Judges · 15 verses
Judges 12
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
At the Jordan, a single word decides who may pass—and a faulty pronunciation ends in death, with the tally given as 42,000.
The word at the fordsvv. 1–7
The quarrel begins with Ephraim arriving at Zaphon in a temper, accusing Jephthah of fighting Ammon without them and threatening to burn his house with him inside. Jephthah answers that he called, was not rescued, and crossed over at the risk of his life; then the quarrel becomes a battle between Gilead and Ephraim, with the particularly unhelpful insult that the Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim and Manasseh.
The Gileadites seize the fords of the Jordan and devise a test small enough to fit in a single breath. A man who says he is not an Ephraimite must say “Shibboleth”; if it comes out “Sibboleth,” the river crossing becomes a killing place. The chapter gives the number with grim precision, then turns briskly to Jephthah’s six years as judge and his burial in one of the cities of Gilead.
Judges, families, and donkeysvv. 8–15
After Jephthah, the chapter becomes a swift procession of judges. Ibzan of Bethlehem has thirty sons and thirty daughters, gives the daughters in marriage outside his clan, and brings thirty wives from elsewhere for the sons. He judges seven years and is buried in Bethlehem.
Elon the Zebulunite judges for ten years and is buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. Then comes Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon: forty sons, thirty grandsons, and seventy donkeys ridden by the younger generation—or at least by the grandsons, which is the nearest the verse comes to explaining the tableau. Abdon judges eight years and is buried at Pirathon, in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Judg 12:1Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”
Judg 12:2But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.
Judg 12:3When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”
Judg 12:4Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
Judg 12:5The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,”
Judg 12:6they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.
Judg 12:7Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
Judg 12:9He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years.
Judg 12:10Then Ibzan died, and he was buried in Bethlehem.
Judg 12:11After Ibzan, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel ten years.
Judg 12:12Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
Judg 12:13After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.
Judg 12:14He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.
Judg 12:15Then Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, died, and he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 60 passages were voted onto 11 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 31 Samuel 28:21When the woman came to Saul and saw how distraught he was, she said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice. I took my life in my hands and did as you told me.
- 3Job 13:14Why do I put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands?
- 31 Samuel 19:5He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”
- 1Judges 8:1Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
- 3Psalms 119:109I constantly take my life in my hands, yet I do not forget Your law.
- 5Judges 3:28“Follow me,” he told them, “for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and they did not allow anyone to cross over.
- 1James 3:16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
- 1John 10:32But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
- 14Judges 5:10You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder
- 1Judges 14:15So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”
- 1James 4:1–2What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?
- 41 Samuel 25:10But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
- 4Proverbs 12:13An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.
- 5Joshua 22:11Then the Israelites received the report: “Behold, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the border of the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.”
- 6Matthew 12:25Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
- 6Ecclesiastes 10:12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
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