Judges 11:38 kjv
And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
Judges 11:38 nkjv
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.
Judges 11:38 niv
"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry.
Judges 11:38 esv
So he said, "Go." Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains.
Judges 11:38 nlt
"You may go," Jephthah said. And he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children.
Judges 11 38 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 12:2 | "I will make of you a great nation..." | God's promise of offspring, importance of progeny. |
| Gen 15:2-3 | "Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless..." | Abraham's concern over lacking an heir. |
| Gen 22:1-14 | Abraham's offering of Isaac; God provides a substitute. | Contrast to Jephthah; God provides a ram, not demanding human sacrifice. |
| Num 30:2 | "When a man makes a vow to the Lord... he shall not break his word..." | The binding nature of vows in Israel. |
| Lev 18:21 | "You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech..." | God's prohibition against child sacrifice. |
| Lev 20:2-5 | Warnings against offering children to Molech, resulting in death. | Strict condemnation of child sacrifice. |
| Deut 12:31 | "You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abominable thing... they have done for their gods." | God's detestation of pagan child sacrifice. |
| Deut 23:21 | "When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it..." | Obligation to fulfill vows, but context is vital. |
| Deut 23:22 | "...if you refrain from vowing, it shall be no sin for you." | Vowing is optional, not mandatory. |
| Judges 11:30 | Jephthah's vow: "whoever comes out of the doors of my house..." | The context of the rash vow. |
| Judges 11:31 | Jephthah's vow implies what "comes out" will be "offered up." | Ambiguity or intention behind the offering. |
| Judges 11:34 | "behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing." | The specific daughter involved in the tragedy. |
| Judges 11:37 | Her request: "Let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and weep for my virginity." | Direct request leading to verse 38. |
| Judges 21:25 | "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." | Describes the moral and spiritual decline of the Judges era. |
| 1 Sam 1:1-8 | Hannah's deep sorrow over her barrenness and inability to have children. | Highlights the cultural importance of childbearing for women. |
| Psa 66:13-14 | "I will go into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows..." | Fulfillment of vows involves proper offerings, not forbidden acts. |
| Psa 76:11 | "Make vows to the Lord your God and pay them..." | Encourages fulfillment of righteous vows. |
| Ecc 5:4-5 | "When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it... It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay." | Counsel on making and keeping vows responsibly. |
| Jer 9:17-18 | "Call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skillful women, that they may come! Let them make haste and take up a wailing for us..." | Demonstrates the communal and professional aspect of lamentation. |
| Luke 1:24-25 | Elizabeth conceives, removing her "reproach among men." | Loss of ability to bear children was a social "reproach." |
| Heb 11:32-34 | Mentions Jephthah as a man of faith. | Illustrates God's grace despite flawed actions, but does not condone his specific vow. |
Judges 11 verses
Judges 11 38 Meaning
Judges 11:38 describes the immediate consequence of Jephthah's tragic vow, specifically concerning his only daughter. Upon hearing his allowance, she and her companions withdrew to the mountainous regions for a period of two months. During this time, they intensely mourned and lamented her unique predicament: the loss of her virginity, signifying the end of her potential to marry, bear children, and continue her father's lineage, a deeply significant blow in ancient Israelite society. This act was a communal expression of sorrow for the termination of her life's natural course and reproductive future.
Judges 11 38 Context
Judges 11:38 occurs immediately after Jephthah’s daughter, upon learning of her father’s solemn and tragic vow (Judges 11:30-31), accepts her fate but requests a two-month reprieve. Jephthah, having made an impulsive vow before going to war against the Ammonites, had pledged that "whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." To his horror, his only daughter was the first to emerge. This period was characterized by Israel's moral and spiritual decline, where the people frequently apostatized, resulting in cycles of foreign oppression and deliverance by "judges" (Judges 2:11-19). Jephthah himself, though endowed with the Spirit of the Lord for war (Judges 11:29), demonstrated a severe lack of understanding of the Mosaic Law concerning vows and sacrifice. His daughter's request to bewail her virginity (Judges 11:37), and Jephthah's acquiescence, sets the stage for her profound, irreversible loss.
