10:6–12:7 Cf. 1 Sam. 12:11. The list of idols Israel followed (10:6) and the internal chaos of Israel became more pronounced (12:1–7). Jephthah brought only six years of peace (12:7) instead of peace for a generation (3:11, 30; 5:31; 8:28). Finally, Jephthah rashly and sinfully sacrificed his daughter (11:30–40 note).

Many things about Jephthah are reminiscent of Gideon, Abimelech, or Saul. Jephthah like Gideon was a “mighty man of valor” (6:12; 11:1). Both men made the Ephraimites angry by not calling them out to participate in battle (8:1–3; 12:1–6). Jephthah and Abimelech were both outcast sons, one born to a concubine and the other to a harlot. They gathered to themselves bands of adventurers (9:4; 11:3). Both Jephthah and Saul were made leaders in Mizpah (11:11; 1 Sam. 10:17). Both men faced Ammonites as their first adversaries (11:12–29; 1 Sam. 11:1–11). Jepthah and Saul each made an unwise vow that returned to threaten their firstborn, and each offered an unlawful sacrifice (11:30–40; 1 Sam. 13:8–14; 14:24–25).