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.
8 And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel.
9 And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
10 Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Beth-lehem.
11 And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.
12 And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.
14 And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.
15 And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

1And the men of Ephraim gathered themselues together, and went Northward, & said vnto Iephthah, Wherefore passedst thou ouer to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call vs to goe with thee? Wee will burne thine house vpon thee with fire.

2And Iephthah saide vnto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon: and when I called you, ye deliuered me not out of their hands.

3And when I sawe that ye deliuered me not, I put my life in my handes, and passed ouer against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliuered them into my hand: Wherfore then are ye come vp vnto me this day, to fight against me?

4Then Iephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Yee Gileadites are fugitiues of Ephraim, among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.

5And the Gileadites tooke the passages of Iordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so that when those Ephraimites which were escaped saide, Let me go ouer, that the men of Gilead said vnto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay:

6Then said they vnto him, Say now, Shibboleth: and he said, Sibboleth: for hee could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they tooke him, and slewe him at the passages of Iordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites, fourtie & two thousand.

7And Iephthah iudged Israel sixe yeeres: then died Iephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem iudged Israel.

9And hee had thirtie sonnes, and thirtie daughters, whome hee sent abroad, and tooke in thirtie daughters from abroad for his sonnes. And hee iudged Israel seuen yeeres.

10Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.

11 And after him, Elon, a Zebulonite iudged Israel, and he iudged Israel ten yeeres.

12And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aiialon in the countrey of Zebulun.

13 And after him, Abdon, the sonne of Hillel a Pirathonite iudged Israel.

14And he had fourty sonnes, and thirtie nephewes, that rode on threescore and ten asse-colts: and he iudged Israel eight yeeres,

15And Abdon the sonne of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

I == Judg 8:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

III == 1st Sam 19:5 ; 28:21 ; Job 13:14 ; Ps 119:109

 

 

 

IV == 1st Sam 25:10 ; Ps 78:9

 

 

 

 

V == Josh 22:11 ; Judg 3:28 ; 7:24

 

 

 

VI == Ps 69:2 , 15 ; Isa 27:12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == Judg 5:10 ; 10:4

 

XV == Judg 3:13 , 27 ; 5:14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 The men of Ephraim gathered together and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, "Why do you go on to fight with the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house over you."

2 Jephthah answered them, "My soldiers and I were engaged in a critical contest with the Ammonites. I summoned you, but you did not rescue me from their power.

3 When I saw that you would not effect a rescue, I took my life in my own hand and went on to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my power. Why, then, do you come up against me this day to fight with me?"

4 Then Jephthah called together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim, whom they defeated; for the Ephraimites had said, "You of Gilead are Ephraimite fugitives in territory belonging to Ephraim and Manasseh."

5 The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan toward Ephraim. When any of the fleeing Ephraimites said, "Let me pass," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he answered, "No!"

6 they would ask him to say "Shibboleth." If he said "Sibboleth," not being able to give the proper pronunciation, they would seize him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell at that time.

7 After having judged Israel for six years, Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.

8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

9 He had thirty sons. He also had thirty daughters married outside the family, and he brought in as wives for his sons thirty young women from outside the family. After having judged Israel for seven years,

10 Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

11 After him the Zebulunite Elon judged Israel. When he had judged Israel for ten years,

12 the Zebulunite Elon died and was buried in Elon in the land of Zebulun.

13 After him the Pirathonite Abdon, son of Hillel, judged Israel.

14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy saddle-asses. After having judged Israel for eight years,

15 the Pirathonite Abdon, son of Hillel, died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim on the mountain of the Amalekites.

v 1. As Ephraim was angry with Gideon for not being called to battle, 8:1, now they jump onto Jephthah for not calling them to battle, even threatening violence.

v 2,3. Apparently Jephthah had called Ephraim, but they tended to lag back until victory was evident, then wanted to join in for the spoils. Unlike patient Gideon, he rebukes them for coming at him that way.

 

 

v 4-7. Ephraim seemed intent on fighting so Jephthah took the fight to them. He killed many and cut off the fords where they might escape. Because Ephraimites may have had a genetical tongue tied situation, they could not get the right accent on Shibboleth. This gave away their identity and more were killed trying to escape at the fords. A total of 42,000 of them were killed, a high price to pay for their hot tempers. This weakened Ephraim for generations, and roots of bitterness remained. Jephthah acted in accordance with his reputation, 11:3, and what he thought was right, but it might have been better to have dealt with them as Gideon did. 

 

 

 

 

v 8-10. Ibzan was the tenth judge and 30 sons and 30 daughters would speak for his material status. Making marriages from outside his clan would indicate he was trying to make political alliances for unification.

 

 

v 11,12. The only things we know about Elon, the eleventh judge, are his tenure of ten years and his place of burial. 

 

v 13-15. Little is known of Abdon, the twelfth judge except his eight year tenure and apparent status. The 40 sons and 30 grandsons riding on ass colts would be a mark of prestige. His burial in the mount of the Amalekites may indicate he had some conflict with them.