Fatal Jealousy and 3 More Judges

This is the Bible study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting September 28 to study Judges 12.  This is the last note on Jephthah's life as a judge, and is yet another lesson of the ridiculous people of the time.

Read through the whole chapter (it's short), making notes and jotting down questions.  Once you have your notes, read it in a few different translations, NIV and ESV, or Holman Christian Standard, or New American Standard.  You can start with one that's easy to read, but be sure to also use one that's more literal (NASB, ESV, HCSB).  Think through the differences in meaning, if any.  You're not looking for different ways to say the same thing, you're looking for where they seem to say different things.

Once you have done your own study, use commentaries, study Bible notes, and whatever else you have or can find online.  Revise your notes and questions from this additional information (or opinion), and then go through the questions below:

• Look back at Judges 10:9.  Those tribes were in the west, and Gilead is east of the Jordan.  It would appear the men of Ephraim were summoned together to confront Jephthah, but they crossed over to go meet him.  Ephraim was entirely west of the Jordan, so where do you think the battle with the sons of Ammon from the previous chapter happened?
• The quarrel Ephraim has with Jephthah is that he didn't summon them to battle against the Ammonites (v.1).  Looking back at 11:29, Ephraim isn't mentioned.  Only eastern tribes are mentioned (Manasseh).  In fact, the cities mentioned in the battle (v.33) are east of the Jordan.  So, if the fight was entirely outside the tribal region of Ephraim, why do you think they're so upset?
• Jephthah claims he did call them.  Just because it's not recorded, doesn't mean it didn't happen. Still, he also flips the complaint around on them saying they failed to show up.  This is his justification for taking matters into his own hands (literally, "I placed my soul in my palm").  What do you think an angry mob of slighted Ephraimites is going to hear in that?
• Jephthah asks the rhetorical "Hebrew" idiomatic question, "Why then have you come up to me to fight?"  It's rhetorical because doesn't give any sort of time for an answer, he knows.  This is also a cultural idiom (even down to Jesus' day).  What do you think it means for them to ask this question as they do?  What would you think if you were asked this question rhetorically?
• The battle is joined, and now the reason given is a slight of Ephraim against Gilead.  Only the NIV has "renegades", all other versions have "fugitives".  But, either way, what do you think Ephraim means by this?  Look at the map above, what's their deal here?  They're not even close to Gilead, so why claim them as wayward peoples?
• The people of Gilead cut off Ephraim's retreat, and then control who crosses over.  They use a difference in pronunciation to differentiate between the men of Ephraim, and who?  Who are the ones saying shebboleth correctly and want to cross over to the west?
• Ephraim looses 42,000 people that day.  What do you think is the point of the author of Judges for his audience in this account?  Why do you think this is an important element of Israel's history for his audience?
• Jephthah only judges for six years.  This is a short term as judge so far.  Why do you think he may have lasted such a short time?
• He dies and is said to be buried in the cities of Gilead.  Whatever that means, he was not buried in his father's tomb.  What do you think that might mean (look back over the beginning of Judges 11)?
• Next a man from Bethlehem judges Israel for seven years.  His "claim-to-fame" are his 60 kids.  Look up verse 9 in several translations.  The word "marriage" which occurs in nearly every translation (except KJV), isn't in the Hebrew.  Basically is says he sent the daughters to the outside, and he brought daughter from the outside to his sons.  We get the idea, but look up the word used here on the Blue Letter Bible site.  What, if anything, sounds odd about this terminology to you?
• The account of Ibzan is that he was buried in Bethlehem.  So, what might that tell you about Jephthah's burial?  Or, what might that tell you about Ibzan's?
• Next, Elon judges for ten years.  Nothing of note happens?  So, why do you think this judge is included?
• Abdon judges from Pirathon in Ephraim.  His "claim-to-fame" is, again, his kids.  He has 40 sons and 30 grandsons.  Why do you think that might be significant?  Look back at Jair (10:3-5), and remember the possible significance of the jackasses (the ones they rode, not the kids).  So, who is more "prosperous"? Or is that even the point here?
• Abdon is buried in the "hill country of the Amalekites".  What are they doing there?  They were part of the fight of Gideon over 40 years prior.  Shouldn't they be gone?  What do you think this reference might mean?
• Abdon, Elon, and Ibzan all judge short terms, as does Jephthah.  What do you think might be going on during this time in Israel that the judges are so brief?

That's probably way too much detail to think about.  We should actually get through the chapter pretty quick next week.