What a funny sounding name!

Running a reference on it, Jepthath is not in the top 1000 names currently being given to little boys these days. It saw it’s heyday way back in the 19th century, but even then it wasn’t a top-10 name.

Meaning “whom God sets free,” or “the breaker through,” Jepthath was a “mighty man of valor” who delivered Israel from the oppression of the Ammonites (Judges 11:1-33) and judged Israel for six years. The biblical character has been described as “a wild, daring, Gilead mountaineer, a sort of warrior Elijah.”

Not bad. Even if it does sound funny.

Unfortunately, the reality of who he was doesn’t match the strength of his name (read Judges 11).