וַיִּדַּ֨ר יִפְתָּ֥ח נֶ֛דֶר לַיהוָ֖ה וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אִם־נָת֥וֹן תִּתֵּ֛ן אֶת־בְּנֵ֥י עַמּ֖וֹן בְּיָדִֽי׃
Lalu Yefta bernazar kepada Yang Mahakekal, katanya: “Jika Engkau sungguh-sungguh menyerahkan bani Amon ke dalam tanganku,
Rabbeinu Bahya
A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Bechukotai 5. The words of Solomon in Proverbs 11,30: “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, a wise man captivates people,” are based on Proverbs 3,18 that Torah is “a tree of life to those who grasp her.” In other words, even, if a man is righteous this is meaningless unless he uses the Torah as his guiding light. You find that Yiftach only lost his daughter because he did not study Torah. Torah study enables a person to know how to preserve other people’s lives, i.e. to “captivate people.” The author reviews the story in the Book of Judges, explaining that Yiftach felt it beneath his dignity to go see the High Priest to seek annulment of his vow, while Pinchas felt it would be a slight to the Priestly honor for him to initiate a visit to Yiftach. As a result, Yiftach's daughter was unjustly sacrificed and both Yiftach and Pinchas were punished for their misplaced pride. Pinchas the High Priest was punished by losing his holy spirit, while Yiftach was punished by having his bones shed from his body over a period of time, as the Book of Judges describes him as being buried in the cities of Gilead (not in a single city).
Rabbeinu Bahya
A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Bechukotai 5. The words of Solomon in Proverbs 11,30: “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, a wise man captivates people,” are based on Proverbs 3,18 that Torah is “a tree of life to those who grasp her.” In other words, even, if a man is righteous this is meaningless unless he uses the Torah as his guiding light. You find that Yiftach only lost his daughter because he did not study Torah. Torah study enables a person to know how to preserve other people’s lives, i.e. to “captivate people.” The author reviews the story in the Book of Judges, explaining that Yiftach felt it beneath his dignity to go see the High Priest to seek annulment of his vow, while Pinchas felt it would be a slight to the Priestly honor for him to initiate a visit to Yiftach. As a result, Yiftach's daughter was unjustly sacrificed and both Yiftach and Pinchas were punished for their misplaced pride. Pinchas the High Priest was punished by losing his holy spirit, while Yiftach was punished by having his bones shed from his body over a period of time, as the Book of Judges describes him as being buried in the cities of Gilead (not in a single city).