What is the meaning of shibboleth in the Bible?

Answer

A word that appears only once in the Bible in Judges 12:6, shibboleth literally means “ear of corn” or “river.” However, it is not the literal meaning of shibboleth that highlights its significance but its clever use by the tribe of Gilead to differentiate between enemy and ally.

During the period of the judges, there was a formidable warrior from Gilead named Jephthah who had been exiled by his half-brothers because his mother was a prostitute. Nevertheless, when the king of the Ammonites waged war against Gilead, the elders of Gilead approached Jephthah, pleading that he might become their leader (Judges 11:1-3). Jephthah accepted the request and, empowered by the Spirit of the Lord, achieved a significant victory against the Ammonites (verses 29–32). This triumph was accomplished without the assistance of the Ephraimites, who had declined to support Gilead «And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands. », (Judges 12:2).

The inclusion of the word shibboleth in Jephthah’s narrative unfolds as follows: the tribes of Israel were separated by the Jordan River—some situated on the west and others on the east. The eastern tribes, including Jephthah’s, had embraced certain pronunciations and customs of foreign nations, setting them apart from their brethren in the west. The term shibboleth served as an illustration. Those in Gilead pronounced it “shibboleth,” while those in Ephraim, west of the Jordan, pronounced it “sibboleth.” The dialect varied.

Following Jephthah’s remarkable victory against the Ammonites, the men of Ephraim crossed the river to battle against their counterparts from Gilead. The Ephraimites’ declared reason for the conflict was their anger at not having been included.Included in the battle «And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire. », (Judges 12:1), although it is more likely they just wanted a share of the spoil.

In the ensuing fight, Jephthah’s men captured the fords of the Jordan leading back to Ephraim, but many Ephraimites still tried to cross over, hoping their Gileadite brothers would not be able to distinguish friend from foe. However, the men of Gilead knew the people of the west could not pronounce the “sh” sound, as they had not mixed with foreigners as their brothers from the east had. So the Gileadite soldiers asked each man who tried to cross over the fords to say, “Shibboleth.” Every man who was from Ephraim would respond, “Sibboleth,” thereby revealing his identity. With the help of this clever tactic, Jephthah’s men caught forty-two thousand men and put them to death that day (Judges 12:2-6).

Shibboleth is one of many words that the English-speaking world has borrowed from the Bible. In modern contexts, a shibboleth is any identifying word, manner of speaking, or behavior that shows someone to be part of a particular group. A person’s reference to gasoline as “petrol” is a shibboleth pointing to British influence. The word shibboleth can also refer to an old, oft-repeated idea that is widely believed but of questionable veracity; for example, a trite saying such as “great minds think alike” could be considered a shibboleth.