Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Judges 12:1) And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and went northward and said to Jephthah, "Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house upon you with fire!"
In the last chapter and post, the Spirit of the Lord had led Jephthah to pass over Gilead to the Ammonites to fight them. Now the men of Ephraim gathered together and went to Jephthah asking why he had passed over to fight the Ammonites and did not call them to go with him. They had done this same thing with Gideon (Judges 8:1). It is clear they said this not out of concern and a desire to help their brethren, but out of a selfish desire for the glory of the victory over their enemy. Why else would they have threatened to burn Jephthah and his house because he went without them?
(2) And Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon, and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands."
Apparently when the Ammonites had been in Jephthah's country, he had called on Ephraim to help him, but they refused to help. That is another proof that the tribe of Ephraim only cared about the glory of a victory and not about helping their brethren.
(3) "And when I saw that you did not deliver me, I put my life in my hands and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then are you come up to me this day to fight against me?"
Jephthah went on to add that when he saw that the Ephraimites would not help him, he put his own life at risk to go into the enemy's country with only a few troops, but the Lord did indeed deliver his enemy into his hand. Why would they now come to him to fight against him when they had once refused to help him, and he had now delivered them and all Israel from their enemy?
(4) Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim, and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim because they said, "You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites."
Then Jephthah gathered together the Gileadites, and they struck the Ephraimites because they had insulted the Gileadites, saying that they had deserted their brethren on the west side of the Jordan, the tribes of Ephraim and the western half tribe of Manasseh, to have their own tribe east of the Jordan River.
(5) And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites, and it was so that when those Ephraimites who had escaped said, "Let me over," that the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No," (6) Then they said to him, "Say now Shibboleth," and he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him and killed him at the passages of Jordan, and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites, forty-two thousand.
The Gileadites took control of the passages of the Jordan River so that the Ephraimites who had run away had to ask permission of the Gileadites to pass back over the Jordan. The Gileadites would ask the person asking permission to cross if he was an Ephraimite, and if he answered, "No," they would test him by asking him to say, "Shibboleth." Apparently, the Ephraimite dialect or accent was different from the Gileadites, and they could not pronounce it properly and would say rather, "Sibboleth." The Gileadites would then know the Ephraimite was lying, and they would take and kill him at the passages of the Jordan River. 42,000 Ephraimites were killed! It is really sad that Israelite brethren would kill so many of each other, but the most prideful of the Ephraimites had been cleansed out of the tribe, and perhaps another such mutiny was avoided.
(7) And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried among the cities of Gilead.
Jephthah continued to judge Israel for six years, and then he died and was buried in Gilead.
(8) And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. (9) And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
After Jephthah died, Ibzan of Bethlehem rose up to judge Israel. He had sixty children, thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sent his daughters abroad to marry and live with their husbands, and he took in thirty wives from abroad for his sons. Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote that his daughters were sent "to persons not of another nation, nor of another tribe, but of another family of the same tribe." I suppose this is probably true as scripture does not indicate that Ibzan was wrong in sending his daughters away to marry outside their country. Ibzan judged Israel for seven years.
(10) Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.
After judging Israel for seven years, Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem where he was from.
(11) And after him, Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. (12) And Elon the Zebulonite died and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
After Ibzan, Elon rose up and judged Israel for ten years, and then he died and was buried in his country of Zebulun.
(13) And after him, Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. (14) And he had forty sons and thirty nephews who rode on seventy donkey colts, and he judged Israel eight years.
After Elon died, Abdon the son of Hillel, from Pirathon in Ephraim, judged Israel. He had forty sons and thirty nephews who rode on seventy donkeys and acted as circuit judges throughout the land (Judges 5:10). Abdon judged Israel for eight years.
(15) And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim in the mount of the Amalekites.
After judging Israel for eight years, Abdon died and was buried in Pirathon where he was from, in the land of Ephraim in the mountains of the Amalekites, so called because the Amalekites formerly dwelt there, or more likely, say some scholars, because of some remarkable exploit either done by them or done to them in that place.
It doesn't appear that anything of consequence occurred during the time of these successors of Jephthah. It can be assumed that Israel dwelt in relative peace during those twenty-five years.
