“Those of Gilead captured the pass of the Jordan to Ephraim. And when a fugitive of Ephraim would say, ‘Let me pass,’ those of Gilead would respond, ‘Are you of Ephraim?’ And if the answer was ‘No’ they would respond, ‘Say Shibboleth.’ Those of Ephraim would then say, ‘Sibboleth,’ because they couldn’t pronounce it correctly. So, they would grab them and kill them there at the passage of the Jordan…” (Judges 12:5-6).
The Thing, a remake of a 1951 film, was released on 25 June 1982. Directed by John Carpenter with a stellar cast, the movie tells the story of a team of scientists in the Antarctic who discover an alien amongst them, one who can take the form of any creature (said creature being killed first).
It’s a study in paranoia, about what happens when all trust collapses and you’re trapped far from any help. It ultimately pits everyone against everyone, doing their best to determine who is one of us and who is a Thing. It was a stark contrast to the candy-eating, bike flying E.T. that had already been released earlier that same month.
The movie is also an examination of our fears of being conquered, overtaken by some other—an alien from outer space or across the border—and what those fears can lead us to do, especially when that other isn’t human. Or isn’t human as we understand it.
Now, in the context of the film, everyone should be paranoid and afraid of what’s come amongst them. First, they’re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the frozen wasteland of the Antarctic. There’s nowhere to run for miles and miles. And anyone, anyone could be the creature who, before you know it, will kill you and take over your being.
Oh, and if somehow the creature manages to get off the base and back to civilization it’ll probably take over the world.
So, it makes sense that you’d try and come up with some test, an objective means of determining who’s human and who is a Thing. People have been doing such things for thousands of years.
Today’s passage describes a means of determining us from them. According to the story, the people of Ephraim weren’t able to pronounce the “shhh” sound and thus shibboleth would come out as sibboleth. So, with just a word the sentries could know friend from foe. And, you know, kill them.
Of course what the passage above doesn’t tell us is if things ever got out of control, like they did at the Thing’s research station. Because once you know there are strangers, aliens, things amongst us, well it’s almost too easy to let our imaginations run away with us. Do you think their “shhh” sound was a little light? What if they’re on to how the test works and are trying to fool us? What if you’re one of them?
There are reasons, of course, to be careful in an situation. Some people have bad intentions and a desire to harm others. Caution isn’t bad. Taking measures to protect yourself make sense. But what happens when you start thinking who is and isn’t human? Because, harming people is wrong, but killing things…well, where’s the harm?
Holy One, help me ever careful, when fear and uncertainty arise, not to lose sight of your image that stands before me.