Judges 12

This chapter belongs to the latter part of the book of Judges. Following the account in Judges 11 of Jephthah's victory over the Ammonites, it describes the intertribal conflict that broke out after that victory. The next chapter, Judges 13, begins the story of Samson.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 The Ephraimites come to Jephthah, demanding to know why he did not call them when he went to fight against Ammon, and threaten to burn his house down. Jephthah replies that he did call them, but they did not come.
• Verses 4–6 The men of Gilead strike Ephraim and defeat them. Guarding the fords of the Jordan, they make each fugitive say "Shibboleth," and if he says "Sibboleth," they kill him. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites die.
• Verse 7 Jephthah judges Israel six years, then dies and is buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
• Verses 8–10 Ibzan of Bethlehem becomes judge. He has thirty sons and thirty daughters, judges for seven years, and is buried in Bethlehem.
• Verses 11–12 Elon the Zebulonite judges for ten years and is buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
• Verses 13–15 Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, becomes judge. His forty sons and thirty grandsons ride on seventy ass colts. After eight years he dies and is buried in Pirathon.

Key Verses

• Judges 12:3 "I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon" — Jephthah's defense of the justice of his campaign.
• Judges 12:6 "Say now Shibboleth" — the scene in which a man's origin is exposed by a difference in pronunciation; this is the best-known passage in the chapter.

People and Places

• Jephthah: A judge from Gilead.
• The Ephraimites: One of the twelve tribes of Israel, a large tribe west of the Jordan.
• The Gileadites: Israelites living in the region of Gilead east of the Jordan.
• The fords of the Jordan River: Shallow crossing places in the river that become the setting of the conflict.
• Ibzan: A judge from Bethlehem.
• Elon: A judge from Zebulun, buried in Aijalon.
• Abdon: A judge from Pirathon. Pirathon is described as lying in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

Points for Reflection

• Ephraim had voiced the same complaint in the time of Gideon (Judges 8:1–3). Gideon pacified them, but in Jephthah's time the dispute led to fighting among fellow Israelites. This contrast is commonly read as illustrating the deepening intertribal conflict of the period of the judges.
• "Shibboleth" is generally understood to mean an ear of grain or a stream. In English, the word "shibboleth" has come to mean a marker that distinguishes the members of a group.
• Interpreters differ on whether Ibzan's Bethlehem is the Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah or the Bethlehem in the territory of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). Jewish tradition identifies Ibzan with Boaz, but the text itself makes no such statement.
• For Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, the text records no deeds, only the length of their rule, their children, and their burial places. For this reason they are often called "minor judges," together with Tola and Jair in Judges 10:1–5.
• In the New Testament, Jephthah is named among the people of faith in Hebrews 11:32.