NOTE:
This post has been withdrawn. The post has been published in my book, Rereading the Biblical Text: Searching for Meaning and Understanding. The approach taken in the book is to compare how different translations have approached difficult texts in the Old Testament. The goal of the book is to invite readers to reread the biblical text in light of the new understanding of the intent of the original writer of the text. You can order the book from Amazon.
Rereading the Biblical Text
Visit my Amazon author’s page to purchase the book (click here).
Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
A Note About This Post:
Before “Judges 11:39: The Virginity of Jephthah’s Daughter” was withdrawn for publication, “Judges 11:39: The Virginity of Jephthah’s Daughter” was read by 3455 readers. “Judges 11:39: The Virginity of Jephthah’s Daughter” was also shared 1 time by readers who enjoyed reading the post. You can read “Judges 11:39: The Virginity of Jephthah’s Daughter” and other articles on problems in Bible translation by reading my book Rereading the Biblical Text: Searching for Meaning and Understanding. Below is the content of the book:
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments – Page xi
Abbreviations – Page xii
Introduction – Page xv
SECTION 1 — THE PENTATEUCH
Chapter 1. The Creation of Animals in Genesis 2:19 – Page 3
Chapter 2. The Serpent Was Right (Genesis 3) – Page 7
Chapter 3. The Seed of the Woman (Genesis 3:15) – Page 11
Chapter 4. Were They Really Giants? (Genesis 6:4) – Page 17
Chapter 5. “As Far as Dan” (Gen 14:14) – Page 20
Chapter 6. Abraham and the Promises of God – Page (Genesis 12:7) – Page 23
Chapter 7. The Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:8) – Page 26
Chapter 8. The Rape of Bilhah (Genesis 35:22) – Page 29
Chapter 9. Miriam, a Leader in Israel (Exodus 15:20) – Page 32
Chapter 10. Azazel (Leviticus 16:8-10) – Page 35
Chapter 11. Understanding Numbers 24:24 – Page 38
SECTION 2 — THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
Chapter 12. The Levite and His Concubine (Judges 19:1–30) – Page 43
Chapter 13. The Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 47
Chapter 14. The Fate of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 4750
Chapter 15. The Virginity of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 54
Chapter 16. Who Went Back to the City? (Ruth 3:15) – Page 59
Chapter 17. Was Ruth Barren? (Ruth 4:13) – Page 59
Chapter 18. King Saul: Little in His Own Eyes (1 Samuel 15:17) – Page 63
Chapter 19. How Old Was Saul? (1 Samuel 13:1) – Page 64
Chapter 20. David and Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4) – Page 67
Chapter 21. David’s Sons Were Priests ((2 Samuel 8:18) – Page 70
Chapter 22. “Him that Pisseth against the Wall” (1 Samuel 25:22) – Page 72
Chapter 23. Whose Cloak Did Ahijah Tear? (1Kinga 11:4–7) – Page 78
Chapter 24. The Challenges of Parenthood (2 Kinga 21:25–26) – Page 82
SECTION 3 — THE WISDOM AND POETICAL BOOKS
Chapter 25. Psalm 8:5: In Search of a Better Translation – Page 87
Chapter 26. Understanding Psalm 17:14 – Page 90
Chapter 27. Jezebel’s Wedding Song (Psalm 45:1–17) – Page 93
Chapter 28. Psalm 100:3: In Search of a Better Translation – Page 99
Chapter 29. Sons or Children? (Psalm 127:3-5) – Page 103
Chapter 30. Proverbs 29:18 – Page 106
Chapter 31. “Black and Beautiful” or “Black but Beautiful”? (Song of Songs 1:5) – Page 108
SECTION 4 — THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS
Chapter 32. The Use of Gender Inclusive Language (Isaiah 9:1) – Page 115
Chapter 33. “You Have Increased Their Joy” (Isaiah 9:3) – Page 118
Chapter 34. Who Will the Messiah Strike? (Isaiah 11:4) – Page 120
Chapter 35. The Way of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3) – Page 122
Chapter 36. “All Their Goodliness” (Isa 40:6) – Page 126
Chapter 37. The Proclaimer of Good News (Isaiah 40:9) – Page 129
Chapter 38. The Problem of Divorce in the Old Testament (Isaiah 50:1) – Page 132
Chapter 39. Beulah Land (Isaiah 62:4) – Page 135
Chapter 40. The Balm of Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22) – Page 138
Chapter 41. The Mother of Seven (Jeremiah 15:9) – Page 142
Chapter 42. The Coming of the Messiah (Daniel 9:25–27) – Page 144
Chapter 43. The Seventy Weeks of Daniel (Daniel 9:25–27) – Page 148
Chapter 44. The Knowledge of God (Hosea 4:1) – Page 152
Chapter 45. The Word “Hesed” in the Book of Hosea (Hosea 4:1) – Page 154
Chapter 46. The Word “Justice” in Amos (Amos 5:24) – Page 157
Chapter 47. “What the Lord Requires” (Micah 6:8) – Page 160
Bibliography – Page 165
Index of Subjects – Page 169
Index of Authors – Page 171
Index of Scriptures and Other Ancient Documents – Page 173
Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
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Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
>I agree that every translation is an interpretation. Language, by its very nature, is ambiguous and full of metaphor, thus adding to its impreciseness. Good series of posts!
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>Thanks so much for your post and so timely! I would have to agree with your deductions.
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>Dear Friend,Thank you for visiting my blog and for your comment. I am glad that you enjoyed my study on Jephthah’s daughter.I hope you will visit again.Claude Mariottini
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>I want to thank you for your essays on this passage. I am the leader of a small guild of Biblical Storytellers and understanding what the text is actually trying to say is very important to our presentation of the text. Your writings have been of great help. I look forward to reading more in the future.Shalom
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>Dennis,Thank you for your comment on my post on Jephthah’s daughter. I am happy to know that my post was helpful to you in providing a better understanding of the text. If you have any suggestion for future posts that might help you, let me know. I am very interested in Biblical Storytelling. Maybe you could send me some additional information about your guild and the work you do. Claude Mariottini
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>Interesting thoughts – I certainly agree with your conclusion, as you can see here. It seems to me rather incredible that a custom of mourning would develop over a girl that simply was forced to become the Israelite equivalent of a vestal virgin. That tips the scales, for me.
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>How do you think this narrative relates to Leviticus 27:28-33, especially verse 29? Can you give some insight into the translation of the word “devoted” (versus “dedicated,” which is used earlier in the chapter)?How does the Lord’s holiness play into the irrevocability of a vow?
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‘a burnt offering’ is hard to get around. I’d like to suggest a discussion on the gift of tongues. I was raised in the conservative Baptist denomination but believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as separate from salvation. Also, I have discussed this topic of tongues and listened to sermons on tongues being a known language someone is given without learning but don’t buy it at all. It is just not logical to me. I attended Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland and sat under great teachers like John Mitchell, and have been studying the Bible for decades. So, I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.
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Diane,
Thank you for your comment. I am sorry, but a discussion on the gift of tongues is beyond the scope of my blog. I wish you well in your journey to discover what the Bible has to say about this very controversial topic. While I was the pastor of a Baptist church, about half of my members were Pentecostals. So, I have many true stories about speaking in tongues but my blog is not the place to have a discussion on the gifts of tongues.
Claude Mariottini
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Though it’s hard to believe that anyone that is connected with God would actually sacrifice a human life by burnt offerings. we also have to look at the fact that the two women in the Bible where one of them boils her son and they ate him together with the other.that this actually happened Which that would be considered cannibalism so it’s not hard for me to believe that
Jephthah actually sacrifice his daughter by burnt offering because the point was that he kept his vow to God. and he vowed that whatever ran out of his door first that he would sacrifice to go in as a burnt offering So what is your thought about the two women that boiled the son and ate him .
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Jonas,
Thank you for your comment. Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter. As for the two women, they actually committed an act of cannibalism. In times of war, when famine is severe, people go to extreme in order to survive. And this is not the only act of cannibalism in ancient Israel.
Claude Mariottini
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