Judges12
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1And the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they 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 thy house upon thee with fire.
2And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand.
3And when I saw that ye saved me not, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
4Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye are fugitives of Ephraim, ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh.
5And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And it was so, that, when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
6then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he could not frame to pronounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty and two thousand.
7And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel.
9And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
10And Ibzan died, and was buried at Beth-lehem.
11And after him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.
12And Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13And after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
14And he had forty sons and thirty sons’ sons, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.
15And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Judges 12.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Ephraimites quarrel with Jephthah. (1–7). Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon judge Israel. (8–15).
vv1-7
The Ephraimites had the same quarrel with Jephthah as with Gideon. Pride was at the bottom of the quarrel; only by that comes contention. It is ill to fasten names of reproach upon persons or countries, as is common, especially upon those under outward disadvantages. It often occasions quarrels that prove of ill consequence, as it did here. No contentions are so bitter as those between brethren or rivals for honour. What need we have to watch and pray against evil tempers! May the Lord incline all his people to follow after things which make for peace!
vv8-15
We have here a short account of three more of the judges of Israel. The happiest life of individuals, and the happiest state of society, is that which affords the fewest remarkable events. To live in credit and quiet, to be peacefully useful to those around us, to possess a clear conscience; but, above all, and without which nothing can avail, to enjoy communion with God our Saviour while we live, and to die at peace with God and man, form the substance of all that a wise man can desire.
Key Words
אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
אֶפְרַיִם: Ephrajim, a son of Joseph; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory
צָעַק: to shriek; (by implication) to proclaim (an assembly)
עָבַר: to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation)
צָפוֹן: properly, hidden, i.e. dark; used only of the north as aquarter (gloomy and unknown)
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
יִפְתָּח: Jiphtach, an Israelite; also a place in Palestine
לָחַם: to feed on; figuratively, to consume; by implication, to battle (as destruction)
קָרָא: to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
יָלַךְ: to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses)
Cross References
Judges 12Ephraim's prideful, irritable complaint to Jephthah mirrors their earlier contentious behavior toward Gideon.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Exemplifies the idiomatic expression 'I put my life in my hands' to represent imminent danger.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel use of the Hebrew idiom of putting one's life in one's hand to face danger.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Another occurrence of the biblical idiom 'put my life in my hand' signifying extreme risk.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrast: Ephraim previously seized the waters of Jordan against Midian, but now Gilead takes them against Ephraim.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Illustrates how a regional accent or pronunciation (dialect) betrays a person's geographic origin.
Supported by JFB
Details the preceding diplomatic and military struggle Jephthah had with the Ammonites.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Apostolic confirmation of Jephthah's inclusion among the exemplars of faith.
Supported by JFB
Parallel description of a minor judge (Jair) with numerous sons and status-revealing ass colts.
Supported by JFB
The large number of children reflects polygamy and the prestigious status of the judge.
Supported by JFB
Biblical maxim stating that pride is the fundamental cause of such bitter contentions.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Direct parallel in the immediate context of Abdon's extensive progeny riding ass colts.
Supported by JFB
Parallel threat of burning someone's house down with fire, showing the volatile culture.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Verbal echo of riding on white asses as a symbol of nobility and leadership.
Supported by Matthew Henry