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Jeftas strid med efraimitterne

12 Lederne af Efraims stamme samlede nu deres hær. De krydsede Jordanfloden og kom til Zafon, hvor de gav udtryk for deres vrede mod Jefta. „Hvorfor ønskede du ikke vores hjælp i krigen mod ammonitterne?” spurgte de. „Nu brænder vi dit hus ned, så du omkommer!”

„Det har I misforstået,” svarede Jefta. „Jeg sendte bud efter jer, men I ville ikke hjælpe mig, da jeg havde brug for jer. Derfor tog jeg af sted uden jer og satte derved livet på spil. Men Herren hjalp mig til at besejre fjenden. Hvorfor vil I da bekæmpe mig nu?”

Men efraimitterne hånede mændene fra Gilead ved at hævde, at de var flygtninge, som ikke havde ret til at bo i det land, der tilhørte Efraim og Manasse.[a] Da blev Jefta vred og samlede Gileads hær, hvorefter han gik til angreb på efraimitterne. Han besatte vadestederne ved Jordanfloden bag den efraimitiske hær og afskar dem således fra at flygte tilbage over floden. Hver gang en af dem forsøgte at komme over, blev han fanget af Jeftas vagtposter.

„Er du efraimit?” spurgte de. Hvis manden svarede nej, gav de ham ordre til at bevise det ved at udtale ordet „shibbolet”. Hvis han kunne udtale det korrekt, gik han fri, men hvis han sagde „sibbolet”, beviste det, at han var efraimit—og så blev han hugget ned. Ved den lejlighed døde 42.000 efraimitter.

Jefta var dommer i Israel i seks år. Da han døde, blev han begravet i en af Gileads byer.[b]

Andre dommere efter Jefta

Jefta blev efterfulgt som dommer i Israel af Ibsan fra Betlehem. Han havde 30 sønner og 30 døtre. Han bortgiftede sine døtre til mænd udenfor sin slægt, og han lod sine sønner gifte sig med piger fra andre slægter. Ibsan var dommer i Israel i syv år, 10 hvorefter han døde og blev begravet i Betlehem.

11-12 Efter ham fulgte Elon fra Zebulons stamme. Han var dommer i Israel i ti år, hvorefter han døde og blev begravet i Ajjalon i Zebulons land.

13 Så fulgte Abdon, søn af Hillel fra Piraton. 14 Han var dommer i Israel i otte år. Han havde 40 sønner og 30 sønnesønner, der red på 70 æsler. 15 Da han døde, blev han begravet i Piraton i Efraims område i amalekitternes bjergland.

Footnotes

  1. 12,4 Teksten er usikker, og en del af den mangler i LXX.
  2. 12,7 Eller: „i sin by i Gilead”, teksten er uklar.

Jephthah's Conflict with Ephraim

12 (A)The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.” And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand. And when I saw that you would not save me, (B)I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, (C)“You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.” And the Gileadites captured (D)the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,” they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at (E)the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.

Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.[a]

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he gave in marriage outside his clan, and thirty daughters he brought in from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.

11 After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

13 After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14 He had forty (F)sons and thirty grandsons, who (G)rode on seventy donkeys, and he judged Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 12:7 Septuagint; Hebrew in the cities of Gilead

Jephthah and Ephraim

12 The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon.(A) They said to Jephthah,(B) “Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you?(C) We’re going to burn down your house over your head.”

Jephthah answered, “I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands. When I saw that you wouldn’t help, I took my life in my hands(D) and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory(E) over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?”

Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead(F) and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.(G) The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan(H) leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he replied, “No,” they said, “All right, say ‘Shibboleth.’” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.

Jephthah led[a] Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon and Abdon

After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem(I) led Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. 12 Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon(J) in the land of Zebulun.

13 After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon,(K) led Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons,(L) who rode on seventy donkeys.(M) He led Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.(N)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 12:7 Traditionally judged; also in verses 8-14

Jephthah’s Conflict with Ephraim

12 Then (A)the men of Ephraim [a]gathered together, crossed over toward Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the people of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you with fire!”

And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a great struggle with the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands. So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I (B)took my life in my hands and crossed over against the people of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites (C)are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.” The Gileadites seized the (D)fords of the Jordan before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” then they would say to him, “Then say, (E)‘Shibboleth’!”[b] And he would say, “Sibboleth,” for he could not [c]pronounce it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites.

And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried among the cities of Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons. And he gave away thirty daughters in marriage, and brought in thirty daughters from elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.

11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years. 12 And Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.

13 After him, Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who (F)rode on seventy young donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, (G)in the mountains of the Amalekites.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 12:1 were summoned
  2. Judges 12:6 Lit. a flowing stream; used as a test of dialect
  3. Judges 12:6 Lit. speak so