Week 3 Story: Jephthah's Trial

The murmuring of the jury grew quiet as the lumbering man was brought into the Court of Israel, his eyes downcast and his long hair disheveled. A wave of nervous silence washed over the audience as he moved past them.

"Jephthah," the judge barked, "you are on trial for the murder of your only daughter."

Jephthah continued to look down; he couldn't bear to meet the eyes of the judge or anyone else. He had once been a great judge himself, respected among nations, a man of God.

"An abusive man," Jephthah heard the prosecutor saying, puncturing his own thoughts about himself "In Israel we acknowledge man's responsibility toward our God, but Jephthah has made a rash and foolish vow. The decision to carry out such a vow was an act of abuse toward his daughter."

No, no, it was only an act of obedience. Obedience to God. What could I have done? 

Jephthah pulled his attention back to the courtroom. His defense lawyer was busy retelling the whole story. Jephthah had played it over and over against his will, at the mercy of his mind, but he still could hardly stand hearing it again.

"My client needed to win his most recent battle of war," said his lawyer. "So he did what many of our most respected leaders have done: he made a vow with God. He promised that he would sacrifice whatever first came out to meet him upon his return home, if only he could win the battle. Then, when he won the battle and his daughter came out to meet him, he had no choice but to sacrifice her on the altar. He was deeply grieved, crying out and tearing his clothes for his daughter's sake. But it was his vow, and even his daughter agreed that fulfilling this vow to God was important. Yes, Jephthah did participate in taking the life of his daughter, but it was for God. One cannot break a vow with his God, as both Jephthah and his daughter knew."

"But why did he make that vow in the first place?" objected the prosecutor. "What did he think would come out from his house to greet him, a bird? Didn't he know it would be a human? Why did he think any life in his household was his to give to God? It is a matter of power."

The defense lawyer stood up. "You think that Jephthah wanted anything in his household to perish? No, he didn't sacrifice anyone to show power, but to win his battle."

"Why was a battle so important to him? Why was it worth gambling a life? Was his own glory worth more than the life of his daughter, or even of one of his servants? He valued himself above them all."

Jephthah looked up at the prosecutor, fear swirling in his eyes. Did I? he thought. He had said that his household and everyone in it belonged to God, but now he wondered if, deep down, he thought it belonged to himself.

The jury went out to decide his fate. He held his head in his hands.

Author's Note: Jephthah is a character from the Old Testament who makes a vow with God that if he can win an important battle, he will sacrifice as a burnt offering whatever comes out to meet him when he reaches his home. He is overjoyed when he wins the battle, but unfortunately, his daughter is the first person to greet him when he gets home. She is his only child. She accepts her fate quite readily and asks to be given two months to mourn her death as a virgin, and then she comes home and is sacrificed. The story is presented as an unfortunate situation, but I saw it as preventable if only Jephthah had not played around with the lives of others. He was willing to sacrifice the life of someone in his household as if he owned everyone under his roof, and I wanted to write a story in which he is called out for his vow instead of praised as an obedient follower of God. I decided to write the story as a murder trial to show that Jephthah may not be as innocent as he seems.

Bibliography: Judges, King James Bible. Link to the reading online.

Image information
      Top picture: Supreme Court of Israel. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
      Bottom picture: The Sacrifice of Jephthah's Daughter, sculpted by Massimiliano Soldani.
            Source: Wikimedia Commons.