then they said to him, “Now say ‘Shibboleth;’ ” and he said “Sibboleth”; for he couldn’t manage to pronounce it correctly, then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, forty-two thousand of Ephraim fell.
Parallel Translations
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then they said to him, “Now say ‘Shibboleth;’ ” and he said “Sibboleth”; for he couldn’t manage to pronounce it correctly, then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, forty-two thousand of Ephraim fell.
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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.
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then said they unto him: 'Say now Shibboleth'; and he said 'Sibboleth'; for he could not frame to pronounce it right; then they laid hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan; and there fell at that time of Ephraim forty and two thousand.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Judges 12:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but a fool is swallowed by his own lips.
- Matthew 12:25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
- Psalms 69:2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
- Psalms 69:15 Don’t let the flood waters overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up. Don’t let the pit shut its mouth on me.
- Proverbs 17:14 The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.
- Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended is more difficult than a fortified city. Disputes are like the bars of a fortress.
- Isaiah 27:12 It will happen in that day that Yahweh will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, children of Israel.
- Matthew 26:73 After a little while those who stood by came and said to Peter, “Surely you are also one of them, for your speech makes you known.”
- Mark 14:70 But he again denied it. After a little while again those who stood by said to Peter, “You truly are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”
- Galatians 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which signifieth the fall of waters, or an ear…
Which signifieth the fall of waters, or an ear of corn.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jdg 12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now…
Jdg 12:6 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.
Ver. 6. Say now Shibboleth, and he said Sibboleth.] Shibboleth est fluxus fluminis, ut Psa 69:2-3, a stream, or ford. They were discerned by their lisping, their dialect betrayed them. {a} How many have we that can hardly lisp out a syllable of good language, and if they attempt it, falter fearfully!
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{a} Sic et hodieque in Hispaniac voce "Cebolla," cepam significante, facile agnoscunt qui exteri sint, quique incolae.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Shibboleth signifies a stream or river, which they desired…
Shibboleth signifies a stream or river, which they desired to pass over; so it was a word proper for the occasion, and gave them no cause to suspect the design, because they were required only to express their desire to go over the Shibboleth or river.
He said Sibboleth. It is well known, that not only divers nations, but divers provinces, or parts of thee same nation, who use the same language, differ in their dialect and manner of pronunciation. He could not frame to pronounce it right, or rather, he did not frame or direct himself to speak so, or to speak right, i.e. so as he was required to do it. The Hebrew text doth not say that he could not do it, but that that he did it not, because he, suspecting not the design of it, uttered it speedily according to his manner of expression.
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At that time; not in that place, at the passages of Jordan, but in that expedition, being slain either in the battle, or in the pursuit, or at Jordan.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then said they unto him, say now "Shibboleth",.... Which…
Then said they unto him, say now "Shibboleth",.... Which signifies a stream or course of water, at which they now were; and so it was as if they had bid them say,"may I, or let me, pass over the stream of this river;''so Jarchi; and this being the case, though it was done to try them, and by their pronunciation learn whether they were Ephraimites or not, they were not upon their guard, but in an hurry, and at once expressed the word as they commonly did:
and he said, sibboleth; pronouncing the letter "shin" as if it was "sin", or a "samech"; just as the French, as Kimchi observes, pronounce "s" like a "t"; and though the Gileadites and Ephraimites were of the same nation of Israel, and spoke the same language, yet their pronunciation differed, as did that of the Galilean Jews from others in the times of Christ, Mat 26:73, and so in all nations, among the Greeks, Romans, and among ourselves, people in different counties pronounce in a different manner; which Kimchi thinks was in the Ephraimites owing to the air or climate, as the French, he observes, pronounce "s" as a "t", with a soft and gentle sound:
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for he could not frame to pronounce it right; or "thus" (t), as he was bid to do; being used to pronounce otherwise, he could not frame the organs of speech, or so dispose and order them as to say "shibboleth"; or he did not frame, order, and dispose (u); he was not careful to do it, though with some care he could, being not aware of the design of the Gileadites in it:
then they took him and slew him at the passages of Jordan; everyone as they came thither, who could not say "shibboleth"; these they suffered not to pass over, but slew them:
and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand; not at the passages of Jordan only; but what fell there, with those at the battle, and in the pursuit, amounted to this number; so that the Ephraimites paid dearly for their pride and insolence.
