The other day, after grading a set of Intro to Old Testament Studies papers, I posted on Facebook, “It’s a good day when you learn new things about how to read well known texts from your students.” This post by ESR M.Div. Access student Nikki Holland is one of the papers I learned from. The assignment was to write about what you would say about one of the women from Joshua and Judges for an adult Bible Study group. Nikki chose to write on Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11:29-40). I invite you to read what Nikki’s response. I hope you find it as illuminating as I did.
From the surface, the story in Judges 11:29-40 seems foreign and weird to us. A man makes a foolish vow and keeps it, though it results in the death of his daughter; and what is maybe more astonishing, she participates. But with a close examination of this story, we can see several themes that echo through our lives today.
- Nancy R. Bowen (Professor of Old Testament)
From the surface, the story in Judges 11:29-40 seems foreign and weird to us. A man makes a foolish vow and keeps it, though it results in the death of his daughter; and what is maybe more astonishing, she participates. But with a close examination of this story, we can see several themes that echo through our lives today.
1) Victim blaming
Upon realizing that he has vowed to
sacrifice his own daughter (hereafter called “Daughter”), Jephthah lays the
blame immediately on her head. “You have brought me very low,” he says. “You
have become the cause of great trouble to me” (Judges 11:35). He explains that
he has made a vow, but the emphasis is on her culpability. Never mind that he
made a foolish vow and she was simply fulfilling her role as a faithful
daughter in celebrating his victory.[1] Jephthah
deflects blame from himself onto Daughter. I hear echoes of his words in my own
generation, “Look what you made me do…” and “Well, you shouldn’t have been in
that place anyways."
