Jephthah's daughter, sometimes later referred to as Seila or as Iphis, is a figure in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

11. The judge

Jephthah Jephthah (pronounced ; he, יִפְתָּח, ''Yīftāḥ''), appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over Israel for a period of six years (). According to Judges, he lived in Gilead. His father's name is also given as Gilead, ...

had just won a battle over the

Ammon Ammon ( Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in ...

ites, and vowed that he would offer the first thing that came out of his house as a

burnt offering A holocaust is a religious animal sacrifice that is completely consumed by fire. The word derives from the Ancient Greek ''holokaustos'' which is used solely for one of the major forms of sacrifice, also known as a burnt offering. Etymology and ...

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

. However, his only child, an unnamed daughter, came out to meet him dancing and playing a tambourine (v. 34). She encourages Jephthah to fulfill his vow (v. 36) but asks for two months to weep for her virginity (v. 38). After this period of time Jephthah fulfilled his vow and offered his daughter. The majority opinion among commentators is that Jephthah killed his daughter as an act of

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

. There is, however, a minority opinion that Jephthah's daughter spent the rest of her life in seclusion. This is based on considerations such as weeping for her virginity would make no sense if she were about to die (although it would be sensible in light of the Biblical commandment to "be fruitful and multiply", which she would now no longer be able to fulfill). Commentators holding to the minority view include

David Kimhi ''Cervera Bible'', David Qimhi's Grammar Treatise David Kimhi ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד קִמְחִי, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical comm ...

, Keil and Delitzsch, James B. Jordan, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Later influence

Jephthah's daughter was not given a central role in many pre-medieval texts: the major exception being the first-century ''Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum'' of "

Pseudo-Philo Pseudo-Philo is the name commonly used for the unknown, anonymous author of ''Biblical Antiquities''. This text is also commonly known today under the Latin title ''Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum'' (Book of Biblical Antiquities), a title that is no ...

", which devoted an entire chapter to her (and gave her the name of "Seila"). The French scholar Peter Abelard (d. 1142) praised Selia in his

lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

''Planctus virginum Israel super filia Jephte''. In a letter to his lover

Héloïse d'Argenteuil Héloïse (; c. 1100–01? – 16 May 1163–64?), variously Héloïse d'ArgenteuilCharrier, Charlotte. Heloise Dans L'histoire Et Dans la Legende. Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion Quai Malaquais, VI, Paris, 1933 or Héloïse du Paraclet, wa ...

, Abelard also portrayed Selia as a model for monastic women who devote their lives to God. In other medieval Christian texts, Jephthah's daughter was portrayed as a type of

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and her death was likened to the purification of the Virgin. During the medieval period, some Jewish communities refrained from drinking water from wells and rivers for a few hours at four key times of the year (a custom called the '' tekufah''). In the twelfth century Rabbi Judah the Pious wrote that the ''tekufah'' that fell during the month of Tishre was observed because of Jephthah's daughter. Jephthah's daughter is called "Adah" by the

Order of the Eastern Star The Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic appendant body open to both men and women. It was established in by lawyer and educator Rob Morris, a noted Freemason, and adopted and approved as an appendant body of the Masonic Fraternity in 187 ...

and is one of its five heroines, representing obedience to duty.

References

{{Authority control Book of Judges Filicides Women in the Hebrew Bible Unnamed people of the Bible

Later influence

See also

References