Judges 11:39
New International Version
After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite tradition

New Living Translation
When she returned home, her father kept the vow he had made, and she died a virgin. So it has become a custom in Israel

English Standard Version
And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel

Berean Standard Bible
After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel

King James Bible
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

New King James Version
And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel

New American Standard Bible
And at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her what he had vowed; and she had no relations with a man. And it became a custom in Israel,

NASB 1995
At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel,

NASB 1977
And it came about at the end of two months that she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel,

Legacy Standard Bible
And it happened at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she did not know a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel,

Amplified Bible
At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her as he had vowed; and she had no relations with a man. It became a custom in Israel,

Christian Standard Bible
At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he kept the vow he had made about her. And she had never been intimate with a man. Now it became a custom in Israel

Holman Christian Standard Bible
At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he kept the vow he had made about her. And she had never been intimate with a man. Now it became a custom in Israel

American Standard Version
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew not man. And it was a custom in Israel,

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And after two months she came to her father, and he did to her according to the vow that he vowed, and she had not known a man sexually, and there was a pledge for her among the children of Israel

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it came to pass at the end of the two months that she returned to her father; and he performed upon her his vow which he vowed; and she knew no man:

Contemporary English Version
Then she went back to her father. He did what he had promised, and she never got married. That's why

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the two months being expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom has been kept:

English Revised Version
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she had not known man. And it was a custom in Israel,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
At the end of those two months she came back to her father. He did to her what he had vowed, and she never had a husband. So the custom began in Israel

Good News Translation
After two months she came back to her father. He did what he had promised the LORD, and she died still a virgin. This was the origin of the custom in Israel

International Standard Version
Later, after the two months were concluded, she returned to her father, and he fulfilled what he had solemnly vowed—and she never married. That's how the custom arose in Israel

JPS Tanakh 1917
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed; and she had not known man. And it was a custom in Israel,

Literal Standard Version
and it comes to pass at the end of two months that she turns back to her father, and he does to her his vow which he has vowed, and she did not know a man; and it is a statute in Israel:

Majority Standard Bible
After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel

New American Bible
At the end of the two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She had not had relations with any man. It became a custom in Israel

NET Bible
After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel.

New Revised Standard Version
At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that

New Heart English Bible
It happened at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to what he had vowed. And she was a virgin. It became a custom in Israel,

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

World English Bible
At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed. She was a virgin. It became a custom in Israel

Young's Literal Translation
and it cometh to pass at the end of two months that she turneth back unto her father, and he doth to her his vow which he hath vowed, and she knew not a man; and it is a statute in Israel:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jephthah's Tragic Vow
38“Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains. 39 After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.…

Cross References
Judges 11:38
"Go," he said. And he sent her away for two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains.

Judges 11:40
that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.


Treasury of Scripture

And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

did with.

Leviticus 27:4
And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.

Judges 11:31
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.

Leviticus 27:28,29
Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD…

Deuteronomy 12:31
Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

custom, or ordinance.

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Custom End Israel Israelite Months Oath Relations Statute Touched Turneth Virgin Vow Vowed
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Custom End Israel Israelite Months Oath Relations Statute Touched Turneth Virgin Vow Vowed
Judges 11
1. The covenant between Jephthah and the Gileadites, that he should lead
12. The treaty of peace between him and the Ammonites is in vain
29. Jephthah's vow
32. His conquest of the Ammonites
34. He performs his vow on his daughter.














