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The [[Bible]] does ''not'' say that his daughter died. It says that she had no relations with any man, and that the women of Israel established a custom (probably not observed today) to commemorate the sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter for four days in every year. ({{Bible ref|book=Judges|chap=11|verses=34-40}})

The [[Bible]] does ''not'' say that his daughter died. It says that she had no relations with any man, and that the women of Israel established a custom (probably not observed today) to commemorate the sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter for four days in every year. ({{Bible ref|book=Judges|chap=11|verses=34-40}})

The exact nature of Jephthah's vow has been in sharp dispute for years.<ref name=Konig>Konig G, "[http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p258.htm Jephthah]," AboutBibleProphecy.com, 2001. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref> Some commentators interpret Jephthah's offer of a "burnt offering" literally, and infer that Jephthah offered his own daughter as a human sacrifice.<ref name=ltb>"[http://www.learnthebible.org/L-087_jephthah_vow.htm Jephthah and his vow]," LearnTheBible.org, n.d. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref><ref name=Hirsch>Hirsch EG, Seligsohn M, Schechter S, and Barton GA, "[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=222&letter=J Jephthah]," ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'', n.d. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref><ref name=Schenk>Schenk CE, "[http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T4959 Entry for Jephthah].", ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,'' James Orr, MA, DD, gen. ed., 1915. Accessed December 19, 2008</ref><ref name=Bratcher>Bratcher D, "[http://www.cresourcei.org/jephthah.html Jephthah's Rash Vow]," CRI/Voice, n.d. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref> Other commentators state positively that no such sacrifice could possibly have been in view, because God would never approve of such a sacrifice. Instead, the sacrifice was not of life, but of ''marriage and childbirth''. The consequence of the vow, then, was not that Jephthah's daughter should die, but that she should dedicate her life fully to God and remain a virgin.<ref name=Miller>Miller D, "[http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2320 Jephthah's Daughter]." Apologetics Press, 2003. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref><ref name=Holding>Holding JP, "[http://www.tektonics.org/gk/jepthah.html Jephthah and Daughter: Bad News for the Firstborn]?" Apologetics Ministries, n.d. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref><ref name=Morris>Morris HM, "[http://www.icr.org/article/3808/ Jephthah's Daughter]," Institute for Creation Research, June 2008. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref> Monks and nuns do this today, and the Apostle [[Paul]] encouraged all who could, to do likewise. ({{Bible ref|book=1_Corinthians|chap=7|verses=6-9}}; see also {{Bible ref|book=Romans|chap=12|verses=1}})

The exact nature of Jephthah's vow has been in sharp dispute for years.<ref name=Konig>Konig G, "[http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p258.htm Jephthah]," AboutBibleProphecy.com, 2001. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref> Some commentators interpret Jephthah's offer of a "burnt offering" literally, and infer that Jephthah offered his own daughter as a human sacrifice.<ref name=ltb>"[http://www.learnthebible.org/L-087_jephthah_vow.htm Jephthah and his vow]," LearnTheBible.org, n.d. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref><ref name=Hirsch>Hirsch EG, Seligsohn M, Schechter S, and Barton GA, "[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=222&letter=J Jephthah]," ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'', n.d. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref><ref name=Schenk>Schenk CE, "[http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T4959 Entry for Jephthah].", ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,'' James Orr, MA, DD, gen. ed., 1915. Accessed December 19, 2008</ref><ref name=Bratcher>Bratcher D, "[http://www.cresourcei.org/jephthah.html Jephthah's Rash Vow]," CRI/Voice, n.d. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref> Other commentators state positively that no such sacrifice could possibly have been in view, because God would never approve of such a sacrifice. Instead, the sacrifice was not of life, but of ''marriage and childbirth''. The consequence of the vow, then, was not that Jephthah's daughter should die, but that she should dedicate her life fully to God and remain a virgin.<ref name=Miller>Miller D, "[http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2320 Jephthah's Daughter]." Apologetics Press, 2003. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref><ref name=Holding>Holding JP, "[http://www.tektonics.org/gk/jepthah.html Jephthah and Daughter: Bad News for the Firstborn]?" Apologetics Ministries, n.d. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref><ref name=Morris>Morris HM, "[https://www.icr.org/article/3808/ Jephthah's Daughter]," Institute for Creation Research, June 2008. Accessed December 19, 2008.</ref> Monks and nuns do this today, and the Apostle [[Paul]] encouraged all who could, to do likewise. ({{Bible ref|book=1_Corinthians|chap=7|verses=6-9}}; see also {{Bible ref|book=Romans|chap=12|verses=1}})

== The Ephraimite War ==

== The Ephraimite War ==