Judges 12:6 Meaning and Explanation
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →A single mispronounced word, Shibboleth, betrays the Ephraimites at the fords, and forty-two thousand are killed.
What Does Judges 12:6 Mean?
Gilead devises a test no disguise can pass: say the word Shibboleth. The Ephraimite dialect could not form the sound and came out Sibboleth, and that slip exposed each man. Forty-two thousand fell at the fords of the Jordan, a staggering toll among the people of God.
One small sound decided life or death, and a quarrel between brothers ended in a slaughter larger than many battles against foreign enemies. The passage is a heavy warning about the cost of pride and division within the covenant family. What began as wounded honor ended in graves. It drives the heart to long for the reconciliation Christ brings, who breaks down the dividing walls and makes warring people one.
Judges 12:6 in the Original Language
Shibboleth (שִׁבֹּלֶת) means 'an ear of grain' or 'a flowing stream'; here its sound, not its meaning, became a deadly password between dialects.
Frequently Asked Questions About Judges 12:6
What does Judges 12:6 mean?
A single mispronounced word, Shibboleth, betrays the Ephraimites at the fords, and forty-two thousand are killed.