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Juízes 12

BLIVRE · Chapter 12/21

1E juntando-se os homens de Efraim, passaram até o norte, e disseram a Jefté: Por que foste a fazer guerra contra os filhos de Amom, e não nos chamaste para que fôssemos contigo? Nós queimaremos a fogo tua casa contigo.

2E Jefté lhes respondeu: Eu tive, e meu povo, uma grande contenda com os filhos de Amom, e vos chamei, e não me defendestes de suas mãos.

3Vendo pois que não me defendíeis, pus minha alma em minha palma, e passei contra os filhos de Amom, e o SENHOR os entregou em minha mão: por que pois subistes hoje contra mim para lutar comigo?

4E juntando Jefté a todos os homens de Gileade, lutou contra Efraim; e os de Gileade feriram a Efraim, porque haviam dito: Vós sois fugitivos de Efraim, vós sois gileaditas entre Efraim e Manassés.

5E os gileaditas tomaram os vaus do Jordão a Efraim; e era que, quando algum dos de Efraim que havia fugido, dizia, passarei? Os de Gileade lhe perguntavam: És tu efraimita? Se ele respondia, Não;

6Então lhe diziam: Agora, pois, dize, Chibolete. E ele dizia, Sibolete; porque não podia pronunciar daquela sorte. Então lhe lançavam mão, e lhe degolavam junto aos vaus do Jordão. E morreram então dos de Efraim quarenta e dois mil.

7E Jefté julgou Israel por seis anos: logo morreu Jefté gileadita, e foi sepultado em uma das cidades de Gileade.

8Depois dele julgou a Israel Ibsã de Belém;

9O qual teve trinta filhos e trinta filhas, as quais casou fora, e tomou de fora trinta filhas para seus filhos: e julgou a Israel sete anos.

10E morreu Ibsã, e foi sepultado em Belém.

11Depois dele julgou a Israel Elom, zebulonita, o qual julgou Israel por dez anos.

12E morreu Elom, zebulonita, e foi sepultado em Aijalom na terra de Zebulom.

13Depois dele julgou a Israel Abdom filho de Hilel, piratonita.

14Este teve quarenta filhos e trinta netos, que cavalgavam sobre setenta asnos: e julgou a Israel oito anos.

15E morreu Abdom filho de Hilel, piratonita, e foi sepultado em Piratom, na terra de Efraim, no monte de Amaleque.

📖 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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