(t) "sic", Pagninus, Montanus. (u) "non dirigebat", Montanus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Shibboleth - Which signifies a stream or river, which…
Shibboleth - Which signifies a stream or river, which they desired to pass over: so it was a word proper for the occasion, and gave them no cause to suspect the design, because they were required only to express their desire to go over the Shibboleth or river. Sibboleth - It is well known, that not only divers nations, but divers provinces, or parts of the same nation who use the same language, differ in their manner of pronunciation. Could not frame - Or rather, he did not frame to speak right; so as he was required to do it. The Hebrew text doth not say, that he could not do it, but that he did it not, because suspecting not the design he uttered it speedily according to his manner of expression. There fell - Not in that place, but in that expedition, being slain either in the battle, or in the pursuit, or at Jordan. See the justice of God! They had gloried, that they were Ephraimites: But how soon are they afraid to own their country? They had called the Gileadites, fugitives: And now they are in good earnest become fugitives themselves. It is the same word, ver. 5, used of the Ephraimites that fled, which they had used in scorn of the Gileadites. He that rolls the stone, or reproach unjustly on another, it may justly return upon himself.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth]…
Verse 6. Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth] The original differs only in the first letter ס samech, instead of ש sheen; אמר נא שבלת ויאמר סבלת emar na Shibboleth, vaiyomer Sibboleth. The difference between ש seen, without a point, which when pointed is pronounced sheen, and ס samech, is supposed by many to be imperceptible. But there can be no doubt there was, to the ears of a Hebrew, a most sensible distinction. Most Europeans, and, indeed, most who have written grammars of the language, perceive scarcely any difference between the Arabic [Arabic] seen and [Arabic] saad; but as both those letters are radical not only in Arabic but in Hebrew, the difference of enunciation must be such as to be plainly perceivable by the ear; else it would be impossible to determine the root of a word into which either of these letters entered, except by guessing, unless by pronunciation the sounds were distinct. One to whom the Arabic is vernacular, hearing a native speak, discerns it in a moment; but the delicate enunciation of the characteristic difference between those letters ש seen and ס samech, and [Arabic] seen and [Arabic] saad, is seldom caught by a European. Had there been no distinction between the ש seen and ס samech but what the Masoretic point gives now, then ס samech would not have been used in the word סבלת sibboleth, but ש seen, thus שבלת: but there must have been a very remarkable difference in the pronunciation of the Ephraimites, when instead of שבלת shibboleth, an ear of corn, (see Job 24:24), they said סבלת sibboleth, which signifies a burden, Ex 6:6; and a heavy burden were they obliged to bear who could not pronounce this test letter. It is likely that the Ephraimites were, in reference to the pronunciation of sh, as different from the Gileadites as the people in some parts of the north of England are, in the pronunciation of the letter r, from all the other inhabitants of the land. The sound of th cannot be pronounced by the Persians in general; and yet it is a common sound among the Arabians. To this day multitudes of the German Jews cannot pronounce ת th, but put ss in the stead of it: thus for בית beith (a house) they say bess.
Mr. Richardson, in his "Dissertation on the Languages, Literature, and Manners of the Eastern Nations," prefixed to his Persian and Arabic Dictionary, p. ii., 4to. edition, makes some observations on the different dialects which prevailed in Arabia Felix, the chief of which were the Hemyaret and Koreish; and to illustrate the point in hand, he produces the following story from the Mohammedan writers: "An envoy from one of the feudatory states, having been sent to the tobba, (the sovereign,) that prince, when he was introduced, pronounced the word T'heb, which in the Hemyaret implied, Be seated: unhappily it signified, in the native dialect of the ambassador, Precipitate thyself; and he, with a singular deference for the orders of his sovereign, threw himself instantly from the castle wall and perished." Though the Ephraimites had not a different dialect, they had, it appears, a different pronunciation, which confounded, to others, letters of the same organ, and thus produced, not only a different sound, but even an opposite meaning. This was a sufficient test to find out an Ephraimite; and he who spake not as he was commanded, at the fords of Jordan, spoke against his own life.
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For he could not frame to pronounce it right.] This is not a bad rendering of the original ולא יכין לדבר כן velo yachin ledabber ken; "and they did not direct to speak it thus." But instead of יכין yachin, to direct, thirteen of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., with two ancient editions, read יבין yabin; "they did not understand to speak it thus."
