Chapter 12

Ephraim hears that Jephthah has fought the Ammonites without them, and they offer to burn his house down over him for his trouble.  I do not get this.  Where were they if they wanted to fight?  Jephthah says he did call them, and they didn't come.  This is now the second time Ephraim has complained about not being invited to the fighting.  First time was when Gideon and his 300 defeated Midian back in Judges 8.  Ephraim just wants the spoils it seems.

Hmm...as I read it this second time, it looks like Jephthah actually invaded Ephraim from Gilead to attack the Ammonites who had crossed the Jordan to oppress Judah and Benjamin and Ephraim.  He had come into their tribal allotment and made war there.  So Ephraim is now saying they can handle their own problems, and that if Jephthah was coming onto their property, he should have included them.  This seems like cutting off their noses to spite their own faces.  The war was over, their oppression was lifted as was the oppression of Gilead, and instead of celebrating, they get all bent out of shape over not being the ones in charge of the evictions.

So now Gilead and Ephraim go to war.  Gilead wins.  Ephraimites cannot say Shibboleth.  It comes out Siboleth.  This was used to identify fleeing Ephraimites at the fords of the Jordan.  42,000 of Ephraim are killed.  Again, this just seems very wrong.  On second reading...Ephraim was just too pig-headed for this to turn out any other way.  All they had to do was say thank you and go home, but instead, they cross the Jordan into Gilead and attack Jephthah's army.  That's why taking the fords of the Jordan is important.  To get back home after losing the war, the Ephraimites had to cross the river.  But Jephthah controls the crossings.  And since the "speech impediment" of Ephraimites makes it impossible for them to correctly pronounce Shibboleth, Jephthah has any fleeing Ephraimites summarily executed.  If that seems a bad way to do things, remember that this same Jephthah has already burned up his daughter to pay a vow that should never have been made.  He is not the best decision maker we've seen.

Jephthah judges for 6 years, then dies.  I wonder if he died drunk and morose, because he couldn't bear the loss of his only child?  Maybe that's why he had no mercy on the Ephraimites also.

Ibzan of Bethlehem judged next for 7 years.  Does not say there was a turning away.  Says he had 30 sons and 30 daughters.  He sent the daughters to other clans to marry, and brought 30 daughters in from outside clans to marry his sons.  It seems that those who were made judges were very "productive". 

Elon of the tribe of Zebulon was next, for 10 years.

Abdon was next.  8 years.  Seems to be from Ephraim.  Abdon had 40 sons and 30 grandsons.  They all rode around on 70 donkeys.  This is about the third time we've heard about a bunch of sons riding around on donkeys.  I don't know the significance of this, but it is mentioned repeatedly.