Judges 12:5

5 And Gilead captureth the passages of the Jordan to Ephraim, and it hath been, when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim say, `Let me pass over,' and the men of Gilead say to him, `An Ephramite thou?' and he saith, `No;'

Judges 12:5 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 12:5

And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the
Ephraimites
Being either swifter of foot, or going a nearer and shorter way, being better acquainted with their own country:

and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, let
me go over;
the fugitives of Ephraim, as before called, who ran away from the battle, made their escape, and the best of their way to the passages of Jordan, to get over there to their own country:

that the men of Gilead said unto him;
to everyone of them, as they came up,

art thou an Ephraimite?
or an Ephrathite; for so it seems those of the tribe of Ephraim were called, as Jeroboam, ( 1 Kings 11:26 )

if he said, nay; that he was not an Ephraimite;

Judges 12:5 In-Context

3 and I see that thou art not a saviour, and I put my life in my hand, and pass over unto the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah giveth them into my hand -- and why have ye come up unto me this day to fight against me?'

4 And Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fighteth with Ephraim, and the men of Gilead smite Ephraim, because they said, `Fugitives of Ephraim [are] ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim -- in the midst of Manasseh.'

5 And Gilead captureth the passages of the Jordan to Ephraim, and it hath been, when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim say, `Let me pass over,' and the men of Gilead say to him, `An Ephramite thou?' and he saith, `No;'

6 that they say to him, `Say, I pray thee, Shibboleth;' and he saith, `Sibboleth,' and is not prepared to speak right -- and they seize him, and slaughter him at the passages of the Jordan, and there fall at that time, of Ephraim, forty and two chiefs.

7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years, and Jephthah the Gileadite dieth, and is buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.