Shibboleths
A word sticks like glue-- shibboleth glommed onto me, took me back to its story. Every word has a story, a tale to tell. This word traces a history back to the Biblical book of Judges, chapter 12: 1-15.
Imagine two tribes engaging in a battle. The Gileadites defeat the Ephramites. They then proceed to set up a blockade across the Jordan River. Their aim-- catch those Ephramites who try to flee their wrath. Now comes the intriguing twist. How do you identify each person? Whose side are you on?
Simple, for those in the know. The sentries ask every person who desires to cross the Jordan to pronounce the word shibboleth. Doesn't seem difficult save for one point. The Ephramite language had no sh sound. A fleeing person unable to pronounce the sh sound was slaughtered.
The word morphs into our lexicon as something that distinguishes a particular set of people from another set. But it also can act as a symbol.
We also use the word when we hear a group repeating some of their old sayings, mottos, which are now empty of any real meaning. Shibboleths may turn also platitudes.
The word, claimed by a weight loss program-- Shibboleth, they say, is a "high powered -- faith based weight loss system."
Ah-- the power of words. The Masons, according to a site on the Internet, practice a "Shibboleth", a secret handshake. In fairness it is one of many secret handshakes.
We love our shibboleths, our tokens of entrance, our phrases that set us apart, our grandiosity.
Imagine two tribes engaging in a battle. The Gileadites defeat the Ephramites. They then proceed to set up a blockade across the Jordan River. Their aim-- catch those Ephramites who try to flee their wrath. Now comes the intriguing twist. How do you identify each person? Whose side are you on?
Simple, for those in the know. The sentries ask every person who desires to cross the Jordan to pronounce the word shibboleth. Doesn't seem difficult save for one point. The Ephramite language had no sh sound. A fleeing person unable to pronounce the sh sound was slaughtered.
The word morphs into our lexicon as something that distinguishes a particular set of people from another set. But it also can act as a symbol.
We also use the word when we hear a group repeating some of their old sayings, mottos, which are now empty of any real meaning. Shibboleths may turn also platitudes.
The word, claimed by a weight loss program-- Shibboleth, they say, is a "high powered -- faith based weight loss system."
Ah-- the power of words. The Masons, according to a site on the Internet, practice a "Shibboleth", a secret handshake. In fairness it is one of many secret handshakes.
We love our shibboleths, our tokens of entrance, our phrases that set us apart, our grandiosity.
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