person
Jephthah
יִפְתָּחἸεφθάε
Jephthah was a judge of Israel who delivered the Israelites from the Ammonites but made a tragic vow that resulted in the sacrifice of his daughter.
- verses
- 26
- first named
- Judges 11:1
- last named
- Hebrews 11:32
- period
- before Israel's Monarchy
- role
- Judge
Description
Who was Jephthah?
Jephthah was a judge of Israel during the period between the conquest of Canaan and the establishment of the monarchy. He was the son of Gilead and a prostitute, and his half-brothers drove him away from the family inheritance. Jephthah fled to the land of Tob, where he gathered a group of warriors around him. When the Ammonites attacked Israel, the elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to lead them in battle, promising him leadership if he succeeded. Jephthah made a vow to God, pledging to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house to meet him if he were victorious. Jephthah defeated the Ammonites, but tragically, his daughter was the first to greet him upon his return. Jephthah fulfilled his vow, and his daughter willingly submitted to her fate. Jephthah judged Israel for six years before his death. His story highlights the importance of making wise vows and the consequences of rash decisions. Despite his tragic vow, Jephthah is commended in the New Testament for his faith and is listed among the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The 10 best-attested of 16 are drawn. All 16 are listed below.
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 26, across 3 books. The name is written 30 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
- Judges 11Jephthah was expelled by his brothers, recalled by the elders, made leader, negotiated with Ammon, won the war, and fulfilled his vow.
- Judges 12Jephthah answered Ephraim, fought against it with Gilead, judged Israel six years, and was buried in Gilead.
- 1 Samuel 12Jephthah was sent by the LORD to deliver Israel from its enemies.
Sources