STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS, 137

must have been conducting themselves very inoffensively,
when their enemies required to go back three hundred
years to find a pretext for quarrelling with them.

George. Had they been three hundred years in Ca-
naan? What year was this in?

Grandfather. It was not quite three hundred years
since the Israelites came into possession of the land ;
but we may suppose it was fully three hundred years
since the Ammonites had lost it. This year, in which
Jephthah arose to defend the children of Israel from the
incursions of the children of Ammon, was the year two
thousand eight hundred and seventeen after the crea-
tion of the world—one thousand one hundred and
eighty-seven before the birth of Christ. To the reason-
ing of Jephthah the Ammonites paid no attention ; so
there was no alternative—there must be war. J ephthah
vowed that when he returned in peace from the Ammonite
war, the first thing that came out of his house to meet
him would be the Lord’s ; he would offer it up for a
burnt-offering. Against the children of Ammon then
did Jephthah march, and the God whom he served
delivered them into his hands. He first defeated them
in the field, and then pursued them to their cities, where
he cut off all who opposed him. So the children of
Ammon were punished for their unprovoked crueity to the
children of Israel. When Jephthah returned to his house
at Mizpah, in the land of Gilead, his daughter, his only
child, came out joyfully to welcome him. “ Alas, my
daughter,” he cried, “ thou hast brought me very low,