SEV Biblia, Chapter 12:1
¶ Y juntándose los varones de Efraín, pasaron hacia el aquilón, y dijeron a Jefté: ¿Por qué fuiste a hacer guerra contra los hijos de Amón, y no nos llamaste para que fuéramos contigo? Nosotros quemaremos a fuego tu casa contigo.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Judges 12:1
Verse 1. The men of Ephraim gathered themselves together] q[xyw vaiyitstsaek, they called each other to arms; summoning all their tribe and friends to arm themselves to destroy Jephthah and the Gileadites, being jealous lest they should acquire too much power.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 1. And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together , etc.] Or “cried” f249 ; got together by a cry or proclamation made: in the Hebrew text it is, “a man of Ephraim”; not a single man, but a body of men, who met together and joined as one man. It is highly probable that there were no less than 50,000 of them; for 42,000 of them were slain, ( Judges 12:6) and went northward ; or, “went over northward f250 ”; that is, over the river Jordan, which lay between Gilead and Ephraim; and when they had crossed the river, they turned northward; for Mizpeh, where Jephthah lived, was in the north of the land, near Hermon and Lebanon, ( Joshua 11:3) and said unto Jephthah, wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon ? not over Jordan, but over that part of the land of Israel from the plain where Jephthah dwelt, to the country of the children of Ammon: and didst not call us to go with thee ? they quarrel with him just in the same manner as they did with Gideon: these Ephraimites were a proud and turbulent people, and especially were very jealous of the tribe of Manasseh, of which both Gideon and Jephthah were; the one of the half tribe on this side Jordan, and the other of the half that was on the other side; and they were jealous of both, lest any honour and glory should accrue thereunto, and they should get any superiority in any respect over them, since Jacob their father had given the preference to Ephraim; and this seems to lie at the bottom of all their proceedings: we will burn thine house upon thee with fire ; that is, burn him and his house, burn his house and him in it; which shows that they were in great wrath and fury, and argued not only the height of pride and envy, but wretched ingratitude, and a cruel disposition; who, instead of congratulating him as Israel’s deliverer, and condoling him with respect to the case of his only child, threaten him in this brutish manner.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-7 - The Ephraimites had the same quarrel with Jephthah as with Gideon Pride was at the bottom of the quarrel; only by that comes contention It is ill to fasten names of reproach upon persons or countries, as in common, especially upon those under outward disadvantages. It ofte occasions quarrels that prove of ill consequence, as it did here. N contentions are so bitter as those between brethren or rivals for honour. What need we have to watch and pray against evil tempers! Ma the Lord incline all his people to follow after things which make for peace!
Original Hebrew
ויצעק 6817 אישׁ 376 אפרים 669 ויעבר 5674 צפונה 6828 ויאמרו 559 ליפתח 3316 מדוע 4069 עברת 5674 להלחם 3898 בבני 1121 עמון 5983 ולנו לא 3808 קראת 7121 ללכת 1980 עמך 5973 ביתך 1004 נשׂרף 8313 עליך 5921 באשׁ׃ 784
