Context: In Canaan, in the time of the judges, Jephthah, a Gileadite and the appointed deliverer of the children of Israel, and the men of Gilead have conquered the hostile Ammonites. The Ephraimites, jealous of the victory, reprimand Jephthah for having moved against the Ammonites without asking for help. Jephthah replies that his call for assistance had gone unanswered and that the Lord had delivered his enemies to him. When civil war ensues between the Gileadites and the Ephraimites, Jephthah defeats the rival tribe, captures the fords of the Jordan, and sets up a linguistic method for detecting any fugitive Ephraimite who tries to cross the river: