Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 11:35
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
35. thou hast brought me very low ] thou hast struck me down utterly: the same verb as in Jdg 5:27 ( he bowed).
thou art one of them that trouble me ] The first pron. is emphatic; ‘thou, my beloved, dost appear in the character of my worst enemy.’ For the Hebr. idiom ( beth essentiae) see Psa 54:4 [Hebrews 6 ], Psa 118:7. Trouble is a feeble equivalent for the strong word in the original, which occurs only under circumstances which arouse unusual passion; see Gen 34:30, Jos 7:25-26, 1Sa 14:29, 1Ki 18:17-18. The Versions give a free paraphrase of the two words bowed down, trouble me ( kara‘, ‘akar), but do not necessarily presuppose a different text.
I have opened my mouth ] lit. opened wide, Jdg 11:36, of a solemn utterance; cf. Psa 66:13-14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jephthah was right in not being deterred from keeping his vow by the loss and sorrow to himself (compare the marginal references), just as Abraham was right in not withholding his son, his only son, from God, when commanded to offer him up as a burnt-offering. But Jephthah was wholly wrong in that conception of the character of God which led to his making the rash vow. And he would have done right not to slay his child, though the guilt of making and of breaking such a vow would have remained. Josephus well characterizes the sacrifice as neither sanctioned by the Mosaic law, nor acceptable to God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 35. Thou hast brought me very low] He was greatly distressed to think that his daughter, who was his only child, should be, in consequence of his vow, prevented from continuing his family in Israel; for it is evident that he had not any other child, for besides her, says the text, he had neither son nor daughter, Jdg 11:34. He might, therefore, well be grieved that thus his family was to become extinct in Israel.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou art one of them that trouble me: before this, I was troubled by my brethren; and since, by the Ammonites; and now most of all, though but occasionally, by thee. I have opened my mouth, i.e. I have vowed, which was done by words, Num 30:2,6.
I cannot go back, i.e. not retract my vow; I am indispensably obliged to perform it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And it came to pass, when he saw her,…. She being the first person that presented to his view, as she was at the head of the virgins with their timbrels and dances:
that he rent his clothes; as was the usual manner, when anything calamitous and distressing happened; see Ge 37:34
and said, alas, my daughter, thou hast brought me very low; damped his spirits, sunk him very low, so that he was ready to drop into the earth, as we say; he that was now returning in triumph, amidst the acclamations of the people, in the height of his glory, and extolled to the skies, and perhaps elated in his own mind; on a sudden, at the sight of his daughter, was so depressed in his spirits, that he could not bear up; but was ready to sink and die away, all his honour being as it were laid in the dust, and nothing to him:
and thou art one of them that trouble me: or among his troublers, and the greatest he ever met with; he had been in trouble from his brethren, when they drove him from his father’s house, and he had had trouble with the children of Ammon to subdue them; but this was the greatest trouble of all, that his daughter should be the first that should meet him; of whom, according to his vow, he was to be deprived, and so all his future comforts, hopes, and expectations from her gone; and therefore ranks her among, and at the head of, his troublers:
for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord; in a vow; not only had purposed it in his heart, but had expressed it with his lips:
and I cannot go back; or retract it; looking upon himself under an indispensable obligation to perform it; of which, be it as it may, he seems to have had mistaken notions and apprehensions; for if his vow was to sacrifice her, as some think, he was not obliged to do it, since it was contrary to the law of God, and abominable in his sight; and besides, what was vowed to be the Lord’s, or devoted to him, might be redeemed according to the law, a female for thirty pieces of silver,
Le 27:2 and if the vow was to separate his daughter from the company of men, and oblige her never to marry, such a power as this parents had not allowed them over their children, according to the laws of God or of men, in the Jewish nation; and therefore, be it which it will, what he had to do was to repent of this rash vow, and humble himself before God for making it, and not add sin to sin by performing it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(35) He rent his clothes.Comp. Jos. 7:6. By one of the curious survivals which preserve customs for centuries after the meaning is gone out of them, every Jew on approaching to Jerusalem for the first time has to submit to the kriei.e., to a cut made in his sleeve, as a sort of symbol of rending his clothes.
Thou hast brought me very low.Literally, crushing, thou hast crushed me.
I have opened my mouth unto the Lord.A vow was not deemed binding unless it had been actually expressed in words (Num. 30:2-3; Num. 30:7; Deu. 23:23). There were two kinds of vows among the Hebrewsthe simple vow, neder (Lev. 27:2-27), and the devotion, or ban, cherem (Lev. 27:28-29). Anything devoted to Jehovah by the cherem was irredeemable, and became a holy of holies (kodesh kadashim) to Him, and was to be put to death (Lev. 27:29).
