| Why Shibboleth? |
| The Shibboleth’s word roots come from the Hebrew language, but have become an English word since the Wycliff's 1382 translation of the Bible. The meaning in Hebrew is "an ear of corn" or, in old Hebrew also "a torrent, a stream in flood”. In English it is nevertheless a word that can be used to identify people from different cultures or classes, or it can be a password, or a slogan that is distinctive of a particular group. It can also be a practice or custom that shows one as an outsider to a particular group. While its meaning in English has nothing to do with the original meaning of the word, it reflects the way in which it was used as a "test word" in biblical times. According to the Book Of Judges (xii:4-6), after the Gileadites defeated the Ephraimites, they required the soldier's pronunciation of "shibbolet" to identify the fleeing Ephraimites posing as Gileadites. This was possible because the impostors were unable to pronounce the initial "sh" sound of the word, pronouncing it as “sibboleth” instead. |