12:1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and
went a northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore
passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon,
and didst not call b us to go with thee? we will burn
thine house upon thee with fire.
(a) After they had passed Jordan.
(b) Thus ambition envies God's work in others as they did
against Gideon, (Jdg 8:1).
12:3 And when I saw that ye delivered [me] not, c 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?
(c) That is, I ventured my life, and when man's help
failed, I put my trust only in God.
12:4 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
d among the Ephraimites, [and] among the Manassites.
(d) You ran from us, and chose Gilead, and now in respect
to us you are nothing.
12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now e 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.
(e) Which signifies the fall of waters, or an ear of corn.
12:8 And after him f Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
(f) Some think that this was Boaz the husband of Ruth.