I cannot go back.Num. 30:2. Jephthah had not understood until now the horror of human sacrifice. He would neither wish nor dare to draw back from his cherem (Ecc. 5:4-5; Mat. 5:33; Jon. 2:9; Pss. 72:25, Psa. 26:11) merely because the anguish of it would fall so heavily upon himself. The Hebrews had the most intense feeling about the awfulness of breaking an oath or vow, and they left no room for any mental reservations (Lev. 27:28-29). Saul was determined to carry out his ban even at the cost of the life of his eldest son, and even Herod Antipas felt obliged to carry out his oath to Herodias, though it involved a deep pang and a haunted conscience. It is clear that not for one moment did it occur to Jephthah to save himself from the agony of bereavement by breaking his ban (cherem) as a mere redeemable vow (neder). The Jews shared in this respect the feelings of other ancient nations. Thus the Greeks believed that the house of Athamas were under an inexpiable curse, because when the Achans had been bidden to offer him up for a sacrifice for compassing the death of Phryxus, Kytissorus, the son of Phryxus, had intercepted the sacrifice (Herod. vii. 197, 3; Plat. Minos, 5). It must be remembered that though his cherem had taken an unusual and unlawful (though far from unknown) form, the notion of such a vow would come far more naturally to a people which in very recent times, as well as afterwards, had devoted whole citiesmen, women, children, cattle, and goodsto absolute destruction (Num. 21:2-3).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
35. Rent his clothes A sign of intense agony and grief. He had, probably, hoped to meet first some other less cherished member of his family.
Thou hast brought me very low The idea here is, that of one bent down under the pressure of an almost crushing burden.
One of them that trouble me Literally, thou art among my troublers; that is, like one whose work is to give me trouble and anguish. To sacrifice her is to end his family, since he had no other child. Jdg 11:34.
I cannot go back They who took upon themselves a solemn oath were expected to keep their word, (Num 30:2😉 but he who swore to some one’s hurt was under condemnation if he did not change, (Psa 15:4,) and the law (Leviticus 27) provided for the redemption of singular vows.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And so it was that, when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas my daughter, you have brought me very low, and you are as one of those who trouble me, for I have opened my mouth to Yahweh and I cannot go back.” ’
When he saw who first came from his house he was devastated. He ‘tore his clothes’, an expression of great emotion and deep grief (compare Gen 37:34). He was not blaming his daughter. He was simply letting her know how deeply he felt the consequences of his vow. But his firm faith comes out in his final words. He intended to fulfil his vow whatever it cost him.
The question of vows is a complicated one. Num 18:14 says, ‘everything devoted in Israel shall be yours (that is, Aaron’s).’ But it makes provision for the fact that a human being who is ‘devoted’ (strictly set apart as Yahweh’s) can be redeemed (Jdg 11:15). On the other hand Lev 27:28-29 says that anything ‘devoted’ must be put to death without redemption. The distinction lies in the meaning of devoted. The latter has in mind when Yahweh has devoted something to destruction (Jos 6:17 following; Deu 20:16-17; Num 21:2-3 – Hormah means ‘devoted’; 1Sa 15:3 onwards). In that case there is no remission. The former means something ‘devoted’ because of legal requirements such as a firstborn, or an oath, when the provisions of the law must be followed whatever they be.
But in Lev 27:1-8 provision is made for a rash vow to be redeemed. The price of redemption for a woman would be thirty shekels. On the other hand Num 30:2 declares, ‘When a man vows a vow to Yahweh, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds from his mouth’. Once put into words it is binding (Deu 23:21-23). Much clearly therefore depended on what type of vow was in mind. The latter would seem to have especially in mind a vow like Jephthah’s, one made solemnly to Yahweh. From that there was no escape unless it was contrary to Yahweh. However, in the case of a vow to do something displeasing to Yahweh – a vow could not be paid with ‘dirty’ money, nor, we must assume, with something that was an abomination to Yahweh (see Deu 23:18) – it is probable that Lev 27:1-8 would be applied.
This would suggest that while Jephthah’s vow was heartrending, it was pleasing to Yahweh, otherwise Lev 27:1-8 could have been invoked. And it thus points to his daughter becoming ‘sanctified to Yahweh’ in the Tabernacle, ‘offered up as a whole offering’ in the offering up of a lamb, and then becoming one of those of whom Yahweh would say, “She is mine”. This rather than actually being sacrificed in a way that could not be pleasing to Him, indeed was an abomination to Him. Jephthah’s ignorance or otherwise does not come into this. He would certainly not have been short on advice and guidance about the matter.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 11:35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
Ver. 35. He rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! ]
“ Usque adeo nulla est sincera voluptas,
Sollicitumque aliquid laetis intervenit ” – Ovid.
It is seldom seen that God alloweth unto any here a perfect contentment. Something men must have to complain of, that shall give an unsavoury verdure to their sweetest morsels, and make their very felicity miserable.
