A Man After Yahweh-Chemosh's Own Heart: Syncretism and Davidic Allusions in the Story of Jephthah

Jephthah's story has caused no small amount of confusion among scholars as they wrestle with what to make of Jephthah's oath and subsequent sacrifice of his daughter. Some have believed that Jephthah was acting in accordance with Yahweh's wishes, others believe that he was acting out of selfish interest. However, there are two aspects of the literary makeup of the Jephthah story that can help shed some light on the subject. Firstly, the story is filled with Davidic allusions, and the second aspect is syncretism. The Davidic allusions paint Jephthah as a prefigurement of David. In other words, David and his house, were fulfilments of Jephthah who would rule over Gilead as part of the grand dream of a unified Israel. The main fault on Jephthah's part was syncretism. Jephthah's oath contains elements that seem to be taken from practices of Canaanite religion, particularly the god Chemosh. Since Jephthah spent time amongst the vain-men of Tob, it is likely that he inherited some of their religious thinking as well, fusing the gods of Chemosh and Yahweh. Despite his faults, Jephthah still appears through the Bible as a man of faith, showcasing that one need not be perfect to be accepted into the unified Kingdom of God, and to be a good citizen thereof.