(39) Who did with her according to his vow.--In this significant euphemism the narrator drops the veil--as though with a shudder--over the terrible sacrifice. Of course, "did with her according to his vow" can only mean "offered her up for a burnt offering" (Judges 11:31). "Some," says Luther, "affirm that he did not sacrifice her; but the text is clear enough." The attempt, first started by Rabbi Kimchi, to make this mean "kept her unmarried until death"--i.e., shut her up in a sacred celibacy--is a mere sophistication of plain Scripture. That he did actually slay her in accordance with his cherem is clear, not only from the plain words, but also for the following reasons:--(1) The customs of that day knew nothing about treating women as "nuns." If there had been any institution of vestals among the Jews we should without fail have heard of it, nor would the fate of Jephthah's daughter been here regarded and represented as exceptionally tragic. (2) There are decisive Scriptural analogies to Jephthah's vow, taken in its most literal sense--Abraham (Genesis 23:3), Saul (1Samuel 14:44), &c. (See on Judges 11:31.) (3) There are decisive Pagan analogies, both Oriental (2Kings 3:27; Amos 2:1) and classical. Thus Idomeneus actually sacrificed his eldest son (Serv. ad 'n. iii. 331) in an exactly similar vow, and Agamemnon his daughter Iphigenia. (4) The ancient Jews, who were far better acquainted than we can be with the thoughts and customs of their race and the meaning of their own language, have always understood that Jephthah did literally offer his daughter as "a burnt offering." The Targum of Jonathan adds to the words "it was a custom in Israel" the explanation, "in order that no one should make his son or his daughter a burnt offering, as Jephthah did, and did not consult Phinehas the priest. Had he done so, he would have redeemed her with money"--i.e., Phinehas would have decided that it was less crime to redeem such a cherem than to offer a human sacrifice. It is curious to find that another legend (hagadah) connects Phinehas with this event in a very different way. It says that Phinehas sanctioned, and even performed the sacrifice, and that for this very reason he was superseded by the indignation of the Israelites, which is the reason they offer for the fact that Eli was of the house, not of Phmehas, but of Ithamar (Lightfoot, Works, i. 12-18). In the same way Idomeneus, after sacrificing his eldest son, is punished by the gods with plague and by his citizens with banishment. Josephus agrees with these Jewish authorities, and says that Jephthah offered (holokautosen) his daughter (see on Judges 11:31); and so does Rabbi Tanchum. The opinion was undisputed till a thousand years after Christ, when Rabbi Kimchi invented the plausible hypothesis which has pleased so many commentators who carry their own notions to the Bible ready made, and then find them there. Ewald contents himself with saying that this "timid modern notion needs no refutation." It is remarkable that we find a similar vow as late as the sixth century after Christ. Abd Almuttalib, grandfather of Mohammed, vows to kill his son Abd Allah if God will give him ten sons. He had twelve sons; but when he wishes to perform his vow the Koreish interfere, and Abd Almuttalib, at the bidding of a priestess, gives one hundred camels as a ransom (Weil, Mohammed, p. 8). . . . Verse 39. - Who did with her according to his vow. Nothing can be more express than this statement. In fact, except the natural horror we feel at a human sacrifice, there is nothing to cast the least shade of doubt upon the fact that Jephthah's daughter was offered up as a burnt offering, in accordance with heathen notions, but, as Josephus says, neither "conformably to the law, nor acceptably to God." Most of the early Jewish commentators and all the Christian Fathers for ten or eleven centuries (Origen, Chrysostom, Theo-doret, Jerome, Augustine, etc.) held this view. Luther's comment is, "Some affirm that he did not sacrifice her, but the text is clear enough." She knew. Rather, she had known.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
After
מִקֵּ֣ץ ׀ (miq·qêṣ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7093: An extremity, after

two
שְׁנַ֣יִם (šə·na·yim)
Number - md
Strong's 8147: Two (a cardinal number)

months,
חֳדָשִׁ֗ים (ḥo·ḏā·šîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2320: The new moon, a month

she returned
וַתָּ֙שָׁב֙ (wat·tā·šāḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

her father,
אָבִ֔יהָ (’ā·ḇî·hā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 1: Father

and he did
וַיַּ֣עַשׂ (way·ya·‘aś)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

to her
לָ֔הּ (lāh)
Preposition | third person feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew

as he had vowed.
נָדָ֑ר (nā·ḏār)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5087: To promise

And she
וְהִיא֙ (wə·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

had never
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

had relations
יָדְעָ֣ה (yā·ḏə·‘āh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3045: To know

with a man.
אִ֔ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

So it has become
וַתְּהִי־ (wat·tə·hî-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

a custom
חֹ֖ק (ḥōq)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2706: Something prescribed or owed, a statute

in Israel
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (bə·yiś·rā·’êl)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc


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OT History: Judges 11:39 It happened at the end of two (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 11:38
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