Judges 12:1-6

Ephraimites Slain by Jephthah Judges 12:1-6

And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire.
2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.
3 And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.
5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

1.

What was the ground of the complaint? Judges 12:1

They were probably wanting spoils. The children of Ephraim had been blessed throughout much of Israel's history. Jacob had adopted Ephraim as one of his sons and given the descendants of Ephraim the status of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. When he pronounced his blessings on his twelve sons, he prophesied that Ephraim would be like a fruitful bough. Joshua, the first leader of the people of Israel in the Promised Land, was from this tribe; and in many ways they had taken a place of leadership. When Jephthah arose and delivered the Israelites from the oppressing Ammonites, these Ephraimites probably felt they had not been given proper opportunity to assume the role of leader.

2.

When had Jephthah called the men of Ephraim? Judges 12:2

Since the children of Ephraim said that Jephthah had not called them and Jephthah said he had called them, two different times of calling must have occurred. Probably Jephthah had given indication earlier that the Ammonites were oppressing the Gileadites. Nothing had been done about it, however, until the enemies from the east crossed Jordan and entered into the territory belonging to the tribes who lived west of the Jordan. Even then, the western tribes had not been able to provide proper leadership. In their desperation, they came to Jephthah and asked him to take the place of leadership. Jephthah had marched boldly ahead, and God had used him mightily.

3.

What attitude did the men of Epbraim take toward the Gileadites? Judges 12:4

The Ephraimites had called the Gileadites fugitives of Ephraim. They indicated they were like unwelcome foreigners among the Ephraimites and the Manassites. Such a description would be used only of those who were regarded as inferior, and this must have aroused animosity among the Gileadites.

4.

Why did the men of Ephraim deny their identity? Judges 12:5

After the Gileadites took possession of the fords of the Jordan, the Ephraimites were afraid to reveal their true identity. As these warriors began to filter back to their land on the west side of the Jordan after having fought in Gilead on the east of Jordan, they were accosted by the Gileadites who controlled the crossings of the Jordan. It was then that the Gileadites asked for proper identification of these returning soldiers. When they asked one if he were an Ephraimite, he denied it because he was afraid for his life.

5.

Why were they not able to pronounce the word? Judges 12:6

Their speech organs were shaped by usage so as to prevent proper pronunciation. After pronouncing a word in a certain way a person becomes so accustomed to this pronunciation that he is unable to pronounce it differently. Such habits of speech become very deeply entrenched, and it is possible to identify a person's homeland by listening to his speech. During the trial of Jesus, those who identified Peter as one of His disciples said, Thy speech maketh thee known (Matthew 26:73). In other accounts of Peter's denials he was identified as a Galilean. Quite evidently, the speech habits of those in Galilee were different from those in Judea. It is possible even today to identify people from different localities by the way in which they speak.

Jephtha's death Judges 12:7

7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.