Judges 11:31
in Judges 11then 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be Jehovah’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.
KJV
Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd whereas he [Jovinianus] prefers the fidelity of the father Jephthah to the tears of the virgin daughter, that corroborates our point. For we are not commending virgins of the world so much as those who are virgins for Christ's sake.
This site's exposition
the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah
on Judges 11:29-31
The Spirit of the LORD comes on Jephthah, the third of seven times in Judges, and no command, priest or answer attends the vow. The Hebrew behind "whatever" can be rendered whoever, and its last connective is read as and or as or: "will belong to the LORD" or "I will offer it up as a burnt offering". Both renderings are old, and the grammar carries either.
This site's exposition
whatever comes out the door of my house
Augustine observes that cattle do not run out to greet a general home from war, and a dog was unclean and unfit for an offering. Albert Barnes and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown conclude that Jephthah had a person in view from the start. Barnes traces the thought to his years in Syrian Tob.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
With these words [of his vow] at any rate Jephthah did not vow some kind of animal that he could offer as a whole burnt offering according to the law; it is neither customary now nor was it in the past that cattle would run to meet generals returning victoriously from war. As far as mute animals are concerned, dogs often run to meet their masters and sport with them in fawning servitude. But Jephthah could not have been thinking about dogs in his vow, because it would seem that he would have vowed not only something unlawful but also something contemptible and unclean according to the law. It would have been an insult to God. Nor does he say, "I will offer as a whole burnt offering whatever will come out of the doors of my house to meet me." He says, "I will sacrifice whoever comes out of my house." Thus, there can be no doubt that he was thinking of nothing else than a human being—not his only daughter, however. Yet who would have been able to surpass her in her father's eyes except perhaps his wife?
People imitate those who do good deeds, therefore, not out of love for these good deeds but because of their utility.… The king of Moab took note of Jephthah. But, because it was his firstborn and a human being rather than an animal that he …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The words of this verse prove conclusively that Jephthah intended his vow to apply to human beings, not animals: for only one of his household could be expected to come forth from the door of his house to meet him. They also preclude any other meaning than that Jephthah contemplated a human sacrifice. This need not, however, surprise us, when we recollect his Syrian birth and long residence in a Syrian city, where such fierce rites were probably common.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me--This evidently points not to an animal, for that might have been a dog; which, being unclean, was unfit to be offered; but to a person, and it looks extremely as if he, from the first, contemplated a human sacrifice.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering - The text is והיה ליהוה והעליתיהו עולה vehayah layhovah, vehaalithihu olah; the translation of which, according to the most accurate Hebrew scholars, is this: I will consecrate it to the Lord, or I will offer it for a burnt-offering; that is, “If it be a thing fit for a burnt-offering, it shall be made one; if fit for the service of God, it shall be consecrated to him.” That conditions of this kind must have been implied in the vow, is evident enough; to have been made without them, it must have been the vow of a heathen, or a madman. If a dog had met him, this could not have been made a burnt-offering; and if his neighbor or friend’s wife, son, or daughter, etc., had been returning from a visit to his family, his vow gave him no right over them. Besides, human sacrifices were ever an abomination to the Lord; and this was one of the grand reasons why God drove out the Canaanites, etc., because they offered their sons and daughters to Molech in the fire, i.e., made burnt-offerings of them, as is generally supposed. That Jephthah was a deeply pious man, appears in the whole of his conduct; and that he was well acquainted with the law of Moses, which prohibited all such sacrifices, and stated what was to be offered in sacrifice, is evident enough from his expostulation with the king and people of Ammon, Jdg 11:14-27. Therefore it must be granted that he never made that rash vow which several suppose he did; nor was he capable, if he had, of executing it in that most shocking manner which some Christian writers (“tell it not in Gath”) have contended for. […]
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֣ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַיּוֹצֵ֗א | haiyotze' | whatever comes out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֵצֵ֜א | yetze' | it will come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִדַּלְתֵ֤י | midaltei | from [the] doors of | H1817 → | 88 times |
| בֵיתִי֙ | veiti | house my | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לִקְרָאתִ֔י | likrati | to meet me | H7122 → | 139 times |
| בְּשׁוּבִ֥י | beshuvi | when return I | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| בְשָׁל֖וֹם | veshalom | in peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| מִבְּנֵ֣י | mibenei | from [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֑וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְהַעֲלִיתִ֖הוּ | vehaalitihu | and I will offer up it | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עוֹלָֽה׃ פ | olah | a burnt offering | H5930 → | 287 times |
וְהָיָ֣הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
הַיּוֹצֵ֗אwhatever comes out
haiyotze'H3318 →1067 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֵצֵ֜אit will come out
yetze'H3318 →1067 times
מִדַּלְתֵ֤יfrom [the] doors of
midalteiH1817 →88 times
בֵיתִי֙house my
veitiH1004 →2046 times
לִקְרָאתִ֔יto meet me
likratiH7122 →139 times
בְּשׁוּבִ֥יwhen return I
beshuviH7725 →1056 times
בְשָׁל֖וֹםin peace
veshalomH7965 →236 times
מִבְּנֵ֣יfrom [the] people of
mibeneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֑וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
וְהָיָה֙and it will belong
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
לַֽיהוָ֔הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְהַעֲלִיתִ֖הוּand I will offer up it
vehaalitihuH5927 →890 times
עוֹלָֽה׃ פa burnt offering
olahH5930 →287 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 1:11And she made a vow, pleading, “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…
it leads to
- Judges 13:5
For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will…
- Numbers 6:5
For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let…
- Genesis 29:32
And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:4
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
- Psalms 25:18
Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins.
- Judges 13:5
Through
1 Samuel 1:28I 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.
it leads to
- Genesis 24:26
Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
- Genesis 24:52
When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.
- Genesis 24:26
Through
Deuteronomy 23:18You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Revelation 22:15
About Judges
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON JUDGES; Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON JUDGES 49.6; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 10.3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 1.23; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.