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Article JEPHTHAH'S VOW CONSIDERED. ← Page 2 of 5 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Jephthah's Vow Considered.
self , such as mi ght naturally swell the breast of a " mightt / man of vuloiir . " Moreover , he had the pledge , or rather the oath of ' the elders ratified before the Lord in Mizpeh , in the presence ol the people ivho had made him head and captain over them . Again , who can peruse the message sent by Jephthah to the King of the Ammonites , without a conviction of his intimate acquaintance with the history of his people ? We can readilimagine an Englishmanwho could detail the leading
y , facts of ( he history of his own country ; but is it a matter of course that he should be so well versed in the laws of his nation ? This idea , however , cannot with any degree of propriety he applied to Jephthah . He evidences , by his messages to the children of Amnion , his complete knowledge of the progress of his forefathers from Egypt to Palestine ; and we would ask , how can it be inferred that he was so ignorant of the law of God , as to make such an unlawful vow ? Can any ' one read the account of that
extraordinary journey , as detailed in the Pentateuch , without acquiring a knowledge of the law of God , as delivered by Moses , and by Moses ro the Israelites ? The narrative of the journey , and the details of the law are too completely interwoven with each other ( we might safely say , studiously so ) , for any one , well acquainted with the former , to be so manifestly ignorant of the latter , as Jephthah is supposed to have been . So far from having imbibed any idolatrous partialities
, he asks the Ammonitish King— "So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Ammonites from before his people Israel , and shouldest thou possess it ? Wilt not thou possess that which Chemoch thy god giveth thee to possess ? " And then he declares from his knowledge of the promises of Jehovah , so interspersed in the Pentateuch"So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us , them will we possess . " The conclusion too , of his message , argues any thing but what the author above quoted would infer . Jephthah appeals to Jehovah , saying , — "The Lord , the Judge , we judge but the children of Israel , and the children of Ammon . "
_ It is next attempted to disparage Jephthah , from the circumstance of his being captain of a band of " vain men : ' This is not exactl y the impression that would be made on any one that reads the note on the third verse of the chapter containing this history . There it is shewn , that "the Orientals did not account the act of pillaging base . "
"The mode of life indicated by the third verse of the text , is precisely that followed by David , when his reputation brought around him men of similar character to the followers of Jephthah . ' This kind of military robbery is very far indeed from being considered dishonourable in the East ; on the contrary , the fame thus acquired , is as fair as any that can be ^ obtained through any class of military operations . An Arab or a Tartar desires no hi gher or brighter fame , than that of a successful robber
military , and to make that unsullied , it is only necessary that his expedition should not be against his own nation , or his own tribe . When a warrior had acquired reputation for his courage and conduct , young men became emulous of placing themselves under so distinguished a leader , and resorted to him , thus forming a retinue of bold volunteers , who felt bound to do their chief honour by their exploits , to defend him with their lives , and not to survive him if slain . This band gave distinction and power to the chief himself , and rendered him often so formidable , that neighbouring tribes and nations cultivated his favour b y embassies and presents , and obstinate and cruel wars were often tor-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Jephthah's Vow Considered.
self , such as mi ght naturally swell the breast of a " mightt / man of vuloiir . " Moreover , he had the pledge , or rather the oath of ' the elders ratified before the Lord in Mizpeh , in the presence ol the people ivho had made him head and captain over them . Again , who can peruse the message sent by Jephthah to the King of the Ammonites , without a conviction of his intimate acquaintance with the history of his people ? We can readilimagine an Englishmanwho could detail the leading
y , facts of ( he history of his own country ; but is it a matter of course that he should be so well versed in the laws of his nation ? This idea , however , cannot with any degree of propriety he applied to Jephthah . He evidences , by his messages to the children of Amnion , his complete knowledge of the progress of his forefathers from Egypt to Palestine ; and we would ask , how can it be inferred that he was so ignorant of the law of God , as to make such an unlawful vow ? Can any ' one read the account of that
extraordinary journey , as detailed in the Pentateuch , without acquiring a knowledge of the law of God , as delivered by Moses , and by Moses ro the Israelites ? The narrative of the journey , and the details of the law are too completely interwoven with each other ( we might safely say , studiously so ) , for any one , well acquainted with the former , to be so manifestly ignorant of the latter , as Jephthah is supposed to have been . So far from having imbibed any idolatrous partialities
, he asks the Ammonitish King— "So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Ammonites from before his people Israel , and shouldest thou possess it ? Wilt not thou possess that which Chemoch thy god giveth thee to possess ? " And then he declares from his knowledge of the promises of Jehovah , so interspersed in the Pentateuch"So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us , them will we possess . " The conclusion too , of his message , argues any thing but what the author above quoted would infer . Jephthah appeals to Jehovah , saying , — "The Lord , the Judge , we judge but the children of Israel , and the children of Ammon . "
_ It is next attempted to disparage Jephthah , from the circumstance of his being captain of a band of " vain men : ' This is not exactl y the impression that would be made on any one that reads the note on the third verse of the chapter containing this history . There it is shewn , that "the Orientals did not account the act of pillaging base . "
"The mode of life indicated by the third verse of the text , is precisely that followed by David , when his reputation brought around him men of similar character to the followers of Jephthah . ' This kind of military robbery is very far indeed from being considered dishonourable in the East ; on the contrary , the fame thus acquired , is as fair as any that can be ^ obtained through any class of military operations . An Arab or a Tartar desires no hi gher or brighter fame , than that of a successful robber
military , and to make that unsullied , it is only necessary that his expedition should not be against his own nation , or his own tribe . When a warrior had acquired reputation for his courage and conduct , young men became emulous of placing themselves under so distinguished a leader , and resorted to him , thus forming a retinue of bold volunteers , who felt bound to do their chief honour by their exploits , to defend him with their lives , and not to survive him if slain . This band gave distinction and power to the chief himself , and rendered him often so formidable , that neighbouring tribes and nations cultivated his favour b y embassies and presents , and obstinate and cruel wars were often tor-