The versions take great latitude in this verse. The Vulgate makes a paraphrase: Dic ergo Shibboleth, quod interpretatur spica: qui respondebat Sibboleth; eadem litera spicam exprimere non valens. "Say therefore, Shibboleth; which interpreted is an ear of corn: but he answered, Sibboleth; not being able to express an ear of corn by that letter." In my very ancient copy of the Vulgate, probably the editio princeps, there is sebboleth in the first instance as the test word, and thebboleth as the Ephraimite pronunciation. But cebboleth is the reading of the Complutensian Polyglot, and is supported by one of my own MSS., yet the former reading, thebboleth, is found in two of my MSS. The Chaldee has שובלתא shubbaltha for the Gileaditish pronunciation, and סבלתא subbaltha for that of Ephraim. The Syriac has [Syriac] shelba and [Syriac] sebla. The Arabic has the same word, with [Arabic] sheen and [Arabic] seen; and adds, "He said Sebla, for the Ephraimites could not pronounce the letter sheen." These notices, however trivial at first view, will not be thought unimportant by the Biblical critic.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth - This is a…
Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth - This is a curious instance of dialectic difference of pronunciation between the East and West Jordanic tribes. It is an evidence of the sound “sh” having passed into the Hebrew from the East of Jordan, possibly from the Arabians, with whom the sound is common.
Forty-two thousand - The number includes the slain in battle and those killed at the fords.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Letter. Protestants, "Say now Shibboleth, and he said Sibboleth,…
Letter. Protestants, "Say now Shibboleth, and he said Sibboleth, for he could not frame to pronounce it right." The interpretation of the first word is added by St. Jerome, (Haydock) and denotes also "a running water;" (Menochius) whereas the Ephraimites pronounced a word which signifies "a burden," not being able to utter properly sh, or schin, for which the substituted s, or samec, sobloth. (Haydock) --- In the same natioin, a variety of pronunciation frequently distinguishes the inhabitants of the different provinces. The Galileans were thus known from the rest of the Jews, Matthew xxvi. 23.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. Shibboleth… sibboleth — The word means a stream,…
6. Shibboleth… sibboleth — The word means a stream, and the slight difference of pronunciation between Ephraimites and Gileadites here casually mentioned, shows that dialectic modifications of the Hebrew language had begun to manifest themselves between the tribes that were separated by the Jordan. It is impossible to decide which is the earlier or more correct pronunciation. The word has become the symbol of needless religious strifes, for “many a party watchword, many a theological test,” says Stanley, “has had no better origin than this difference of pronunciation between the two rough tribes.” —
There fell… forty and two thousand — A bloody raid! Thus pride went before destruction.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. Shibboleth … Sibboleth] An interesting proof of the…
6. Shibboleth … Sibboleth] An interesting proof of the difference in dialect between the eastern and western tribes. By confusion of sounds shibbôleth (שׁבלת) would become sibbôleth (שׂבלת), and then sibbôleth (סבלת the form here); though liable to confusion in pronunciation, the letters shin (ש) and sâmekh (ס) are etymologically quite distinct. The word means ‘ear of grain’ (Gen_41:5 ff., Isa_17:5 etc., Assyr. šubultu) or ‘flood,’ ‘stream’ (Isa_27:12; Psa_69:2; Psa_69:15), in the latter sense only in late writings; in this early narrative it would probably have been understood to mean ‘ear1[46].’ A modern parallel is to be found in Doughty, Arabia Deserta i. p. 155: “A battalion of Ibrahîm Pasha’s troops had been closed in and disarmed by the redoubtable Druses in the Léja. The Druses coming on to cut them in pieces, a certain Damascene soldier among them cried out, ‘Aha! neighbours, grant protection at least to the Shwâm (Syrians), which are children of the same soil as you.’ It was answered, They would spare them if they could discern them. ‘Let me alone for that,’ said the Damascene;—and if they caused the soldiers to pass one by one he would discern them. It was granted, and he challenged them thus, ‘Ragal, O man, say Gamel!’ Every Syrian answered Jemel; and in this manner he saved his countrymen and the Damascenes.”
[46] The ‘ear of wheat’ was an ancient symbol of Ishtar, the goddess of heaven; and in later astronomy the Aramaic shebelta was the name of the Virgo Spicifera in the Zodiac: possibly, therefore, popular religious associations may have had something to do with the choice of the test word, as well as its tell-tale sibilant, See Winckler, Gesch. Isr. ii. 277 f.; KAT.3, 428; A. Jeremias, Das A.T. im Lichte des Alt. Or.2, 109.
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could not frame] A doubtful rendering. For yâkîn (impf.) read yâkôl (perf.) was not able; so Syr., cf. Vulgate non valens.
forty and two thousand] Obviously an exaggeration. Cf. Jdg_8:10 n.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) Say now Shibboleth.—The word means “ford;” (Psa_69:2) “depth…
(6) Say now Shibboleth.—The word means “ford;” (Psa_69:2) “depth of waters;” (Jdg_12:15) “water flood;” (Isa_27:12) “channel.” The LXX. render it (Cod. B) “an ear of corn” ( Vulg., quod interpretatur spica), and the word might have this meaning also (as it has in Gen_41:5), because the root from which it is derived means both “to flow” and “to spring.” In the Alexandrian MS. of the LXX. the rendering is, “Tell us then the watchword;” but that is rather an explanation than a translation.
