Jephthah's promise to the Lord

In the book of Judges, chapters 10-11, we come upon the tale of Jephthah.

Jephthah was a soldier, and born of a prostitute.  His father was Gilead, and his siblings rejected him at an early age.

But when he grew older and the Israelites needed a leader to defeat the Ammonites, they turned to Jephthah.  He tried to reason with the Ammonite king, to see the error their ways in worshipping other gods other than the Lord.

In the end, Jephthah promised God that if He was to help achieve them victory, the first person to come out of his home he will offer as a sacrifice to the Lord.  The Ammonites were quickly defeated, and upon Jephthah's return home he saw his daughter--his only child--come out of the house.  He told her what he had promised to God, and she agreed to be sacrified, although wished for it to be delayed two months while she went away with her friends.

He agreed.

And in two months time, she returned and she was sacrificed just like he promised.