Judges 12

Chapter context

What is happening in Judges 12?

apostasydeliverancedisorderleadership

Judges 12 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as the Micah narrative and tribal idolatry. Judges recounts the troubled era of charismatic deliverers, recurring apostasy, local rescues, and the national unraveling summed up by the line that everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Read this chapter with the wider themes of apostasy, deliverance, and disorder in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire. ² And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands. ³ And when I saw that ye delivered me not, 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? 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 among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites. ⁵ And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; ⁶ Then said they unto him, Say now 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. ⁷ And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of 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. ¹⁰ Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem. 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. ¹³ And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. ¹⁴ And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel 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.

Study helps

Glossary

Ammon Place v. 1-3: Biblical region. Modern identification: Amman.
Jordan Place v. 1, 5-6: Biblical river. Modern identification: Jordan River.
Zaphon Place v. 1: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tell es Sa’idiyeh.
Gilead Place v. 4-5, 7: Biblical region. Modern identification: Tell edh Dhahab esh Sherqiyeh.
Bethlehem Place v. 8, 10: House of bread. (1. ) A city in the “hill country” of Judah. It was originally called Ephrath ( Gen. 35:16 , 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11 ). It was also called Beth-lehem Ephratah ( Micah 5:2 ), Beth-lehem-judah. Modern identification: Beit Lahm.
Zebulonite Tribe v. 11-12: The designation of Elon, the judge who belonged to the tribe of Zebulun ( Judg. 12:11 , 12).
Aijalon Place v. 12: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tel el Butmeh.
Zebulun Person v. 12: Dwelling, the sixth and youngest son of Jacob and Leah ( Gen. 30:20 ). Little is known of his personal history. He had three sons (46:14).
Hillel Person v. 13, 15: Praising, a Pirathonite, father of the judge Abdon ( Judg. 12:13 , 15).
Pirathon Place v. 13, 15: Prince, or summit, a place “in the land of Ephraim” ( Judg. 12:15 ), now Fer’on, some 10 miles south-west of Shechem. This was the home of Abdon the judge. Modern identification: Farata.
Mount of the Amalekites Tribe v. 15: A place near Pirathon (q. v. ), in the tribe of Ephraim ( Judg. 12:15 ).