A verse by verse commentary on Judges 10 dealing with a couple of leaders of Israel in times of God's disappointment in the failure of his people to avoid idolatry.

1. JUDGES 10 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
Tola
1 After the time of Abimelek, a man of Issachar
named Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to
save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country
of Ephraim.
BAR ES, "Defend - The marginal reading “to deliver,” is far preferable. The word is
the same as in Jdg_2:16, Jdg_2:18; Jdg_3:9, Jdg_3:15, Jdg_3:31, etc., and is the
technical word applied to the judges. Compare Neh_9:27 (“saviours who saved them,”
the King James Version).
The term “there arose,” also marks Tola as one of the Judges, properly so called, raised
by divine providence.
Tola and Puah - Both names of heads of houses in the tribe of Issachar 1Ch_7:1;
Gen_46:13.
Shamir - Not the same as that mentioned in Jos_15:48, which was in the hill country
of Judah. Issaehar would seem from this to have extended into the northern part of
mount Ephraim.
CLARKE, "Tola the son of Puah - As this Tola continued twenty-three years a
judge of Israel after the troubles of Abimelech’s reign, it is likely that the land had rest,
and that the enemies of the Israelites had made no hostile incursions into the land
during his presidency and that of Jair; which, together continued forty-five years.
GILL, "And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel,.... To save, deliver,
and protect Israel; which does not necessarily imply that Abimelech did; for he was no
judge of God's raising up, or the people's choosing, but usurped a kingly power over
them; and was so far from saving and defending them, that he involved them in trouble
and distress, and ruled over them in a tyrannical manner, and left them in the practice of
idolatry: it only signifies that after his death arose a person next described to which this
may well be attributed, that he was raised up as a judge by the Lord; and though we read
of no enemies particularly, that he delivered the people from in his days, yet it is not
impossible nor unlikely that there might be such, though not made mention of; besides,

2. he might be said to save them, as the word signifies, in that he was an happy instrument
of composing those differences and dissensions, which Abimelech had occasioned, and
of recovering them from the idolatry they had fallen into in his times, and of protecting
them in their liberties, civil and religious: and this was
Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; he was of the tribe of
Issachar, and bore the same name as the eldest son of Issachar did, as his father Puah
had the name of the second son of Issachar, 1Ch_7:1 and as for Dodo his grandfather,
this is elsewhere mentioned as the name of a man, as it doubtless is here, 2Sa_23:9
though some copies of the Targum, the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, render it,
the son of his uncle, or father's brother; meaning that his father Puah was the son of
Abimelech's uncle, or father's brother, and so was one of the family which was raised up
to be a judge after his death; but it is not likely that Gideon, the father of Abimelech, and
Puah, the father of this man, should be brethren, when the one was of the tribe of
Manasseh, and the other of the tribe of Issachar:
and he dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim: that is, when he became judge in
Israel he removed to this place, as being in the midst of the tribes, and near the
tabernacle of Shiloh, and so fit for a judge to reside in, to whom the people might apply
from all parts to have justice and judgment administered to them. It is called Shamir in
Mount Ephraim, to distinguish it from another of the same name in the mountain of
Judah, Jos_15:48 it seems to have its name from the thorns which grew about it.
HE RY 1-5, "Quiet and peaceable reigns, though the best to live in, are the worst to
write of, as yielding least variety of matter for the historian to entertain his reader with;
such were the reigns of these two judges, Tola and Jair, who make but a small figure and
take up but a very little room in this history. But no doubt they were both raised up of
God to serve their country in the quality of judges, not pretending, as Abimelech had
done, to the grandeur of kings, nor, like him, taking the honour they had to themselves,
but being called of God to it. 1. Concerning Tola it is said that he arose after Abimelech to
defend Israel, Jdg_10:1. After Abimelech had debauched Israel by his wickedness,
disquieted and disturbed them by his restless ambition, and, by the mischiefs he brought
on them, exposed them to enemies from abroad, God animated this good man to appear
for the reforming of abuses, the putting down of idolatry, the appeasing of tumults, and
the healing of the wounds given to the state by Abimelech's usurpation. Thus he saved
them from themselves, and guarded them against their enemies. He was of the tribe of
Issachar, a tribe disposed to serve, for he bowed his shoulder to bear (Gen_49:14, Gen_
49:15), yet one of that tribe is here raised up to rule; for those that humble themselves
shall be exalted. He bore the name of him that was ancestor to the first family of that
tribe; of the sons of Issachar Tola was the first, Gen_46:13; Num_26:23. It signifies a
worm, yet, being the name of his ancestor, he was not ashamed of it. Though he was of
Issachar, yet, when he was raised up to the government, he came and dwelt in Mount
Ephraim, which was more in the heart of the country, that the people might the more
conveniently resort to him for judgment. He judged Israel twenty-three years (Jdg_
10:2), kept things in good order, but did not any thing very memorable. 2. Jair was a
Gileadite, so was his next successor Jephthah, both of that half tribe of the tribe of
Manasseh which lay on the other side Jordan; though they seemed separated from their
brethren, yet God took care, while the honour of the government was shifted from tribe
to tribe and before it settled in Judah, that those who lay remote should sometimes
share in it, putting more abundant honour on that part which lacked. Jair bore the
name of a very famous man of the same tribe who in Moses's time was very active in

3. reducing this country, Num_32:41; Jos_13:30. That which is chiefly remarkable
concerning this Jair is the increase and honour of his family: He had thirty sons, Jdg_
10:4. And, (1.) They had good preferments, for they rode on thirty ass colts; that is, they
were judges itinerant, who, as deputies to their father, rode from place to place in their
several circuits to administer justice. We find afterwards that Samuel made his sons
judges, though he could not make them good ones, 1Sa_8:1-3. (2.) They had good
possessions, every one a city, out of those that were called, from their ancestor of the
same name with their father, Havoth-jair - the villages of Jair; yet they are called cities,
either because those young gentlemen to whom they were assigned enlarged and
fortified them, and so improved them into cities, or because they were as well pleased
with their lot in those country towns as if they had been cities compact together and
fenced with gates and bars. Villages are cities to a contented mind.
JAMISO , "Jdg_10:1-5. Tola judges Israel in Shamir.
after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel, Tola — that is, “to save.”
Deliverance was necessary as well from intestine usurpation as from foreign aggression.
the son of Puah — He was uncle to Abimelech by the father’s side, and consequently
brother of Gideon; yet the former was of the tribe of Issachar, while the latter was of
Manasseh. They were, most probably, uterine brothers.
dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim — As a central place, he made it the seat of
government.
K&D, "Of these two judges no particular deeds are mentioned, no doubt because they
performed none.
Jdg_10:1-2
Tola arose after Abimelech's death to deliver Israel, and judged Israel twenty-three
years until his death, though certainly not all the Israelites of the twelve tribes, but only
the northern and possibly also the eastern tribes, to the exclusion of Judah, Simeon, and
Benjamin, as these southern tribes neither took part in Gideon's war of freedom nor
stood under Abimelech's rule. To explain the clause “there arose to defend (or save)
Israel,” when nothing had been said about any fresh oppression on the part of the foe,
we need not assume, as Rosenmüller does, “that the Israelites had been constantly
harassed by their neighbours, who continued to suppress the liberty of the Israelites,
and from whose stratagems or power the Israelites were delivered by the acts of Tola;”
but Tola rose up as the deliverer of Israel, even supposing that he simply regulated the
affairs of the tribes who acknowledged him as their supreme judge, and succeeded by his
efforts in preventing the nation from falling back into idolatry, and thus guarded Israel
from any fresh oppression on the part of hostile nations. Tola was the son of Puah, the
son of Dodo, of the tribe of Issachar. The names Tola and Puah are already met with
among the descendants of Issachar, as founders of families of the tribes of Issachar (see
Gen_46:13; Num_26:23, where the latter name is written ‫ה‬ָ‫וּ‬ ֻ ), and they were afterwards
repeated in the different households of these families. Dodo is not an appellative, as the
Sept. translators supposed (υᅷᆵς πατραδέλφου αᆒτοሞ), but a proper name, as in 2Sa_23:9
(Keri), 24, and 1Ch_11:12. The town of Shamir, upon the mountains of Ephraim, where
Tola judged Israel, and was afterwards buried, was a different place from the Shamir

