He was courageous, but like all humans, he was flawed. He let his emotions get the better of his intellect. Jephthah made a vow to God, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the LORD’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering.” (NRSV, Judges 11:31) Jephthah was so enamored with the idea of military conquest that he did not consider the ramifications of such a rash, unholy vow.