Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter?

There are numerous tantalising fragments in the Old Testament referring to traditions of human sacrifice by the early Hebrews. Mark S. Smith examines the biblical record in The Early History of God and says that child sacrifice was Judean practice as late as the seventh century BCE. He says that the denials in Jereremiah 7:31; 19:5 and 32:35 that human sacrifices were offered in Yahweh's name may suggest that sacrifices were wrongfully being made in Yahweh's name. At some stage after the Deuteronomic History was written the practice had ceased and biblical references had become an embarrassment, so that the record appears to have been censored to remove this infamy.

Among other extant references, King Ahaz of Judah is criticised in 2 Chronicles 28:3 because he worshipped as all the kings of Israel (the northern kingdom) had done and because he sacrificed his children, with this reference likely allowed to remain because he was detested by later historians:

2 Chronicles 28:1-3: Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

The pericope in Judges 11:30-40, where Jephthah sacrificed his daughter to God may have been allowed to remain intact because the victim was only female. It probably is based on a true event, but the vow and its inevitable outcome were probably elaborations.

The answer is NO, he did not literally kill her and use her for the burnt offering.
It is figurative use of language.

She bewailed her virginity for two months and she knew no man after that. There is no human sacrifice.

It is sometimes best to not read into the text something that is not there.

Using the bible only you cannot gather that he literally sacrificed his daughter.

Obviously, he dedicated her to the LORD as did Hannah and others.

The threads here show that nothing has been gained by referencing Hebrew and various versions. Often we do not like or understand how some things are in the Bible and will go to some lengths to find fault or even defend it unnecessarily. More common is the tendency to insist it really says something else.

According to other scholars the "and" can be translated "or" as well. So he promised to dedicate "whstever" came out the door OR if it wasnt a person the make burnt offering... which is also a dedication.

To me the most convincing argument against Jephthah putting her daughter to death is the fact that she lamented her virginity, not an imminent death.

Jephthah may have had an opportunity to redeem his daughter as per the rules laid out in Leviticus 27. But he didn't do it, making him essentially respect the vow even while it wasn't easy. There's an entire chapter about valuations for redeeming a person on a special vow.

I found my way to this question about Jephthah's daughter when looking for an explanation to this verse:

Leviticus 27:29 (ESV)

No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.

This doesn't offer a direct answer to the original question, but I think this is a highly relevant commandment.

I came across interesting points made by Jeff Hamilton:

1. The Hebrew word for devoted in this case is cherem: devoted to the ban (if anyone can confirm or debunk this, please do)
   • For example, the destruction of Jericho was done under a ban: nothing was to be taken from Jericho, except what was to be used in the Lord's service. Any person under the ban could not be redeemed. He had to be put to death.
   • According to Hamilton, the Hebrew word cherem is not used in the story of Jephthah's daughter.
   • On the contrary, Leviticus 27:28 discusses man that a man has devoted to the Lord – this would be the type of vow that Jephthah meant.
2. Interesting, but probably wrong: As the first born child, Jephthah's daughter had been already been redeemed once, and thus couldn't be bought back again
   • Since she had already been redeemed as the first born child, she could not be bought back. I suppose this, at least, is wrong, because only a first born son is redeemed. Daughter isn't.