Jephthah's Daughter in Early Jewish Literature

According to the biblical book of Judges, Jephthah was an Israelite military leader who vowed to God before a battle with the Ammonites: “If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s and shall be offered by me as a burnt offering” (Judges 11:30–31, NJPS). Tragically, upon his return home after triumph in battle, his only child, a daughter unnamed in the biblical text, was the first to emerge to greet him. After allowing her a period of mourning, he “did to her as he had vowed.”

Postbiblical texts embellish the story. Both Biblical Antiquities and Genesis Rabbah assert that God was unhappy with Jephthah’s vow, which could have led to his sacrificing an impure animal instead. In Biblical Antiquities, Jephthah’s daughter is named Seila and is portrayed as devoting herself to prayer. God recognizes her wisdom, saying that she “is wise in contrast to her father.” (For the account of her prayer in that text, see “Lament of Jephthah’s Daughter.”)