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Juízes 12

ARC · Chapter 12/21

1Então se convocaram os homens d'Ephraim, e passaram para o norte, e disseram a Jefthe: Porque passaste a combater contra os filhos d'Ammon, e não nos chamaste para ir comtigo? queimaremos a fogo a tua casa comtigo.

2E Jefthe lhes disse: Eu e o meu povo tivemos grande contenda com os filhos d'Ammon: e chamei-vos, e não me livrastes da sua mão;

3E, vendo eu que me não livraveis, puz a minha alma na minha mão, e passei aos filhos de Ammon, e o Senhor m'os entregou nas mãos: porque pois subistes vós hoje contra mim, para combater contra mim

4E ajuntou Jefthe a todos os homens de Gilead, e combateu com Ephraim: e os homens de Gilead feriram a Ephraim; porque, estando os gileaditas entre Ephraim e Manasseh, disseram: Fugitivos sois d'Ephraim.

5Porque tomaram os gileaditas aos ephraimitas os váos do Jordão: e succedeu que, quando os fugitivos d'Ephraim diziam: Passarei; então os homens de Gilead lhes diziam: Es tu ephratita? E dizendo elle: Não;

6Então lhe diziam: Dize pois, Shibboleth; porém elle dizia: Sibboleth, porque o não podia pronunciar assim bem: então pegavam d'elle, e o degolavam aos váos do Jordão: e cairam de Ephraim n'aquelle tempo quarenta e dois mil.

7E Jefthe julgou a Israel seis annos: e Jefthe, o gileadita, falleceu, e foi sepultado nas cidades de Gilead.

8E depois d'elle julgou a Israel Ebsan de Beth-lehem.

9E tinha este trinta filhos; e enviou fóra a trinta filhas; e trinta filhas trouxe de fóra para seus filhos: e julgou a Israel sete annos.

10Então falleceu Ebsan, e foi sepultado em Beth-lehem.

11E depois d'elle julgou a Israel Elon, o zebulonita: e julgou a Israel dez annos.

12E falleceu Elon, o zebulonita, e foi sepultado em Ayalon, na terra de Zebulon.

13E depois d'elle julgou a Israel Abdon, filho d'Hillel, o pirhathonita.

14E tinha este quarenta filhos, e trinta filhos de filhos, que cavalgavam sobre setenta jumentos: e julgou a Israel oito annos.

15Então falleceu Abdon, filho d'Hillel, o pirathonita: e foi sepultado em Pirathon, na terra de Ephraim, no monte do amalekita.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The tribe of Ephraim threatens Jephthah for not having been called to war, resulting in an internal conflict in which the test word 'Shibboleth' identifies and kills 42,000 Ephraimites. Three minor judges follow: Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon.

Explanation

The conflict between Jephthah and Ephraim reveals how tribal rivalries within Israel itself could become just as violent as wars against outside enemies, undermining the national unity that was essential to the people's strength. The linguistic test of pronouncing 'Shibboleth' (which the Ephraimites pronounced 'Sibboleth,' due to a regional dialect difference) is one of the earliest historical records of accent being used as a marker of identity and, in this tragic case, as an instrument of death. The brief accounts of the following judges, mentioned only by their periods of judgeship and family details, show that not every leader of Israel had a dramatic story — many simply served with quiet faithfulness.

Fun facts

  • The 'Shibboleth' episode gave rise to the modern word 'shibboleth' (used in both Portuguese and English), still used today to describe a word or custom that identifies a group's origin or loyalty.
  • The difference in pronunciation between the tribes (sh/s) reflects real dialectal variation within ancient Hebrew, something modern linguists also observe in other Semitic languages of the region.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Juízes 12:1The men of Ephraim gather together and confront Jephthah for not being called to fight against the Ammonites, even threatening to burn his house down over him. It is the same complaint Ephraim had already raised with Gideon back in chapter 8.
  2. Juízes 12:2Jephthah answers that he and his people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and that he did call Ephraim, but they did not come to help when they were called.
  3. Juízes 12:3Seeing that no one was helping him, Jephthah says he took his life in his own hands and attacked the Ammonites on his own, with the Lord giving him the victory; so he cannot understand why Ephraim has now come to attack him.
  4. Juízes 12:4Jephthah gathers the men of Gilead and fights against Ephraim; the Gileadites win, since the Ephraimites had insulted them, calling them fugitives.
  5. Juízes 12:5The Gileadites seize the fords of the Jordan to cut off the Ephraimites’ escape; whenever a fugitive tried to cross, they would ask him if he was an Ephraimite.
  6. Juízes 12:6The word Shibboleth becomes a pronunciation test because the fleeing Ephraimites could not manage the initial sound and said Sibboleth instead. It is a detail of regional accent that the Gileadites use to identify and kill the fugitives at the fords of the Jordan.
  7. Juízes 12:7Jephthah judges Israel for six years, dies, and is buried in the cities of Gilead.
  8. Juízes 12:8Ibzan is one of the so-called “minor judges,” mentioned briefly with no battles recounted, unlike names such as Gideon or Samson, who get whole chapters devoted to them.
  9. Juízes 12:9Ibzan has thirty sons and thirty daughters; he marries his daughters off outside the clan and brings in outside wives for his sons; he judges Israel for seven years.
  10. Juízes 12:10This Bethlehem is not necessarily the more famous city of Judah, where David and Jesus would later be born; there are signs it is a different Bethlehem, this one in the territory of Zebulun.
  11. Juízes 12:11After him, Elon, of the tribe of Zebulun, judges Israel for ten years.
  12. Juízes 12:12Elon judged Israel for ten years, one of the minor judges on the list, about whom the Bible records almost nothing beyond how long he judged and where he was buried.
  13. Juízes 12:13After Elon, Abdon, the son of Hillel, of Pirathon, judges Israel.
  14. Juízes 12:14Abdon has forty sons and thirty grandsons, all of them riding on seventy donkeys, a sign of wealth and standing; he judges Israel for eight years.
  15. Juízes 12:15Abdon dies and is buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in a hill country associated with the Amalekites.

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