4. upon the mountains of Judah, mentioned in Jos_15:48, and its situation (probably in
the territory of Issachar) is still unknown.
CONSTABLE, "Verse 1-2
Tola"s judgeship10:1-2
Tola (meaning "worm" in Hebrew) "arose to save Israel" from the tribe of Issachar
sometime after Abimelech died. One of the patriarch Issachar"s sons was also named
Tola ( Genesis 46:13; Numbers 26:23; 1 Chronicles 7:1-2). The writer did not record how
the judge Tola rose to power or exactly when. Specifically, no mention of Yahweh raising
him up appears, as was true also of Abimelech. Nevertheless this brief notation of his
contribution to Israel"s national life pictures him as a worthy individual who enjoyed an
orderly and stable tenure. He judged Israel23years.
4. The judgeships of Tola and Jair10:1-5
No great military feats marked the judgeships of these two men. Their ministries
appear to have consisted primarily in administering civil duties.
"The passages on the "minor judges" do not conform to the editorial plan of the stories
of the "great judges", or to that of Jg. as a whole. Hence it would seem that they have
been included, perhaps selectively, simply to supplement the number of the judges to the
conventional number of twelve, thus possibly to make the judges as representative of all
Israel." [Note: J. Gray, p310.]
PULPIT, "10:1
Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo. Nothing more is known of Tola than what is
here told us, viz; his name, his parentage, his dwelling-place, his office, the length of
time which he held it, and the place of his burial. Who were the enemies from whom
Tola was raised up to save Israel we are not told. There was probably no great invasion
or grievous servitude, but perhaps frequent border wars requiring an able and watchful
chief to maintain the independence of Israel. Tola and Puah (otherwise written Puvah)
were both names of families in Issachar (Genesis 46:13; Numbers 26:23). Shamir in
mount Ephraim, to distinguish it from Shamir in the hill country of Judah (Joshua
15:48). Both are otherwise unknown.
HAWKER, "There is somewhat significant in the name of Tola; it signifies in the
original, a worm. Perhaps it was descriptive of the humility of this man’s mind, for,
though he governed Israel twenty-three years, yet we hear nothing ostentatious of him.
Reader! doth it not serve, in the view of this man ’ s name, to remind thee of him, who in
the unequalled humility of his soul, called himself the worm. Psa_22:6. And was it not to
him, as our great surety and representative, Jehovah spake, in that memorable scripture,
Isa_41:14. Perhaps the Reader doth not know, that Jesus was called by way of reproach,
the Tolah: meaning, the hanged one, after his crucifixion; and all his followers branded
with being disciples of the Tolah: the hanged one. Precious Redeemer! in humbleness as

5. well as glory, it behoveth thee to have the preeminence.
BENSON, "10:1. There arose — Not of himself, but raised by God, as the other judges
were. To defend — Or, to save, which he did, not by fighting against and overthrowing
their enemies, but by a prudent and pious government of them, whereby he kept them
from sedition, oppression, and idolatry. He dwelt in Shamir — Which was in the very
midst of the land.
COFFMAN, "Verse 1
TOLA; JAIR; AND THE INTRODUCTION FOR SAMSON AND JEPHTHAH
VI. TOLA
This character, of course, is one of the minor judges, concerning whom these short
verses reveal all that is known concerning him.
"And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a
man of Isaachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim. And he judged
Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir."
It is somewhat unusual to find the names of BOTH the father and the grandfather in this
type of account, and here it might be due to the fact that Dodo was one of David's
"mighty men" (2Sam. 23:9,24,1 Chronicles 11:12,27:7). Also, if the reference here is to
one of David's mighty men, it would indicate a long skip in the genealogy between Dodo
and Puah, as is customary in Biblical genealogies.
"Shamir" (Judges 10:1-2). "There was also another Shamir in the Highlands of Judah
(Joshua 15:48)."[1]
There have been several speculative reasons proposed as explanations of why so little is
said of this judge. However, there is no satisfactory resolution of the question. Perhaps
the best view is that the period of his judgeship was a time of relative quiet and
peacefulness. It may be presumed that during his judgeship, Israel avoided the idolatry
that later led to their distress.
VII. JAIR
Here is another of the so-called minor judges, concerning whom these short verses relate
all that is certainly known of him.

6. ELLICOTT, "Judges 10:1-2. Tola of Issachar judges Israel for twenty years. Judges 10:3-
5. Jair of Gilead for twenty-two years. Judges 10:6. Fresh apostasies of Israel, Judges
10:7-9 and their punishment in the oppression of the people by enemies. Judges 10:10-
14. Repentance of Israel, and God’s answer to them. Judges 10:15-16. They put away
their idols Judges 10:17. Gathering of Ammonites. Judges 10:18. Anxiety of the
Gileadites.
Verse 1
(1) After Abimelech.—his is merely a note of time. Abimelech is not counted among the
judges, though it is not improbable that, evil as was the episode of his rebellions, he may
have kept foreign enemies in check.
To defend Israel.—Rather, to deliver, as in the margin and elsewhere (Judges 2:16;
Judges 2:18; Judges 3:9, &c).
There arose.—The phrase implies a less direct call and a less immediate service than that
used of other judges (Judges 2:18; Judges 3:9).
Tola.—The name of a son of Issachar (Genesis 46:13) It means “worm” (perhaps the
kermes -worm), and may, like Puah, be connected with the trade in purple dyes. He
seems to have been the only judge furnished by this indolent tribe, unless Deborah be an
exception. Josephus omits his name.
Puah.—Also a son of Issachar (1 Chronicles 7:1).
The son of Dodo.—The LXX. render it “the son of his uncle,” but there can be little doubt
that Dodo is a proper name, as in 1 Chronicles 11:12; 2 Samuel 23:9; 2 Samuel 23:24. It
is from the same root as David, “beloved.” Since Tola was of Issachar, he could not be
nephew of Abimelech a Manassite.
He dwelt in Shamir.—The name has nothing to do with Samaria, as the LXX. seem to
suppose. It may be Sanûr, eight miles north of Samaria.
In mount Ephraim.—As judge, he would have to fix his residence in a town more central
than any in his own tribe. There was another Shamir in Judah (Joshua 15:48).
WHEDON, "Verse 1
TOLA AND JAIR, Judges 10:1-5.
1. There arose — In the providence of God.

7. To defend — Rather, to save Israel. No particular acts of Tola are recorded, but only the
general statement (Judges 10:2) that he judged Israel twenty three years. Hence it has
been a question among the commentators, How did Tola save Israel?
There is no record of any new oppressions, or of any special dangers. But the chief
difficulty comes from assuming that there was no sense in which he might have saved
Israel unless they had been in bondage to some foreign foe. He might have saved them
from civil discords and fearful feuds by his wise and prudent judgments. He may have
saved them from foreign invasions by a timely and prudent caution. We should also
remember that the silence of Scripture respecting an individual is not sufficent ground
for assuming that he did no mighty works. Tola was raised up to defend Israel; that is,
for the purpose of defending or saving them in case any difficulty or danger came; and
perhaps an important part of his labour was to save or reclaim the people from the
idolatry into which they had fallen after the death of Gideon.
A man of Issachar — One of that tribe by birth.
Dwelt in Shamir — The site of Shamir has not been satisfactorily identified. “It is
singular that this judge, a man of Issachar, should have taken up his official residence
out of his own tribe. We may account for it by supposing that the Plain of Esdraelon,
which formed the greater part of the territory of Issachar, was overrun, as in Gideon’s
time, by the Canaanites or other marauders, of whose incursions nothing whatever is
told us, (though their existence is certain,) driving Tola to the more secure mountains of
Ephraim. Or, as Manasseh had certain cities out of Issachar allotted to him, so Issachar,
on the other hand, may have possessed some towns in the mountains of Ephraim.” —
Grove, in Smith’s Bib. Dict. Others have supposed that at this city in the mountains of
Ephraim he was more accessible to the various tribes, and could thus more conveniently
judge Israel.
TRAPP, "10:1 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the
son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.
Ver. 1. There arose, to defend Israel.] Heb., To save. He thrust not himself into the office,
as Abimelech, that usurper, had done; but was raised up by God, and accordingly
qualified.
A man of Issachar.] The men of this tribe are little memorised. Deborah, indeed,
celebrateth them in her song, [ 5:15] and David made great account of them, because
"they had understanding of the time, to know what Israel ought to do." [1 Chronicles
12:32] This Tola, likely, was such a one, by a specialty.

