“Now Yiftach the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of
a harlot; and Gilead begot Yiftach.”
Abravanel’s questions on this chapter center on two subjects: Yiftach’s preliminary
diplomatic talks with Ammon and Yiftach’s vow. In this essay, we’ll focus on the judge’s vow,
one that he uttered on the eve of the Hebrews war with Ammon. It resulted when diplomacy
failed.
But, first, Abravanel looks at Yiftach, the ninth Hebrew judge, especially in the context of the
family of origin’s dynamics. “Gilead begot Yiftach.” Even though the future judge’s mom was
a slattern, the verse positively identifies Gilead as Yiftach’s dad. After Gilead’s dalliance with
a trollop, he settled down and married. “And Gilead's wife bore him sons”. Abravanel deduces
from the verses’ sequence that Yiftach was the oldest son. In time, his younger brothers
schemed to banish him. “And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove out Yiftach, and said
unto him: You shall not inherit in our father's house for you are the son of another woman.”
Notwithstanding the younger brothers’ harsh words and deed, Jewish law, says Abravanel, begs
to differ. That is, even though Yiftach was born of a harlot, and even though the marriage
lacked proper chuppah and marriage contract, still and all, Yiftach was entitled to inherit
from his father’s estate.
But integrity didn’t seem to be the boys’ strong suit. They ousted their oldest brother. “Then
Yiftach fled from his brethren” implies that he felt threatened. Strong-arm tactics forced
Yiftach to run for his life. The next section of our chapter recounts how Ammon threatened
Israel and as a result a contingency sought out Yiftach, in order to apologize and patch old
hurts. Of course, the main motivation for making family peace was less than altruistic. The
Hebrews felt Yiftach was the best man to restore peace in the region. After all, “Yiftach the
Gileadite was a mighty man of valor.”
As stated, Abravanel stresses the chapter’s concluding verses pertaining to Yiftach’s vow on
the eve of hostilities with Ammon, and the aftermath of the battle. “And it came to pass after a
while, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel…Then the spirit of the LORD came
upon Yiftach, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead,
and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.”
Prior to the surprise attack on Ammon, Yiftach made a compact with God. ”And Yiftach
vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said: If You will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my
hand, then it shall be, that whatsoever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when
I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a
burnt-offering.”
Yiftach’s war efforts against Ammon went swimmingly well. “So Yiftach passed over unto
the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hand.”
Après-guerre, a triumphant commander came home. “And Yiftach came to Mizpah unto his
house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she
was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.”
Yiftach’s vow came back to haunt him. “And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent
his clothes, and said: Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you have become
my troubler; for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.” Vows to God,
of course, are serious business. What transpired next for Yiftach’s ill-starred daughter? Did he
offer her on a sacrificial altar?
Abravanel provides a straightforward approach. In fulfilment of his vow, Yiftach dedicated his
daughter to the One Above. It means that he foreswore her to marry, or for that matter even to
socialize. Instead, he moved her to a secluded house to live by herself, never to enjoy company,
let alone get married. Secluded, she lived out the rest of her days. Only her friends would visit
sparingly to speak with her from outside her abode, “to lament the daughter of Yiftach the
Gileadite four days in a year.”
Abravanel adds a titillating tidbit to the story. Namely, he puts forth that Christians took
inspiration from Yiftach’s daughter’s deprivations, and modelled convents upon them. Nuns
entered the cloister, a residence from which they lived out their days.