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 replied, “I summoned you at the beginning of the dispute, but you refused to come! You failed to help us in our struggle against Ammon. 3So when I realized you weren’t coming, I risked my life and went to battle without you, and the Lord gave me victory over the Ammonites. So why have you now come to fight me?” The people of Ephraim responded, “You men of Gilead are nothing more than fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh.” So Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and attacked the men of Ephraim and defeated them. 5Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to go back across, the men of Gilead would challenge him. “Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?” they would ask. If the man said, “No, I’m not,” 6they would tell him to say “Shibboleth.” If he was from Ephraim, he would say “Sibboleth,” because people from Ephraim cannot pronounce the word correctly. Then they would take him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time.

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 11:10“The Lord is our witness,” the elders replied. “We promise to do whatever you say.”
• Numbers 32:39Then the descendants of Makir of the tribe of Manasseh went to Gilead and conquered it, and they drove out the Amorites living there.
• Deuteronomy 3:12“When we took possession of this land, I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory beyond Aroer along the Arnon Gorge, plus half of the hill country of Gilead with its towns.
• 1 Samuel 25:10“Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters.
• Nehemiah 4:4Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land!
• Psalms 78:9The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.
• Proverbs 12:13The wicked are trapped by their own words, but the godly escape such trouble.
• Proverbs 15:1A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.

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