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An example of such a test, taken from the Old Testament, is a shibboleth. From the book of Judges: Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River,
by cdoxsey 9y ago
An example of such a test, taken from the Old Testament, is a shibboleth. From the book of Judges:
Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to go back across, the men of Gilead would challenge him. “Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?” they would ask. If the man said, “No, I’m not,” they would tell him to say “Shibboleth.” If he was from Ephraim, he would say “Sibboleth,” because people from Ephraim cannot pronounce the word correctly. Then they would take him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time.
- mikebenfield 9y agoEveryone involved was Jewish though (or, at least, they were all Israelites).
- knodi123 9y ago"In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time." Reminds me of the old joke which I can't remember enough details of to preserve the humor, where a dumb FBI agent is given the task of hunting communists, and his boss gives him a test which he humorously misunderstands, and at the end of the week he proudly reports "I've already killed several thousand communists sir. And you sent me here just in time, the communists were really entrenched, I haven't found a single loyal american." Sorry I botched it. But anyway, this is a fascinating archaeological record of a classic bias, where you assume your test was 100% accurate because the opposite would be horrifying...
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoLike why the death penalty in the USA has never been applied to someone who didn't deserve it: because the alternative would be horrifying.
- AlexCoventry 9y agoYou may not have noticed that in response to an accusation of racial persecution, you have brought up an ancient report of genocide perpetrated by the notional ancestors of the targeted racial group. It's probably going to come across as cryptic what-aboutist anti-semitism.
- derefr 9y agoAn addendum to the tale, from a historical linguist: http://sinesalvatorem.tumblr.com/post/140842586896/ilzolende-and-i-were-discussing-linguistic-sound http://sinesalvatorem.tumblr.com/post/140842586896/ilzolende...