As pastors, we interpret the Bible in every sermon we present. But how appropriately do we handle Scripture? It is one thing to regard Scripture as the reliable revelation of God’s will with absolute authority in matters of faith and practice, but it is another thing to interpret the text correctly. The Bible is the Word of God, but as Jesus asked the lawyer, “How do you read it?” (Luke 10:26, ESV). This article briefly outlines important steps for interpreting a biblical passage and uses Judges 11:34–40 to illustrate them.
Steps of interpretation
1. Familiarize yourself with the text
a. Read the entire chapter(s) containing the passage of your interest. For the first couple of readings, focus on the larger picture or the general flow of the chapter(s). Then concentrate on specific details.
b. Meditate on the chapter(s). Ask yourself as many questions as possible regarding what the biblical writer intended to convey to the text’s original audience.
c. Try to identify the discernible units within the chapter(s). Because the immediate context will shape the meaning of a word, phrase, or sentence, it is important to establish the boundaries of the unit in which your passage is located. Often, self-contained units are marked by certain opening and closing expressions or changes in genre, subject matter, speaker/audience, tense, or other literary cues. Generally, a chapter may contain several units, but one or more chapters may also constitute a single unit.
d. Consult different Bible translations. Translations may follow one of two main approaches: formal, or word-for-word (e.g., King James Version, New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version), and dynamic, or thought-for-thought (e.g., New International Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible, New Living Translation). Some translations (e.g., Good News Translation, The Living Bible) are paraphrases and should not be used for deeper Bible study. As you read the passage in different translations, note any significant differences. If you are able, translate the unit from the original Hebrew or Greek.
Judges 11:34–40. Although Jephthah’s fulfillment of the vow appears in Judges 11:34–40, it is necessary to read at least the whole of the so-called Jephthah cycle (Judg. 10:6–12:7). That will help you get the bigger picture of the narrative. Regarding the specific unit (Judg. 11:34–40), English translations largely agree with each other. But notice the difference in verse 39 between KJV’s “and she knew no man” and ESV’s “she had never known a man.”
2. Carefully analyze the context
The next step is to establish the context of the passage.
a. Understanding the historical background of the biblical book and the events it records can clarify the text. While the biblical passage itself may give clues to the historical or cultural backdrop, it is good to consult reference works (e.g., commentaries and introductions to the Bible) that describe the historical background of biblical books.
b. Examine the literary context. Grasping the structure of the whole chapter(s) as well as the specific unit will help you trace the flow of thought from verse to verse. Ask questions: What is the main point of the passage? How does it relate both to what is before and after it and to the entire chapter(s)? Why does it use certain expressions instead of others?
It will be helpful to outline the passage.
Next, consider the larger biblical context. Does your passage allude to previous passages? If so, what does it add? Do later passages allude to your passage? If so, how do they interpret or expand its meaning?
Judges 11:34–40. Reading Judges 10:6–12:7, one realizes that the period of the judges was generally not a good time. Here, the Transjordan territory of Gilead suffered Ammonite oppression. Its people realized they needed a commander, one whom they saw in Jephthah. Jephthah, an illegitimate son, had fled from his father’s house because of his half-brothers (Judg. 11:1–3). But then he became a leader of a marauding gang of “empty” fellows (cf. Judg. 9:4), probably operating in the regions of Syria and Ammon (cf. 2 Sam. 10:6, 8). While there, Jephthah may have adopted pagan beliefs and practices, including human sacrifice (cf. 2 Kings 3:27).
After describing the oppression caused by Israel’s apostasy (Judg. 10:6–17) and a brief introduction of Jephthah (Judg. 11:1–3), Scripture reports the encounter between the leaders of Gilead and Jephthah, during which he accepts their proposal with some conditions (vv. 4–11). Then, it follows exchanges between Jephthah and the Ammonite king (vv. 12–28). The Spirit of the Lord had already begun working with Jephthah (v. 29), but then just before the war, he vowed that if he returned victoriously, “the one/thing coming out that comes out of the doors of my house to meet me in my return in peace . . . shall be for the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice him/it as a burnt offering” (vv. 30, 31, author’s translation).
