Jephthah and His Successors
7 Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage outside the family, and he brought in thirty daughters [-in-law] from outside for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.
11 After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel for ten years. 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13 Now after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; and he judged Israel for eight years. 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Footnotes
- Judges 12:5 I.e. narrow or shallow places where a river may be crossed by wading.
- Judges 12:6 Lit speak thus. The difference in pronunciation was between a Hebrew consonant with an ‘sh’ sound, which the Ephraimites evidently did not have in their dialect, and another consonant with a sharp ‘s’ sound. This difference was similar to that between the Hebrew greeting “Shalom,” and the greeting “Salaam” used in Islamic circles. Shibboleth has even been accepted into English as a word meaning “a peculiarity of pronunciation.” In Hebrew it refers to an ear or head of grain.