Was Jephthah’s sacrifice of his daughter to YHWH in Judges 11:29-40 legitimate? God never required human sacrifices, and always told the Israelites to substitute their firstborn males that were dedicated to him with animals (Exodus 13:11-16, Numbers 3:40-51). The firstborn of all clean animals got burnt on the altar, for unclean animals they could be killed outside the camp (unclean animals don’t belong on the altar) or substituted with a clean animal. Humans however were never to be killed and to be substituted with a clean animal, just like how Abraham substituted Isaac with a ram. Substitution for humans was always God’s intent and this points to Jesus being substituted for our sins.

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