Judges 11:34

“And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, etc.] Where he had uttered his words before the Lord, which had passed between him and the elders of Gilead, and from whence he set out to fight the children of Ammon, and whither he returned after he had got the victory over them, (<071111>Judges 11:11,29) and where it seems he had a house, and his family dwelt; for upon his being fetched from the land of Tab, he brought what family he had with him, and settled them at Mizpeh, while he went on the expedition against the children of Ammon: and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him, with timbrels, and with dances; accompanied with young women, having timbrels in their hands, and playing upon…”

“Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances--The return of the victors was hailed, as usual, by the joyous acclaim of a female band (Sa1 18:6), the leader of whom was Jephthah's daughter. The vow was full in his mind, and it is evident that it had not been communicated to anyone, otherwise precautions would doubtless have been taken to place another object at his door. The shriek, and other accompaniments of irrepressible grief, seem to indicate that her life was to be forfeited as a sacrifice; the nature of the sacrifice (which was abhorrent to the character of God) and distance from the tabernacle does not suffice to…”

“His daughter came out to meet him - The precise phrase of his vow Judges 11:31. She was his “only child,” a term of special endearment (see Jeremiah 6:26; Zechariah 12:10). The same word is used of Isaac Genesis 22:2, Genesis 22:12, Genesis 22:16. return to 'Top of Page'”

“His daughter - In concert with other virgins, as the manner was. Judges 11:35”

“Mizpeh: Jdg 11:11, Jdg 10:17 his daughter: Judg. 5:1-31; Exo 15:20; Sa1 18:6, Sa1 18:7; Psa 68:25, Psa 148:11, Psa 148:12, Psa 150:4; Jer 31:4, Jer 31:13 beside her: or, he had not of his own either son or daughter, Heb. of himself neither: Zac 12:10; Luk 7:12, Luk 8:42, Luk 9:38 Judges 11:35”

“Jephthah's Vow. - Jdg 11:34, Jdg 11:35. When the victorious hero returned to Mizpeh, his daughter came out to meet him "with timbrels and in dances," i.e., at the head of a company of women, who received the conqueror with joyous music and dances (see at Exo 15:20): "and she was the only one; he had neither son nor daughter beside her." ממּנּוּ cannot mean ex se, no other child of his own, though he may have had children that his wives had brought him by other husbands; but it stands, as the great Masora has pointed it, for ממּנּה, "besides her," the daughter just mentioned-the masculine being used for the feminine as the nearest and more general gender, simply because the idea of "child"…”