8. PETT, "Introduction
Judges 10 The Rise of Ammon.
This chapter gives an account of two judges of Israel, in whose days their parts of Israel
enjoyed peace, after which, by sinning against God Israel came into further trouble, and
were oppressed by their enemies eighteen years, and were invaded by an army of the
Ammonites. When they cried to Yahweh for deliverance, confessing their sins, He at first
refused to grant it, although on their continuing and reforming He had compassion on
them, and the chapter concludes with the preparations made by both armies for battle.
Verses 1-5
Judges 10 The Rise of Ammon.
This chapter gives an account of two judges of Israel, in whose days their parts of Israel
enjoyed peace, after which, by sinning against God Israel came into further trouble, and
were oppressed by their enemies eighteen years, and were invaded by an army of the
Ammonites. When they cried to Yahweh for deliverance, confessing their sins, He at first
refused to grant it, although on their continuing and reforming He had compassion on
them, and the chapter concludes with the preparations made by both armies for battle.
Further Judges of Israel (Judges 10:1-5).
Judges 10:1
‘And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a
man of Issachar, and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.’
It is noteworthy that it is not said of Abimelech that he delivered Israel, or saved Israel
or acted as judge. His short appearance was an interlude between judges, a blot on the
picture. But once again, when he was gone, God raised up judges in accordance with His
will.
The first was Tola, the son of Puah (sometimes Puvah). For these names (but not the
persons) as connected with Issachar, compare Genesis 46:13; Numbers 26:23; 1
Chronicles 7:1. The name Dodo appears in 1 Samuel 23:9, and, interestingly, in
connection with a cult object in the Moabite stone (‘the altar-hearth of Dodo’),
connected with the Israelites in Transjordan. The whereabouts of Shamir is not known.
Thus to this point we have had five judges, Othniel of Judah, Ehud of Benjamin,
Shamgar, Deborah with Barak of Naphtali, Gideon of Manasseh and this, Tola of
Issachar, is the sixth. He will be followed by Jair of Gilead, Jephthah of Gilead, Ibzan of
Bethlehem (in Zebulun - Joshua 19:15), Elon of Zebulun, Abdon the Pirathonite, and

9. Samson the Danite. Thus making twelve in all, the number of the tribes in the covenant.
Tola ‘saved’ Israel. This would suggest that he was more than just an administrator, but
was a charismatic leader raised in a time of trouble. However, we know no more about
him except that he judged Israel for twenty three years.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY, "GILEAD AND ITS CHIEF
10:1-18; 11:1-11
THE scene of the history shifts now to the east of Jordan, and we learn first of the
influence which the region called Gilead was coming to have in Hebrew development
from the brief notice of a chief named Jair, who held the position of judge for twenty-two
years. Tola, a man of Issachar, succeeded Abimelech, and Jair followed Tola. In the Book
of Numbers we are informed that the children of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead
and took it and dispossessed the Amorites which were therein; and Moses gave Gilead
unto Machir the son of Manasseh. It is added that Jair, the son or descendant of
Manasseh, went and took the towns of Gilead and called them Havvoth-jair; and in this
statement the Book of Numbers anticipates the history of the judges.
Gilead is described by modern travellers as one of the most varied districts of Palestine.
The region is mountainous and its peaks rise to three and even four thousand feet above
the trough of the Jordan. The southern part is beautiful and fertile, watered by the
Jabbok and other streams that flow westward from the hills. "The valleys green Kith
corn, the streams fringed with oleander, the magnificent screens of yellow-green and
russet foliage which cover the steep slopes present a scene of quiet beauty, of chequered
light and shade of uneastern aspect which makes Mount Gilead a veritable land of
promise." "No one," says another writer, "can fairly judge of Israel’s heritage who has
not seen the exuberance of Gilead as well as the hard rocks of Judaea, which only yield
their abundance to reward constant toil and care." In Gilead the rivers flow in summer
as well as in winter, and they are filled with fishes and fresh-water shells. While in
Western Palestine the soil is insufficient now to support a large population, beyond
Jordan improved cultivation alone is needed to make the whole district a garden.
To the north and east of Gilead lie Bashan and that extraordinary volcanic region called
the Argob or the Lejah, where the Havvoth-jair or towns of Jair were situated. The
traveller who approaches this singular district from the north sees it rising abruptly from
the plain, the edge of it like a rampart about twenty feet high. It is of a rude oval shape,
some twenty miles long from north to south, and fifteen in breadth, and is simply a mass
of dark jagged rocks, with clefts between in which were built not a few cities and villages.
The whole of this Argob or Stony Land, Jephthah’s land of Tob, is a natural fortification,
a sanctuary open only to those who have the secret of the perilous paths that wind along
savage cliff and deep defile. One who established himself here might soon acquire the
fame and authority of a chief, and Jair, acknowledged by the Manassites as their judge,
extended his power and influence among the Gadites and Reubenites farther south.

10. But plenty of corn and wine and oil and the advantage of a natural fortress which might
have been held against any foe did not avail the Hebrews when they were corrupted by
idolatry. In the land of Gilead and Bashan they became a hardy and vigorous race, and
yet when they gave themselves up to the influence of the Syrians, Sidonians, Ammonites,
and Moabites, forsaking the Lord and serving the gods of these peoples, disaster
overtook them. The Ammonites were ever on the watch, and now, stronger than for
centuries in consequence of the defeat of Midian and Amalek by Gideon, they fell on the
Hebrews of the east, subdued them and even crossed Jordan and fought with the
southern tribes, so that Israel was sore distressed.
We have found reason to suppose that during the many turmoils of the north the tribes
of Judah and Simeon and to some extent Ephraim were pleased to dwell secure in their
own domains, giving little help to their kinsfolk. Deborah and Barak got no troops from
the south, and it was with a grudge Ephraim joined in the pursuit of Midian. Now the
time has come for the harvest of selfish content. Supposing the people of Judah to have
been specially engaged with religion and the arranging of worship that did not justify
their neglect of the political troubles of the north. It was a poor religion then, as it is a
poor religion now, that could exist apart from national well being and patriotic duty.
Brotherhood must be realised in the nation as well as in the church, and piety must fulfil
itself through patriotism as well as in other ways.
No doubt the duties we owe to each other and to the nation of which we form a part are
imposed by natural conditions which have arisen in the course of history, and some may
think that the natural should give way to the spiritual. They may see the interests of a
kingdom of this world as actually opposed to the interests of the kingdom of God. The
apostles of Christ, however, did not set the human and divine in contrast, as if God in
His providence had nothing to do with the making of a nation. "The powers that be are
ordained of God," says St. Paul in writing to the Romans; and again in his First Epistle to
Timothy, "I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for
all men: for kings and all that are in high place, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life
in all godliness and gravity." To the same effect St. Peter says, "Be subject to every
ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake." Natural and secular enough were the authorities
to which submission was thus enjoined. The policy of Rome was of the earth earthy. The
wars it waged, the intrigues that went on for power savoured of the most carnal
ambition. Yet as members of the commonwealth Christians were to submit to the
Roman magistrates and intercede with God on their behalf, observing closely and
intelligently all that went on, taking due part in affairs. No room was to be given for the
notion that the Christian society meant a new political centre. In our own times there is a
duty which many never understand, or which they easily imagine is being fulfilled for
them. Let religious people be assured that generous and intelligent patriotism is
demanded of them and attention to the political business of the time. Those who are
careless will find, as did the people of Judah, that in neglecting the purity of government
and turning a deaf ear to cries for justice, they are exposing their country to disaster and
their religion to reproach.
We are told that the Israelites of Gilead worshipped the gods of the Phoenicians and
Syrians, of the Moabites and of the Ammonites. Whatever religious rites took their fancy

11. they were ready to adopt. This will be to their credit in some quarters as a mark of
openness of mind, intelligence, and taste. They were not bigoted; other men’s ways in
religion and civilisation were not rejected as beneath their regard. The argument is too
familiar to be traced more fully. Briefly it may be said that if catholicity could save a race
Israel should rarely have been in trouble, and certainly not at this time. One name by
which the Hebrews knew God was El or Elohim. When they found among the gods of the
Sidonians one called El, the careless minded supposed that there could be no harm in
joining in his worship. Then came the notion that the other divinities of the Phoenician
Pantheon, such as Melcarth, Dagon, Derketo, might be adored as well. Very likely they
found zeal and excitement in the alien religious gatherings which their own had lost. So
they slipped into practical heathenism.
And the process goes on among ourselves. Through the principles that culture means
artistic freedom and that worship is a form of art we arrive at taste or liking as the chief
test. Intensity of feeling is craved and religion must satisfy that or be despised. It is the
very error that led Hebrews to the feasts of Astarte and Adonis, and whither it tends we
can see in the old history. Turning from the strong earnest gospel which grasps intellect
and will to shows and ceremonies that please the eye, or even to music refined and
devotional that stirs and thrills the feelings, we decline from the reality of religion.
Moreover a serious danger threatens us in the far too common teaching which makes
little of truth, everything of charity. Christ was most charitable, but it is through the
knowledge and practice of truth He offers freedom. He is our King by His witness
bearing not to charity but to truth. Those who are anxious to keep us from bigotry and
tell us that meekness, gentleness, and love are more than doctrine mislead the mind of
the ago. Truth in regard to God and His covenant is the only foundation on which life
can be securely built, and without right thinking there cannot be right living. A man may
be amiable, humble, patient, and kind though he has no doctrinal belief and his religion
is of the purely emotional sort; but it is the truth believed by previous generations,
fought and suffered for by stronger men, not his own gratification of taste, that keeps
him in the right way. And when the influence of that truth decays there will remain no
anchorage, neither compass nor chart for the voyage. He will be like a wave of the sea
driven of the wind and tossed.
Again, the religious so far as they have wisdom and strength are required to be pioneers,
which they can never be in following fancy or taste, Here nothing but strenuous thought,
patient faithful obedience can avail. Hebrew history is the story of a pioneer people and
every lapse from fidelity was serious, the future of humanity being at stake. Each
Christian society and believer has work of the same kind not less important, and failures
due to intellectual sloth and moral levity are as dishonourable as they are hurtful to the
human race. Some of our heretics now are more serious than Christians, and they give
thought and will more earnestly to the opinions they try to propagate. While the
professed servants of Christ, who should be marching in the van, are amusing
themselves with the accessories of religion, the resolute socialist or nihilist, reasoning
and speaking with the heat of conviction, leads the masses where he will.
The Ammonite oppression made the Hebrews feel keenly the uselessness of heathenism.
Baal and Melcarth had been thought of as real divinities, exercising power in some
region or other of earth or heaven, and Israel’s had been an easy backsliding. Idolatry

12. did not appear as darkness to people who had never been fully in the light. But when
trouble came and help was sorely needed they began to see that the Baalim were
nothing. What could these idols do for men oppressed and at their wits’ end? Religion
was of no avail unless it brought an assurance of One Whose strong hand could reach
from land to land, Whose grace and favour could revive sad and troubled souls.
Heathenism was found utterly barren, and Israel turned to Jehovah the God of its
fathers. "We have sinned against Thee even because we have forsaken our God and have
served the Baalim."
Those who now fall away from faith are in worse case by far than Israel. They have no
thought of a real power that can befriend them. It is to mere abstractions they have given
the Divine name. In sin and sorrow alike they remain with ideas only, with bare terms of
speculation in which there is no life, no strength, no hope for the moral nature. They are
men and have to live; but with the living God they have entirely broken. In trouble they
can only call on the Abyss or the Immensities, and there is no way of repentance though
they seek it carefully with tears. At heart therefore they are pessimists without resource.
Sadness deep and deadly ever waits upon such unbelief, and our religion today suffers
from gloom because it is infected by the uncertainties and denials of an agnosticism at
once positive and confused.
Another paganism, that of gathering and doing in the world sphere, is constantly beside
us, drawing multitudes from fidelity to Christ as Baal worship drew Israel from Jehovah,
and it is equally barren in the sharp experiences of humanity. Earthly things venerated
in the ardour of business and the pursuit of social distinction appear as impressive
realities only while the soul sleeps. Let it be aroused by some overturn of the usual, one
of those floods that sweep suddenly down on the cities which fill the valley of life, and
there is a quick pathetic confession of the truth. The soul needs help now, and its help
must come from the Eternal Spirit. We must have done with mere saying of prayers and
begin to pray. We must find access, if access is to be had, to the secret place of the Most
High on Whose mercy we depend to redeem us from bondage and fear. Sad therefore is
it for those who having never learned to seek the throne of divine succour are swept by
the wild deluge from their temples and their gods. It is a cry of despair they raise amid
the swelling torrent. You who now by the sacred oracles and the mediation of Christ can
come into the fellowship of eternal life, be earnest and eager in the cultivation of your
faith. The true religion of God which avails the soul in its extremity is not to be had in a
moment, when suddenly its help is needed. That confidence which has been established
in the mind by serious thought, by the habit of prayer and reliance on divine wisdom can
alone bring help when the foundations of the earthly are destroyed.
To Israel troubled and contrite came as on previous occasions a prophetic message; and
it was spoken by one of those incisive ironic preachers who were born from time to time
among this strangely heathen, strangely believing people. It is in terms of earnest
remonstrance he speaks, at first almost going the length of declaring that there is no
hope for the rebellious and ungrateful tribes. They found it an easy thing to turn from
their Divine King to the gods they chose to worship. Now they perhaps expect as easy a
recovery of His favour. But healing must begin with deeper wounding, and salvation
with much keener anxiety. This prophet knows the need for utter seriousness of soul. As
he loves and yearns over his country folk he must so deal with them; it is God’s way, the

13. only way to save. Most irrationally, against all sound principles of judgment they had
abandoned the Living One, the Eternal to worship hideous idols like Moloch and Dagon.
It was wicked because it was wilfully stupid and perverse. And Jehovah says, "I will save
you no more, Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them save you in the
day of your distress." The rebuke is stinging. The preacher makes the people feel the
wretched insufficiency of their hope in the false, and the great strong pressure upon
them of the Almighty, Whom, even in neglect, they cannot escape. We are pointed
forward to the terrible pathos of Jeremiah:-"Who shall have pity upon thee, O
Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall turn aside to ask of thy welfare?
Thou hast rejected me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore have I
stretched out my hand against thee, and destroyed thee: I am weary with repenting."
And notice to what state of mind the Hebrews were brought. Renewing their confession
they said, "Do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee." They would be
content to suffer now at the hand of God whatever He chose to inflict on them. They
themselves would have exacted heavy tribute of a subject people that had rebelled and
came suing for pardon. Perhaps they would have slain every tenth man. Jehovah might
appoint retribution of the same kind; He might afflict them with pestilence; He might
require them to offer a multitude of sacrifices. Men who traffic with idolatry and adopt
gross notions of revengeful gods are certain to carry back with them when they return to
the better faith many of the false ideas they have gathered. And it is just possible that a
demand for human sacrifices was at this time attributed to God, the general feeling that
they might be necessary connecting itself with Jephthah’s vow.
It is idle to suppose that Israelites who persistently lapsed into paganism could at any
time, because they repented, find the spiritual thoughts they had lost. True those
thoughts were at the heart of the national life, there always even when least felt. But
thousands of Hebrews even in a generation of reviving faith died with but a faint and
shadowy personal understanding of Jehovah. Everything in the Book of Judges goes to
show that the mass of the people were nearer the level of their neighbours the Moabites
and Ammonites than the piety of the Psalms. A remarkable ebb and flow are observable
in the history of the race. Look at some facts and there seems to be decline. Samson is
below Gideon, and Gideon below Deborah; no man of leading until Isaiah can be named
with Moses. Yet ever and anon there are prophetic calls and voices out of a spiritual
region into which the people as a whole do not enter, voices to which they listen only
when distressed and overborne. Worldliness increases, for the world opens to the
Hebrew; but it often disappoints, and still there are some to whom the heavenly secret is
told. The race as a whole is not becoming more devout and holy, but the few are gaining
a clearer vision as one experience after another is recorded. The antithesis is the same
we see in the Christian centuries. Is the multitude more pious now than in the ago when
a king had to do penance for rash words spoken against an ecclesiastic? Are the churches
less worldly than they were a hundred years ago? Scarcely may we affirm it. Yet there
never was an age so rich as ours in the finest spirituality, the noblest Christian thought.
Our van presses up to the Simplon height and is in constant touch with those who
follow; but the rear is still chaffering and idling in the streets of Milan. It is in truth
always by the fidelity of the remnant that humanity is saved for God.
We cannot say that when Israel repented it was in the love of holiness so much as in the

14. desire for liberty. The ways of the heathen were followed readily, but the supremacy of
the heathen was ever abominable to the vigorous Israelite. By this national spirit
however God could find the tribes, and a special feature of the deliverance from Ammon
is marked where we read: "The people, the princes of Gilead said one to the other, What
man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over
all the inhabitants of Gilead." Looking around for the fit leader they found Jephthah and
agreed to invite him.
Now this shows distinct progress in the growth of the nation. There is, if nothing more, a
growth in practical power. Abimelech had thrust himself upon the men of Shechem.
Jephthah is chosen apart from any ambition of his own. The movement which made him
judge arose out of the consciousness of the Gileadites that they could act for themselves
and were bound to act for themselves. Providence indicated the chief, but they had to be
instruments of providence in making him chief. The vigour and robust intelligence of the
men of Eastern Palestine come out here. They lead in the direction of true national life.
While on the west of Jordan there is a fatalistic disposition, these men move. Gilead, the
separated country, with the still ruder Bashan behind it and the Argob a resort of
outlaws, is beneath some other regions in manners and in thought, but ahead of them in
point of energy. We need not look for refinement, but we shall see power; and the chosen
leader, while he is something of the barbarian, will be a man to leave his mark on
history.
At the start we are not prepossessed in favour of Jephthah. There is some confusion in
the narrative which has led to the supposition that he was a foundling of the clan. But
taking Gilead as the actual name of his father, he appears as the son of a harlot, brought
up in the paternal home and banished from it when there were legitimate sons able to
contend with him. We get thus a brief glance at a certain rough standard of morals and
see that even polygamy made sharp exclusions. Jephthah, cast out, betakes himself to
the land of Tob and getting about him a band of vain fellows or freebooter, becomes the
Robin Hood or Rob Roy of his time. There are natural suspicions of a man who takes to
a life of this kind, and yet the progress of events shows that though Jephthah was a sort
of outlaw his character as well as his courage must have commended him. He and his
men might occasionally seize for their own use the cattle and corn of Israelites when they
were hard pressed for food. But it was generally against the Ammonites and other
enemies their raids were directed, and the modern instances already cited show that no
little magnanimity and even patriotism may go along with a life of lawless adventure. If
this robber chief, as some might call him, now and again levied contributions from a
wealthy flock master, the poorer Hebrews were no doubt indebted to him for timely help
when bands of Ammonites swept through the land. Something of this we must read into
the narrative, otherwise the elders of Gilead would not so unanimously and urgently
have invited him to become their head.
Jephthah was not at first disposed to believe in the good faith of those who gave him the
invitation. Among the heads of households who came he saw his own brothers who had
driven him to the hills. He must have more than suspected that they only wished to
make use of him in their emergency and, the fighting over, would set him aside. He
therefore required an oath of the men that they would really accept him as chief and
obey him. That given, he assumed the command.

15. And here the religious character of the man begins to appear. At Mizpah on the verge of
the wilderness where the Israelites, driven northward by the victories of Ammon, had
their camp there stood an ancient cairn or heap of stones which preserved the tradition
of a sacred covenant and still retained the savour of sanctity. There it was that Jacob,
fleeing from Padanaram on his way back to Canaan, was overtaken by Laban, and there
raising the Cairn of Witness they swore in the sight of Jehovah to be faithful to each
other. The belief still lingered that the old monument was a place of meeting between
man and God. To it Jephthah repaired at this new point in his life. No more an
adventurer, no more an outlaw, but the chosen leader of eastern Israel, "he spake all his
words before Jehovah in Mizpah." He had his life. to review there, and that could not be
done without serious thought. He had a new and strenuous future opened to him.
Jephthah the outcast, the unnamed, was to be leader in a tremendous national struggle.
The bold Gileadite feels the burden of the task. He has to question himself, to think of
Jehovah. Hitherto he has been doing his own business and to that he has felt quite
equal; now with large responsibility comes a sense of need. For a fight with society he
has been strong enough; but can he be sure of himself as God's man, fighting against
Ammon? Not a few words but many would he have to utter as on the hilltop in the
silence he lifted up his soul to God and girt himself in holy resolution, as a father and a
Hebrew, to do his duty in the day of battle. Thus we pass from doubt of Jephthah to the
hope that the banished man, the freebooter, will yet prove to be an Israelite indeed, of
sterling character, whose religion, very rude perhaps, has a deep strain of reality and
power. Jephthah at the cairn of Mizpah lifting up his hands in solemn invocation of the
God of Jacob reminds us that there are great traditions of the past of our nation and of
our most holy faith to which we are bound to be true, that there is a God, our witness
and our judge, in Whose strength alone we can live and do nobly. For the service of
humanity and the maintenance of faith we need to be in close touch with the brave and
good of other days and in the story of their lives find quickening, for our own. Along the
same line and succession we are to bear our testimony, and no link of connection with
the Divine Power is to be missed which the history of the men of faith supplies. Yet as
our personal Helper especially we must know God. Hearing His call to ourselves we
must lift the standard and go forth to the battle of life. Who can serve his family and
friends, who can advance the well being of the world, unless he has entered into that
covenant with the Living God which raises mortal insufficiency to power and makes
weak and ignorant men instruments of a divine redemption?
PARKER, "After Abimelech
Judges 10
WE have had much excitement in many of the pages through which we have inquiringly
passed. We now come to a period of extreme quietness. For five and forty years nothing
occurred in Israel worth naming in detail. Tola and Jair, though judges in Israel, lived
and died in the utmost quietness. They occupy about four lines each in the history of
their people. Quietness has no history. Events are recorded; stories, anecdotes,
incidents,—these claim the attention of the historical pen; but peace, quietness, industry,
patience, inoffensiveness, these have no historian: a line or two will do for them,—the
war must have chapter after chapter. The popular proverb Isaiah , "Blessed are the

16. people who have no annals." Within a narrow sense that is true; the sense is very
narrow. Read Judges 10:1-2 :—
"And after Abimelech [who is not counted among the judges] there arose to defend [or
save, equal to deliver] Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar
[probably the only judge furnished by this indolent tribe]; and he dwelt in Shamir in
mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried
in Shamir."
Is that dull reading? Of what tribe was the man? "Issachar." Has Issachar any fame? Let
us bethink ourselves: who can remember anything said in the Bible about Issachar? The
solution of the mystery may be in that direction. The individual man may have no great
repute, but he may belong to a tribe quite renowned for some virtue. Mark these words:
"The children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know
what Israel ought to do." Then Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, belonged to a tribe
of statesmen. It was nothing to them to propound great schemes, work out great
reforms, propose wholesome ameliorations: great things came naturally in their way. If a
little tribe had attempted any one of the reforms proposed and executed by Issachar he
would have become famous. A very short pedestal would make a giant of a dwarf. But the
men of Issachar were accustomed to statesmanship; they were famed for their sagacity;
they had the piercing eyes that could see through all surfaces, veilings, sophisms,—that
could read the necessity of the age, the temper and desire of the heart of Israel. So we
must not pass by these negative characters as if they were really nothing. A touch of their
hand might be equal to the stroke of a powerful instrument. One word spoken by a man
of the tribe of Issachar might have in it a volume of wisdom. We must not measure men
by the lines which the historian spends upon them. There is family history, household
training, sagacity that makes no noise, farsightedness that disappoints the immediate
ambition, but that prepares for the discipline and schooling and perfecting of a lifetime.
Let those who spend their lives in the shadow think of these things: they may have a
fame distinctively their own, not noisy, tempestuous, tumultuous, but profound,
healthful, lasting,—blessed are they who have the renown of Wisdom of Solomon , the
fame of understanding: that will endure when many a vaporous reputation has been
exhaled, forgotten. The men of Issachar were wise men,—men of solid head, clear brain,
comprehensive vision; men who put things together, and deduced from them inferences
which amounted to philosophies; they had understanding of the times: they were not
fretted and chafed by the incidents of the passing day; they saw the meaning that
underlaid the event, and they knew what Israel ought to do. Bless God for good
leadership—in the state, in business, in the family, everywhere; the greater it is the more
silent it may sometimes be.
"And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. And he
had thirty sons [representing an ostentatious polygamy] that rode on thirty ass colts
[implying the great wealth of the household], and they had thirty cities which are called
Havoth-jair [Havoth, meaning villages] unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
And Jair died, and was buried in Camon" ( Judges 10:3-5).
That is the great danger of times of quietness. When there is little to excite attention and

17. develop energy the tendency is that men may notice little things and make much of
them. There was not much to do in Israel when it could be noted how many sons any
man had, and whether they rode on ass colts or otherwise. That danger besets all life. In
the absence of great questions, thrilling problems of an imperial or social kind, men
betake themselves to little pedantries, frivolous amusements, trifling inquiries: the
greater nature sleeps, and little, active, nimble fancy presides over the life, and fritters it
away. We want every now and then some great heroic occasion that shall swallow up all
our little fancies, whims, and oddities, and make men of us. We need visitations of a
providential kind to shake us out of our littleness and frivolity, and make us mighty in
prayer, almost sublime in thought, certainly heroic in self-control and patience. Thus
God has educated the world. Mark how the marvellous history has gone; in what
measured undulation: sometimes the mountains have been very high, and have been
untouched except by the feet of the eagle, unploughed except by the lightning of God,—
far away, lost in the cloud; sometimes the heights have been quite accessible, so green,
so velvetlike in their sward, and so rich in new and surprising flora; then we have come
further down into great gardens, quiet villages, places sacred to slumber, and whilst we
were revelling in the luxury of quietness a great clang tore the air and a trumpet
summoned us to sudden war. So the Bible story has proceeded, and as the sun has set
upon the day quiet, or the day of strife, we have felt a sense of incompleteness, which has
often become quite religious, and has said to itself, This is not all; the punctuation is
intermediate, not final; surely all these occurrences mean a greater incarnation than we
have ever yet beheld. We need great excitements or solemn occasions in the family, or we
should drivel away into the most frivolous existence. Given sound health, abundant
prosperity, everything the heart could desire,—what is the issue of it all? Satiety; great
difficulty in being pleased; an outworn appetite or desire; taking up with trivial things; a
sensitiveness that is easily offended; a pride that would be contemptible if it were not so
transparent. How they talk who have much goods laid up for many years! How difficult
to please with their books, which they never read, and their pictures which they only buy
because others have recommended them! How difficult to please with their friends, their
feasts, their entertainments! How sensitive to cold! How extremely sensitive to draughts!
How altogether peculiar! The Lord could not allow this to be going on, or the people
would decay, fall away from manhood, and disappoint the very purpose and decree of
heaven. So affliction must come, and loss, and the whole house must rock under the
wind; then the people will become themselves again; they will think, pray, ask serious
questions, and look at the reality and gravity of life. So must it be with the Church and
with the nation. We must not have too much quietness. Our quiet periods must be
alternated by periods of great stress and difficulty. Watch how God has trained the
world. We do not see the method in any one verse or incident. Herein is the peculiarity
of the Bible, that it must be read consecutively, page after page in sequence, until we
begin to feel we are perusing a great architectural design, or a marvellous plan of war, or
a sublime philosophy of education. Men may read the Bible in fragments, and know
nothing about it. The Bible must be read continuously and cumulatively, until it prove its
inspiration by its unity, and arrest human confidence by manifest proofs of divine
dictation. Therefore we cannot stop in the historical books. We are thankful for them: so
full of life, colour, action; many chapters have been written with the sword, others with
rough pens, and others are but living hints of things that cannot be expressed; yet on we
must go to the end, until the time when the whole book satisfies itself and satisfies its
readers by a grand Amen.

