Judges 12 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Jud 12:1-15

1 The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We’re going to burn down your house over your head.’

2 Jephthah answered, ‘I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands. 3 When I saw that you wouldn’t help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?’

4 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.’ 5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, ‘Let me cross over,’ the men of Gilead asked him, ‘Are you an Ephraimite?’ If he replied, ‘No,’ 6 they said, ‘All right, say “Shibboleth”.’ If he said, ‘Sibboleth’, because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.

7 Jephthah led Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon and Abdon

8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. 9 He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel for seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel for ten years. 12 Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

13 After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. 15 Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

A. Find Out:

1. Who objected to Jephthah’s actions? v.1
2. What was his response? v.2,3
3. What then ensued? v.4
4. How did they check people at the river crossing? v.5,6
5. How much longer did Jephthah lead Israel? v.7
6. Who followed him? v.8,11,13

B. Think:

1. How would you summarise what follows in verses 1-6?
2. How was that history repeating itself (see 8:1)
3. Yet how was it different?

C. Comment:

     There had been a half hearted turning back to the Lord in this period (10:15,16) and the people (rather than God) had raised up a leader to deliver them. They had chosen well and badly. Well, in that he did the job, but badly in that he had a bad background – a robber-bandit. He did triumph over the Ammonites (11:31,32) and the Lord had been in it (11:29,32), yet he had been foolish in trying to buy God’s approval (11:30,31) with tragic consequences. Peace had always been a sign of God’s blessing on Israel and the absence of it now, is an indication that that blessing is missing. Sacrificing his daughter did not bless God.

     The dissent that now arises comes from a familiar quarter. Gilead was to the east of the Jordan abutting the land of the Ammonites and Ephraim was the large tribe to the west of the Jordan in central Israel. Perhaps because of their centrality they felt superior and criticised Jephthah for not having involved them in the defence. Jephthah is not a diplomat like Gideon had been and rebuts their arguments and the result is a war between the two. Taking control of the river crossing at the Jordan, they use the different dialect of the Ephraimites to reveal who was trying to cross and killed and stopped access. Thus Jephthah prevailed and continued to rule. Not a happy time though! Three more judges of little consequence follow him. An uneventful time!

D. Application:

1. God only blesses obedience, not self-righteousness.
2. God blesses his obedient servant with peace.