Introduction
The Judges were rulers of Israel in the years after the twelve tribes first settled in Canaan – impossible to date securely, but the 13th century BC is conventional. They fought to hold off invasion by neighbouring kingdoms, such as Midian, Moab and Ammon, but their task was not made any easier by rivalries and suspicions within their own nation.
JEPHTHAH lived in Gilead on the east bank of the Jordan.* When the Kingdom of Ammon, which lay still further east, made an assault on Israel, he emerged as a great warrior. But the elders of the tribe of Ephraim resented Gilead going it alone, as they saw it, and though Jephthah reminded them that they had ignored his pleas for help, still they vowed to destroy his home and family. Soon Gilead and Ephraim were at war.
Ephraim lay west of the Jordan, so the river crossings were strategically vital, and any Ephraimite stranded on the east had to pass Jephthah’s sentries. At first, the sentries challenged them with, “Are you Ephraimite?”, to which they very sensibly replied, “No”, and escaped to fight again. But then the sentries switched to, “Say ‘Shibboleth’”.* Ephraimite dialect had no sound like ‘sh’, so the fugitives could only manage to say “Sibboleth”. Jephthah’s men immediately identified the enemy, and forty-two thousand Ephraimites were caught that way.
Gilead was the mountainous region to the east of the River Jordan, and covered the lands of three tribes (south to north): Reuben, Gad, and the eastern part of Manasseh. Today it lies in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. See A Map of the Twelve Tribes of Israel at Wikimedia Commons.
Hebrew for ‘stream’. In common parlance, a ‘shibboleth’ is any word or idea that can be used as a test to separate the ‘in’ group from the ‘out’ group. For example, “Operatives at the BBC had to sit down and fan themselves to recover from the shock of a minister questioning the shibboleth of wind power” Daily Mail.
Précis
In the days before King Saul, Jephthah of Gilead led his people to victory against invading Ammon. But he fell foul of fellow-Israelites from Ephraim, and civil war followed. Jephthah’s now men found it hard to tell friend from foe, until they began challenging suspects to say ‘Shibboleth’. Ephraimite dialect has no ‘sh’ sound, making the enemy instantly identifiable. (59 / 60 words)
In the days before King Saul, Jephthah of Gilead led his people to victory against invading Ammon. But he fell foul of fellow-Israelites from Ephraim, and civil war followed. Jephthah’s now men found it hard to tell friend from foe, until they began challenging suspects to say ‘Shibboleth’. Ephraimite dialect has no ‘sh’ sound, making the enemy instantly identifiable.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, just, must, or, otherwise, ought, since, who.
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Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Dialect. Fight. First.
2 But. No. Tribe.
3 Reply. Shibboleth. Then.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Bank. 2. Man. 3. Like. 4. Saw. 5. Still. 6. Lie. 7. Pass. 8. See. 9. Live.
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Man. 2 Lie. 3 Still. 4 Bank. 5 Pass. 6 War. 7 Make. 8 Escape. 9 Challenge.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
