Shibboleth'' a Hebrew word meaningflood'' or ``ear of corn''
Psalm 69:15 See also Psalm 69:2; Isaiah 27:12 “Shibboleth” is here translated as flowing.
Do not let the floods engulf me or the depths swallow me up; let not the Pit close its mouth over me.
Dialectal variation in the pronunciation of ``shibboleth''
they 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.
The pronunciation of ``shibboleth'' featured in a civil war between Gilead and Ephraim
The Gileadites had defeated the Ammonites
See also Judges 10:7–9, Judges 10:17–18, Judges 11:4–11, Judges 11:32–33
This victory led to civil war between Gilead and Ephraim
Ephraimites were identified on the basis of their pronunciation of ``shibboleth''
The 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,” they 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.
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.