And I cannot go back.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
opened my mouth. Hebraism for making a formal, prepared, and solemn statement.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
rent his clothes: Gen 37:29, Gen 37:30, Gen 37:34, Gen 37:35, Gen 42:36-38, 2Sa 13:30, 2Sa 13:31, 2Sa 18:33, Job 1:20
have opened: Lev 27:28, Lev 27:29, Num 30:2-5, Psa 15:4, Ecc 5:2-6
I cannot: Jdg 21:1-7, 1Sa 14:44, 1Sa 14:45, Mat 14:7-9, Act 23:14
Reciprocal: Gen 14:22 – unto Num 14:6 – rent their clothes Deu 23:23 – That which Jdg 21:6 – repented them Jdg 21:18 – sworn 2Sa 3:31 – Rend Psa 66:14 – uttered Pro 18:7 – his lips
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
JEPHTHAHS DAUGHTER
Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.
Jdg 11:35
There are few names better known in history than Jephthahs; and the allied arts of painting and poetry have served to keep him fresh in the minds of many generations.
I. Jephthah, it is true, betrayed ferocity and hardness, but must surely have had within him the spirit of the faithful, all the more remarkable when we consider his birth and upbringing.In studying these we come to the two great laws of heredity and environment, great facts which exist and are working in you and me to-day. By heredity we mean the sum of impulses received from our forefathers and transmitted to us through our parents; while by environment is meant external conditions or the sum of influences affecting us from without. These are generally admitted and familiar to all of us, proving that beneath and behind there is a personal will influencing men by law. There are always certain dangers which arise from looking at anything from one point of view; and when men discover new principles they become so fascinated by them that they see nothing else, interpreting everything to suit their discovery and drawing all sorts of generalisations and inductions therefrom. Look at the history of any science and you will find it is the one great and common error to make too wide generalisations and too swift inductions, that men are too ready to form theories, too ready to draw inferences. With regard to these laws the same huge mistake has been made, and people go the length of saying that given certain parents, education, and companions, and they will infallibly foretell the life and history of that person. Now you will easily see the danger here, how despairing and fatalistic this view is; and life itself shows how really untrue such conclusions are, for all here must have seen again and again exceptions to the rule. There is no lesson in this story of Jephthah more important than that the grace of God is all-powerful, raising a man from the lowest deeps to the highest heights and entirely changing his moral character. What did Jephthah owe to his friends? He was driven from his fathers house by the covetousness of his brethren, and there is nothing so warps the character as injustice. With a heart burning with indignation he left home and dwelt on the borders of Moab, living as a freebooter at the head of a band of desperate men. One could not imagine a man less fitted for the work he afterwards was called to do, not being even a decent man, far less a strong and conscientious judge. Such is the influence of God on the free spirit of man that no one is so unfortunate as to be utterly beyond it, nor so depraved as to be utterly lost. If we would but remember this we should be less despairing over those who have gone far astray, and with such comfort in our hearts be likely to do more work.
II. That Jephthah really sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia-Iike, was the received opinion of tradition and that of Josephus; but in the twelfth century this idea was questioned.It was then said that Jephthah had secluded her as a nun; but this refutes itself. Yet the dark tragedy is not unrelieved, for on the one hand are the heroism and fortitude of the girl, and on the other the stern faithfulness of the father, loving his child with a strong, true love. Alas, my daughter! He was of that old heroic type to which our fathers belonged, and which people say has died out in the land. Of the daughter, Tennyson fitly makes her sing:
My God, my land, my fatherthese did move
Me from my bliss of life, that Nature gave,
Lowerd softly with a threefold cord of love
Down to a silent grave.
When the next moon was rolled into the sky,
Strength came to me that equalld my desire.
How beautiful a thing it was to die
For God and for my sire!
It comforts me in this one thought to dwell,
That I subdued me to my fathers will;
Because the kiss he gave me, ere I fell,
Sweetens the spirit still.
Yes, it is sometimes a beautiful thing to die, and there are many things worth dying for. All sacrifices point to Christs, which transcends all yet offered. For a fathers rash vow the maiden laid down her life; the Son of God gave up His that we might not see death. There has been great progress in revelation since Jephthahs time, and now it would not be possible so to interpret law as he did, Shall I give the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (Mic 6:7). It became known that to do justly and to love mercy were what God required. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice (Hos 6:6). Absolute trust in God and absolute surrender of our lives to Him make the truly religious life.
Illustration
The readers of Mark Rutherford cannot have forgotten his marvellous sermon on the death of Jephthahs daughter, Aye, and perhaps God wanted the girl. We say,
They surely have no need of you
In the place where you are going;
Earth has its angels all too few,
And heaven is overflowing.
But heaven is not overflowing, and it never will be. In My Fathers house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
11:35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he {o} rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
(o) Being overcome with blind zeal, and not considering whether the vow was lawful or not.