[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/shibboleth/)

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# shibboleth

noun

«shibboleth» in the English dictionary: in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In Jewish tradition

In Judges, the men of Gilead used the word "Shibboleth" to catch Ephraimites, who could not say the "sh" sound and said "Sibboleth."

**Interpretation.** Tradition uses the story as a warning of how tribal quarrels turned deadly, and the word now means any test of belonging.

### Meaning

A word or custom that shows who belongs to a group, often a test of identity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/S/shibboleth/#m1)

### Note

A record of the Judaism dictionary, written from the corpus.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «shibboleth» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/S/shibboleth/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«shibboleth» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/shibboleth.html) on Mova free.