Shibboleth

Why did the Gileadites demand the Ephraimites say "shibboleth" before allowing them to cross the Jordan? In English, the word means something like "litmus test." It has been brought into our language directly from the story in Judges when these two groups were fighting.

The Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan and saw an opportunity to defeat their brothers, who were guilty of dissing them. Good reason for war. But that's another story. When anyone came to the Jordan, they would say, "Let me cross over." To which the reply, "Are you an Ephraimite?" "Um, no. I hate those scumbags." Then the ford guardians would say, "Aight then, say, 'Shibboleth,'" because they knew Ephraimites couldn't produce a "sh" sound—it comes out as an "s." (How on earth did they keep their kids quiet?!)

If they failed the basic "litmus test," they were killed on the spot.

That brings us back to the point of the word choice. Any ol' "sh" word would have done. But the Gileadites were taunting them right before they killed them. "Shibboleth" means "flowing stream." They were saying, "Hey, idiot, what's this thing right here? . . . No it's not! Stupid!" *STAB*

This brings up another point. In case you're ever caught in a shibboleth situation, where you actually have to say a word to save your life, you should probably take a phonetics class now. Having done so myself, I could probably pronounce almost any word demanded of me. And I'm also nerdy enough to be able to tell the difference between the two sounds: an alveolar fricative vs. a post-alveolar fricative—literally a slip of the tongue. But if I said that, it would probably get me killed.