decisions for Adah until such time as she married. Adah could dispute neither the wisdom nor the authority of Jephthah’s decision. Adah, also, had no choice but to keep faithful to her father and to her God. There is another most important aspect present in both Adah’s and Jephthah’s situations. This is the willingness with which both of them fulfilled their obligations. It was not necessary for God to send His messengers to force Jephthah to keep faithful to his vow. Jephthah did not force God into loosing the fury of His wrath upon him. He voluntarily kept faith even under the stress of great personal anguish. It was not necessary for Jephthah to drag Adah from a hiding place. It was not necessary for Jephthah to bind and tie her in order to fulfill the agreement. When the time came, Adah came forth, willingly and unafraid, to keep faith even at the cost of life itself. Adah met death at her father’s hand according to the biblical story. Much has been said concerning this vow which Jephthah made. We know that Jephthah was well versed in the history and religion of the Hebrews. This is borne out by Verses 14-27 of the Eleventh chapter of the Book of Judges, in which he accurately relates the historical events leading to the current difficulties. Since Jephthah was the Judge of all Israel, we know that he was also aware of the laws governing sacrifices, what things were acceptable to God as a sacrifice and what things were not acceptable. In Leviticus 27, the laws concerning vows are given in detail. The important thing to understand is that only certain things were permitted as a sacrifice for burnt offerings and that the sacrifice of children and human life was strictly forbidden. Thus, Jephthah surely knew when he made his vow that if the first thing which came from his house were an unclean or an unsuitable animal that he would have to redeem it for a proper amount or that he would have to make a suitable substitute for the unsuitable sacrifice. This process of redeeming an unsuitable sacrifice for money was not an unique practice. Very possibly, the money thus obtained was used by the priests as part of the funds used in the work of the tabernacle. At any rate, Levitical Law is very clear on the matter of the redemption of unsuitable sacrifices. Thus, in view of Jephthah’s knowledge of the law, his obligation to enforce the law, and his almost "holy" estate, it is therefore unthinkable that Jephthah could actually have committed the act of sacrificing Adah. What then lies behind this perplexity? In Judges 11:31, the word "and" suddenly becomes the crucial word. When the passage was translated from the ancient manuscripts, the word used for "and" could have been translated as "or." Had the translator used the word "or," which he was equally free to do, the whole passage would have been consistent with Levitical Law and with the personality of Jephthah himself. Had this been done, the passage would have read, "Then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, OR I will offer it up for a burnt offering." It then becomes very clear that Jephthah realized that if a human being came from his home that the individual would be henceforth dedicated to the service of the Lord. If the first thing to come forth were other than human, then it would be offered as a burnt sacrifice. What probably happened is that in a symbolic ceremony, Jephthah dedicated Adah to the service of the tabernacle. This service in the temple was demanding of complete celibacy. Thus, in Verse 39 of Judges 11, the often puzzling verse becomes completely consistent. "And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel." Actually, the consecration of Adah to the service of the temple accomplished the same thing that her mortal death would have accomplished. Since Adah was Jephthah’s only child, her dedicated virgin existence brought an end to Jephthah’s family in Israel for there could be no heirs. For Adah to be denied the privilege of being a mother was a blow as tragic and consuming as death. To the Jews, to be childless was to be completely degraded. Every Jewish maiden lived in the hope that she might be part of the ancestral line of the anticipated Messiah. Adah’s dedication to service in the temple was, in many aspects, as final and binding as death. Thus, we see that Verse 38 of Judges 11 becomes the real and tragic portrayal of the circumstances. "And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions and bewailed her virginity on the mountains." For those who have found the actual killing of Adah by her father difficult to understand, perhaps this interpretation which many authorities have offered, that the ceremony of raising the sword and touching it to Adah was symbolic of her consccration to the tabernacle, may be of some explanative interest. Webmaster's note: Many years ago I received the above explanatory notes from one of our now-deceased learned brothers. I do not know its author nor do I know where I can find the answer. Therefore, if anyone knows the source of this document, please inform me so that I may give proper credit to the author (or remove it entirely if he/she so desires)
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