Bible Strands
Judges 11:31
then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jephthah speaks this vow directly to the LORD immediately after requesting military victory over the Ammonites. He utters it at the moment of departure, prior to crossing into enemy territory.
The words — The terms וְ/הָיָ֣ה (ve./ha.Yah) and הַ/יּוֹצֵ֗א (hai./yo.Tze') translate literally to "and it will be" and "whatever comes out." They function as the grammatical hinge that binds the conditional outcome to the first entity encountered.
The thread — The text connects this vow to the practice of entering the sanctuary with burnt offerings to fulfill pledges (Psalms 66:13). It intersects with Levitical regulations on dedicated property and animals (Leviticus 27:11, Leviticus 27:28), which state that nothing set apart to the LORD may be sold or redeemed.
Why it lands — The text records a conditional pledge that automatically transfers ownership of the first encountered entity to God as a burnt offering. It requires the reader to observe how a spoken vow creates an immediate, binding obligation independent of the speaker's later understanding.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
Cross-references
- Psalms 66:13 I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You—
- Leviticus 27:11 But if the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal must be presented before the priest.
- Leviticus 27:28 Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 23:18 You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.
- 1 Samuel 1:11 And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
- 1 Samuel 1:28 I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.
- 1 Samuel 2:18 Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
- 1 Samuel 14:24 Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
- 1 Samuel 14:44 And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
- Isaiah 66:3 Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.