Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 1 · Judges · Chapter 12
CHAP. XII.
AND the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and V. 1said unto Jephthah, Why didst thou passe over against the children of Ammon to sight, and didst not call us? &c. As Chap. 8. they had through pride stirred up dissention against Gedeon; so they quarrell here with Jephthah, envying it, that any famous victory was obtained without them: but vengeance would not suffer them now to goe on in their pride any longer, but by their commotion so unjustly made, they got a grievous fall. They went northward, because Mizpeh in Manasseh on the other side Jordan, where Jephthah dwelt, was northward from Ephraim. Whereas they challenge him for not calling them to this warre, this was but a pretext, for hee had called unto them, as hee saith, V. 2.v. 2. and they refused to come, and therefore hee with a few men adventured his life, and God had given him the victory. Wherefore there was no reason that they should deale thus unkindly with him, to fight against him, when as they should rather have been thankfull to him for delivering them from their common enemies. But the Ephraimites, as it seemeth, were nothing moved hereby, but reviled the Gileadites, saying, that they were runagates of Ephraim and V. 4.Manasseh, in so much that Iephthah with his Gileadites were inforced to fight against them, and smote them, and when they fled, prevented them in taking the passages of Jordan, where they slew such of them as remained alive to the number of 42000. But how could the Gileadites bee said to be runagates or Qu. fugitives of Ephraim, and in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh, as it is in the Hebrew, seeing they dwelt beyond Iordan, and the Ephraimites with the Manassites placed next unto them on this side Iordan? Answ. It is thus said, because they came all of one common stock of Joseph, amongst whom they would in Lyra.thus saying, set forth the Gileadites as most abject and vile amongst all his posterity: so, as that being compared with Ephraim and Manasseh, they were of little or no reckoning; thus Lyra saith the Hebrewes expound it: but some take it as spoken of Iephthah and his company, because he was expelled from his Fathers house, and fled from his brethren, and haply they glanced at that in particular.
The meanes whereby they tryed the Ephraimites, was by pronouncing Sibboleth V. 6.in stead of Shibboleth, that is, by their lisping: but why the word Shibboleth was made the meane of tryall, rather then any other word, Lyra saith the reason was, because the word Shibboleth signifieth a current of water; wherefore as any of them came to passe over the water, they were put to the pronouncing of this word; it signifieth also an eare of Come, and so it is rendred in the Vulg. Latine, Dic Sheboleth, quod interpretatur spica; but here the other interpretation seemeth to agree best. Mystically by Iephthah destroying the Ephraimites, The Mystery.Ferus understandeth Christ after his passion, whereby hee overcame the Ferus.spirituall enemie, comming against the Jewes, and destroying them by the Romans, because they had blasphemed and railed upon him, as the Ephraimites upon Iephthah. His discerning of them by pronouncing Seboleth in stead of Sheboleth, saith Hugo, setteth forth the judging of worldly men, who speake Hugo Card.nothing but words of vanity, talking of nothing, but wordly things and vaine-gloriously, and not of heavenly, so that of their talke there cometh no fruit neither is there any weight therein, as Seboleth signifyeth an care of chaffe, but Sheboleth an eare full of corne, so likewise Lyra; which conceit I mislike not, but onelyonly because Seboleth hath the same signification with Sheboleth, although the one bee written with foreign and the other with foreign. But thus Seboleth may set forth vaine talke and Sheboleth substantiall, because one of the letters of the name of God, viz. foreign is wanting in Seboleth, or the pronunciation is not so full as in Sheboleth; and by thy words thou shalt bee Matth. 12. 37.justifyed, and by thywords thou shalt bee condemned, v. 7.
Then Jephthah dayed and was buryed, &c. His buriall is said to have been V. 7. H. B. Patriarks travailes.in one of the Cites of Gilead, but Hebr. it is in the Cities of Gilead, whereupon some relate, that Jephthah was so esteemed of for his valour, that they cut his body in pieces when he was dead, and carryed a part to each of their Cities, and there buryed it.
V. 8. And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel, &c. Here the History V. 8.of three Judges is briefly runne through, of Ibzan, Elon of Zebulun, and Abdon of Pirathon in Mount Ephraim, of whom nothing is said, but only that they judged Israel, the one 7 yeares, the other 10, and the last 8 yeares, saving that Ibzan is said to have had 30 sonnes and 30 daughters; and Abdon 40 sonnes, and 30 nephews, that rode upon 70 Assecolts, see the like before, Ch. 10. 4. It seemeth, that nothing memorable happened in the dayes of these Judges, and therefore such brevity is used about them: yet as Ferus noteth, hereby it appeareth Ferus.that they were worthy men, because they kept the people from sinning by Idolatry all their dayes, as appeareth, in that after the last of them dead and buryed, they are said to have sinned, Chap. 13. 1. and not before. Whereas Abdon is said to have been buryed in the Mount of the Amalekites, which was in Pirathon his City, and therefore within the Ephraimites lot, it is not to be thought with some, that the Amalekites now dwelt here, but in times past, from whence it still retained the name, for the Amalekites now dwelt eastward beyond Jordan, as appeared, Judg. 6. 3.