seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Judges 12:1 The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We’re going to burn down your house over your head.”
2 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. 3 When I saw that you wouldn’t help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?”
4 Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan 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,” 6 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.
7 Jephthah led[a] Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.
2 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. 3 When I saw that you wouldn’t help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?”
4 Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan 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,” 6 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.
7 Jephthah led[a] Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.
a. Judges 12:7 Traditionally judged; also in verses 8-14
This is from the easy English site.
Here in chapter 12, the men from Ephraim’s tribe complained. They complained because Jephthah had not asked them to fight. They were the most important tribe in the area. But Jephthah had not asked them to help. So they thought that he had insulted them. Earlier, in Judges 8:1, they had also complained similarly to Gideon. Gideon had tried to make them less angry then. But now, Jephthah’s attitude was firm. The people in Gilead had probably asked for help before. Jephthah thought that he should not invite Ephraim’s tribe to a battle about Gilead. In any case, God had won the victory. Ephraim’s tribe actually wanted to control the whole area. The argument got worse. The people from Ephraim’s tribe said that the people in Gilead had left them. Jephthah defeated the men from Ephraim’s tribe. He stopped their escape at the places where they would cross the river. He tested them to hear whether they pronounced a certain word ‘Shibboleth’ or ‘Sibboleth’. This showed whether the person was from Gilead or Ephraim’s tribe. The word means a ‘stream that is in flood’.
Jephthah ruled for 6 years. He had killed very many people from Ephraim’s tribe. As a result, that tribe was now much smaller. It was never the biggest tribe again. The Hebrew word ‘thousand’ can also mean a family group rather than an actual number. So maybe Jephthah and his men killed 42 families rather than 42 000 people. Nobody is quite sure about this. Israel’s people were becoming foolish. And as a result, the 12 tribes were not helping each other so much any more. Jephthah did what he had said. He was like the man in Psalm 15:4. He ‘did what he had promised, even when it hurt’. Jephthah still needed to learn a lot about God. But he was loyal to what he knew.
Jephthah ruled for 6 years. He had killed very many people from Ephraim’s tribe. As a result, that tribe was now much smaller. It was never the biggest tribe again. The Hebrew word ‘thousand’ can also mean a family group rather than an actual number. So maybe Jephthah and his men killed 42 families rather than 42 000 people. Nobody is quite sure about this. Israel’s people were becoming foolish. And as a result, the 12 tribes were not helping each other so much any more. Jephthah did what he had said. He was like the man in Psalm 15:4. He ‘did what he had promised, even when it hurt’. Jephthah still needed to learn a lot about God. But he was loyal to what he knew.
I keep thinking about Jephthah's daughter.... God didn't give Jephthah a substitute as He had done for Abraham. The difference is that God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son [Isaac] but Jephthah vowed he would sacrifice the first person that came out the door of his home. Then he was heartbroken to see that the one person he valued came out. There is no doubt in my mind that Jephthah was good for his word.
It's Ironic that this story is about a word.... when Jephthah has just shown us that he's good for his word. When he says he'll do something, he stands up and gets it done.
I got this from Bible.org.
There was a problem, however. Many people crossed the Jordan River. How would the Gileadites be able to distinguish their Ephraimite enemies from the rest of those seeking to cross the Jordan? They devised a very simple, but effective test. The Ephraimites could not pronounce the “sh” sound. The best they could do was to produce a simple “s” sound. This is true today. My Indian brothers have difficulty producing the “v” sound; it comes out more like a “w” sound. Other races have their own unique pronunciation problems. There are sounds in Spanish that I cannot even begin to approximate.
So, when a person came to one of the fords of the Jordan River, they were asked if they were an Ephraimite. Naturally, an Ephraimite would deny their origins because they knew that they would be killed if they admitted to being one of the enemy. And so those who denied being Ephraimites were given a simple test, “Say ‘Shibboleth.’” A non-Ephraimite could easily do so, but no matter how hard an Ephraimite might try, the best they could do was to say “Sibboleth” (without the “sh” sound). And when they did so, they were executed. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites died in this conflict.
So, when a person came to one of the fords of the Jordan River, they were asked if they were an Ephraimite. Naturally, an Ephraimite would deny their origins because they knew that they would be killed if they admitted to being one of the enemy. And so those who denied being Ephraimites were given a simple test, “Say ‘Shibboleth.’” A non-Ephraimite could easily do so, but no matter how hard an Ephraimite might try, the best they could do was to say “Sibboleth” (without the “sh” sound). And when they did so, they were executed. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites died in this conflict.
