The other judge accounts end with mentioning some years of peace following the judge’s work of deliverance. The Jephthah narrative, however, ends instead with the report of Jephthah’s death and burial. This statement is generally excluded from the other accounts: the deaths of Othniel and Deborah are not mentioned, and Ehud’s death is reported in the Barak/Deborah account, in order to help explain what led to the people’s return to evil. Likewise, Gideon’s death is mentioned to help explain why the people returned to idolatry (Judges 8:33).
In Jephthah’s case, the report of his death at the end of the account is designed to express the idea that whereas the other judges acted well, and the evil commenced only after their lifetimes, Jephthah’s life is to be evaluated negatively.
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7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.