Judges 12:4

Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim,.... The Ephraimites not being pacified with the account Jephthah gave of the war between him and the children of Ammon,

Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.

According to this translation, these words are a scoffing and contemptuous expression of the Ephraimites concerning the Gileadites, whom they call fugitives of Ephraim; the word Ephraim being here taken largely, as it is elsewhere as ,5, so as it comprehends the other neighbouring tribes, of which Ephraim was in some sort the head or chief; and especially their brethren of Manasseh, who lived next to them, and were descended from the same father, Joseph; by reason whereof both these tribes are sometimes reckoned for one, and called by the name of the tribe of Joseph. And this large signification of Ephraim may seem probable from the following words, where, instead of Ephraim, is put the Ephraimites and the Manassites. By Gileadites here they seem principally to mean the Manassites beyond Jordan, who dwelt in Gilead, as appears from ,5,6. And although other Gileadites were joined with them, yet they vent their passion against these; principally, because they envied them most; partly, because they seemed to have had a chief hand in the victory, ; and partly, because they were more nearly related to them, and therefore more obliged to desire their conjunction with them in the war. These they here opprobriously call fugitives, i.e. such as had deserted their brethren of Ephraim and Manasseh, and for some worldly advantage planted themselves beyond Jordan, at a distance from their brethren, and were alienated in affection from them, and carried on a distinct and separate interest of their own, as appears by their monopolizing the glory of this success to themselves, and excluding their brethren from it. According to the Hebrew, the words lie and may be rendered thus, Therefore (so chi is oft rendered) they said, Fugitives of Ephraim are ye, (i.e. Ye Ephraimites are mere runaways; for the words next foregoing are, the men, of Gilead smote Ephraim. And having told you what they said, because the pronoun they was ambiguous, he adds by way of explication,) who said it, even the Gileadites, (and they said it when they had got the advantage over them, and got between them and home, as the next verse shows,) being between Ephraim, and Manasseh; i.e. having taken the passages of Jordan, as it follows, which lay between Ephraim and that part of Manasseh which was beyond Jordan. Or these latter words may be rendered thus, And the Gileadites were between Ephraim and Manasseh. So there is only an ellipsis of two small words, which are oft defective, and to be understood in Scripture. Or thus, And the Gileadites were in the midst of the Ephraimites, and in the midst of the Manassites, to wit, those Manassites who ordinarily lived within Jordan, who possibly were confederate with the Ephraimites in this quarrel. And so the meaning is, they followed close after them, and overtook them, and fell upon the midst of them, and smote them; and they sent a party to intercept them at the passages of Jordan, as it here follows.

Judges 12:4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites [are] fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, [and] among the Manassites.Ver. 4. Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead.] When he saw they were set upon it, and that they would needs quarrel with their friends, and not with their faults, he set light by their threats, Minorum strepitus armorum crepitus and resolved to chastise their insolency with the edge of the sword. When there is no hope of curing, men must fall to cutting. Ye Gileadites are fugitives.] Or, Abjects, mongrels, the refuse of both tribes: a brand of dishonour, and therefore heinously taken, and heavily revenged. Such opprobrious and reviling speeches, Leviter volant, non, leviter violant. Jephthah and his soldiers might haply here be glanced at, because he was forced to flee from his father’ s house. Among the Ephraimites,] q.d., The scum of those two noble tribes, fellows of no fashion. But the meanest are not to be slighted; since “ A cane non magno saepe tenetar aper. ” Immedicabile vulnus ense recidendum. Or, the Gileadites being got between the Ephraimites and Manassites, the Ephraimites said, Ye are but the fugitives of Ephraim.

(4) All the men of Gilead.—This probably implies the Eastern tribes generally. And the men of Gilead smote Ephraim because they said . . .—The translation and the meaning are here highly uncertain. It seems to be implied that in spite of Jephthah’s perfectly reasonable answer the Ephraimites advanced to attack Gilead, and goaded the Gileadites to fury by intolerable taunts, which prevented the Gileadites from giving any quarter when they had won the victory. Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim.—If the English Version is here correct, the meaning is, “You people of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh are a mere race of runaway slaves, who belong neither to Ephraim nor to Manasseh” (1 Samuel 25:10). It is very possible that fierce jealousies may have sprung up between the Eastern Manassites and their tribal brethren of the West, and that these may have mainly originated in the fact that the Eastern Manassites less and less acknowledged the lead of Ephraim, but changing their character and their habits, threw in their lot more and more with the pastoral tribes of Reuben and Gad. The taunt sounds as if it had sprung from a schism in clanship, a contemptuous disclaimer on the part of Ephraim of any ties with this Eastern half-tribe. Indeed, the taunt may have been so far true that very probably any who fell into debt or disgrace in Ephraim and Eastern Manasseh might be as likely to fly to Western Manasseh as an English defaulter might escape to New York. And if the Ephraimites indulged in such shameful jibes, it might well be deemed sufficient to account for the ruthless character of the fighting. But the rendering of the English Version is very uncertain, and the versions vary in the view they take of the meaning, punctuation, and even of the reading of the passage. On the whole, the best view is to render the words thus: The men of Gilead smote Ephraim [not only in the battle, but in the far more fatal pursuit] because they [the men of Gilead] said, Ye are fugitives of Ephraim (see on Judges 12:5). Then follows the geographical explanation and historical illustration of the clause, which is, “It was possible for the Gileadites to inflict this vengeance, for (1) Gilead [lies] between Ephraim and [Eastern] Manasseh.” [Part, at any rate, of Gilead belonged to Gad, and lies geographically between the district of Eastern Manasseh and the district of Ephraim, as is sufficiently clear since Ephraim has advanced “northwards,” or towards Tsaphon (Judges 12:1), for the attack.] Then (2) there follows the seizure of the fords, which led to the total slaughter of all these Ephraimite fugitives. One slight circumstance which adds probability to this view is that “fugitives” (comp. Jeremiah 44:14) is a term which could hardly be applied to a whole tribe.

Verse 4. And fought with Ephraim] Some commentators suppose that there were two battles in which the Ephraimites were defeated: the first mentioned in the above clause; and the second occasioned by the taunting language mentioned in the conclusion of the verse, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim. Where the point of this reproach lies, or what is the reason of it, cannot be easily ascertained.

4. because they said … Manasseh] These words, which make no sense where they stand, and are omitted by some mss. of the LXX and marked with an asterisk in Syro-Hex., probably belonged in part to Judges 12:6 ‘… and slew him at the fords of Jordan, for they said, Ye are fugitives of Ephraim.’ The words in italics may have been left out by a copyist, and then written on the margin, whence they were restored to the text, but in the wrong place. Afterwards Gilead is in the midst of E., in the midst of M. (so the text runs) was added as a gloss on the previous sentence which became unintelligible in its new position.

Because they said ... - This passage is extremely obscure. Render: - “The men of Gilead smote Ephraim, for they (the Gileadites) said, Ye are. the fugitives of Ephraim.

4. The men of Gilead smote Ephraim — This was the first actual tribal war, and was brought about by a rash tribal jealousy. Ephraim wasin every sense to blame. Because they said — That is, the men of Ephraim said.