Today started out with a mighty, Gileadite warrior named Jephthah. Gilead was his father, and his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife also bore sons, and when they were all grown up, Jephthah’s step-brother’s drove him away so he didn’t get any part of their father’s inheritance because he had a different mother.
After Jephthah fled from his brothers, he settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and started following him. Some time later when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders went to get Jephthah to be the commander and fight the Ammonites.
Jephthah answered the elders by saying, “You hated me and drove me away, why would you come to me for help now that you’re in trouble?” The elders responded by basically saying, “Don’t worry about that, we’re coming to you now.”
Jephthah didn’t believe them that if he went with and defeated the Ammonites, that the elders would really put him as the head. They assured him, “as the Lord is our witness” they would do as he said.
So Jephthah went with them and became the head and commander over the people. He sent a messenger to the Ammonite king asking what his problem was with Israel to make him attack them.
He was mad because when Israel was brought out of Egypt they apparently took land that should’ve been his. Jephthah responded with a retelling of the history of Israel’s travels when they left Egypt, and how they requested passage through different lands. Except most of the leaders would not grant them passage, so the Lord gave those people into their hands and defeated them and took it anyway. However, the king paid no attention to the message.
Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he made a vow to him that whatever came out of the door of his house to meet him when he returned from war, he would sacrifice to the Lord as a burnt offering.
Jephthah went to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns. When he returned home, who should come out to meet him, but his daughter!
She was an only child, and was so excited to see him she was dancing. He was miserable knowing what he had vowed to the Lord. He told her of his vow and she said that he must do what he had promised to the Lord. But first, she asked for two months to roam the hills with her friends and weep for her virginity because now she would never marry.
After the two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. From this, comes the Israelite custom (probably a local custom since there is no other mention of this) that each year the young women of Israel would go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Then, the men of Ephraim came to Jephthah and asked him why he didn’t call them when he fought the Ammonites. Because of this, they were going to burn his house down over his head.
Jephthah answered by saying he had called them and they refused to help. When he saw that they wouldn’t help, he took his life in his hands and went to fight them alone; and the Lord gave him victory over them. He asked them why they were there to fight him now.
Then, Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because they said, “You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Mannasseh.”
The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. When any of the fugitives of Ephraim asked to cross over they would ask them if they were an Ephraimite. When one said, “no” they asked him to say Shibboleth, but he said Sibboleth for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.
Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then he died and was buried in his city in Gilead.
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and brought in thirty young women from outside his clan for his sons to marry. Ibzan judged Israel for seven years. Then he died and was buried in Bethlehem.
After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel for ten years. Then he died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite led Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years. Then he died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim.
Again the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
There was a man named Manoah of the tribe of the Danites who had no children because his wife was barren. The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said even though you are barren and have no children, you shall conceive and bear a son.
The angel told her to be careful and drink no wine or strong drink or eat anything unclean. She was to conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child would be a Nazirite (separated or dedicated) to God from the womb, and he would begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
Then she went and told her husband all that had happened and how she had a visit from the angel of God. Then Manoah prayed to the Lord asking the man of God to return and teach them what they were to do with the child who would be born. God listened, and the angel returned to the woman while she was sitting in a field. She went quickly to get her husband.
Manoah asked the man what the child’s manner of life would be, and what his mission was. He responded by only repeating how he had told the woman to be careful with eating and drinking.
They asked the man what his name was, so when his words came true they would be able to honor him. He did not answer, for it was beyond understanding. They made a burnt offering to the Lord, and when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up with it. The angel of the Lord did not appear to them again.
The woman bore a son and called his name Samson. The young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the spirit of the Lord began to stir him.