And he said Sibboleth.—
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“And how ingrateful Ephraim
Had dealt with Jephthah—who by argument
Not worse than by his shield and spear
Defended Israel from the Ammonite
Had not his prowess quelled their pride
In that sore battle where so many died,
Without reprieve, adjudged to death
For want of well pronouncing Shibboleth.”
Milton, Sams. Agon. 282-289.
The word Shibboleth has become a proverb for the minute differences which religious parties thrust into exaggerated prominence, and defend with internecine ferocity. In this instance, however, the defective pronunciation was not the reason for putting men to death, but only the sign that the man is an Ephraimite. In theological warfare the differences of watchword or utterance have sometimes been the actual cause of the hatred and persecution; and sometimes the two opposing parties have been in agreement in every single essential fact, but have simply preferred other formulæ to express it, which has failed to cause any diminution in the fierceness of opinions. “It was,” says South, “the very shibboleth of the party, nothing being so much in fashion with them as the name, nor more out of fashion, and out of sight too, as the thing itself” (Sermons, 6:128).
For he could not frame to pronounce it right.·—This is a most singular circumstance, and it is one which, if it stood alone, would have decisive weight in the question of chronology. Nothing is more natural or more analogous with common linguistic phenomena than that differences of dialect and pronunciation should develop themselves between tribes divided by the deep barrier of the Jordan valley; and these differences would arise all the more rapidly if the Eastern tribes were powerfully subjected to Syrian and other foreign influences. (Comp. Neh_13:24.) Still, it must have required a certain lapse of time before a difference so marked as the inability of the Western tribes to pronounce the letter sh could have arisen ( Vulg., eâdem litera spicam exprimere non valens). Cassel quotes an interesting parallel from the war of the Flemish against the French. On May 25, 1802, all the French were detected by their inability to pronounce the words Scilt ende friend. In the LXX. and Vulg. Shibboleth could not be reproduced, because the sound sh is unknown in Greek and Latin. Hence the LXX. use stachus, “wheat-ear,” for Shibboleth, and leave out Sibboleth altogether.
Slew him.—We might wish that the meaning were that assigned to the word by the Arabic version, “they led him across.” The word means, rather, massacred, butchered; Vulg., jugulabant. (Comp. Jer_39:6.) The LXX. render it “sacrificed”—almost as though each Ephraimite were regarded as a human sacrifice.
Forty and two thousand.—This immense slaughter effectually reduced the strength and arrogance of this overweening tribe. It is not, of course, meant that 42,000 were butchered at the fords, but only that that was the number of the invading army, or the number of those who fell in the campaign.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Say now Shibboleth, etc. We have thus, as it…
Say now Shibboleth, etc. We have thus, as it were, accidentally preserved to us a curious dialectical difference between the Ephraimites and the inhabitants of Gilead. A similar difference exists at the present day between the pronunciation of the inhabitants of different parts of Germany. What the Hanoverians call stein, a stone, the other Germans call shtein. Shibboleth means both an ear of corn and a stream. Forty and two thousand . It is possible that the war between Jephthah and the Ephraimites may have lasted a considerable time, though only the single incident of the slaughter at the fords of Jordan is mentioned, so that the large number of 42, 000 men may be less improbable than it seems at first sight. There is, however, always some doubt as to the correctness of numbers. (see 1Sa_6:19)
Shibboleth.
