Jephthah's father was Gilead and his mother was a prostitute. Because of his illegitimacy, his brothers drove him from their home and refused him any share in the inheritance. Jephthah fled to the land of Tob, where he gathered around him a "group of adventurers." Later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead asked him to lead their army. After negotiations with the Ammonites failed, Jephthah and the army advanced against the Ammonites and devastated them. This account of Jephthah is found in Judges 11:1-12:7. It is typical of the book of Judges, showing how God uses the best of the worst, if such people follow him in faith.
Of particular interest regarding Jephthah is his vow. On his way into battle, he said to God, "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering" (11:30-31). When he returned, his only daughter was the first to meet him. Horrified at this turn of events, he nevertheless "did to her as he had vowed." Scholars have struggled over how Jephthah fulfilled his vow. Some have held that his daughter was actually sacrificed, as the text seems to indicate. Others have believed that she was devoted to the service of God for the rest of her life, citing Leviticus 27:1-8 and 1 Samuel 1:11.
