Bible Strands
Judges 11:39
After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Jephthah’s daughter returning to him after a two-month period of mourning her virginity with her companions. He executes his vow regarding her, and the event establishes an annual mourning custom among the young women of Israel.
The words — וַ/יְהִ֞י (va/y.Hi) literally means "and it was," marking the narrative shift to the vow's fulfillment. וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ (va/i.Ya.'as) translates as "and he did," directly stating the father's action in carrying out his pledge.
The thread — The irreversible nature of the devoted offering aligns with the principle in Leviticus 27:28 that things set apart to the LORD cannot be sold or redeemed. The narrative's emphasis on vow execution connects to the consequence outlined in Judges 11:31 regarding whatever meets Jephthah upon his return.
Why it lands — The text states that the father acted exactly as he vowed and that the woman remained without marital relations, establishing a formal custom. It requires the reader to acknowledge the literal outcome of a spoken pledge and the institutional remembrance it triggers, without editorial softening.
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
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,
Cross-references
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 2:18 Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
- Deuteronomy 12:31 You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
- 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 1:24 Once she had weaned him, Hannah took the boy with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. Though the boy was still young, she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.
- 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 1:22 but Hannah did not go. “After the boy is weaned,” she said to her husband, “I will take him to appear before the LORD and to stay there permanently.”