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I IF A MAN"S PROFESSION IS FALSE TO HIS CHARACTER, THIS WILL BE MADE MANIFEST BY THE HABITS OF HIS LIFE. The Ephraimite who denied his tribal relation was betrayed by his dialectic pronunciation. Thus Peter was convicted of falsehood. (Mat_26:73) It matters little what we say if our conduct belies our words. No man can ultimately conceal his character; it will come out in his countenance, it will colour his speech, it will shape his action. If a man would completely suppress his character, he must destroy it, because while it exists it must obey its nature, which is to be the source of all conduct. You cannot quench a volcano by building over its crater, nor stay the flow of a stream by walling it in. Our true nature, whether it be good or bad, must reveal itself
(1) in great critical epochs, when it can endure no restraint; or
(2) in casual accidents, when we are off our guard and do not consider the occasion sufficiently important to demand much concern; or
(3) in the general course and colour of our life. (Mat_7:16)
II SHALL SUPERFICIAL SIGNS MAY INDICATE GREAT FUNDAMENTAL DISTINCTIONS. The test of the "Shibboleth" has been much misunderstood, as though it were an instance of the importance which is sometimes unduly given to mere trivial distinctions. The test was simply a means of discovering the tribal relations of men. The Gileadites cared nothing for the difference of pronunciation in itself. They simply used it as a means for determining a really important point the truth or falsehood of the profession of those who said they were not men of Ephraim. The same mistake was involved in Gibbon"s famous sneer about the great division of Christendom on the question of a diphthong. It was not a diphthong, but the fundamental truth of the perfect Divinity of Christ that Athanasius and his friends were contending with the Arians about, and the use of the diphthong was simply a convenient form in which to bring the question to a definite point. So the recent controversies about vestments have been ridiculed as though they were questions of "ecclesiastical millinery," while both parties know quite well that these outside and apparently trivial differences are the signs of fundamental questions concerning priestly authority and sacramental grace.
1. We must beware of judging of the magnitude of a question by the comparative insignificance of its external indications.
2. We must, nevertheless, be careful not to assume that trivial external distinctions are signs of deep and important differences until we have proved the fact. We may erect the test of a "Shibboleth" to separate people who have no such fundamental distinctions as those of the men who had been true to Jephthah and the men who had enviously opposed him. The danger is that we should thus magnify the importance of the "Shibboleth" itself, and so become narrow and sectarian. A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth:
Jdg_12:6
Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth:
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Trifles indicate character
It is often just such a slight peculiarity which identifies men as belonging to a certain district or family.
You know whose son a man is by some motion of his hands or by his walk, by the fall of a lock of hair or the way he lifts his eye: so also some very slight peculiarity in our conduct or conversation is a sufficient index to our whole state. In our Lords account of the last judgment He describes all men as expressing astonishment that they should be so summarily dealt with, should be allotted to their irrevocable destinies on grounds apparently so trivial. Is it really reasonable that for some trifle of this kind a man should be everlastingly damned, irretrievably and once for all cast in judgment? You will think that it is quite reasonable if, in the light of this incident, you consider that the little things a man does or neglects to do are infallible symptoms of his character. These Ephraimites were not slain because the Gileadites thought it a heinous crime to drop the h; but their blood dyed the Jordan because it was Ephraimite blood, and this was manifested by their little peculiarity. And so in a thousand ways that God observes, and that even men of any spiritual insight or keenness of observation notice, we are in little things revealing our character, and in the final judgment one of these little things will be sufficient to condemn us. Try to put away these little faults; if you succeed, then you are safe. But the faults of your character, the little actions that truly express what is in you, you cannot so easily put off. There often arise circumstances even in this life in which a more holy and decided character than we possess were most desirable: we could pass through what has come upon us in a vastly more satisfactory way if only we were other kind of men than we are; but this is impossible. These Ephraimites could not for the nonce become Gileadites; nor for their life could they make that little change in their mode of speech. And so we cannot, on the sudden, change ourselves. If certain little things about you make you suspect you belong to the wrong tribe; if there are little flaws in your conduct which you find it extremely hard to remove, and which hint to you that perhaps or probably the very roots of your character are wrong; then go quickly to God, for you have but this one resource and way of escape, and offer to forsake your old tribe, to be born again, and beseech His grace to effect in you a thorough and real change of heart, such as He has effected in many. (Marcus Dods, D. D.)
Shibboleth
That the language of Palestine was diversely spoken in its different provinces in the days of Christ, is evident from the ready recognition of Peter by the high priests servant as a Galilean, his speech betraying him. In the present day the Arabic of one part of Syria is so different from that of another, that a person well able to understand the people of Smyrna finds great difficulty in understanding those of Aleppo; and even in the small island of Malta, where a corrupt Arabic is spoken, the peasants of the several villages are said to be nearly unintelligible to each other. Our own country affords ample illustration. A vanquished army of Northumbrians, retreating across the Tees, might with equal facility be detected by being required to say the word river, as were the Ephraimites on the banks of the Jordan by being required to say the word shibboleth, or stream. As our Northumbrians cannot pronounce the r, but utter instead of it a guttural sound resembling a w, the Ephraimites, unable to pronounce the sh, discovered themselves at once by their saying sibboleth for shibboleth; and so fierce was the revenge of those whom they had taunted, that the blood of forty-two thousand men mingled with the stream of the Jordan. In this tragical scene the vindictive fury of the men of Gilead cannot escape heavy censure. They had been exasperated by bitter words; but in this, as in many other instances in history, we see the terrific madness of popular revenge. No contentions are so bitter as those which arise among brethren: A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city. Civil wars are usually carried on under greater exasperation of feeling than wars between nations of a different race; nor is the breach, when once made, so readily healed. As the sweetest wine, when acetous fermentation has set in, turns to the sourest vinegar, so it is in families and in Churches. How dismally protracted are some family feuds! And how embittered against each other are the adherents of the two opposed parties in a riven Church! Let us not be too prodigal of our anathemas upon these cruel Gileadites at the fords of the Jordan, at least until we have taken leisure to compare the mutual aspect of civilised nations, and the mutual aspect of Christian Churches, in the later centuries, when a conduct so much less violent might have been expected. Are there not Church parties in our own day which set up shibboleths of their own, and refuse the interchanges of brotherhood to all who do not pronounce the test-word in precisely the same manner as themselves? (L. H. Wiseman, M. A.)
