Judg 12:1-6 | NETfull | STEP | The Ephraimites assembled and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight with the Ammonites without asking us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!”

Judges 12:1-6

1 The Ephraimites assembled ^{▼▼Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”} and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight ^{▼▼Heb “cross over to fight.”} with the Ammonites without asking ^{▼▼ Or “calling”; or “summoning.”} us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” ^{▼▼Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”}

2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites. ^{▼▼Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”} I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power. ^{▼▼Heb “hand.”} 3 When I saw that you were not going to help, ^{▼▼Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”} I risked my life ^{▼▼Heb “I put my life in my hand.”} and advanced against ^{▼▼Heb “crossed over to.”} the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up ^{▼▼ The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.} to fight with me today?” 4 Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying, ^{▼▼Heb “because they said.”} “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.” ^{▼▼Heb “Refugees of Ephraim are you, O Gilead, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” The LXX omits the entire second half of the verse (beginning with “because”). The words כִּי אָמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם (ki ’amru p^elitey ’efrayim, “because they said, ‘Refugees of Ephraim’”) may have been accidentally copied from the next verse (cf. כִּי יֹאמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם, ki yo’m^eru pelitey ’efrayim) and the following words (“you, O Gilead…Manasseh”) then added in an attempt to make sense of the verse. See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 307–8, and C. F. Burney, Judges, 327. If the Hebrew text is retained, then the Ephraimites appear to be insulting the Gileadites by describing them as refugees who are squatting on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s land. The present translation assumes that “Ephraim” is a genitive of location after “refugees.”} 5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River ^{▼▼ The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.} opposite Ephraim. ^{▼▼ Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.} Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive ^{▼▼ The Hebrew text has a plural form here.} said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked ^{▼▼Heb “say to.”} him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 6 then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” ^{▼▼ The inability of the Ephraimites to pronounce the word shibboleth the way the Gileadites did served as an identifying test. It illustrates that during this period there were differences in pronunciation between the tribes. The Hebrew word shibboleth itself means “stream” or “flood,” and was apparently chosen simply as a test case without regard to its meaning.} If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word ^{▼▼Heb “and could not prepare to speak.” The precise meaning of יָכִין (yakhin) is unclear. Some understand it to mean “was not careful [to say it correctly]”; others emend to יָכֹל (yakhol, “was not able [to say it correctly]”) or יָבִין (yavin, “did not understand [that he should say it correctly]”), which is read by a few Hebrew mss.} correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell dead.