Soon after the war against the Ammonites was over, Jephthah faced problems with some of his Israelite members who wanted to join his army. He didn’t want them to join, as they had enough chance to prove themselves earlier. Jephthah had to wage a war against the Ephraimites and defeated them. The task to win the war was not easy as many of them were Israelites. As soon as the Ephraimites reached the ford, he was asked to “Say Shibboleth”, which means ear of grain. If any one said ‘Shibboleth’ it was stated that the person was their enemy and action had to be taken accordingly. On the other hand, if any one said ‘Shibboleth’ then they were given a positive nod to move ahead.
“Say Shibboleth!”
