The Story of Jeptach

Once upon a time there was a tribe, they were called the Israelites and they worshiped a mighty God.

The israelites sinned and disobeyed their lord by worshiping other idols and not following his laws. Their lord grew furious and felt cheated so He sold them to the hand of their enemies, the ammonites. They knew that once they were in the hand of the ammonites, their freedom would be taken from them, and if they did not have a plan, they would be lost as a nation…

They needed a hero, someone who was smart, who thought ahead of time, was a strong personality and knew how to take power. That hero would be Jeftach…

Jeftach was not your ordinary hero. He was the the son of a man from the tribe of Gan, his mother was described as a prostitute and as a result his birth was seen as illegitimate. For his whole life he was seen by everyone as lesser, because of the status of his mother. Although, the ones who resented him the most were his brothers, whom were not born from a prostitute, and of so they drove him away and he dwelled in the land of Tob, a land far away from his home. He left the tribe of the Israelites, and believed that he would never hear from them again.

The ammonites were liars and they valued their land very much. Their king was Nahash, he was ruthless and cruel, and he wasn’t afraid to punish someone for their sins. They harassed the jews by making sure none of the Israelites were allowed to enter their land, so when God sold them into the hands of the ammonites, they treated them poorly and made their life difficult…

The Israelites could not stand for it anymore, a war was brewing and the Israelites new they had to be ready. Thus came a group of elder men from the land of Gilead, and they went to Jeftach and forced him out of the land of Tob. They spoke to Jeftach about what had happened to the Jewish people, the war that was coming against the ammonites and how they needed his help as their leader.

Jeptach was a smart man, he knew that he could not just accept this rule right away, not without knowing that it was worth it. He was one who sought for power, although it doesn’t look this way, he did. When he was approached by the elders he turned down the role and decided to wait in order to get a role that would promise him a higher position of power in the future. Showing how he thought about himself and his power and where his role can take him, how one day he wants to have power. He makes sure that before he makes any decisions he knows what he’s getting himself into. So, Jeptach waited until he knew his role would lead him to greater power. He was a smart leader, and he let the rivalry between the Israelites and the Ammonites brew until a full blown war blew out. Once it did, Jeptach led the Israelites and their army to battle and he was successful, leading him to become the permanent chieftain.

Jeptach, filled with righteousness, and being a God fearing man, made an oath to God, that whoever or whatever that comes to him to meet him after he is at peace with the ammonites he will sacrifice to the lord…

Jeptach was a good and loyal leader and always did what was right, he played by the rules and kept his word whenever he made a promise. Once the Israelites were at peace with the Ammonites after their battle was won, the Israelites returned to their home and were finally at ease. Or were they…

God did not forget about the Oath that Jeptach made, and he wanted to test him as a leader and see if he was truly worthy to hold such a high position. So God sent someone to come through and meet Jeptach, but it wasn’t just anyone, it was Jeptach’s daughter!

Put in the worst position a father could be in, Jeptach had to make a decision, to obey God and be the man he is and keep his oath, or slay his daughter. Being the leader and man he is, Jeptach keeps the oath he made to God and he decides to slay his daughter, showing that his true loyalty and commitment lies in his oath. Although he was never a vicious man, and it killed him to have to do something like this, so Jeptach gave his daughter two months. Two months to prepare for her death.

It took everything out of Jeptach to do what he did to his daughter, although he is a man of his word, a loyal man who keeps his promises. So, Jeptach did what he had promised and he killed his daughter, and year after year, all the daughters of Israel would go four times in the year to honour the life of Jeptach’s daughter.

Jeptach was a righteous judge in the bible. We see that when we compare him to other judges, for example the judge Samson. Samson was very different from Jeptach, although they did have slight similarities. Samson was born from God, who allowed his mother to be pregnant with him if he were to be a Nazir. Although, regardless of the incredible position Samson was given, he did not appreciate it like others would. He was not like Jeptach and did not find the power as attractive as he found his women, of all nationalities. Samson followed the rules of a Nazir, although he never acted as a true, typical Nazir for the people of Israel. He married a non Jewish women, he was a womanizer, he was not your typical judge. Although he was a good man and moral man very much like Jephtach was. Jeptach was loyal, good, pure, smart, and moral. Even put in the worst possible decision, he chose to abide by his word, especially his word made to god. Although Jephtach was greater than Samson, even though at times he was for himself he was also for the people of Israel and he feared his god. We see that Jephtach was also a greater leader than Samson was

and even though he did care for himself he also made sure that the fate of the Jewish people was hopeful because of Jephtach’s moral values.