Today, we discussed JEPTHA. At first, I have not heard of this story so I was intrigued to learn. After going over the story of the judge. it was interesting to see how after winning the battle, his vow was a sacrifice. There was little detail to him as to what it would be to sacrifice, but then disturbing when he finds out it is his daughter. While, he was very regretful of the vow, his vow claimed that the first thing had he saw had to be sacrificed. While feeling bound to do what his vow stated, the promise seems ridiculous. Any person would seem to break the promise in spite of their daughters life on the line, however the thought of breaking the promise seemed to haunt him. Gods prominence made him believe there was a purpose to why the first thing seen was the daughter, however the story is complex in the fact that a life was on the line. Some questions that come to mind when briefly being introduced to this story:
- Is the promise/vow really worth the life of his daughter, does this seem a bit extreme?
- What could any beneficial outcomes of this “purpose” lead to if it ends in a sacrifice of a young girl?