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A word chosen by the Gileadites — apparently without any reference to its signification, which some take to be 'an ear of corn,' and others 'a stream' — by which to ascertain those that were Ephraimites, who pronounced the SH as S, making the word SIBBOLETH. As the men fled from the victorious Jephthah and approached the ford of the river, they were thus tested, and the Ephraimites, who had brought the conflict on themselves, were slain. Judges 12: 6. From this has originated the calling any watchword of a party, or indeed any particular view of truth or doctrine held by a section of the church, a mere 'shibboleth.'