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judges 12:1-7

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Judges 12:1-7

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”

— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

1. And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and 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 thine house upon thee with fire. 2. And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands. 3. And when I saw that ye delivered [me] not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me? 4. Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites [are] fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, [and] among the Manassites. 5. And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was [so], that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, [Art] thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; 6. Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce [it] right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. 7. And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.

Judges 12:1-7 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Judges 12:1

Theological / Devotional

Northward. Hebrew, saphonah. Gilead was to the east and northeast of Ephraim. Because of this, most Bible translations give the word as a proper name. There was a town by the name of Zaphon in the Jordan valley, on the Gilead side, not far from Suecoth (Joshua 13:27).

Passedst thou over. They do not mean that he crossed the Jordan, but that he marched against the Ammonites.

Didst not call us. Both here and in Judges 8:1-3 the tribe of Ephraim is presented in an unfavorable light. They were passive in time of oppression, and arrogant when others had taken the initiative and won the victory. Gideon had been conciliatory toward them and overlooked their boorishness, but Jephthah was in no mood to become subservient to them. Their alleged grievance stemmed from their desire to be regarded as the leading Israelite tribe. Their pride led them to resent having had no part in the glory of the victory. Moreover, they denied to Gilead the right of separate action, let alone that of choosing a ruler.

By SdaBc

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