Judges 12:4

Judges 12:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.”

Context of Judges 12:4

2Jephthah answered, “My people and I were involved in a legal dispute with Ammon. I asked you for help, but you didn’t rescue me from them. 3When I saw that you would not rescue me, I risked my life and went to fight the people of Ammon. The Lord handed them over to me. So why did you come to fight against me today?” Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim. ⌞They did this because⌟ Ephraim had said, “You people from Gilead are nothing but fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5The men of Gilead captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River leading back to Ephraim. Whenever a fugitive from Ephraim said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he answered, “No,” 6they would tell him, “Say the word shibboleth.” If the fugitive would say sibboleth, because he couldn’t pronounce the word correctly, they would grab him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. At that time 42,000 men from Ephraim died.

Judges 12:4 word by word

וַיִּקְבֹּ֤ץ יִפְתָּח֙ אֶת־כָּל־אַנְשֵׁ֣י גִלְעָ֔ד וַיִּלָּ֖חֶם אֶת־אֶפְרָ֑יִם וַיַּכּוּ֩ אַנְשֵׁ֨י גִלְעָ֜ד אֶת־אֶפְרַ֗יִם כִּ֤י אָמְרוּ֙ פְּלִיטֵ֤י אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ אַתֶּ֔ם גִּלְעָ֕ד בְּת֥וֹךְ אֶפְרַ֖יִם בְּת֥וֹךְ מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then Jephthahיִפְתָּחyiphtâch · JephthahH3316
• gathered togetherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
• all the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• of Gileadגִּלְעָדgil‛âd · GileadH1568
• and foughtלָחַםlâcham · to fightH3898
• with Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• because they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• fugitivesפָּלִיטpâlîyţ pâlêyţ pâlêţ · survivorH6412
• amongתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• the Manassitesמְנַשֶּׁהmenashsheh · ManassehH4519

Cross-references for Judges 12:4

• Judges 11:10Gilead’s leaders said to Jephthah, “The Lord is a witness between us. We will certainly do what you say.”
• Numbers 32:39The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, went to Gilead, captured it, and forced out the Amorites who were there.
• Deuteronomy 3:12At that time we took possession of this land. I gave the tribes of Reuben and Gad the land north of Aroer near the Arnon Valley and half of the mountain region of Gilead with its cities.
• 1 Samuel 25:10“Who is David?” Nabal answered David’s servants. “Who is Jesse’s son? So many servants nowadays are leaving their masters.
• Nehemiah 4:4⌞Nehemiah prayed,⌟ “Our God, hear us. We are despised. Turn their insults back on them, and let them be robbed in the land where they are prisoners.
• Psalms 78:9The men of Ephraim, well-equipped with bows ⌞and arrows⌟, turned ⌞and ran⌟ on the day of battle.
• Proverbs 12:13An evil person is trapped by his own sinful talk, but a righteous person escapes from trouble.
• Proverbs 15:1A gentle answer turns away rage, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Commentaries on Judges 12:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4And fought with Ephraim - Some commentators suppose that there were two battles in which the Ephraimites were defeated: the first mentioned in the above clause; and the second occasioned by the taunting language mentioned in the conclusion of the verse, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim. Where the point of this reproach lies, or what is the reason of it, cannot be easily ascertained.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Because 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The reason the people of Ephraim taunted the men of Gilead is unclear. They might have resented or looked down on the Israelites living east of the Jordan River.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-154-6. the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim--The remonstrances of Jephthah, though reasonable and temperate, were not only ineffectual, but followed by insulting sneers that the Gileadites were reckoned both by the western Manassites and Ephraimites as outcasts--the scum and refuse of their common stock. This was addressed to a peculiarly sensitive people. A feud immediately ensued. The Gileadites…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 12:4

• Citizens
• Ephraim
• Israel
• Jephthah
• Judge
• Strife
• Treason
• War

In the dictionaries

• Ephraim
• Gilead
• Jephthah
• Bethbarah
• Fugitive
• Shibboleth
• Strife
• Abdon (1)
• Israel, History of
• Judges, Book of

Commentaries on Judges 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings