Chapter 12

12:1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went ^a northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call ^b us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire.

(a) After they had passed Jordan.
(b) Thus ambition envies Gods work in others as they did against Gideon, ( Judges 8:1 ).

12:3 And when I saw that ye delivered [me] not, ^c I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?

(c) That is, I ventured my life, and when mans help failed, I put my trust only in God.

12:4 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 ^d among the Ephraimites, [and] among the Manassites.

(d) You ran from us, and chose Gilead, and now in respect to us you are nothing.

12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now ^e Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce [it] right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

(e) Which signifies the fall of waters, or an ear of corn.

12:8 And after him ^f Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

(f) Some think that this was Boaz the husband of Ruth.