Yiftach

Yiftach was a Gileadite warrior, the son of Gilead by a prostitute. Driven out by his half-brothers, who denied him an inheritance, he settled in the land of Tob, where 'rootless men' joined him (Judges 11:1-3). When Ammon attacked, Gilead's elders asked him to command them. He agreed, provided he stayed chief if he won; the terms were confirmed 'before GOD at Mizpah' (Judges 11:4-11). Before the battle he vowed that whatever came out of his house to greet him on his safe return would be the LORD's, offered as a burnt offering. He defeated Ammon, and the first out was his only child, his daughter, dancing with a drum (Judges 11:30-35). After two months mourning in the hills, 'he did to her as he had vowed'. Israel's daughters then mourned her four days yearly (Judges 11:37-40). Radak, citing his father, reads the plain sense as meaning she was set apart and never married, while deferring to the Sages if theirs was a received tradition. Bereshit Rabbah (60:3) treats the vow as carried out, a tragedy that could have been annulled. Later he fought Ephraim, whose fugitives gave themselves away by saying 'sibboleth'. He led Israel six years (Judges 12:1-7).