12:2 were engaged in great conflict with the Ammonites See 11:4–11.

you did not deliver me from their hand Jephthah claims that he did request help from the Ephraimites, but was denied. Chapter 11 records no such request, but Jephthah may have sent messengers as Gideon had (6:35; 7:24).

12:4 Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead The situation degenerates quickly. Jephthah reassembles his army, which has just returned home. He is accustomed to solving problems with the sword, and this will be no exception.

You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites The Ephraimites accuse the Gileadites of being renegade, disloyal Ephraimites. This accusation carries an air of supremacy. Ephraim, as the leading tribe in the region, expected other tribes to do as they were told; thus, they intentionally cast Jephthah’s refusal as disloyalty to a superior.

12:5 Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan In the parallel with the Gideon narrative, the Ephraimites secured these fords against the Midianites. Now, the Gileadites cut off an Ephraimite retreat.

12:6 say Shibboleth The Gileadites use differences of dialect as a test of identity. The Ephraimites were unable to properly articulate the sh of shibboleth. The Ephraimites likely could not even hear the distinction between shibboleth and sibboleth.

forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell An unusually high number, likely for reasons similar to those that produce the large numbers for the overall number of Israelites in our translations (see Num 1:46 and note).

Large Numbers in the Exodus and Wilderness Journey

Judges and Their Rule Table

12:9 thirty sons Like Jair (10:4), Ibzan has 30 sons.

12:10 was buried in Bethlehem Ibzan was either from the Bethlehem in Zebulun (Josh 19:15) or the one in Judah (Judg 17:7; 19:1). It is uncertain which is in view here, but the other references to Bethlehem of Judah in the book of Judges explicitly mention that the location is in Judah (17:7; 19:1; compare Ruth 1:1). However, Judg 12:11 suggests an association with Zebulun.

12:13 Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite One of David’s mighty men was also a Pirathonite (2 Sam 23:30).

12:14 that rode on seventy male donkeys Abdon was wealthy (see Judg 10:4).

12:15 Pirathon Located about six miles southwest of Shechem.

the Amalekites The reference to Amalekites suggests they had once lived in the region. The Amalekites were one of the Canaanite peoples occupying the land before Israel (Num 13:29; 14:43–45; Deut 25:17–19). They were a perennial enemy of Israel during the period of the judges (Judg 3:13; 6:3–5) and into the period of the monarchy (1 Sam 15:1–9; 2 Sam 1:1–16). They are usually associated with the Negev region south of Judah, but in Judg 6:33, they are part of a group from east of the Jordan, suggesting the Amalekites were semi-nomadic.