Kommentar zu Schoftim 12:6
וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ לוֹ֩ אֱמָר־נָ֨א שִׁבֹּ֜לֶת וַיֹּ֣אמֶר סִבֹּ֗לֶת וְלֹ֤א יָכִין֙ לְדַבֵּ֣ר כֵּ֔ן וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּ אוֹת֔וֹ וַיִּשְׁחָט֖וּהוּ אֶל־מַעְבְּר֣וֹת הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן וַיִּפֹּ֞ל בָּעֵ֤ת הַהִיא֙ מֵֽאֶפְרַ֔יִם אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּשְׁנַ֖יִם אָֽלֶף׃
Da sprachen sie zu ihm: Sage doch Schibbolet [Fluß]; er aber sagte Sibbolet, denn er vermochte nicht richtig zu reden3. Da ergriffen sie ihn und schlachteten ihn an den Furten des Jordan. Und es fielen in jener Zeit von Efraim zwei und vierzig tausend.
Rashi on Judges
Say Shiboles please. May I cross this river flow?1Shiboles” is translated as “flow”.
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Radak on Judges
Shibboleth (שִׁבֹּלֶת) – Just as they would test them with this word, so too they would test them with ever word that has a שׁ (shin) in it, and the Ephrathites would read it as שׂ (sin), and the text chose one of the words. And some say that he chose the word "שבולת" (shibboleth) because there was a flowing stream (shibboleth nahar) in the place where the Ephraimites were crossing, who would stutter on the letter שׁ (shin). Maybe the climate of their land was a factor! This is like the people of France, who do not understand how to read שׁ (shin) and read it like a weak תֿ (thaw).
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Rashi on Judges
They were not proficient in proper pronunciation. They were speech deficient.
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