Judges 11:40 BSB — MannaFest

Judges 11:40

that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

that the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

KJV

That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

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Commentary

4 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite,.... Either the death of her, as some, or her virginity, as others; though the word (p) used may signify to talk and discourse with her, to hold a confabulation with her, and comfort her, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; to bring her some news, and tell her some diverting stories, to cheer and refresh her in her solitude.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

Ambrose of Milan

On the Duties of the Clergy 1.50.255 (397)

It is also sometimes contrary to duty to fulfill a promise or to keep an oath. As was the case with Herod, who swore that whatever was asked he would give to the daughter of Herodias, and so allowed the death of John, that he might not break his word. And what shall I say of Jephthah, who offered up his daughter in sacrifice, she having been the first to meet him as he returned home victorious; whereby he fulfilled the vow which he had made that he would offer to God whatever should meet him first.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

But, says Mr. Henry, "We do not find any law, usage or custom, in all the Old Testament, which doth in the least intimate, that a single life was any branch or article of religion." And do we find any law, usage or custom there, which doth in the least intimate, that cutting the throat of an only child, was any branch or article of religion?

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

To lament the daughter of Jephthah - I am satisfied that this is not a correct translation of the original לתנות לבת יפתח lethannoth lebath yiphtach. Houbigant translates the whole verse thus: Sed iste mos apud Israel invaluit, ut virgines Israel, temporibus diversis, irent ad filiam Jepthe-ut eam quotannis dies quatuor consolarentur; “But this custom prevailed in Israel that the virgins of Israel went at different times, four days in the year, to the daughter of Jephthah, that they might comfort her.” This verse also gives evidence that the daughter of Jephthah was not sacrificed: nor does it appear that the custom or statute referred to here lasted after the death of Jephthah’s daughter.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

12 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
מִיָּמִ֣ים׀	mi.ya.Mim	from days	H3117 →
יָמִ֗ימָה	ya.Mi.mah	days towards	H3117 →
תֵּלַ֙כְנָה֙	te.Lakh.nah	they go	H1980 →
בְּנ֣וֹת	be.Not	[the] daughters of	H1323 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל	Yis.ra.'El	Israel	H3478 →
לְתַנּ֕וֹת	le.ta.Not	to recount	H8567 →
לְבַת־	le.vat-	for [the] daughter of	H1323 →
יִפְתָּ֖ח	yif.Tach	Jephthah	H3316 →
הַגִּלְעָדִ֑י	ha.gil.'a.Di	the Gileadite	H1569 →
אַרְבַּ֥עַת	'ar.Ba.'at	four	H702 →
יָמִ֖ים	ya.Mim	days	H3117 →
בַּשָּׁנָֽה׃ ס	ba.sha.Nah	in the year	H8141 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Judges 5:11
the voices of the singers at the watering places. There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went…
leads to
- Micah 6:5
  My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
- Judges 5:8
  When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel.
- 1 Samuel 12:7
  Now present yourselves, so that I may confront you before the LORD with all the righteous acts He has done for you and your fathers.
- Deuteronomy 22:24
  you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he…
- Lamentations 5:9
  We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness.
Through
1 Kings 9:25
Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.
leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:16
  Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast…
- 2 Chronicles 8:16
  Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.
- Exodus 23:14–17
  Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.

About Judges

Jephthah's Daughter Comes to Meet Her Father — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Judges: the study guide →Read chapter 11 →The featured study →

Continue: Judges 11 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Judges

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Judges