What's that funny Watchtower quote again? "Everyone knows there are errors in the Bible" or something like that. I can't find it.
Jephthah's Daughter
by cantleave 88 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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EverApostate
A god who kills all the first born of a nation, because the King never listened to him
A god who wipes out tribe after tribe for silly reasons.
A god who commands "stoning to death" of a poor guy who picks up sticks on the Sabbath
A God who Kills 70K people because David took a census
A god who allowed his own son to be tortured and Killed in a Gory way.
Why wont the same God accept a Human Burnt Offering ?.
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dubstepped
Why is God so stupid that he can't inspire books to be written that mean what he really means? It requires mental gymnastics to get to anything but the conclusion that Jephthah murdered his daughter. God sure is a poor communicator if he meant anything else while inspiring this writing and subsequent translations.
I remember the horror of reading the account without apologist glasses on for the first time. Wow.
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moomanchu
Completely forgot about this story.
Reading about it again without Watchtower blinders on is funny because I'm still unlearning JW programming.
It isn't difficult for me to believe now that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter. It was happening all the time back then.That's why Jehovah gave laws against it and why the prophets were constantly condemning Israel for doing it. Seems like It was all the rage back then. It was so pervasive back then that 2 of Israel's kings Ahaz and Mannaseh tried it out. They killed their kids about 600 years later after the whole Jephthah blunder. Imagine the shit going on with the common Israelite grunts for 100's of years in between the Judges period and Israel's last king..
Deut 18:10-12
Lev 18:21
Jer.7:31 Ezk 20:31
Nothing like a good ole Watchtower whitewashing!
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TonusOH
EverApostate: A god who kills all the first born of a nation, because the King never listened to him
Even worse: the god prevented the king from agreeing to his demands, thus justifying the continued punishments... including the deaths of all the firstborn. The old testament is truly a work of its time.
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dropoffyourkeylee
It's clear to me that it is a case of human sacrifice. I'm not sure if anyone else besides the WT has tried to whitewash it; I expect the WT picked it up from someplace.
It's interesting that the story made it's way into the Hebrew text. One Bible dictionary which I have on my shelf (Hasting's) suggests it has mythic roots connected to 'weeping over Tammuz'.
edited to add: Oldtime JWs were particularly fond of the story because it was the subject of the first-ever Bible Drama at a summer convention, probably about 1960 or so. They used to gush over telling the story of the first Drama back when I was a kid.
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blondie
The WTS interpretation of this story, is not the only way Christian religions interpret it. Four ways: 1. Perpetual Virgin: Many Christians believe Jephthah's vow was to dedicate his daughter as a perpetual virgin, a lifelong service to the Lord. 2. Literal Sacrifice: Some interpretations suggest that Jephthah did kill his daughter as part of his vow, but this is less widely accepted 3. Symbolic Dedication: Many scholars and theologians believe that Jephthah's vow was a symbolic act of dedication, not a literal sacrifice 4. Other Interpretations: Some see the story as a cautionary tale about the dangers of rash vows and the importance of careful consideration before making promise
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Ron.W.
Thank you Blondie.👍
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moomanchu
Why would the Israelite women commemorate 4 days every year if it was not what it actually says it was? He killed her and then burned her it was done alot during that time period.
"The Lament of Jephthah's Daughter"
30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.”
36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”
38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite tradition 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
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moomanchu
AI says it . It has to be true. lol
AI Overview+1Jews remember "The Lament of Jephthah's Daughter" on the day that Jephthah fulfilled his vow in the month of Tevet. This lament is part of an ancient custom where the daughters of Israel were said to weep for four days each year in memory of Jephthah's daughter. The specific day within Tevet is the day Jephthah fulfilled his vow, and during this period, the water would turn to blood.