Volume 2

Sacrifice of Jephtias
327
as was customary in offering sacrifice, upon his
daughter's head with the simple vvords: "Go forth! Thou
wilt never have a spouse!"-to which she responded: "No,
I shall never have a spouse!"-and he never again spoke
to her. After his daughter's death, Jephte had a beautiful
monument erected in Ramoth and a little temple built
over it. He ordered a memorial festival to be annually celebrated
on the anniversary of his daughter's immolation
as a remembrance of his sad vow and a warning to others
against such rashness. (lg. 11 :39-40).
Jephte's mother was a pagan who had been converted
to Judaism. His wife was the daughter of a man born from
the illicit union of a Jew with an idolatress. On his expulsion
from his native place, his daughter did not accompany
him. She remained in Ramoth where, meanwhile,
her mother died. When, in time of danger, Jephte was
recalled to Tob by his compatriots, he did not return into
the city of his birth. He assembled the people and concerted
measures with them in the camp outside of
Maspha. His own home and his only daughter he did not
see. When he made that vow, he never thought of her, but
of his other relatives who had repudiated him, and
therefore God punished him.
The feast lasted four days. Jesus with His disciples
visited also the pagan quarters in Ramoth. The people
met Him with marks of reverence at the head of their
street. Not far from their temple was an open-air space
used for public discourses. Several of the sick and aged
had been brought thither, the former of whom Jesus
healed. They that had solicited a visit from Him appeared
to be learned men, priests, and philosophers. They knew
about the journey of the Three Kings, and of their having
seen the birth of the King of the Jews in the stars, for
they, too, had a similar expectation and were likewise
engaged in the observation of the stars. Not far from here
was a kind of observatory similar to that in the land of the