Shibboleth
The word on which this tragical occurrence hangs has passed into a proverbial word. Were any casual reader of Scripture asked what the word signifies, he would hardly reply, a stream or flood. The incident mentioned in the text has given a new meaning to it. Shibboleth is now an English word, with an English meaning distinct from its root. It means any word, doctrine, form, or fashion which, whether we will or no, whether rightly or wrongly, justly or unjustly, we are required to pronounce or agree to as a test, in short, which is intended to try on whose side we wage war, whose leadership we acknowledge, whose dominions we belong to. There are Gods shibboleths and mans. Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. No man can say that Jesus is the Christ, except by the Holy Ghost. There are also mans shibboleths. You must believe that the world stands still while the sun revolves. No, said the wise old man, I cannot believe that, for I have discovered a new system. Then you must die, and your soul be lost. So the poor discoverer was tortured into pronouncing the shibboleth of human ignorance. Notice, as a leading truth, that all are not Israel that are of Israel. However much we may speak, dress, and look alike, there is a hidden difference which time or a severe test will show. Also that difference may sound trifling, and yet be of such importance as to embrace the life or death of the soul. Also we may live in the same land, the same street, the same village, the same house; may fight in the same camp, and wear the same uniform; and yet be part Ephraimites and part Gileadites; part Gods people and part Satans; part hastening to destruction and part in a state of safety. The sight of any great swaying and swelling multitude, any waving ocean of humanity, causes many a quiet thought, and sorrow, and prayer to ascend from Christian souls, respecting the divided future of the ofttimes unanimous-looking crowd. For a Christian may lament and pray for his brother, without lapsing into the Pharisees censoriousness.
I. Look we now for the vain shibboleths of man, those heavy burdens which are laid on mens shoulders, and laid too often by those who will not themselves touch them with the tips of their fingers.
1. I believe that I am forgiven? This is one of the unfair shibboleths required by man. Seldom a saint departs without sight of the broad seal of Gods forgiveness. But he may be afraid to take it. Still he is forgiven. To be forgiven is of the first importance. To know we are forgiven is of importance too; but not indispensable.
2. I am a member of this Church. Here is another human shibboleth. The Lord will not ask what earthly Church--so it be but a branch of Christs vine--a soul belongs to. Come with us and we will do thee good, is the utmost length to which our invitation may go.
3. I understand Scripture in the literal sense. I agree to no new interpretation. I admit no light from science. These requirements form another human shibboleth; this shutting up of the Bible from that free, and full, and fair inquiry, which, if it were afraid of it, it would be well nigh worthless. Having first prayed reverently, Lead me not, O Father, into temptation, a man may wear away his Bible by the daily attrition of diligent study; for it contains what no study can wear down--the very truth of God. Such a reader Christ smiles upon as his fingers turn over the sacred page. For such a man, after Gods own heart, the Holy Spirit will strike forth new discoveries; will lead such an one by still waters, and feed him in pleasant pastures, far away from the rivers of Babylon; will guide such an one into all truth, and save his soul in peace.
II. There are also some true shibboleths of God, which we must pronounce with a full, round utterance, or we are lost.
1. Repentance. If I were to die in the pulpit, said Philip Henry, I would desire to die preaching repentance; and if I were to die out of the pulpit, I would desire to die practising repentance. Except ye repent, says the Holy Spirit, ye shall all likewise perish. Can we say, shibboleth? Have we repented? Or is it only the sibboleth of a worldly sorrow?
2. Another shibboleth of God is faith in Christ. Not the form of words, I believe; but the diligent, faithful life; the earnest, converted soul.
