Righteous Old Testament

Righteous Jephthah

Also known as Jephthah the Gileadite

A judge of Israel who delivered his people from the Ammonites.

Feast Day

December 14

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Commemorated as

The Righteous Jephthah the Gileadite, Judge of Israel

Life

Jephthah was one of the judges who led the people of Israel in the period before the monarchy, remembered in the Book of Judges as the deliverer who freed his people from the Ammonites. A Gileadite of disputed standing, he rose from exile to military leadership and afterward governed Israel for six years. The Eastern Orthodox Church numbers him among the Holy Forefathers, the Old Testament ancestors and righteous figures who lived before and under the Law and prepared the way for the coming of Christ.

His story is among the most difficult in the historical books of the Old Testament, joining a decisive victory over Israel's enemies to the tragic consequences of a rash vow. Despite the troubling episode of that vow, the New Testament names him in the Epistle to the Hebrews among those commended for their faith.

In his own words Read Hide

The LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.

Judges, 11:27 · King James Version (PD)

Timeline 5 moments Read Hide

Early life Driven from his father's house According to the Book of Judges, Jephthah was a Gileadite, son of Gilead by a woman who was a harlot. Because of his birth, the other sons of Gilead drove him out so that he would have no inheritance, and he fled to the land of Tob, east of Gilead, where a band of men gathered around him.
Conflict with Ammon Called to lead Israel When the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead came to Tob and asked Jephthah to be their commander, promising that he would remain their head if he prevailed. He first sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites contesting their claim to the land east of the Jordan, but the king would not listen.
The vow and the victory Deliverance from the Ammonites Before the battle Jephthah vowed that whatever first came out of the doors of his house to meet him on his return would be offered to the Lord. He defeated the Ammonites in a great slaughter, but on his return his only child, a daughter, came out to greet him; the biblical account relates that, bound by his vow, he did with her according to what he had sworn, after she had spent two months mourning in the mountains.
After the war Conflict with the Ephraimites The tribe of Ephraim quarreled with Jephthah for not summoning them to the campaign. In the fighting that followed, the Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan and identified fleeing Ephraimites by their inability to pronounce the word "Shibboleth," saying "Sibboleth" instead; a great number of Ephraimites fell.
Death Repose after judging Israel Jephthah judged Israel for six years, then died and was buried in his native Gilead.

Contributions & Legacy

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Among the Holy Forefathers

The Orthodox Church commemorates Jephthah among the Holy Forefathers, the righteous men and women of the Old Testament who are honored on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, kept on the second Sunday before the Nativity of Christ. This commemoration gathers the patriarchs, prophets, and judges who lived before and under the Law, recalling their place in the line of salvation history that leads to the Incarnation.

Alongside other judges of Israel such as Joshua, Deborah, Gideon, and Samson, Jephthah is remembered for the deliverance he brought to his people. The Epistle to the Hebrews lists him among the faithful who, through trust in God, subdued kingdoms and worked deeds of righteousness, placing his name beside those of Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, and Samuel.

Notes

Among the Holy Forefathers, commemorated on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints