And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
I have opened my mouth, х paatsiytiy (H6475)] - the verb used for the utterance of rash, hasty, and foolish words (cf. Job 35:16; Psalms 66:13-14); and it is perfectly evident that the daughter had no knowledge of what her father had bound himself by solemn obligation to do, until he informed her; and when, on the startling information being communicated, that her own fate was involved in his vow, does it seem wonderful that, under the mental agitation the intelligence must have produced, she requested that the performance of the vow should be delayed for a specified time. When that time had expired, she returned home, and surrendered herself, with filial piety, to her father's disposal.