士師記 12:1-5 JCB

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 12:2

When I called you ... - This circumstance is not related in the main narrative. It is likely to have occurred when Jephthah was first chosen leader by the Gileadites, and when Ephraim would probably ignore his pretensions. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 12:3

I put my life in my hands - Compare 1 Samuel 19:5; 1 Samuel 28:21. The phrase expresses the utmost possible risk, knowingly incurred. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 12:4

Because they said ... - This passage is extremely obscure. Render: - “The men of Gilead smote Ephraim, for they (the Gileadites) said, Ye are. the fugitives of Ephraim. (Gilead lies between Ephraim and Manasseh; and Gilead took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim, and it came to pass, when the fugitives of Ephraim said Let me pass over, and the Gileadites asked him, art thou an Ephraimite, and he answered No, Then (the Gileadites) said to him say Shibboleth, etc. So they (the Gileadites) killed... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 12:1

Judges 12:1. The men of Ephraim went northward Over Jordan, where Jephthah was, in the northern part of the land beyond Jordan. And said Through pride and envy, contending with him as they did before with Gideon; over to fight Not over Jordan, for there he was already; but over the borders of the Israelites’ land beyond Jordan. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 12:2-3

Judges 12:2-3. When I called you, ye delivered me not He answers them with great mildness, but denies their charge. He affirms that he had begged their assistance, but they had refused to grant it. When I saw that ye delivered me not When I became sensible that there was no hope of your assistance to preserve us from ruin; I put my life in my hand That is, I exposed myself to the utmost danger; as a man that carries a brittle and precious thing in his hand, which may easily either fall... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 12:4

Judges 12:4. The men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, &c. That which provoked the army of Jephthah to kill so many of them was their insulting language, added to their threats, whereby they reproached the men of Gilead, (who were the chief managers of the late war,) as if they were but the scum and dregs of the tribe of Ephraim. Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim A contemptuous expression, designed to provoke and kindle wrath. The word Ephraim is here taken largely,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 12:5-6

Judges 12:5-6. If he said, Nay To avoid the present danger. Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth To find out the truth, they put him to this test; whether his pronunciation of some words was like that of the Gileadites; for people of the same nation, who speak the same language, generally differ very much in the pronunciation of it, according as they live in different parts of the country. As the word signifies a stream or river, and they desired to pass over one, it was a word... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Judges 12:1-15

Jephthah and five other judges (10:1-12:15)Little is known of the political or military activities of the judges Tola and Jair. They both exercised power for lengthy periods, and Jair’s family certainly enjoyed considerable power and prestige among the East Jordan tribes (10:1-5).Again the Israelites turned away from Yahweh and worshipped false gods, and again they were punished. The Ammonites conquered the eastern tribes, crossed Jordan, and seized large portions of Israelite territory in... read more

E.W. Bullinger