Shibboleth (ISBE)

DIC dictionary-entry · status:draft · license:PD

shib´ṓ - leth ( שבּלת , shibbōleth ): A test of speech applied by the men of Gilead to the Ephraimites, who wished to cross the Jordan, after defeat. If they pronounced the word ṣibbōlēth , their dialectic variety of speech betrayed them. ( Judges 12:6 ). The word probably has the sense of stream or "flood" (compare Psalm 69:2 ).