Skip to content
Judges / Jephthah's Clash with Ephraim and the 'Shibboleth'
Navigation
A A

Jephthah's Clash with Ephraim and the 'Shibboleth'

Judges 12:1-7

12
Chapter 12
1 A man of Ephraim cried out, and he crossed over northwards. And they said to Jephthah, "Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire." 2 And Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were men of strife with the sons of Ammon greatly, and I cried out to you, but you did not save me from their hand." 3 And I saw that you were not saving, so I put my life in my hand and crossed over to the sons of Ammon, and he gave them into my hand. And why have you come up to me this day to fight against me? 4 And Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim, and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim because they said, "Escapees of Ephraim, you Gilead in the midst of Ephraim, in the midst of Manasseh." 5 And Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan to Ephraim. And it was, when the survivors of Ephraim said, "I will cross over," that the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" And he said, "No." 6 And they said to him, "Say please shibboleth," and he said "sibboleth," and he did not prepare to speak thus. And they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time from Ephraim forty-two thousand. 7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in the cities of Gilead.