After briefly mentioning the defeat of Ammon (vv. 32, 33), the rest of the chapter focuses on the vow (vv. 34–40), suggesting its uniqueness. Jephthah returned victoriously, but here was his only child and daughter coming out to meet him (v. 34). Tearing his clothes, Jephthah expressed what appears to be grief-stricken sorrow regarding the vow’s implications (v. 35). Both Jephthah and his daughter confirmed that he could not take it back (vv. 35, 36), as required by the biblical law (Num. 30:2, 3).
She requested two months to be with her friends and to weep upon her “virginity” (in the sense of youth, vv. 37, 38), after which Jephthah fulfilled the vow (v. 39). Then the passage concludes that she was a virgin (v. 39) and that her death gave rise to a custom in which Israelite women commemorated her four days every year (v. 40). Thus, throughout the passage, we find indicators that the fulfillment of the vow would result in tragedy. It brings to mind Genesis 22. Unlike Abraham’s experience, which was a test, Jephthah’s was a self-made vow.
Although the law allowed the redemption of a person dedicated through a vow (Lev. 27:1–8), Jephthah’s vow was specifically to offer a burnt offering, hence like the case where one who devoted another for destruction could not redeem that person’s life (vv. 28, 29). But Jephthah’s vow was not just wrong and unnecessary; he seemed to have hoped that a human sacrifice would secure the divine help. His contact with cultures that practiced such rites would have made them acceptable to him.
3. Consider the genre
Story, poetry, and law are types of literary genres. Each has its unique characteristics, and proper interpretation must take them into account. Narrative, law, and epistle require literal interpretation unless there are clear indications of figurative language. Poetry generally requires nonliteral interpretation, but because biblical poetry is often grounded in historical happenings, we should take nonfigurative terms or historical references in a literal sense. Classical prophecies are largely cast in prose-poetry, sometimes with heightened expressions that may not require a literal sense. Apocalyptic prophecies are generally understood in a literal sense, but they do contain symbols that need to be unraveled. Unlike classical prophecies, whose fulfilments may be conditional, apocalyptic prophecies have no conditionality. Whether they tell a story or describe future events, parables seek to teach principles rather than events as they did or will occur.
Judges 11:34–40. Judges 11 is a historical narrative: it describes the actions of persons and events in a sequential fashion. The Hebrew marks the text as such by its use of the wayyiqtol verb form (i.e., “and + imperfect verb”), which is a past narrative form. In Judges 11:34–40, for example, each verse begins with a wayyiqtol except verse 40, which reports the custom that arose following the incident of Jephthah’s daughter. Out of the 38 verb forms in the unit, 14 are wayyiqtol, 18 appear in direct speeches introduced by wayyiqtol, and the rest describe background information following wayyiqtol forms. We need to read and interpret this passage in a literal manner as required by its genre. So, for example, when Jephthah said he would offer a burnt offering, he meant an offering that would be burned on a sacrificial altar.
4. Analyze words and syntax within context
In your repeated reading of the chapter(s), you must determine the flow of thought as well as the function and main point of the unit. Now, we need to consider the usages and meanings of specific words and phrases as determined by both the immediate and larger biblical context.
a. How scholars understand the grammar and syntax of the Hebrew or Greek text influences their translations. Seek to understand the functions and relationships between the unit’s sentences, clauses, and words. The sentences and clauses will determine the usages or meanings of specific words.
b. Once you have identified keywords or expressions that need further study, look them up in a concordance and study the contexts in which they occur, taking into consideration the genre of each passage. Use a lexicon to get an overview of the usages of the word both in and outside of the biblical book. After a thorough study of the word’s occurrences, you are now ready to settle on its possible meaning in your passage as controlled by its immediate context (i.e., the unit). What you want to do is exegesis (seeking out the meaning from the text), not eisegesis (reading meaning into the text).
c. To compare your findings, consult commentaries, books, or articles written by others who accept the inspiration of the Bible and handle the text from that perspective.