Judges 11 38 Word analysis
- And he said, Go: Implies Jephthah's difficult but unavoidable agreement. His word, once given, bound him, reflecting the serious nature of vows in ancient Israel.
- And he sent her away for two months: (wa·yiš·šal·lê·hā, וַיְשַׁלְּחֶֽהָ). The verb shalakh (שָׁלַח) means to send, send away, or let go. This period allowed for emotional preparation and fulfillment of her request. The specificity of "two months" provides a defined boundary to her grief and last moments of normalcy before her fate.
- and she went with her companions: (wa·tê·leḵ hî’ wə·rê·‘ō·w·ṯe·hā, וַתֵּלֶךְ הִיא וְרֵעוֹתֶיהָ֙). Rê‘ōṯe·hā (רֵעוֹתֶיהָ) refers to her close female friends or companions. This highlights the communal aspect of grief and solidarity, where loved ones participate in significant life events, especially in times of great sorrow. Her burden was shared, illustrating the importance of community support in such crises.
- and bewailed her virginity: (wa·tê·ḇəḵə ‘al-bə·ṯū·le·hā, וַתֵּבְךְ עַל־בְּתוּלֶיהָ֙).
- Wa·tê·ḇəḵə (וַתֵּבְךְ) from the root bāḵāh (בָּכָה) means "to weep," "to cry." It denotes deep, personal sorrow and lamentation.
- ‘al-bə·ṯū·le·hā (עַל־בְּתוּלֶיהָ֙): This is key. Bəṯūlīm (בְּתוּלִים) refers to "virginity" or "the state of a virgin." Her lament was specifically for her inability to experience marriage, bear children, and continue her family line. In ancient Israelite culture, marriage and progeny were of paramount importance, representing a woman's fulfillment and contribution to her lineage and community. To remain childless or without offspring was a source of profound sorrow and social disadvantage (cf. Hannah in 1 Sam 1). This choice of focus (virginity, not simply "her life") lends significant weight to interpretations that involve either a sacrificial death that specifically precludes procreation, or a perpetual dedication to service where marriage and children would be forbidden, thereby ending her father's direct lineage through her. The cultural impact of ending a family line was immense.
- upon the mountains: Mountains often serve as places of solitude, reflection, and spiritual significance. In this context, it emphasizes the private and intense nature of their grief, away from public view.
Judges 11 38 Bonus section
The story of Jephthah's daughter serves as a powerful contrast to other narratives in the Bible concerning sacrifice and vows. Unlike Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac (Gen 22), where God explicitly intervened to provide a ram as a substitute, Jephthah found no such divine provision. This difference highlights that God abhors human sacrifice, a practice condemned in the Law (Lev 18:21, Deut 12:31). The tragic outcome of Jephthah's vow illustrates the spiritual decline and ethical confusion characteristic of the Judges period, where individuals often acted "as seemed right in their own eyes" (Judges 21:25) rather than according to God's revealed will. Furthermore, Judges 11:39-40 indicates that the lament for Jephthah's daughter became an annual custom among the daughters of Israel, cementing her fate as a symbolic tragedy associated specifically with the loss of potential marriage and motherhood, affirming the devastating impact of her destiny on the Israelite communal memory.
Judges 11 38 Commentary
Judges 11:38 presents a poignant scene that underscores the deep anguish arising from Jephthah's ill-conceived vow. His daughter's act of going to the mountains with her companions to "bewail her virginity" reveals the profound cultural value placed on marriage and procreation in ancient Israel. This was not merely weeping for life, but specifically for the denial of her female purpose—to become a wife and a mother, thus contributing to her family’s continuation and blessing (cf. Gen 1:28, Psa 127:3). Regardless of whether Jephthah ultimately performed a literal human sacrifice or consecrated her to perpetual virginity (which effectively rendered her barren for the purposes of lineage continuation), the emphasis on "virginity" signals that her central grief, and that of her companions, was the tragic loss of her ability to fulfill these foundational roles. The two months allowed for a ritualized mourning, a period of transition from life's natural course to an unnatural, lamentable end for her family line. This verse serves as a stark warning about making rash vows, particularly during periods of spiritual compromise, reminding us of the dire consequences when human intentions or actions are not guided by the wisdom and clear commandments of God.