And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

JUDGES 11:36KJV
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Judges 11:36 (KJV)

What does Judges 11:36 mean?

Judges 11:36 records the response of Jephthah’s daughter when she learns of his promise to the LORD. She tells her father to carry out what he promised, connecting her response to the LORD’s victory over the Ammonites, Israel’s enemies.

Her words follow Jephthah’s grief at seeing her come out to meet him. “Opened thy mouth” pictures a promise spoken aloud. By addressing him as “My father,” she speaks personally to the man whose words have placed her in danger.

The Hebrew behind Judges 11:36

  • “opened” — פָּצָה (patsah): This word means to open wide. With “mouth,” it forms an expression for speaking out, here referring to Jephthah’s spoken promise.
  • “vengeance” — נְקָמָה (neqamah): This word refers to punishment or payback. In this verse, Jephthah’s daughter describes the defeat of the Ammonites as the LORD acting against her father’s enemies.

Why Judges 11:36 matters

  • Jephthah’s daughter speaks for herself at a crucial moment. Her answer, “do to me,” makes clear that she understands his promise affects her personally.
  • Her request for two months in the mountains in verses 37–38 adds another part to her response. She accepts her father’s decision while asking for time to mourn that she will never marry.
  • The passage gives special attention to her as Jephthah’s only child. Verse 34 says he had no other son or daughter, making the consequences of his promise especially grave for his family.

Where else these words appear

“opened” Hebrew H6475 · used in 15 verses

  • Genesis 4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
  • Job 35:16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
  • Psalms 144:11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:

“vengeance” Hebrew H5360 · used in 22 verses

  • Numbers 31:2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
  • Psalms 149:7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
  • Jeremiah 51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

“Ammon” Hebrew H5983 · used in 98 verses

  • Genesis 19:38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
  • Judges 12:1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire.
  • 1 Chronicles 19:11 And the rest of the people he delivered unto the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon.

“which” Hebrew H834 · used in 105 verses

  • Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
  • Genesis 31:49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
  • Deuteronomy 11:8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;