Jephthah the Gilead was a mighty warrior and the son of a prostitute. Jephthah was born to Gilead.

Gilead’s wife also gave birth to several sons, and when the sons of his wife grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying, You shall not inherit an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of a prostitute.

Jephthah fled from his brothers and stayed in the land of Tob. Some bandits gathered with him and went in and out with him.

After a while, the children of Ammon attacked Israel.

When the Ammonites attacked Israel, the elders of Gilead went to the land of Tob to call Jephthah back.

And he said to Jephthah, Come and be our captain, that we may fight against the children of Ammon.

Jephthah answered the elders of Gilead, saying, Did you not hate me before and drive me out of my father’s house? Why are you coming to me now when you are facing urgent difficulties?

The elders of Gilead answered Jephthah, saying, We have come to you now to go with us and fight against the children of Ammon. You can be the leader of all the residents of Gilead.

Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Send me back to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord will hand him over to me. May I be your leader?”?

The elders of Gilead answered Jephthah, saying, The Lord is a witness between us, and we will surely do according to your words.

So Jephthah returned with the elders of Gilead, and the people appointed Jephthah as their leader and commander. Jephthah declared all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.

Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that you have come to my land to attack me?

The king of the children of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, saying, Because when the Israelites came up from Egypt, they occupied my land, from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and even to the Jordan River. Now you should return this land well.

Jephthah also sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon,

And he said to him, This is what Jephthah said: The Israelites have not occupied the land of Moab or the land of the children of Ammon.

The Israelites came up from Egypt by passing through the wilderness to the Red Sea and arriving at Kadesh,

And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let me pass through your land. But the king of Edom refused. Similarly, he sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he refused. The Israelites lived in Kadesh.

They passed through the wilderness again, circling around Edom and the land of Moab, coming from the east side of the land of Moab and camping by the Arnon River, but did not enter the territory of Moab, because the Arnon River is the border of Moab.

The Israelites sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land and go to our own place.”.

But Sihon did not believe in the Israelites and did not allow them to pass through his borders. Instead, he gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz to fight against the Israelites.

The Lord, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hands of the Israelites, and the Israelites killed them and took over all the land of the Amorites,

From the Arnon River to the Jabo River, from the wilderness to the Jordan River.

Has the Lord, the God of Israel, driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, yet you will possess their land?

Have you not taken possession of the land that your God Chemosh has given you? We will possess the land of the people whom the Lord our God has driven out before us.

Are you stronger than Baal, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Has he ever fought against the Israelites, or has he fought against them?

The Israelites have been living in Heshbon and its villages, Aroer and its villages, and all the cities along the Arnon River for three hundred years. Why haven’t you retrieved these places within these three hundred years?

I didn’t offend you, but you attacked me and treated me badly. May the Lord the Judge judge between the Israelites and the Ammonites today.

But the king of the children of Ammon refused to listen to what Jephthah had sent.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and came to Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah to the children of Ammon.

Then Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, If you give the children of Ammon into my hand,

When I return in peace from the children of Ammon, whoever comes out of my house first to meet me will be yours, and I will offer him as a burnt offering.

So Jephthah went to the children of Ammon and fought against them. The Lord handed them over to him,

He greatly defeated them, capturing twenty cities from Aroer to Minnith and even to Abel Keram. So the children of Ammon were subdued by the Israelites.

Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, and to his surprise, his daughter came out to greet him with drums and dances. She was his only child and had no children besides him.

When Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, Alas. My daughter, you have caused me great distress and made me difficult. Because I have made a vow to the Lord, it cannot be undone.

His daughter answered, Father, since you have spoken to the Lord, do as you said to me, for the Lord has avenged you on your enemies the Ammonites.

And he said to his father, There is one thing I beg your permission to allow me to go for two months, to be with my companions on the mountain, so that I may mourn that I will eventually become a virgin.

Jephthah said, go ahead. Let her go for two months. She went with her companions to mourn for her virginity on the mountain.

Two months had passed, and when she returned to her father, he did as he had promised her. My daughter never got close to a man for life.

Afterwards, there was a custom in Israel that every year the women of Israel would go and mourn for the daughter of Jephthah the Gilead four days.