The Shibboleth incident (Judges 12:5-6) as a migratory narrative folklore motif

Kvartič, Ambrož (author)

Shibboleth is a special sociolinguistic category, denoting a functional communicative mechanism; a word, a phrase, or merely just a phoneme used as a test or a marker to identify people through their pronunciation. The term and the concept originate in a short passage in the Old Testament of the Bible, Book of Judges, chapter 12, verses 5 and 6 – called The Shibboleth incident – which describes a language trial administered by the Gileadites in order to identify disguised Ephraimites and kill them. Throughout history in different parts of the world, strikingly similar stories have emerged, set in comparable contextual circumstances of inter-ethnic bloodshed. In the article, a comprehensive folkloristic comparative analysis of various shibboleth accounts is presented, prompting a question if these stories are standalone narrative material; or if they are rather individual articulations (ecotypes) of an otherwise shared timeless migratory narrative folklore motif.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Shibboleth incident, the book of Judges, shibboleth test, ecotypes, comparative analysis, folklore studies
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: TEOF - Theological Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2024
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 185-206
• Numbering: Letn. 79, št. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-164071
• UDC: 27-277-243.25
• ISSN on article: 2335-4127
• DOI: 10.34291/Edinost/79/01/Kvartic
• COBISS.SI-ID: 211616003
• Publication date in RUL: 16.10.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Edinost in dialog : revija za ekumensko teologijo in medreligijski dialog = Unity and dialogue : journal for ecumenical theology and interreligious dialogue
• Publisher: Založba Univerze v Ljubljani, Teološka fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani, Enota v Mariboru in Inštitut Stanka Janežiča za dogmatično, osnovno in ekumensko teologijo ter religiologijo in dialog
• ISSN: 2335-4127
• COBISS.SI-ID: 268194560

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Zgodba o šiboletu (Sodniki 12,5-6) kot migracijski pripovedni motiv

Abstract

Šibolet je posebna sociolingvistična kategorija oziroma funkcijski komunikacijski mehanizem – beseda, besedna zveza ali zgolj fonem, ki se uporablja kot preizkus (oziroma kot označevalec) identitete posameznikov prek njihove izgovarjave. Termin in koncept izhajata iz kratkega odlomka iz Stare zaveze Svetega pisma, kjer v 12. poglavju Knjige sodnikov v 5. in 6. vrstici beremo o jezikovnem preizkusu, ki so ga izvedli Gileadci, da bi v svojih vrstah prepoznali preoblečene Efrajimce ter jih ubili. Zgodovinopisje in pripovedna folklora pa skozi čas in na različnih koncih sveta »beležita« presenetljivo podobne zgodbe, vpete v primerljive kontekste medetničnega prelivanja krvi. V članku je predstavljena obsežna folkloristična primerjalna analiza različnih zgodovinskih primerov uporabe tega jezikovnega preizkusa, pri čemer se zastavlja vprašanje, ali gre pri posameznih pričevanjih za nepovezane pripovedne artefakte ali pa le za posamezne artikulacije (pripovedne ekotipe) sicer občečloveškega in brezčasnega ter v času in prostoru potujočega pripovednega folklornega motiva.

• Keywords: šibolet, Knjiga Sodnikov, preizkus s šiboletom, ekotipi, primerjalna analiza, folkloristika