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Selected Verse: Judges 11:31 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Jud 11:31	Strong Concordance	Then it shall be, that whatsoever [03318] cometh forth [03318] of the doors [01817] of my house [01004] to meet [07125] me, when I return [07725] in peace [07965] from the children [01121] of Ammon [05983], shall surely be the LORD'S [03068], and I will offer it up [05927] for a burnt offering [05930].
	King James	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.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
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. Bred up as he had been, beyond the Jordan, where the Israelitish tribes, far from the tabernacle, were looser in their religious sentiments, and living latterly on the borders of a heathen country where such sacrifices were common, it is not improbable that he may have been so ignorant as to imagine that a similar immolation would be acceptable to God. His mind, engrossed with the prospect of a contest, on the issue of which the fate of his country depended, might, through the influence of superstition, consider the dedication of the object dearest to him the most likely to ensure success. shall surely be the Lord's; and [or] I will offer it up for a burnt offering--The adoption of the latter particle, which many interpreters suggest, introduces the important alternative, that if it were a person, the dedication would be made to the service of the sanctuary; if a proper animal or thing, it would be offered on the altar.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

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. Bred up as he had been, beyond the Jordan, where the Israelitish tribes, far from the tabernacle, were looser in their religious sentiments, and living latterly on the borders of a heathen country where such sacrifices were common, it is not improbable that he may have been so ignorant as to imagine that a similar immolation would be acceptable to God. His mind, engrossed with the prospect of a contest, on the issue of which the fate of his country depended, might, through the influence of superstition, consider the dedication of the object dearest to him the most likely to ensure success.

shall surely be the Lord's; and [or] I will offer it up for a burnt offering--The adoption of the latter particle, which many interpreters suggest, introduces the important alternative, that if it were a person, the dedication would be made to the service of the sanctuary; if a proper animal or thing, it would be offered on the altar.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
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. The Syrians and Phoenicians were conspicuous among the ancient pagan nations for human sacrifices, and the transfer, under such circumstances, to Yahweh of the rites with which the false gods were honored, is just what one might expect. The circumstance of the Spirit of the Lord coming on Jephthah Jdg 11:29 is no difficulty; as it by no means follows that because the Spirit of God endued him with supernatural valor and energy for vanquishing the Ammonites, He therefore also endued him with spiritual knowledge and wisdom. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, but that did not prevent his erring in the matter of the ephod Jdg 8:27. Compare Co1 12:4-11; Gal 2:11-14.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
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. He could not commit a crime which himself had just now been an executor of God's justice to punish in others. It has been supposed that "the text itself might have been read differently in former times; if instead of the words והעליתיהו עולה, I will offer It a burnt-offering, we read והעליתי הוא עולה, I will offer Him (i.e., the Lord) a burnt-offering: this will make a widely different sense, more consistent with everything that is sacred; and it is formed by the addition of only a single letter, (א aleph), and the separation of the pronoun from the verb. Now the letter א aleph is so like the letter ע ain, which immediately follows it in the word עולה olah, that the one might easily have been lost in the other, and thus the pronoun be joined to the verb as at present, where it expresses the thing to be sacrificed instead of the person to whom the sacrifice was to be made. With this emendation the passage will read thus: Whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me - shall be the Lord's; and I will offer Him a burnt-offering." For this criticism there is no absolute need, because the pronoun הו hu, in the above verse, may with as much propriety be translated him as it. The latter part of the verse is, literally, And I will offer him a burnt-offering, עולה olah, not לעולה leolah, For a burnt-offering, which is the common Hebrew form when for is intended to be expressed. This is strong presumption that the text should be thus understood: and this avoids the very disputable construction which is put on the ו vau, in והעליתיהו vehaalithihu, Or I will offer It up, instead of And I will offer Him a burnt-offering. "From Jdg 11:39 it appears evident that Jephthah's daughter was not Sacrificed to God, but consecrated to him in a state of perpetual virginity; for the text says, She knew no man, for this was a statute in Israel. ותהי חק בישראל vattehi chok beyishrael; viz., that persons thus dedicated or consecrated to God, should live in a state of unchangeable celibacy. Thus this celebrated place is, without violence to any part of the text, or to any proper rule of construction, cleared of all difficulty, and caused to speak a language consistent with itself, and with the nature of God." Those who assert that Jephthah did sacrifice his daughter, attempt to justify the opinion from the barbarous usages of those times: but in answer to this it may be justly observed, that Jephthah was now under the influence of the Spirit of God, Jdg 11:29; and that Spirit could not permit him to imbrue his hands in the blood of his own child; and especially under the pretense of offering a pleasing sacrifice to that God who is the Father of mankind, and the Fountain of love, mercy, and compassion. The versions give us but little assistance in clearing the difficulties of the text. In the Targum of Jonathan there is a remarkable gloss which should be mentioned, and from which it will appear that the Targumist supposed that the daughter of Jephthah was actually sacrificed: "And he fulfilled the vow which he had vowed upon her; and she knew no man: and it was made a statute in Israel, that no man should offer his son or his daughter for a burnt-offering, as did Jephthah the Gileadite, who did not consult Phinehas the priest; for if he had consulted Phinehas the priest, he would have redeemed her with money." The Targumist refers here to the law, Lev 27:1-5, where the Lord prescribes the price at which either males or females, who had been vowed to the Lord, might be redeemed. "When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord at thy estimation: the male from twenty years old even unto sixty, shall be fifty shekels of silver; and if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels; and from five years old unto twenty years, the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten." This also is an argument that the daughter of Jephthah was not sacrificed; as the father had it in his power, at a very moderate price, to have redeemed her: and surely the blood of his daughter must have been of more value in his sight than thirty shekels of silver. Dr. Hales has entered largely into the subject: his observations may be seen at the end of this chapter.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

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. He could not commit a crime which himself had just now been an executor of God's justice to punish in others.

It has been supposed that "the text itself might have been read differently in former times; if instead of the words והעליתיהו עולה, I will offer It a burnt-offering, we read והעליתי הוא עולה, I will offer Him (i.e., the Lord) a burnt-offering: this will make a widely different sense, more consistent with everything that is sacred; and it is formed by the addition of only a single letter, (א aleph), and the separation of the pronoun from the verb. Now the letter א aleph is so like the letter ע ain, which immediately follows it in the word עולה olah, that the one might easily have been lost in the other, and thus the pronoun be joined to the verb as at present, where it expresses the thing to be sacrificed instead of the person to whom the sacrifice was to be made. With this emendation the passage will read thus: Whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me - shall be the Lord's; and I will offer Him a burnt-offering." For this criticism there is no absolute need, because the pronoun הו hu, in the above verse, may with as much propriety be translated him as it. The latter part of the verse is, literally, And I will offer him a burnt-offering, עולה olah, not לעולה leolah, For a burnt-offering, which is the common Hebrew form when for is intended to be expressed. This is strong presumption that the text should be thus understood: and this avoids the very disputable construction which is put on the ו vau, in והעליתיהו vehaalithihu, Or I will offer It up, instead of And I will offer Him a burnt-offering.

"From Jdg 11:39 it appears evident that Jephthah's daughter was not Sacrificed to God, but consecrated to him in a state of perpetual virginity; for the text says, She knew no man, for this was a statute in Israel. ותהי חק בישראל vattehi chok beyishrael; viz., that persons thus dedicated or consecrated to God, should live in a state of unchangeable celibacy. Thus this celebrated place is, without violence to any part of the text, or to any proper rule of construction, cleared of all difficulty, and caused to speak a language consistent with itself, and with the nature of God."

Those who assert that Jephthah did sacrifice his daughter, attempt to justify the opinion from the barbarous usages of those times: but in answer to this it may be justly observed, that Jephthah was now under the influence of the Spirit of God, Jdg 11:29; and that Spirit could not permit him to imbrue his hands in the blood of his own child; and especially under the pretense of offering a pleasing sacrifice to that God who is the Father of mankind, and the Fountain of love, mercy, and compassion.

The versions give us but little assistance in clearing the difficulties of the text. In the Targum of Jonathan there is a remarkable gloss which should be mentioned, and from which it will appear that the Targumist supposed that the daughter of Jephthah was actually sacrificed: "And he fulfilled the vow which he had vowed upon her; and she knew no man: and it was made a statute in Israel, that no man should offer his son or his daughter for a burnt-offering, as did Jephthah the Gileadite, who did not consult Phinehas the priest; for if he had consulted Phinehas the priest, he would have redeemed her with money."

The Targumist refers here to the law, Lev 27:1-5, where the Lord prescribes the price at which either males or females, who had been vowed to the Lord, might be redeemed. "When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord at thy estimation: the male from twenty years old even unto sixty, shall be fifty shekels of silver; and if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels; and from five years old unto twenty years, the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten." This also is an argument that the daughter of Jephthah was not sacrificed; as the father had it in his power, at a very moderate price, to have redeemed her: and surely the blood of his daughter must have been of more value in his sight than thirty shekels of silver.

Dr. Hales has entered largely into the subject: his observations may be seen at the end of this chapter.

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¹¹ But [1161] when [3753] Peter [4074] was come [2064] to [1519] Antioch [490], I withstood [436] him [846] to [2596] the face [4383], because [3754] he was [2258] to be blamed [2607].
¹² For [1063] before [4253] that certain [5100] came [2064] from [575] James [2385], he did eat [4906] with [3326] the Gentiles [1484]: but [1161] when [3753] they were come [2064], he withdrew [5288] and [2532] separated [873] himself [1438], fearing [5399] them which were of [1537] the circumcision [4061].
¹³ And [2532] the other [3062] Jews [2453] dissembled [4942] likewise [2532] with him [846]; insomuch [5620] that Barnabas [921] also [2532] was carried away [4879] with their [846] dissimulation [5272].
¹⁴ But [235] when [3753] I saw [1492] that [3754] they walked [3716] not [3756] uprightly [3716] according to [4314] the truth [225] of the gospel [2098], I said [2036] unto Peter [4074] before [1715] them all [3956], If [1487] thou [4771], being [5225] a Jew [2453], livest [2198] after the manner of Gentiles [1483], and [2532] not [3756] as do the Jews [2452], why [5101] compellest thou [315] the Gentiles [1484] to live as do the Jews [2450]?

⁴ Now [1161] there are [1526] diversities [1243] of gifts [5486], but [1161] the same [846] Spirit [4151].
⁵ And [2532] there are [1526] differences [1243] of administrations [1248], but [2532] the same [846] Lord [2962].
⁶ And [2532] there are [1526] diversities [1243] of operations [1755], but [1161] it is [2076] the same [846] God [2316] which [3588] worketh [1754] all [3956] in [1722] all [3956].
⁷ But [1161] the manifestation [5321] of the Spirit [4151] is given [1325] to every man [1538] to [4314] profit withal [4851].
⁸ For [1063] to one [3739] [3303] is given [1325] by [1223] the Spirit [4151] the word [3056] of wisdom [4678]; [1161] to another [243] the word [3056] of knowledge [1108] by [2596] the same [846] Spirit [4151];
⁹ [1161] To another [2087] faith [4102] by [1722] the same [846] Spirit [4151]; [1161] to another [243] the gifts [5486] of healing [2386] by [1722] the same [846] Spirit [4151];
¹⁰ [1161] To another [243] the working [1755] of miracles [1411]; [1161] to another [243] prophecy [4394]; [1161] to another [243] discerning [1253] of spirits [4151]; [1161] to another [2087] divers kinds [1085] of tongues [1100]; [1161] to another [243] the interpretation [2058] of tongues [1100]:
¹¹ But [1161] all [3956] these [5023] worketh [1754] that one [1520] and [2532] the selfsame [846] Spirit [4151], dividing [1244] to every man [1538] severally [2398] as [2531] he will [1014].

²⁷ And Gideon [01439] made [06213] an ephod [0646] thereof, and put [03322] it in his city [05892], even in Ophrah [06084]: and all Israel [03478] went thither a whoring [02181] after [0310] it: which thing became a snare [04170] unto Gideon [01439], and to his house [01004].

²⁹ Then the Spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] came upon Jephthah [03316], and he passed over [05674] Gilead [01568], and Manasseh [04519], and passed over [05674] Mizpeh [04708] of Gilead [01568], and from Mizpeh [04708] of Gilead [01568] he passed over [05674] unto the children [01121] of Ammon [05983].

¹ And the LORD [03068] spake [01696] unto Moses [04872], saying [0559],
² Speak [01696] unto the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and say [0559] unto them, When a man [0376] shall make a singular [06381] vow [05088], the persons [05315] shall be for the LORD [03068] by thy estimation [06187].
³ And thy estimation [06187] shall be of the male [02145] from twenty [06242] years [08141] old [01121] even unto sixty [08346] years [08141] old [01121], even thy estimation [06187] shall be fifty [02572] shekels [08255] of silver [03701], after the shekel [08255] of the sanctuary [06944].
⁴ And if it be a female [05347], then thy estimation [06187] shall be thirty [07970] shekels [08255].
⁵ And if it be from five [02568] years [08141] old [01121] even unto twenty [06242] years [08141] old [01121], then thy estimation [06187] shall be of the male [02145] twenty [06242] shekels [08255], and for the female [05347] ten [06235] shekels [08255].

³⁹ And it came to pass at the end [07093] of two [08147] months [02320], that she returned [07725] unto her father [01], who did [06213] with her according to his vow [05088] which he had vowed [05087]: and she knew [03045] no man [0376]. And it was a custom [02706] in Israel [03478],

¹⁴ And Jephthah [03316] sent [07971] messengers [04397] again [03254] unto the king [04428] of the children [01121] of Ammon [05983]:
¹⁵ And said [0559] unto him, Thus saith [0559] Jephthah [03316], Israel [03478] took not away [03947] the land [0776] of Moab [04124], nor the land [0776] of the children [01121] of Ammon [05983]:
¹⁶ But when Israel [03478] came up [05927] from Egypt [04714], and walked [03212] through the wilderness [04057] unto the Red [05488] sea [03220], and came [0935] to Kadesh [06946];
¹⁷ Then Israel [03478] sent [07971] messengers [04397] unto the king [04428] of Edom [0123], saying [0559], Let me, I pray thee, pass through [05674] thy land [0776]: but the king [04428] of Edom [0123] would not hearken [08085] thereto. And in like manner they sent [07971] unto the king [04428] of Moab [04124]: but he would [014] not consent: and Israel [03478] abode [03427] in Kadesh [06946].
¹⁸ Then they went along [03212] through the wilderness [04057], and compassed [05437] the land [0776] of Edom [0123], and the land [0776] of Moab [04124], and came [0935] by the east side [04217] [08121] of the land [0776] of Moab [04124], and pitched [02583] on the other side [05676] of Arnon [0769], but came [0935] not within the border [01366] of Moab [04124]: for Arnon [0769] was the border [01366] of Moab [04124].
¹⁹ And Israel [03478] sent [07971] messengers [04397] unto Sihon [05511] king [04428] of the Amorites [0567], the king [04428] of Heshbon [02809]; and Israel [03478] said [0559] unto him, Let us pass [05674], we pray thee, through thy land [0776] into [05704] my place [04725].
²⁰ But Sihon [05511] trusted [0539] not Israel [03478] to pass [05674] through his coast [01366]: but Sihon [05511] gathered [0622] all his people [05971] together [0622], and pitched [02583] in Jahaz [03096], and fought [03898] against Israel [03478].
²¹ And the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478] delivered [05414] Sihon [05511] and all his people [05971] into the hand [03027] of Israel [03478], and they smote [05221] them: so Israel [03478] possessed [03423] all the land [0776] of the Amorites [0567], the inhabitants [03427] of that country [0776].
²² And they possessed [03423] all the coasts [01366] of the Amorites [0567], from Arnon [0769] even unto Jabbok [02999], and from the wilderness [04057] even unto Jordan [03383].
²³ So now the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478] hath dispossessed [03423] the Amorites [0567] from before [06440] his people [05971] Israel [03478], and shouldest thou possess [03423] it?
²⁴ Wilt not thou possess [03423] that which Chemosh [03645] thy god [0430] giveth thee to possess [03423]? So whomsoever the LORD [03068] our God [0430] shall drive out [03423] from before [06440] us, them will we possess [03423].
²⁵ And now art thou any thing better [02896] than Balak [01111] the son [01121] of Zippor [06834], king [04428] of Moab [04124]? did he ever [07378] strive [07378] against Israel [03478], or did he ever [03898] fight [03898] against them,
²⁶ While Israel [03478] dwelt [03427] in Heshbon [02809] and her towns [01323], and in Aroer [06177] and her towns [01323], and in all the cities [05892] that be along by the coasts [03027] of Arnon [0769], three [07969] hundred [03967] years [08141]? why therefore did ye not recover [05337] them within that time [06256]?
²⁷ Wherefore I have not sinned [02398] against thee, but thou doest [06213] [0853] me wrong [07451] to war [03898] against me: the LORD [03068] the Judge [08199] be judge [08199] this day [03117] between the children [01121] of Israel [03478] and the children [01121] of Ammon [05983].