3. We must believe the Bible to be inspired. Reverently and freely interpreting it, we must take it from Gods gracious hand, and follow out its leading as the clue to salvation. Else it will hang like a millstone about our necks, and sink us to perdition, 4, We must learn the true language of heaven, the true ways of holiness. We must leave the lispings, formalities, and affectations of the world, and say, Shibboleth, as the angels and spirits of the just, and the just who yet live upon earth say it, and have said it before. (S. B. James, M. A.)
Sectarianism--its origin, evils, cures
The Church of God is divided into a great number of denominations, some of them founded by very good men, some of them founded by very egotistic men, and some of them founded by very bad men. But as I demand liberty of conscience for myself, I must give that same liberty to every other man, remembering that I advocate the largest liberty in all religious belief and form of worship. The air and the water keep pure by constant circulation, and I think there is a tendency in religious discussion to purification and moral health. In a world of such tremendous vicissitude and temptation, and with a soul that must after a while stand before a throne of insufferable brightness, to give account for every thought, word, action, preference, and dislike--that man is mad who has no religious preference. But our early education, our physical temperament, our mental constitution, will very much decide our form of worship.
1. In tracing out the religion of sectarianism, or bigotry, I find that a great deal of it comes from wrong education in the home circle. There are parents who do not think it wrong to caricature and jeer the peculiar forms of religion in the world, and denounce other denominations.
2. I think sectarianism and bigotry also rise from too great prominence of any one denomination in a community. All the other denominations are wrong, and his denomination is right, because his denomination is the most wealthy, or the most popular, and it is our Church, and our religious organisation, and our choir, and our minister, and the man tosses his head, and wants other denominations to know their places.
3. Bigotry is often the child of ignorance. You seldom find a man with large intellect who is a bigot. It is the man who thinks he knows a great deal, but does not. That man is almost always a bigot. There is nothing that will so soon kill bigotry as sunshine--Gods sunshine. So I have set before you what I consider to be the causes of bigotry. What are some of the baleful effects?
1. It cripples investigation. You are wrong, and I am right, and that ends it. No taste for exploration, no spirit of investigation.
2. Another great damage done by the sectarianism and bigotry of the Church is, that it disgusts people with the Christian religion. Now, the Church of God was never intended for a war barrack.
3. Again, bigotry and sectarianism do great damage in the fact that they hinder the triumph of the gospel. Oh! how much wasted ammunition! how many men of splendid intellect have given their whole life to controversial disputes, when, if they had given their life to something practical, they might have been vastly useful! A quarrel in a beehive is a strange sight. I go out sometimes in the summer and I find two beehives, and these two beehives are in a quarrel. I come near enough, not to be stung, but I come just near enough to hear the controversy, and one beehive says, That field of clover is the sweetest, and another beehive says, That field of clover is the sweetest. I come in between them, and I say, Stop this quarrel; if you like that field of clover best, go there; if you like that field of clover best, go there; but let me tell you that that hive which gets the most honey is the best hive! So I come out between the Churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. One denomination of Christians says, That field of Christian doctrine is best, and another says, This field of Christian doctrine is best. Well, I say, Go where you get the most honey. That is the best Church which gets the most honey of Christian grace for the heart, and the most honey of Christian usefulness for the life. Besides that, if you want to build up any denomination, you will never build it up by trying to pull some other down. In England a law was made against the Jew. England thrust back the Jew, and thrust down the Jew, and declared that no Jew should hold official position. What came of it? Were the Jews destroyed? Was their religion overthrown? No. Intolerance never yet put down anything. Now, what is the remedy for sectarianism? I think we may overthrow the severe sectarianism and bigotry in our hearts, and in the Church also, by realising that all the denominations of Christians have yielded noble institutions and noble men. There is nothing that so stirs my soul as this thought. Moreover, we may also overthrow the feelings of severe sectarianism by joining other denominations in Christian work. Perhaps I might more forcibly illustrate this truth by Calling your attention to an incident which took place some years ago. One Monday morning, at about two oclock, while her nine hundred passengers were sound asleep dreaming of home, the steamer Atlantic crashed into Mars Head. Five hundred souls in ten minutes landed in eternity! Oh, what a scene! Agonised men and women running up and down the gangways, and clutching for the rigging, and the plunge of the helpless steamer, threw two continents into terror. But see this brave quartermaster pushing out with the life-line until he gets to the rock; and see these fishermen gathering up the shipwrecked, and taking them into the cabins and wrapping them in the flannels snug and warm; and see that minister of the gospel, with three other men, getting into a lifeboat, and pushing out for the wreck, pulling away across the surf, and pulling away until they saved one more man, and then getting back with him to the shore. Can these men ever forget that night? And can they ever forget their companionship in peril, companionship in struggle, companionship in awful catastrophe and rescue? Never! Never! Well, our world has gone into a worse shipwreck. Sin drove it on the rocks. The old ship has lurched and tossed in the tempests of six thousand years. Out with the life-line! I do not care what denomination carries it. Out with the life-boat! I do not care what denomination rows it. Side by side, in the memory of common hardships, and common trials, and common prayers, and common tears, let us be brothers for ever. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Social and religious tests
I. Social life has its shibboleths. Goodness of heart and purity of life and language are not always the tests of admission to what is termed choice society. Anything before that. With some it is education. How much do you know? With others it is elegance of manners and accomplishments. We do not admit awkward people to our company. And some estimate the worth of their neighbours by the length of their purses. How much are you worth? With multitudes dress is the countersign. The idol of fashion is set up, and we are expected to bow down daily and offer devout homage. In many assemblies the garment decides the position. One of our great generals, it is said, went modestly to one of our fashionable churches on a great funeral occasion. Upon his applying for a place, it transpired that the plain cloak which wrapped his person was barely sufficient to gain him a seat inside the door. It was almost literally, Stand thou there. During the service the cloak fell back far enough to reveal the mark upon the shoulders. Then came most profuse apologies, with the pressing invitation, Come up higher, and sit thou in a good place.