Judges 11:34–40. Although several words and expressions need closer analysis, space will allow only a few observations. Jephthah’s “burnt offering” should be understood in a literal sense because it shares the same expressions as those describing the offering of Isaac (Gen. 22:2, 13) and the daily burnt offerings (Lev. 17:8; Deut. 12:13). By the phrase “the one/thing coming out . . . of the doors of my house to meet me,” Jephthah probably had in mind a human being, one who would go out of the gate purposely to meet and welcome him (cf. Gen. 18:2; Exod. 18:7). From his perspective, a vow to sacrifice a goat or sheep would not match the gravity of the situation. Expressions such as “brought me very low [to my knees],” “trouble,” “bewail,” and “do to me according to what came out of your mouth” all suggest that both Jephthah and his daughter understood the fulfillment of the vow as a tragedy.
A cursory reading of the clause “and she knew no man” (KJV) may suggest that Jephthah’s daughter did not die but remained a virgin. However, the Hebrew marks this clause as a nonsequential clause. Instead of the wayyiqtol form that presents sequential happenings throughout the chapter, the qatal form used here shows that her being a virgin was not the result of the fulfillment of the vow but rather that “she had not known a man” (cf. ESV) when the tragedy occurred. She bewailed her virginity not because she would have to stay single but probably because she would die childless. The yearly recounting or lamenting custom that her death initiated in Israel appears to confirm this. The Hebrew word tanah, which is translated as “recount,” occurs only twice and both in Judges (Judg. 5:11; 11:40). The Septuagint translates it as didōmi, which means “give, recite,” in Judges 5:11 but as thrēneō, meaning “lament, sing a dirge,” in Judges 11:40.
5. Analyze theologically and apply
In this final step, first, determine the meaning of the passage as informed by all the previous steps.
Next, indicate how your passage contributes to the overall message of Scripture. What theme does your passage develop? How does it relate both to the larger framework of the biblical book and that of the entire Bible? If the meaning of the passage is still not clear, subject your conclusions to the scrutiny of clearer passages that relate to the same theme.
Finally, indicate the contemporary relevance of the passage. Because points of either continuity or discontinuity may exist between the biblical and today’s contexts, not everything may be applied directly (e.g., cultural or ritual elements). However, the biblical message is always normative for the believer. How does the message affect me and my relationship with God and others?
Judges 11:34–40. Although some suggest that Jephthah consecrated his daughter to the Lord’s service in a way that required her to remain a virgin, the context, genre, and specific expressions contradict such a conclusion. It may be difficult for us to imagine that she was actually sacrificed, knowing that God prohibited human sacrifice (Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31). That some Israelite leaders still practiced such sacrifices (2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6; Jer. 19:5) does not mean that God would accept a human sacrifice. He would not even accept animal sacrifices that were not genuinely heartfelt (Isa. 1:11–17; Amos 5:21–27). God requires us to fulfill our vows, but He does not demand that we make them. Nor does He come to our aid because of those we do make. If we wish to make vows, we must ask ourselves whether they are pleasing to God.
Deeper study
The steps of interpretation sketched here are meant to encourage you to engage in deeper study.1 A proper interpretation and study of Scripture requires a biblical worldview. Such a worldview accepts the Bible as the Word of God—Spirit-inspired, trustworthy, sufficient, and the final authority in matters of faith and practice. It also requires that we allow scripture to interpret scripture and the Holy Spirit to work on our hearts and minds as we study.
- For a comprehensive guide, see Frank M. Hasel, ed., Biblical Hermeneutics: An Adventist Approach, Biblical Research Institute Studies, vol. 3 (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2021).
