rality of Jewish and Christian interpreters', he offered her up for a burnt-offering: from which came that custom mentioned in the text, for the daughters of Ifrael to go yearly to lament Jepththah's daughter for four days in a years; or, according to others, he confecrated her to GOD, and condemned her to perpetual virginity; fo that thofe yearly vifits were paid to her, as compliments of condolence for it, as she was the daughter of an Ifraelitish judge (0) THIS t JOSEPH. antiq. 1. v. c. 9. Rabbin. fer. omn. Chald. paraph. JONATH. in loc. JUST. MART. AMBROS. de off. 1. iii. c. 12. HIERON. cont. Jovinian. lib. i. & alib. AUGUST. quæft. in Judic. xlix. CHRYS. homil. xiv. ad pop. Antioch. THEODORET. quæft. in Judic. xi. SERAR. SALIAN. GENEBRARD. CAJET. & al. mult. Vid. & LUD. CAPEL. & D. CALMET. differtat. de vot. Jeph. Judic. xi. ver. ult. t PAGNIN. ARR. MONTAN. TREMEL. MUNST. DRUS. GROT. N. DE LYR. & al. in loc. LE SCEN. effay on a new verf. S (0) It will be fcarcely doubted, that the fable of the facrifice of Iphigenia had its birth from this; especially if we remember, that the taking of Troy happened in Jephthah's time. There is indeed this difference, that fome of the wifer heathen authors, who relate it, have introduced the goddess Diana interpofing her felf, to prevent fo horrid a facrifice being offered to her; whilft the far greater part of the Jews, even Jofephus, Philo, and the Chaldee paraphraft, acknowlege Jephthah to have been fuffered by GoD, by the high-prieft, and the whole people, to offer the fruit of his own body, an innocent young virgin, an only child, and a dear and dutiful one, the fole object of h prefent comfort, and future hopes, in a burnt ch. 7. offering unto the LORD, who had fo often declared his utter abhorrence against all such abominations, and rejected the Canaanites upon that very account. However, as what has been urged on both fides of the question, is too copious to give our readers even a short abstract of it, we choose to refer them to thofe learned moderns who have written on that fubject (6), while we content ourselves with juftifying the latter fenfe, as far as the original will bear us out in it, in order to abfolve the Hebrew judge from fo horrid and unnatural a facrifice, when the text exprefly fays, that the Spirit of GoD came upon him about the time when he made this vow (7); rather than to fanfy, with fome of the fathers (8), that Go fuffered (6) Vid. Pagnin. Montan. Munft. Vatab. Druf, Grot. Cleric. De Lyr. Marian. Capel. Marham. Canon Egypt. fac. ix. §. 3. Saubert. de facrific. c. 21. Sobed. de diis German, lib. ii. Gal. mult. (8) Vid. int. al. Chryfoft. bomil. ad pop. Antioch xiv. doret qu. in Judic. xx. (7) Judg. ix. 29. Juftin. Mart. Theo. to him from another quarter. THIS dear-bought victory was like to have proved fat He was scarce returned t him to offer up his daughter in the ftriéteft fenfe, to deter men for the future from making any fuch rash vows. What has mifled all the antient fathers is, that the Septuagint and Vulgate render the words of Jephthah, Whatfoever cometh forth to meet me, in the mafculine; as if he had faid, whofoever, or what perfon foever, cometh forth; whereas the original is here undeterminate. Again, they did not know that the particle vau may be properly enough taken in the difjunétive fenfe, or, instead of The conjunétive, and. This is what fome judicious critics, both Jews and Chriftians, have fince clearly fhewn to be the right fignification, both here and elsewhere (9). So that Jephthab's words fhould be rendered, fall furely be the Lown's, or (not, and) I will offer it up for a burnt offering; that is, if it be an human creature, he or she fhall be confecrated to the service of GoD, as fome fort of Nazarenes were (10); or, if a beaft, it fhall be offered up for a burntoffering, if it be fit for it, or, if not, be exchanged for another that is fo. We think therefore, with the learned men above-quoted, that the words ought rather to have been rendered thus: Then the spirit of GoD came upon Jephthahand he woused a vow unto the h LORD, and faid, If thou shal without fail deliver the chil dren of Ammon into my hands it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house, to meet me, when I return in peace, shall furely be the LORD's, or I will offer is up for a burnt-offering And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to his house, and his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and dances, and she was his only child.