H7641a H7641a
flowing stream, current; Shibboleth (dialect test-word)
This noun primarily denotes a flowing stream or water current, but is famous from Judges 12:6 as the password Gileadites used to detect Ephraimites, who pronounced it 'Sibboleth.' The dialectal difference in pronouncing the initial consonant became a deadly ethnic marker. The term captures both the physical reality of flowing water and its role in linguistic identity.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Designates a flowing stream or current. Psalm 69:2 (69:3 Eng.) describes drowning in 'a depth/flood' (שִׁבֹּלֶת), and 69:15 (69:16 Eng.) 'the flood of water' (שִׁבֹּלֶת מַיִם). Isaiah 27:12 speaks of threshing 'from the flowing of the River' (מִשִּׁבֹּלֶת הַנָּהָר), the Euphrates' current. Most famously, Judges 12:6 uses it as a dialect test: Gileadites detected Ephraimites who couldn't pronounce the 'sh' sound and said 'Sibboleth' instead—leading to 42,000 deaths. The word entered English meaning 'linguistic or cultural shibboleth.' Multilingual glosses show the test-word fame: Spanish 'shibolet,' French 'Shibboleth,' German 'Shibboleth'—all recognizing its role beyond mere 'stream.' 4×
AR["تَيّارُ", "شِبّولَت", "مِنْ-سُنْبُلِ", "وَ-التَّيّارُ"]·ben["ও-স্রোত", "শস্য-থেকে", "শিব্বোলেৎ", "স্রোত"]·DE["Shibboleth", "[משבלת]", "der-Flut-von", "und-der-Flut"]·EN["Shibboleth", "and-the-flood", "from-the-flowing", "the-flood-of"]·FR["Shibboleth", "[משבלת]", "et-épi", "épi"]·heb["ו-שיבולת", "מ-שיבולת", "שיבולת"]·HI["शिब्बोलेत", "से-बाल"]·ID["Syibolet", "arus", "dan-arus", "dari-tangkai"]·IT["Shibboleth", "[ושבלת]", "[משבלת]", "[שבלת]"]·jav["Sibolèt", "banjir", "saha-banjir", "saking-iline"]·KO["그리고-급류-가", "급류-가", "쉬볼렛", "이삭-에서"]·PT["Shibbolet", "a-corrente", "de-espiga-de", "e-a-corrente"]·RU["и-поток", "от-колосьев", "поток", "шибболет"]·ES["corriente-de", "desde-la-corriente-de", "shibolet", "y-corriente"]·SW["Shibolethi", "kutoka-mkondo", "mafuriko", "na-mafuriko"]·TR["akıntısı-", "basaktan", "ve-akıntı", "Şibbolet"]·urd["بالیوں-سے", "سیلاب", "شِبّولت", "وَ-سیلاب"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. שִׁבֹּ֫לֶת n.f. flowing stream;—שׁ׳ abs. ψ 69:3, as test of dialect Ju 12:6 (cf; סִבֹּלֶת and GFM); cstr. שׁ׳ מַיִם ψ 69:16, שׁ׳ הַנָּהָר Is 27:12.