18. 2 He led[a] Israel twenty-three years; then he
died, and was buried in Shamir.
BAR ES, "Jair the Gileadite was probably the same person as is named in Num_
32:41; Deu_3:14, as having given the name of “Havoth-jair” to certain villages in Bashan.
GILL, "And he judged Israel twenty three years, and died,.... He did not take
upon him to be king, as Abimelech did, but acted as a judge, in which office he continued
twenty three years, and faithfully discharged it, and died in honour:
and was buried in Shamir; the place where he executed his office. It is said (t), that
in the first year of Tola, the son of Puah, Priamus reigned in Troy.
PETT, "Judges 10:2
‘And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.’
We get from these two verses the sense that tranquillity had been restored. The
tumult of Abimelech was over. The ‘twenty and three years’ may indicate that he
judged for twenty years (half a generation) more than Abimelech was prince over
Israel (Judges 9:22), an indication that righteous rule had replaced unrighteous
rule.
Jair
3 He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led
Israel twenty-two years.

19. GILL, "And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite,.... Who was of the half tribe of
Manasseh, on the other side Jordan, which inhabited the land of Gilead, and who is the
first of the judges that was on that side Jordan; it pleased God, before the government
was settled in a particular tribe, to remove it from one to another, and to honour them
all, and to show that though the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of
Manasseh, were separated from their brethren by the river Jordan, they were not
neglected by the Lord; and generally speaking judges were raised up in all those parts
which were most oppressed, and liable to be oppressed by their enemies, as Gilead by
the Ammonites; wherefore this, and the next judge that followed him, Jephthah, were of
Gilead:
and judged Israel twenty two years; protected them from their enemies,
administered justice to them, and preserved them in the true religion.
JAMISO , "Jair, a Gileadite — This judge was a different person from the
conqueror of that northeastern territory, and founder of Havoth-jair, or “Jair’s villages”
(Num_32:41; Deu_3:14; Jos_13:3; 1Ch_2:22).
K&D, "Jdg_10:3-5
After him Jair the Gileadite (born in Gilead) judged Israel for twenty-two years.
Nothing further is related of him than that he had thirty sons who rode upon thirty
asses, which was a sign of distinguished rank in those times when the Israelites had no
horses. They had thirty cities (the second ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫י‬ ֲ‫ע‬ in Jdg_10:4 is another form for ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ָ‫,ע‬
from a singular ‫ר‬ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ע‬ = ‫יר‬ ִ‫,ע‬ a city, and is chosen because of its similarity in sound to ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫י‬ ֲ‫,ע‬
asses). These cities they were accustomed to call Havvoth-jair unto this day (the time
when our book was written), in the land of Gilead. The ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ה‬ ָ‫ל‬ before ‫אוּ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ְ‫ק‬ִ‫י‬ is placed first for
the sake of emphasis, “even these they call,” etc. This statement is not at variance with
the fact, that in the time of Moses the Manassite Jair gave the name of Havvoth-jair to
the towns of Bashan which had been conquered by him (Num_32:41; Deu_3:14); for it is
not affirmed here, that the thirty cities which belonged to the sons of Jair received this
name for the first time from the judge Jair, but simply that this name was brought into
use again by the sons of Jair, and was applied to these cities in a peculiar sense. (For
further remarks on the Havvoth-jair, see at Deu_3:14.) The situation of Camon, where
Jair was buried, is altogether uncertain. Josephus (Ant. v. 6, 6) calls it a city of Gilead,
though probably only on account of the assumption, that it would not be likely that Jair
the Gileadite, who possessed so many cities in Gilead, should be buried outside Gilead.
But this assumption is a very questionable one. As Jair judged Israel after Tola the
Issacharite, the assumption is a more natural one, that he lived in Canaan proper. Yet
Reland (Pal. ill. p. 679) supports the opinion that it was in Gilead, and adduces the fact
that Polybius (Hist. v. 70, 12) mentions a town called Καµοሞν, by the side of Pella and
Gefrun, as having been taken by Antiochus. On the other hand, Eusebius and Jerome (in

20. the Onom.) regard our Camon as being the same as the κώµη Καµµωνᆭ ᅚν τሬ µεγάΛሩ
πεδίሩ, six Roman miles to the north of Legio (Lejun), on the way to Ptolemais, which
would be in the plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon. This is no doubt applicable to the Κυαµών
of Judith 7:3; but whether it also applies to our Camon cannot be decided, as the town is
not mentioned again.
BE SO , "Verse 3-4
10:3-4. Jair, a Gileadite — Of Gilead, beyond Jordan. He had thirty sons — Who, it
seems, were itinerant judges, and went from place to place, as their father’s
deputies, to administer justice. That rode on thirty ass- colts — It was customary for
the noblest persons to ride on those beasts, and that not only in Judea, but likewise
in Arabia, and other countries, even among the Romans. Thirty cities, called
Havoth-jair — That is, the villages of Jair. These villages were so called before this
time from another Jair, but the old name was revived and confirmed upon this
occasion.
COFFMA , "Verse 3
"And after him arose Jair, the Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty and two years.
And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which
are called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jair died
and was buried in Kamon."
"Jair the Gileadite" (Judges 10:3). "The name Jair is the same as the .T. name
`Jairus.'"[2] Dalglish pointed out that this and the following verse feature what
appears to be a play on words. "J-air, the name of the judge, also appears as `[~a-
ir]' meaning `donkey,' and as `[~`ir]' meaning city"![3]
"They rode on thirty ass colts" (Judges 10:4). "The ass was highly esteemed as a
beast for riding, and was used by men and women of rank."[4]
Some have imagined a conflict between what is written here and the statement in
umbers 32:39-41, where another Jair, probably an ancestor of this one, named
certain cities which he conquered Havoth-Jair, but many Jewish names were
repeated generation after generation. Indeed, it is true today. In 1952, this writer
met General Ulysses S. Grant in command of a large military unit in Japan, but he
was not THE General Grant of the Civil War period, but only a descendant of his.
"Unto this day" (Judges 10:4). This, as we believe would be a reference to the times
of Samuel, the most likely author of Judges. Yates referred to the date of the writing
of Judges as being approximately, "During the 1050-1000 B.C. era."[5] This would
have been either in the reign of King Saul or in the early part of the reign of King
David.
"They rode on thirty ass colts" (Judges 10:4). "The times when so many `sons' could

21. ride unhindered would have had to be times of peace, that is, good
administration."[6] Strahan, following the lead of early critics, considered the
names of Tola and Jair as, "The names, not of individuals, but of clans,"[7] but that
foolish error of the radical critics has been refuted by Boling in Anchor Bible,
"Recently, scholars have determined these to be historical figures."[8]
"Jair died and was buried in Kamon" (Judges 10:5). Some present-day scholars
seem to be agreed that, "The place of Jair's burial is usually identified with Qamm,
on the Jordan-Irbid road."[9] However, Dalglish writes that, "The site of Kamon
has not been satisfactorily identified."[10]
ELLICOTT, "Verse 3
(3) Jair, a Gileadite.—In umbers 32:41 we are told of a Jair, the son of Manasseh,
who “took the small towns” of Gilead, and called them Havoth-jair. This earlier
Jair, with obah, plays a splendid part in Jewish legend, which is only alluded to in
Scripture (see Deuteronomy 3:14). In what relation the Jair of these verses stood to
him we cannot, in the uncertain data of the chronology, decide. The Jair of umbers
32:41 was descended from Judah on the father’s side, and on the mother’s was a
great-grandson of Manasseh.
CO STABLE, "Verses 3-5
Jair"s judgeship10:3-5
The only unusual feature of Jair"s life, other than that he came from Transjordan,
was that he maintained a network of30 cities over which his30 sons ruled in Gilead.
His name means "may [God] enlighten." An ancestor named Jair appears to have
settled the same area shortly after the Israelites defeated Sihon and Og ( umbers
32:41). The fact that his sons each rode on a donkey marked them as having
distinguished rank in times when the Israelites had no horses. [ ote: Keil and
Delitzsch, p372.] Only the wealthy and prominent in Israel rode on donkeys at this
time.
"The ass was highly esteemed as a riding beast and many times carried with it
special recognition ( Judges 1:14; 1 Samuel 25:20)." [ ote: Davis and Whitcomb,
pp119-20.]
The fact that Jair fathered30 sons suggests that he practiced polygamy (cf. Gideon,
Judges 8:30). Jair judged Israel for22years. Kamon stood about12miles southeast of
the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee).
We see in this brief record of Jair"s life continuing tendencies in Israel toward the
lifestyle of the surrounding pagan nations and away from fidelity to Yahweh and
His Law.
The ministries of these two minor judges teach two lessons, one negative and the
other positive. egatively, they did not change any of the previous problems in

22. Israel but seem to have maintained the status quo. [ ote: Tammi J. Schneiders,
Judges , p158.] Positively, they indicate God"s gracious blessing of His apostate
people in spite of themselves.
"Elsewhere in the Old Testament, children are gifts from God; they indicate God"s
blessing. So amid the increasing chaotic and violent stories that indicate the
Israelites are abandoning God, the two lists of minor judges suggest that God is not
abandoning the Israelites (see Judges 2:1, where God says, "I will never break my
covenant with you.")." [ ote: McCann, p77.]
PETT, "Judges 10:3
‘And after him arose Jair, the Gileadite, and he judged Israel twenty and two
years.’
Jair means ‘he who enlightens’. He judged in a totally different part of the country
than Tola, on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead. ‘After him’ may simply signify
that he arose after Tola saved Israel and began to judge. Thus the judgeships may
overlap. ‘Twenty and two years’ may indicate ‘just over half a generation’. He
judged the same general area as that conquered by Jair, the ‘son of Manasseh’, in
umbers 32:41 (see also Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 13:30 which connect them with
Bashan which was part of ‘all the land of Gilead’ (2 Kings 10:33)), but the latter
only ruled twenty three towns (1 Chronicles 2:22), although compare ‘the towns of
Jair’ (Joshua 13:30). This suggests that he came from a noble and influential family.
His wealth is apparent from Judges 10:4.
PULPIT, "Jair. We read of Jair the son of Segub, the son of Machir's daughter by
Hezron, in 1 Chronicles 2:21-23, and are there told that he had twenty-three cities in
the land of Gilead (called Havoth-jair), which were included in the territory of the
sons of Machir. The same information is given in umbers 32:40-42, and in
Deuteronomy 3:14, Deuteronomy 3:15, in both which passages Jair is styled the son
of Manasseh, and is stated to have called the cities after his own name, Havoth-jair.
In the present verse we are also told that Jair the judge was a Gileadite, and that he
had thirty sons who had thirty cities in Gilead called Havoth-jair. The question
arises, Can these two be the same person? If they are, Deuteronomy 3:14 must be a
later parenthetical insertion, as it has very much the appearance of being. The
notice in umbers 32:41 must also refer to later times than those of Moses, and we
must understand the statement in 1 Chronicles 2:22, that "Segub begat Jair," as
meaning that he was his lineal ancestor, just as in Matthew 1:8 we read that "Joram
begat Ozias," though three generations intervened between them. If, on the other
hand, they are not the same, we must suppose that Jair in our text was a descendant
of the other Jair, and may compare the double explanation of the name Havoth-jair
with the double explanation of Beer-sheba given Genesis 21:31; Genesis 26:31-33;
the threefold explanation of the name Isaac, Genesis 17:17; Genesis 18:12; Genesis
21:6; and the double explanation of the proverb, "Is Saul among the prophets?"
given in 1 Samuel 10:11, 1 Samuel 10:12; 1 Samuel 19:23, 1 Samuel 19:24. The
Hebrew name Jair is preserved in the ew Testament under the Greek form of

23. Jairus (Mark 5:22).
4 He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys.
They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to
this day are called Havvoth Jair.[b]
CLARKE, "He had thirty sons, etc. - It appears that there was both peace and
prosperity during the time that Jair governed Israel; he had, it seems, provided for his
family, and given a village to each of his thirty sons; which were, in consequence, called
Havoth Jair or the villages of Jair. Their riding on thirty ass colts seems to intimate that
they were persons of consideration, and kept up a certain dignity in their different
departments.
GILL, "And he had thirty sons that rode upon thirty ass colts,.... Which to ride
on in those times was reckoned honourable, and on which judges rode in their circuit,
Jdg_5:10 and such might be these sons of Jair, who were appointed under him to ride
about, and do justice in the several parts of the country, as Samuel's sons were judges
under him, 1Sa_8:1,
and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which
are in the land of Gilead; or the villages of Jair. There were some of this name that
belonged to Jair, a son of Manasseh, in the times of Moses, Num_32:41 and these may
be the same, at least some of them; for they were but twenty three he had, whereas these
were thirty, 1Ch_2:22 and these coming by inheritance to this Jair, a descendant of the
former, and he being of the same name, and these cities perhaps repaired and enlarged
by him, the name of them was continued and established, for it is not reasonable to
suppose, as some have done, that this is the same Jair that lived in the times of Moses,
who, if so, must have lived more than three hundred years, an age men did not live to in
those times.
JAMISO , "he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts — This is a
characteristic trait of Eastern manners in those early times; and the grant of a village to
each of his thirty sons was a striking proof of his extensive possessions. His having thirty
sons is no conclusive evidence that he had more than one wife, much less that he had
more than one at a time. There are instances, in this country, of men having as many
children by two successive wives.

24. ELLICOTT, "(4) Had thirty sons.—An indication of his rank and position, which
assumed an ostentatious polygamy. (Comp. Judges 8:30.)
That rode on thirty ass colts.—Comp. Judges 5:10; see on Judges 12:14. Implying
that Jair was able to bring up his numerous household in wealth. The horse was
little used in Palestine—for which, indeed, it is little suited—till the days of Solomon
(1 Kings 4:26), and its introduction was always discouraged by the prophets
(Deuteronomy 17:16; Joshua 11:6-9; Psalms 33:17, &c). There is a curious play of
words on Jair (yair), “ass-colts” (ayârîm), and “cities,” which ought to be arîm, but
is purposely altered for the sake of the paronomasia. (See on Judges 15:16.) Such
plays on words in serious narratives point to a very early form of literature—but
probably they then rose from some popular proverb. The LXX., like Josephus,
writing for Gentiles, who did not understand the value attached to asses in Palestine,
almost always euphemise the word into “colts,” or “foals” (pôlous), which here
enables them happily to keep up the play of words with “cities” (poleis).
Thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair.—Havoth means villages (LXX.,
epauleis), and since they are here called “cities,” and thirty are named, we must
suppose that this Jair (if he was a different person from the other) had increased the
number of the villages originally wrested from Og from twenty-three to thirty
( umbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14; 1 Chronicles 2:22. In the latter passage the
Jair there mentioned is spoken of as a son of Segub, and a great-grandson of
Manasseh).
Unto this day.—Judges 1:26.
WHEDO , "Verse 4
4. Thirty sons… thirty ass colts… thirty cities — These facts are mentioned to show
the power, dignity, and wealth of the house of Jair.
Havoth-jair — That is, villages of Jair. These villages, possessed by Jair’s sons, were
called after their father’s name even at the time when the Book of Judges was
written. They probably comprised the same “towns” which Jair, the son of
Manasseh, took in the days of Moses, ( umbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14,) and
called by this very name. Their number may have been increased so as to furnish
one for each of the thirty sons of this Gileadite judge. This name was not now given
them for the first time, but was a bringing into use again of an old name which had,
perhaps, become partially forgotten.
TRAPP, "10:4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had
thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which [are] in the land of
Gilead.
Ver. 4. And he had thirty sons.] A happy man if they all proved towardly: otherwise
he might be put to wish as Augustus did, Utinam aut caelebs vixissem, aut orbus