II. Religious life has its shibboleths, and there is no place where the overbearing requirements are more unseemly or mere to be deprecated. The spirit of Christianity, as taught by its Divine Author, is a spirit of kindness, tenderness, forbearance. It commends and enjoins the charity that beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things. In the gospel we are to make allowance for each others differences, and bear with each others infirmities, and bid Godspeed to each others efforts. There are shibboleths which are legitimate, and essential to the maintenance of vital truth and goodness among men. There are principles which constitute the very foundation stones of Gods temple. These are to be defended and guarded without compromise. It is not our measuring line which is thus applied; it is not our standard set up; it is not our speech to which conformity is required. It is the pronunciation which God demands. And yet it becomes us to be extremely cautious in the pressing of the pass-words, lest we should substitute our own pronunciation for Gods and shut out any of the children of the kingdom. Take heed lest ye offend one of these little ones. There are different phases of the same doctrine; there are various explanations and interpretations which do not invalidate the truth. (Goyn Talmage.)
The shibboleths of the Churches
We may learn here the worth of the essence of a thing as it stands in contrast with the mere accent--something like that which Paul set forth in the noble words--I read and the need there is now, as there was then, that we shall stand free if we can from the letter and cling to the spirit. The letter may be, as it often is, the mere difference between the two sides, while the spirit is the Divine reality that lies and abides within them both, the only thing God ever did care for, as I believe, or ever will care for while the world stands. Shibboleth and sibboleth, you know, still make mischief when they can get a chance, as surely as they did on the banks of the Jordan, and they fall out, and divide, and weaken all the chances of right against wrong. Let others fall out as they will about the way to say the word, but be sure that the gates of life never did open and never can to this mere turn of the tongue, this sesame, but only to the grand old password: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and mind and strength, and thy neighbour as thyself, I notice, again, when I bring shibboleth and sibboleth home to my heart and life, that there is no other way open to me if I would be a man, let alone a Christian, but just to say what he says, the good apostle (1Co_12:13). Our belief is far less a matter of free-will than we imagine. If we are sincere in regard to truth we must believe as we do, and there is no ground for reviling. And as oaks grow best alone, and as vines need a standard, and as some flowers like a day with three quarters shadow, and others want all the sunshine that heaven can pour upon them; as all the fruits in Covent Garden Market to-morrow will be better than any one of them; as all herbs are good in their place, sweet and bitter, mellow and sharp; and as some love Rembrandts pictures with their deep shadows, and some Raphaels, with their floods of glory and hosts of angels, and no great gallery could be complete if you leave out any of these great masters: so I think we must make up our minds that any Church which can include all these diversities of thinking and believing is better than those which leave any out, and breed in and in, like the chickens in Hawthornes story that were so careful of the separateness of their breed that there were only two of them left in the end, and they could do nothing but croak. We cannot always think alike or believe alike in the most sacred relations that men and women can sustain to each other in their homes; and we ought not to look for any finer harmony than the holy spirit of well-mated Christian people, least of all in the Churches where this bond of fellowship is maintained, against all comers, that every man may make something good enough for heaven out of the nature that God has given him and the life he has to live, and that the best form in the Churches and in the nation is that in which men can manage wisely and well to govern themselves. (R. Collyer, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Signifying a stream or flood.
Shibboleth
Signifying a stream or flood.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.