Judges 12
Guided question at the bottom.
1 Then the people of Ephraim mobilized an army and crossed over to Zaphon. They sent this message to Jephthah: “Why didn’t you call for us to help you fight against the Ammonites? We’re going to burn down your house with you in it!”
2 Jephthah 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.
3 So 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?”
4 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.
5 Jephthah 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,”
6 they 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.
7 Jephthah judged Israel for six years. When he died, he was buried in one of the towns of Gilead.
8 After Jephthah died, Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel.
9 He had thirty sons. He sent them to live in thirty towns, and he brought in thirty young women from outside his clan to marry them. He judged Israel for seven years.
10 When he died, he was buried at Bethlehem.
11 After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun judged Israel for ten years.
12 When he died, he was buried at Aijalon in Zebulun.
13 After Elon died, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.
14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years.
15 When he died, he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Questions
How does the conflict between Jephthah and the Ephraimites in verses 1–6 reflect tribal pride and disunity among God’s people?
What lessons can we learn about resolving disputes peacefully? What are steps you take to do this?
How do the deaths of Jephthah and the rise of three minor judges (verses 8–15) signal a time of transition for Israel? What do these judges teach us about leadership in times of spiritual decline?
Why do you think Judges repeatedly highlights the number of sons, cities, and wealth of leaders like Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon? What might this suggest about Israel’s priorities during this period?
If a story were written about your life, what priorities/measurements would be highlighted?