Notes on Bible Texts

Notes on Bible Texts

By J. M. Sjodahl

I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. (Judges 11:35.)

Jephthah, the son of Gilead, had been called, by the children of Israel in the northeastern part of the country, to lead their army of defense against the Ammonites. Realizing his dependence on the Lord, he made a vow that on his return home, if God would give him the victory, he would devote whatsoever

came forth of the doors of his house to God, and, he added, "I will offer it up for a burnt offering." (v. 31.) His daughter, his only child, was the first to meet him, and then he exclaimed in despair: "I have opened my mouth, * * * I cannot go back." Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter? Als the story is told in King James' Bible translation it appears that this judge of Israel, under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, actually immolated his only child, because he had made a rash vow. But the original text does not necessarily call for such an interpretation. Human sacrifices were expressly forbidden (Deut. 12:30,31; Lev. 20:2), and Jephthah could not have made a vow, acceptable to God, to break his law. Michaelis, the eminent Hebrew scholar, maintains, if my memory serves me well, that the correct translation of Jephthah's vow is: "Whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Amtmon, shall surely be the Lord's and I will offer him [the Lord] a burnt offering." That is, any person that first met him, be it a servant or his own child, would be consecrated to the Lord's service, as was Samuel, for instance, and, in addition, he would offer a burnt offering to the Lord. This understanding of the nature of Jephthah's vow agrees with the entire narrative. For two months his daughter feasted with her companions, and then she entered upon a life of celibacy in accordance with her father's covenant, if I read verse 39 correctly; at all events, every year thereafter, presumably for several years, her girl friends spent four days with her, "to lament" as the English translation has it, or rather, to "talk with" her, as can be seen by the marginal reading in the Oxford Bible (verse 40), from which it is clear that she had not been immolated or otherwise slain.

NOTES ON BIBLE TEXTS 251

The sacrifice seems to have consisted in some act by which she was consecrated to the Lord's service and made to renounce the blessings of motherhood in this life. Women as well as men were identified with the Nazarite order, whose members were under particular pledges, either for a brief period or for life. See Numbers 6.

Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. (John 4:35.)

In Palestine the harvest began in the month of Abib, also called Nisan, corresponding to the latter part of our March and the first part of April. At that time the so-called "latter rain" (Deut. 11:14) fell and helped to ripen the grain. Our Lord, by calling attention to the fact that there were four months to the time of harvest, fixes the date of the conversation of which our text forms a part, at some time during the month of Chislev (Nov.-Dec), perhaps immediately after the Feast of Dedication, which was observed on the 25th of that month (John 10:22, 23; 1 Mac. 4:52-59). But how could the fields be "white already to harvest" four months ahead of that time? Jesus had just had that ever-memorable conversation with the Samaritan woman, and she had brought word of it to her friends and neighbors, whereupon many of these had proceeded to the well, to see the great prophet. These were now emerging from the gates of the city and wending their way across the fields. The Samaritans, wearing white robes, suggested the whitening of the fields for harvest, and our Lord said to his disciples: "Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." He spoke of the harvest of souls; not of grain. In revelations given in our dispensation a similar expression is used to denote that the time had come for a great ingathering of precious souls into the Church. (Doc. and Cov. 4:4; 6:3; 11:3; 12:3; 33:7.) When our Lord established his Church in this dispensation, the field of the world was prepared for that event. The early time of the Church was, therefore, one of reaping. On April 6, 1830, as is well-known, there were very few members. On June 3, 1831, when the first conference was held at Kirtland, there were about 2,000 attendants. And the both in this country Church continued to grow very rapidly, and in Great Britain, when missionary work was begun there.

It was a time of reaping. Later, missionary labor became more like gleaning, but after the gleaning comes ploughing and sowing for another harvest.