Righteous Jephthah, Judge of Israel

Righteous Jephthah was the illegitimate son of a man of Gilead; after his father's death he was exiled by his legitimate brothers and withdrew to the land of Tob, where he became the leader of a band of "worthless men." When the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead summoned Jephthah to lead the army, promising him in return the position of leader of the people.

Before the battle, Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: if He granted him victory, he would offer as a burnt offering whatever first came out of the doors of his house to meet him upon his return. Having defeated the Ammonites, he was met, to his grief, by his own only daughter, who came out to greet him with rejoicing; after a two-month reprieve, requested by his daughter to mourn her virginity, Jephthah fulfilled his vow. He judged Israel for six years.

The Apostle Paul mentions Jephthah (alongside Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, and Samuel) in the Epistle to the Hebrews (11:32-33) among the Old Testament righteous who "through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises" — on this basis he is venerated by the Church as righteous.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: the original stub listed a commemoration date of "September 10/23" — targeted verification found no confirmation of this date in any source; the Orthodox Encyclopedia's own article on Jephthah gives no specific commemoration day. The best-attested mention of his memory is within the general commemoration of the Old Testament righteous named in Hebrews 11, during the period of the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers/Fathers. The category is confirmed as correct — "righteous," not "forefather" (Jephthah is a judge, not a patriarch in Christ's direct genealogical line).