Judges 12:1-7
Expanded Bible
Jephthah and Ephraim
12 The men of Ephraim called all their soldiers together and crossed the river to the town of Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why didn’t you call us to help you fight the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon]? We will burn your house down ·with you in it [over you].”
2 Jephthah answered them, “My people and I fought a great battle against the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon]. I called you, but you didn’t ·come to help me [L save/rescue/T deliver me from their hand]. 3 When I saw that you would not help me, I risked my own life and went against the Ammonites. The Lord ·handed them over to me [L gave them into my hand]. So why have you come to fight against me today?”
4 Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together and fought the men of Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You men of Gilead are ·nothing but deserters [or fugitives; or renegades] from Ephraim—living ·between [or in the territory of] Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 The men of Gilead captured the ·crossings [fords; 3:28] of the Jordan River ·that led to the country of [opposite] Ephraim. A person from Ephraim trying to escape would say, “Let me cross the river.” Then the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he replied no, 6 they would say to him, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth [the word means “flood” or “stream” in Hebrew].’” The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly [C the difference in accent gave them away (cf. Matt. 26:73)]. So if the person from Ephraim said, “Sibboleth,” the men of Gilead would kill him at the ·crossing [ford]. So forty-two thousand people from Ephraim were killed at that time.
7 Jephthah ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel for six years. Then Jephthah, the man from Gilead, died and was buried in a town in Gilead.
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Judges 12:1-7
Amplified Bible
Jephthah and His Successors
12 The men of [the tribe of] Ephraim were summoned [to action], and they crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight with the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? [For that] we will burn your house down upon you.” 2 And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a major conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called you [for help], you did not rescue me from their hand. 3 So when I saw that you were not coming to help me, I took my life in my hands and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. So why have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” 4 Then Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and fought with [the tribe of] Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim, in the midst of [the tribes of] Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 And the Gileadites took the [a]fords of the Jordan opposite the Ephraimites; and when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 6 they said to him, “Then say ‘Shibboleth.’” And he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not [b]pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell.
7 Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
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- Judges 12:5 I.e. narrow or shallow places where a river may be crossed by wading.
- Judges 12:6 Lit speak thus. The difference in pronunciation was between a Hebrew consonant with an ‘sh’ sound, which the Ephraimites evidently did not have in their dialect, and another consonant with a sharp ‘s’ sound. This difference was similar to that between the Hebrew greeting “Shalom,” and the greeting “Salaam” used in Islamic circles. Shibboleth has even been accepted into English as a word meaning “a peculiarity of pronunciation.” In Hebrew it refers to an ear or head of grain.
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