Judges 11:40 kjv
That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
Judges 11:40 nkjv
that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Judges 11:40 niv
that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Judges 11:40 esv
that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
Judges 11:40 nlt
for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah's daughter.
Judges 11 40 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 23:21-23 | "When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it..." | Vows must be paid; emphasis on covenant. |
| Num 30:2 | "If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath... he shall not break his word..." | Vows are binding; no breaking one's word. |
| Eccl 5:4-5 | "When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it... It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay." | Gravity of vows; better not to vow rashly. |
| Lev 27:28-29 | "But anything devoted... whether of man or beast... cannot be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD." | Vows of total devotion are irreversible. |
| Jer 9:17-18 | "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Consider, and call for the wailing women to come...'" | Reference to professional mourning/lament. |
| 2 Sam 1:17-18 | "David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son..." | Example of a king composing a national lament. |
| Amos 5:16 | "Therefore in all the squares there will be wailing, and in all the streets they will say, 'Alas! Alas!'" | Describes public lamentation. |
| Ezkl 32:16 | "This is a lamentation that they shall chant..." | Lamentations sung, suggesting formal ritual. |
| Gen 50:10 | "...and there they mourned with a very great and sorrowful lamentation." | Prolonged mourning ritual for a beloved person. |
| Isa 53:7-8 | "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter... cut off from the land of the living..." | Foreshadowing sacrifice, often without progeny. |
| Exod 13:2 | "Consecrate to me all the firstborn... whatever is among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast..." | Firstborn are devoted/belong to the Lord. |
| Exod 13:13 | "...every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem." | The concept of redeeming a human firstborn. |
| Deut 18:10 | "There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering..." | Direct prohibition against child sacrifice. |
| Lev 18:21 | "You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech..." | Further prohibition against child sacrifice. |
| Jer 7:31 | "And they have built the high places of Topheth... to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire..." | Denunciation of actual child sacrifice practice. |
| Judg 21:25 | "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." | Provides the societal backdrop of the Judges period, explaining moral chaos. |
| Gen 22:2, 9-14 | "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love... and offer him there as a burnt offering." | God's test of Abraham, which stopped short of actual sacrifice, contrasting with Jephthah. |
| Heb 11:32-34 | "And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah..." | Jephthah listed among the heroes of faith despite his flawed actions. |
| Matt 23:23 | "...You neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness." | Law beyond rigid observance to encompass justice and mercy, reflecting on the vow's context. |
| 1 Sam 1:11 | "And she vowed a vow and said, 'O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant... and will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life...'" | Hannah's vow of lifelong dedication without sacrifice. |
| Luke 10:25-37 | The Parable of the Good Samaritan. | Illustrates mercy and love for neighbor, contrasting rigid interpretation of a vow with its consequences. |
Judges 11 verses
Judges 11 40 Meaning
Judges 11:40 describes a post-event tradition: a yearly observance where the women of Israel would go for four days to commemorate, or perhaps mourn, the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. This custom served as a permanent memorial of her unique fate and her father's tragic, rash vow.
Judges 11 40 Context
Judges chapter 11 narrates the story of Jephthah, a Gileadite chieftain who, though an outcast, was called upon by Israel to lead them against the Ammonites. In his zeal to secure victory, Jephthah made a rash vow to the LORD: whatever came out of his house first to meet him upon his victorious return would be offered as a burnt offering. Tragically, his only daughter, his only child, was the first to meet him. This verse, Judges 11:40, is the concluding statement to Jephthah's personal narrative, highlighting the lasting societal impact of this vow. It records the establishment of a national custom in memory of Jephthah's daughter, marking the solemn and somber resolution of a complex, controversial incident during a morally ambiguous period in Israel's history.
Judges 11 40 Word analysis
- that: Connects this verse directly to the preceding events of Jephthah's vow and its fulfillment. It indicates the consequence or established outcome of the narrative.
- the daughters of Israel: Signifies that this was not merely a local, tribal observance but a widespread, national custom among Israelite women. It indicates the profound impact of Jephthah’s daughter’s story across the tribes.
- went yearly: (Hebrew: miy-yamim yamimah, מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה) Literally "from days to days," or "from year to year." This emphasizes the consistent, annual recurrence of the tradition, highlighting its establishment as a perpetual memorial.
- to lament: (Hebrew: tanah, תָּנָה) This is a key interpretive word. It can mean "to mourn," "to recite," "to praise," or "to chant." In the context of the Septuagint (LXX) translation using threnos (lamentation), and the surrounding narrative, it strongly implies a ritualistic grieving or commemorating, likely through dirges or a solemn recounting of her story and tragic fate. It suggests acknowledging her fate and Jephthah's vow.
- the daughter of Jephthah: Specifies the individual for whom the commemoration takes place. Her identity as Jephthah’s "only daughter" (v. 34) amplifies the pathos of her situation. Her personal name is not given, focusing on her role in the greater narrative of her father's vow and Israel's spiritual state.
- the Gileadite: Connects her and the custom to Jephthah's tribal identity, placing the narrative firmly within the Gilead region. It grounds the story in its specific geographical and tribal origin.
- four days: A specific, set duration for the observance. This indicates a formalized ritual rather than spontaneous grief, underscoring its traditional and planned nature, perhaps allowing for different aspects of the commemoration over the period.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- "the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament": This phrase highlights a communal, sustained, and ritualized act. It suggests the gravity of the event transcended Jephthah’s immediate family, impacting and perhaps serving as a cautionary tale or point of remembrance for the entire female population of Israel. The yearly recurrence makes it a sacred, annual rite.
- "lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year": This concisely details the object of the commemoration, her lineage, and the specific duration of the annual ritual. It signifies the formal establishment of a public memorial practice that acknowledges the profound cost of a leader's rash vow and an innocent's tragic fate in that particular period of Israel's history.
Judges 11 40 Bonus section
The meaning of tanah (לָכֵּ֥ן) has been subject to scholarly debate. While traditionally rendered "lament" (as in mourning), some argue it might mean "to recount," "to recite," or "to praise" her in an elegiac way, commemorating her fortitude and the solemnity of her dedication, rather than purely weeping. The Septuagint's use of threnos strongly supports lamentation. Regardless, it implies a significant, reverential remembering. The ambiguity highlights the multifaceted impact of the event on the collective Israelite memory. This annual practice cemented Jephthah's daughter as a pivotal, if unnamed, figure who embodied the gravity of vows and the stark realities of that period in Israelite history. Her story became an ethical and theological teaching moment passed down through generations of women, emphasizing the serious repercussions of both human promises to God and the sacred value of human life.
Judges 11 40 Commentary
Judges 11:40 acts as an epilogue to the sorrowful account of Jephthah and his daughter, enshrining their story as a lasting cultural memory for ancient Israel. The practice of "lamenting" the daughter, spanning four days annually, solidified the national recognition of her unique sacrifice or dedication. This commemoration could have been a collective mourning for her unfulfilled life and Jephthah's tragic dilemma, or it may have been a solemn recounting and pondering of the seriousness of vows, especially rash ones, in the eyes of God and community. It stood as a potent reminder of the era's spiritual ambiguity, where leaders might misinterpret or rashly engage with divine demands, leading to unintended and profound suffering. The absence of divine intervention to avert the vow's fulfillment, unlike the binding of Isaac (Gen 22), accentuates the harsh realities and consequences of a faith where individuals acted "what was right in his own eyes" (Judg 21:25) rather than adhering to established covenant principles against human sacrifice (Deut 18:10). This ritual became a testament to Jephthah's faithfulness to his vow, however flawed, and the enduring cost for an innocent.