Judges
Chapter 12
War with the Ephraimites
The men of Ephraim gathered, crossed the Jordan northward, and said to Jephthah:
“Why did you go and attack the Ammonites without asking us to march with you? For this, we shall burn you inside your house.”
Jephthah answered them:
“My people and I had a great struggle with the Ammonites. I asked for your help, but you did not save me from their hands.
When I saw that no one had come to help me, I risked my own life and marched against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hands. Why, then, have you come up today to fight me?”
Then, Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and attacked Ephraim. The Gileadites defeated the Ephraimites, who told them, “You, Gileadites, are fugitives who crossed from Ephraim and Manasseh.”
Gilead seized the shallow waters of the Jordan and blocked the way. Whenever a fugitive from Ephraim said, “Let me pass,” the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he responded, “No,”
they would add, “Then say Shibboleth.”
But then he would say, “Sibboleth,” for an Ephraimite who could not pronounce it correctly. So they would seize him and cut his throat by the shallow waters of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand men from Ephraim perished at that time.
Jephthah was the judge in Israel for six years. Then, he died and was buried in his city, Mizpah of Gilead.
Minor Judges II
After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem was a judge in Israel.
He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. His thirty daughters were given in marriage outside his clan, but he brought in thirty women for his sons. He was the judge in Israel for seven years.
When Ibzan died, he was buried in Bethlehem.
After him, Elon the Zebulunite became the judge in Israel. He governed Israel for ten years.
Then he died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
After him, Abdon, the son of Hillel of Pirathon, was the judge in Israel.
He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy asses. He was the judge in Israel for eight years.
Then he died and was buried at Pirathon, in the mountains of Ephraim, in the mountain of the Amorites.
Commentaries
The Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter – War with the Ephraimites.
The Spirit of God comes upon Jephthah only after he defends God’s plan before the king of the Ammo-nites (29). Unfortunately, even with God’s help, Jephthah is unable to act wisely. Jephthah confuses the deities with the Lord: human sacrifice may be acceptable to pagan gods, but it is never permissible to the God of Israel, who strictly forbids such sacrifices (Lv 18:21; 20:2-5; Dt 12:31; 18:10). Although Jephthah “believes” in the Lord, he does not worship him as the God of life; instead, he attempts to assume God’s role by sacrificing his daughter. Jephthah’s foolishness reaches its peak when he offers as a sacrifice the first person to come out and greet him at his door (11:34). And this person is his daughter. How many wrongful acts are carried out in God’s name? Maybe it’s time to seek forgiveness and acknowledge that God has never supported oppressing the poor or accepting sacrifices of death.
Minor Judges II.
Jephthah’s “victory” is dark not only because of the sacrifice of his daughter but also due to the many divisions and conflicts among the tribes. The author began the cycle of Jephthah with a list of two minor judges (10:1-5), and now ends this dramatic episode with another list that includes three new judges. After this second group of minor judges, the author begins the cycle of the controversial Samson.