Why a Cracker? Jephthah’s Daughter as the Unleavened Bread of Passover

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The Jephthah’s daughter narrative in Judges 11:34-39 is clearly an enigmatic passage in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, which calls for innovative and stimulating interpretation. This submission is an attempt in this direction.

The subject matter of this submission is biblical, theological and practical in scope.

The abstract is self definitive and provides relevant information about the contents.

The article has three sections: introduction, evidence and discussion. These sections are, however not logically connected, well described and defined in the abstract and introduction.

The introduction indicates a statement of problem, but lacks well-defined scope, objectives, methods and structure. It is rather a report of the narrative of Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11, which looks too long to serve as an introduction. The author(s) would need to revise the introduction, reducing the contents and addressing the relevant gamut of the problem, objectives, method and structure.   

Considering the last sentence of the second section on “evidence,” one would have expected the author(s) to clearly articulate the obvious relationship between the festival of Jephthah’s daughter and Maṣṣot, in his/her/their introduction.  The movement from a directionless introduction into sections of evidence and discussion that do not clearly articulate specific scholarly concerns makes the submission to be of relative merits. One would expect the author(s) to make clear his/her/their line of direction from the introduction with appropriate connectives.  The issues/problems that warrant evidence and discussion should be clearly highlighted with a structural framework and methods.

The use of Passover/Maṣṣot in the opening sentence of the introduction needs some revision. One is left wondering if the two terms are used interchangeably or mean different things.

The article’s language is academic and the literature used are representation of his/her/their subject. They are, however relatively insufficient in my evaluation. The submission would need a section of conclusion to reflect innovative dimensions that are properly anchored on the problem investigated and the solution reached. The submission would benefit from some revision before acceptance for publication.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Not a great deal of language editing is required; the quality of English language is academic.

Author Response

Many thanks for your comments and suggestions.  I have written a new introduction and a conclusion as indicated necessary and have better clarified the scope of the discussion.  I have more carefully articulated distinctions between the holidays of Passover and Maṣṣot. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The event from the book of Judges (11:34-40) called "Jephthah's Daughter" cannot be unequivocally connected to the Jewish holiday of Massot or Passover. This connection cannot be built on etymological similarities alone, when Jewish authors and biblical exegetes, including the Mishnah, do not mention it. (Eliahu Kitov, Das Judische Jahr; Elbogen Ismar, Der judische Gottesdienst in seiner geschichtlichen Entwicklung; Leo Trepp, Der judische Gottesdienst. Gestalt ud Entwicklung). The Passover sacrifice applies to firstborn males - Ex13:15. Human sacrifice was practiced in biblical times by Israelites, though forbidden by law. The sacrifice of the daughter is in the context of the victory over the Ammorites. According to Greek mythology, Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia. The holidays of Massot and Shavuot are the holidays of spring - summer, the celebration of the harvest of cereals, and during this period the girls' spring festivals took place in Israel. It was a folk tradition that must be distinguished from the liturgical celebration of originally two different holidays and subsequently joined, from Pesach-Massot.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English is understandable and clear, for the Hebrew terms I would like the original text, not the Latin transcription. I don't know what the editorial requirements are.

Author Response

Many thanks for your comments and suggestions.  I have more clearly defined the scope of the discussion to be pertain to Iron I-II folk tradition, distinguishing it from liturgical celebration.  I have also more carefully articulated the distinctions between Passover and Maṣṣot in Pentateuchal literature to help with this clarification.

I asked the editor with whom I am working what guidance they have on transliteration vs original text but have not received a response.  I would prefer to use transliteration simply to allow for wider audience accessibility unless the editorial requirements are otherwise specified.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf