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Article JEPHTHAH'S VOW CONSIDERED. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Jephthah's Vow Considered.
and I apprehend that the character of the Review will be raised when its pages are found teeming with biblical inquiry . This is an object desirable for any periodical , and with this view , joined with an ardent hope that others will contribute from their stores to advance its excellence and promote its success , I have ventured to submit the following observations to the Brethren of the Order , and through them to the uninitiated , who , seeing by what our Review is occupied , may be induced to look in different li
on us a ght from that they have hitherto regarded us in . Before we proceed to investi gate the question , it is necessary that we should consider the history of the circumstances preceding the event as there are points materially affecting the question which do not appear to the observer who looks simply at the point in dispute . In the authorized English version , a statement of Jephthah ' s history precedes the narration of the vow , and its attendant circumstances , which we have condensed as follows : —
1 st . Jephthah was the illegitimate son of Gilead , and was " a mighty man of valour . " ° 2 nd . From his illegitimacy , combined with envy at some exhibition of his superiority in talents , he was expelled his father ' s home ; he fled to the land of Job , where he became chief over a band characterized as vain men . 3 rd . Being pressed by the children of Ammonthe elders of Gilead
, well knowing his valour ancl ability , besought Jephthah to return and assist them to expel their oppressors , which he consented to do , after he had reproved them for their conduct in driving him from his home and obtained from them an acknowled gment that it was not the circumstances of his birth alone that prompted them to so unjustifiable an act . His convention with them was ratified by an appeal to Jehovah , and he became captain over them .
4 th . On assuming the command , Jephthah first sends an embassy to the King of Ammon , with a remonstrance against the invasion ; which being replied to , by a charge against the Israelites for having forcibly obtained possession of certain lands , the restoration of which was the object of the Ammonitish invasion , Jephthah sends a second embassy and in a luminous exposition of the facts relative to the circumstances ' details with considerable ability , the history of the progress of the Israelites from the Red Sea to the promised land : proves the futilitv of
the charge , and concludes by asking them , why the restoration of those lands had been unsought during three hundred years that Israel had dwelt in Heshbon ? This appeal being ineffectual , recourse was had to the sword to decide the controversy . Sth . It is recorded in the 29 th verse , * that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah , a circumstance materiall y affecting the subsequent transactions . He then proceeds to combat the Ammonites , and it is at this period that he made his celebrated vow , contained in the following words of our authorized version _ — °
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord , and said , If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands then it shall be , that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me , when I return in peace from the children of Ammon , shall surely be the Lord ' s , and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Jephthah's Vow Considered.
and I apprehend that the character of the Review will be raised when its pages are found teeming with biblical inquiry . This is an object desirable for any periodical , and with this view , joined with an ardent hope that others will contribute from their stores to advance its excellence and promote its success , I have ventured to submit the following observations to the Brethren of the Order , and through them to the uninitiated , who , seeing by what our Review is occupied , may be induced to look in different li
on us a ght from that they have hitherto regarded us in . Before we proceed to investi gate the question , it is necessary that we should consider the history of the circumstances preceding the event as there are points materially affecting the question which do not appear to the observer who looks simply at the point in dispute . In the authorized English version , a statement of Jephthah ' s history precedes the narration of the vow , and its attendant circumstances , which we have condensed as follows : —
1 st . Jephthah was the illegitimate son of Gilead , and was " a mighty man of valour . " ° 2 nd . From his illegitimacy , combined with envy at some exhibition of his superiority in talents , he was expelled his father ' s home ; he fled to the land of Job , where he became chief over a band characterized as vain men . 3 rd . Being pressed by the children of Ammonthe elders of Gilead
, well knowing his valour ancl ability , besought Jephthah to return and assist them to expel their oppressors , which he consented to do , after he had reproved them for their conduct in driving him from his home and obtained from them an acknowled gment that it was not the circumstances of his birth alone that prompted them to so unjustifiable an act . His convention with them was ratified by an appeal to Jehovah , and he became captain over them .
4 th . On assuming the command , Jephthah first sends an embassy to the King of Ammon , with a remonstrance against the invasion ; which being replied to , by a charge against the Israelites for having forcibly obtained possession of certain lands , the restoration of which was the object of the Ammonitish invasion , Jephthah sends a second embassy and in a luminous exposition of the facts relative to the circumstances ' details with considerable ability , the history of the progress of the Israelites from the Red Sea to the promised land : proves the futilitv of
the charge , and concludes by asking them , why the restoration of those lands had been unsought during three hundred years that Israel had dwelt in Heshbon ? This appeal being ineffectual , recourse was had to the sword to decide the controversy . Sth . It is recorded in the 29 th verse , * that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah , a circumstance materiall y affecting the subsequent transactions . He then proceeds to combat the Ammonites , and it is at this period that he made his celebrated vow , contained in the following words of our authorized version _ — °
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord , and said , If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands then it shall be , that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me , when I return in peace from the children of Ammon , shall surely be the Lord ' s , and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering . "