One of the judges in ancient Israel.
According to the Book of Judges, he was the son of a Gileadite and a prostitute. After being cast out by his father's legitimate sons, he joined a band of brigands. When the Gileadites were oppressed by an Ammonite army, they asked Jephtha to aid them. He led them to victory, having first promised God a sacrifice of whatever he first saw when he left his house; his first sight happened to be his daughter. His significance in the Book of Judges is as an exemplar of Israel's fidelity to God.