- And, when he Saw her, he rent his cloaths, and said, Alas, my daughter ! thou haft brought me very low; thou art one of those that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. And he faid unto him, If thou hast opened thy mouth to the LORD, do to me according to thy vow- only, let this thing be done for me; let me go and bewail my virginity two months. -And it came to pafs at the end of two months, that fhe returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow, and he never knew man (that is, he continued a virgin). And it became a ftatute or cuftom in Ifrael, that the daughters of Ifrael came four days in the year, lethanoth, to condole or converfe with the daughter of Jephtha. Here then Jephthah's vow is taken in the first fenfe, shall be the LORD's; that is, the vowed thing proving to be (g, Vide of Daw. Kimchi, R. Levi, Ben Cerf. Solom. Ben Melech, (10) Vide fup. p. 55, & feqq. his his own houfe, when the turbulent Ephraimites furrounded it, and, in a tumultuous manner, threatened to set it on fire, and to burn him and all he had, for having dared to his only daughter, he confecrated her to the service of GOD. For this reafon it is והיא לא ידעה איש,added fides that the argument is much ftronger against their power of facrificing them to the flames, we find, that the children, when of age, might confent to the vow; and this feems to be the reason why the text adds, that fhe readily ratified it (42). But it is plain, moreover, that parents had a very great power to impofe fevere and grating laws, not only on their chil rity; as when the fon of Rechab forbad all his defcendents the drinking of wine, dwelling in houses, and the like (43). and she did not know man; that is, from that time to her death. For it would have been fuperfluous to have added that circumstance, if he had facrificed her as foon as she came from bewailing her virginity. As for the verb thanah, which fo many verfions render to be-dren, but also on their poftewail, were it capable of no other fignification, yet would it not imply the bewailing of her death, but her being condemned to perpetual virginity, which was reckoned one of the greatest misfortunes that could happen to an Ifraelitif maid. But it is plain, that it fignifies alfo to condole, to converfe with, to declare, or extol. In this laft fenfe, the reader will find it used in the fame book, chap. v.. ver. 11. where it is faid, that they jithanu, fhall rehearse or extol the righteous acts of the LORD. So that here the Ifraelitish maids might go, either to con dole her for being fecluded from man, or to extol her piety and conftancy in ratifying her father's vow. There are but two things objected against this fenfe of the text: the first is, that the Mofaic law did not allow parents a power to oblige their children to a fingle life. But, be The next thing that is objected is, that the grief which Jephthah expreffed at the fight of his daughter, feems to imply fome heavier fate, than a bare doom to perpetual virginity. But it ought to be remembred, that he thereby deprived an only child, and a dear one, of the greatest happiness of life; for fuch was marriage, efpecially when bleffed with children, esteemed in Ifrael; and himself of all hopes of any posterity. Where is then the wonder, that he fhould ufe fuch expreffions of grief, when his only child was condemned to fuch a reproachful and uncomfortable life, and himself excluded thereby from the profpect of having the MESSIAH to come of his feed (44) ? (42) Judg. xi. 36. Vid. & Num. xxx. pass. 6,& feq. (43) Vide Jerem, xxxv. (44) Vide Le Scene, & effay on a new verf, sb, 7. §. 9. Ibzan. Year of the flood 1166. Bef. Chr. 1182. engage the Ammonites, without fummoning them to arms Jephthah, who was of too rough a difpofition to foot their pride with a flattering fpeech, upbraided them with their bafeness, in not answering his fummons, and leaving him to bear the brunt of the enemy; which stung them fo to the quick, that they fcrupled not, in the height of their refentment, to call the Gileadites a kind of fpurious fugitives and mongrels, between Ephraim and Manaffeh. A bloody fight enfued, in which thofe of Ephraim were difcomfited with a great lofs; and the Gileadites, having feized the fords of fordan, fuffered none of thofe, who had escaped from the flaughter, to live (A). This JEPHTHAH Was fucceeded by Ibzan, whom the Jewish rabbies will have to be the fame with Boaz, who married Ruth the Moabitefs *, but without any foundation. was their tenth judge, a native of Bethlehem ; but whether that which belonged to the tribe of Zebulun, or that which belonged to that of Judah, is not certain. He is only recorded for his numerous pofterity, namely, thirty fons, and as many daughters, whom he lived to fee all married; fo that he had 120 fons and daughters, and fons and daughters-in-law, befides grandchildren. This was Ruth. iv. 8, & feq. Matth. i. 5. Vide MUNST. in Jud. xii. 8. Josh. xix. 15. (A) Their method was, to examine all that offered to cross that river, whether they were Ephraimites; which was eafily done, by making them pronounce the word &HIBBOLETH, which fignifies an ear of corn, and which thofe of that tribe were known to pronounce $IBBOLETH; fo that as many, as were caught by that fnare, were immediately knocked on the head; and this unhappy contention occafioned the lofs of 42,000 Ephraimites. As for Jephthah, we read no more of him, except that he judged Ifrael fix years; by which is only meant, that part of it which was on the other fide of (45) Judg. xii. 7. Jordan; and, that he was buried in (one of) the cities of Gilead (45). This has given birth to two Jewish fables, very oppofite to one another; the first is, that he was fmitten with a fore disease, as a punishment for his impious vow, which rotted all his limbs one after another; fo that there was hardly one city in the land of Gilead, in which he did not drop one of them. The other is, that the Gileadites, in memory of the great deliverance they obtained by him, diffected his body, that every city might have fome part to keep as a monument of it (46). (46) Vide Munft. in loc. looked looked upon as a great bleffing in Ifrael. He judged feven years, and was fucceeded by ELON, of the tribe of Zebulun, who judged Ifrael ten Elon. years a. He was buried in Aijalon, in his own tribe; and fucceeded by ABDON, who was the fon of Hillel, of the tribe of Abdon. Ephraim, and a native of Pirathon, in the mount of the Year of Amalekites, in the fame tribe; where he was buried, after the flood having judged Ifrael eight years. He is recorded for his 1183. numerous iffue, having left behind him forty fons, and Bef. Chrift thirty grandfons, who rode on as many affes colts, after, 1165. the manner of the great men in Ifrael (B). b THE fixth flavery began about the feventh month after Eli. Eli joined, in his own perfon, the dignity of judge to that of high-prieft c. He was of the family of Ithamar, the younger branch of Aaron's house; and the high-priefthood had been tranflated into it from the elder one of Eleazar (P). It is indeed furprifing, that the people fhould 2 Judg. xii. 8, & feq. a Ibid. ver. II. 7 b Ibid. ver. 13, 14. (B) We read of no flavery, war, or defection, during the life of those three last judges; because, perhaps, the fwords of Gideon and Jephthah had too much weakened their enemies, or that their own valour not only intimidated them, but also kept the Ifraelites from running into thofe idolatries, which were attended with the lofs of peace and liberty. The latter feems indeed the most probable, becaufe we find, that, after the death of the laft of thefe, they relapsed, and fuffered an heavy yoke for forty years under the Philiftines (1). (P) This thraldom is computed by the chronologers cited (1) Judg. xiii. 1. (3) x Chron. vi. 4, 5• 50. above, not to have ended till We have already spoken, in (2) See before, vol. iii. p. 71, & not. (R). (4) Antiq. l. v. c. ult, Abiezer, |