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Home » Bible Dictionaries » Holman Bible Dictionary » Letter S

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Shibboleth

Holman Bible Dictionary

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(sshihb' boh lehth) Transliteration of Hebrew password meaning, “ears, twigs” or “brook.” People of Gilead east of the Jordan used it to detect people of Ephraim from west of the Jordan since the Ephraimite dialect evidently did not include the sh sound, so Ephraimites always said, “sibboleth,” a word not used elsewhere in Hebrew ( Judges 12:6 ).

Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Shibboleth'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​hbd/​s/shibboleth.html. 1991.
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