Tag Archives: vow

Jephthah was the eighth legitimate judge of Israel. Whereas Gideon was a frightened man hiding near a grape press when God called him, Jephthah was a “mighty man of valor” who overcame great obstacles in his life.

Jephthah Did Not Let Abuse Define His Life

Judges 11:1-2 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.

The name “Jephthah” (Hebrew yip̄tāḥ, pronounced yif-tawkh’) means “he opens”. He is called “Jephthah the Gileadite” because his daddy was Gilead, a branch of the Tribe of Manasseh. The two half tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh together formed the HOUSE of Joseph (of the coat of many colors, the young man sold into Egyptian slavery by his brothers). Joseph would grow up – despite all the adversity in his family – to be second hand to the King of Egypt, and the savior of Israel. … Continue reading →