25. periissem.
That rode on thirty ass colts.] Jair therefore was a man of quality, likely, for birth
and wealth: and so fitter for government, ordinarily. See Ecclesiastes 10:17. By the
laws of England, noblemen may not be bound to the peace; because it is supposed
that the peace is always bound to them, and that of their own accord they will both
preserve and promote it.
ISBET, "U EVE TFUL TIMES
‘Thirty sons that rode on thirty ass = colts.’
Judges 10:4
I. There were no serious questions, no thrilling problems, to engage Israel at this
time: and therefore the people took notice of this trivial incident about the ass-colts.
It was surely a sign of the monotony, the commonplace, the absence of high ideals,
which prevailed throughout the land, which led to the magnifying of the trivial
detail. It is disastrous indeed for a country when it gives itself to gossip about the
ass-colts, the fancies, whims, and oddities of high life, or personalities about notable
people. It was said once by a brilliant essayist of our day that, though we have only
gone into five years of the new century, the children of this pleasure-loving time are
becoming unable to understand the seriousness of the century receding from our
view; and if this were true, we might well pray God to send a visitation of a
providential character, which should shake us out of our littleness and frivolity, and
make us sublime in prayer, heroic in effort, and exalted in our ideals.
II. What is the nature of your life?—Around you is the cry of men for food, for daily
employment, for proper conditions of living; are you thinking only of the ass-colts,
the incessant round of pleasure, or the best methods of passing time? Will the
record of your life, the one sentence which epitomises its purpose, be like that of Jair
and his thirty sons? If so, the next record will be: ‘and the children of Israel again
did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord;’ or this, ‘Israel was sore distressed.’
III. Why will you not to-day consecrate yourself to follow Christ in the
evangelisation of the world?—The Divine purpose in your creation may be but
vaguely apprehended at first; but, as we live up to our highest ideals in little things,
our pathway continually broadens, the woodand thins, and the great expanse of
heaven unfolds above us. Christ wants to make the very most of us for Himself and
the great world.
Illustrations
(1) ‘The great danger of times of quietness, when there is little to excite attention
and develop energy, is the tendency that men may notice little things and make
much of them. There was not much to do in Israel when it could be noted how many
sons any man had, and whether they rode on ass-colts or otherwise. That danger
besets all life. In the absence of great questions, thrilling problems of an imperial or

26. social kind, men betake themselves to little pedantries, frivolous amusements,
trifling inquiries; the greater nature sleeps, and little, active, nimble fancy presides
over the life and fritters it away. We want every now and then some great heroic
occasion that shall swallow up all our little fancies, whims, and oddities and make
men of us.’
(2) ‘The whole analogy of this period of the history of Israel leaves no doubt that so
long an interval of rest would involve a more serious declension than any of those
before it. Accordingly we find them serving all the gods of all the nations around
them, “Baalim and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, of Sidon, of Moab, of the Beni-
ammi, and of the Philistines,” except Jehovah; Him they forsook, and served not.
This time the punishment was as signal as the crime.’
PETT, "Judges 10:4
‘And he had thirty sons that rode upon thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities,
which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.’
He seemingly had a number of wives who gave him thirty sons, each of whom ruled
a town. The fact that they rode on ass colts stresses their position and dignity.
‘Havvoth Jair’ means ‘the tent villages of Jair’, but by now, while retaining the old
name, they had progressed to small towns and cities.
5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
GILL, "And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. A city of Gilead, as Josephus (u)
calls it; Jerom (w), under this word Camon, makes mention of a village in his times,
called Cimana, in the large plain six miles from Legion to the north, as you go to
Ptolemais; but, as Reland (x) observes, this seems not to be the same place, but rather
this is the Camon Polybius (y) speaks of among other cities of Peraea, taken by
Antiochus.
ELLICOTT, "(5) In Camon.—There seems to have been a Kamon six miles from
Megiddo (Euseb. Jer.), but it is far more probable that this town was in Gilead, as
Josephus says (Antt. v. 6, § 6), and there is a Kamon mentioned as near Pella by
Polybius (Hist. v. 70, § 12).

27. WHEDO , "Verse 5
5. Camon — This was, probably, one of the thirty cities mentioned above, but its
exact situation is now unknown. Possibly it is represented by the modern Reimun, a
few miles northwest of Jerash. Though little is said of Tola and Jair’s life, the fact of
their death and the place of their burial are carefully noted.
TRAPP, "10:5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
Ver. 5. And Jair died.] "It, is appointed for all men once to die, and after death
judgment." Judges shall once say, -
"Iudex ante fui, nunc Iudicis ante tribunal Sistor."
"Do ye then speak righteousness? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of
men?" [Psalms 58:1] "Behold, the Judge standeth before the
door." [James 5:9]
PULPIT, "Jair ... was buried in Careen. A city of Gilead according to Josephus, and
probability. Polybius mentions a Camoun among other trans-Jordanic places, but
its site has not been verified by modern research. Eusebius and Jerome place it in
the plain of Esdraelon, but without probability. The careful mention of the place of
sepulture of the judges and kings is remarkable, beginning with Gideon ( 8:32; 10:2,
10:5; 12:9, 12:10, 12:12, 12:15; 16:31; 1 Samuel 31:12; 2 Samuel 2:10, etc.).
Jephthah
6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the
Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths,
and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods
of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods
of the Philistines. And because the Israelites
forsook the Lord and no longer served him,

28. BAR ES, "The gods of Syria - Or “Aram.” In the times of the Judges the various
tribes of Aramites, or Syrians, were not compacted into one state, nor were they until
after the time of Solomon. The national gods of these various Aramean tribes were
probably the same; and their worship would be likely to be introduced into the trans-
Jordanic tribes. It has been remarked that the Hebrew words for “to divine,” “to practice
magic,” “idolatrous priests,” and other like words, are of Syrian origin. The Syriac ritual
proved very attractive to king Ahaz 2Ki_16:10-12. For the national gods of the Zidonians,
Moabites, Ammonites, and Philistines, see 1Ki_11:5, 1Ki_11:7,1Ki_11:33; 1Sa_5:2-5.
CLARKE, "And served Baalim - They became universal idolaters, adopting every
god of the surrounding nations. Baalim and Ashtaroth may signify gods and goddesses
in general. These are enumerated:
1. The gods of Syria; Bel and Saturn, or Jupiter and Astarte.
2. Gods of Zidon; Ashtaroth, Astarte or Venus.
3. The gods of Moab; Chemosh.
4. Gods of the children of Ammon; Milcom.
5. Gods of the Philistines; Dagon.
See 1Ki_11:33 (note), and 1Sa_5:2 (note). These are called gods because their images
and places of worship were multiplied throughout the land.
GILL, "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord,....
After the death of the above judges they fell into idolatry again, as the following
instances show:
and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth; as they had before; see Gill on Jdg_2:11, Jdg_
2:13 and, besides these:
also the gods of Syria; their gods and goddesses, Belus and Saturn, Astarte and the
Dea Syria, Lucian writes of:
and the gods of Zidon; the goddess of the Zidonians was Ashtaroth, 1Ki_11:5 and it
seems they had other deities:
and the gods of Moab; the chief of which were Baalpeor and Chemosh, Num_25:3.
and the gods of the children of Ammon, as Milcom or Molech, 1Ki_11:5.
and the gods of the Philistines; as Dagon the god of Ashdod, Beelzebub the god of
Ekron, Marnas the god of Gaza, and Derceto the goddess of Ashkalon:
and forsook the Lord, and served not him; not even in conjunction with the above
deities, as Jarchi and others observe; at other times, when they worshipped other gods,

29. they pretended to worship the Lord also, they served the creature besides the Creator;
but now they were so dreadfully sunk into idolatry, that they had wholly forsaken the
Lord and his worship at the tabernacle, and made no pretensions to it, but entirely
neglected it.
HE RY, "While those two judges, Tola and Jair, presided in the affairs of Israel,
things went well, but afterwards,
I. Israel returned to their idolatry, that sin which did most easily beset them (Jdg_
10:6): They did evil again in the sight of the Lord, from whom they were unaccountably
bent to backslide, as a foolish people and unwise. 1. They worshipped many gods; not
only their old demons Baalim and Ashtaroth, which the Canaanites had worshipped, but,
as if they would proclaim their folly to all their neighbours, they served the gods of Syria,
Zidon, Moab, Ammon, and the Philistines. It looks as if the chief trade of Israel had been
to import deities from all countries. It is hard to say whether it was more impious or
impolitic to do this. By introducing these foreign deities, they rendered themselves mean
and despicable, for no nation that had any sense of honour changed their gods. Much of
the wealth of Israel, we may suppose, was carried out, in offerings to the temples of the
deities in the several countries whence they came, on which, as their mother-churches,
their temples in Israel were expected to own their dependence; the priests and devotees
of those sorry deities would follow their gods, no doubt, in crowds into the land of Israel,
and, if they could not live in their own country, would take root there, and so strangers
would devour their strength. If they did it in compliment to the neighbouring nations,
and to ingratiate themselves with them, justly were they disappointed; for those nations
which by their wicked arts they sought to make their friends by the righteous judgments
of God became their enemies and oppressors. In quo quis peccat, in eo punitur -
Wherein a person offends, therein he shall be punished. 2. They did not so much as
admit the God of Israel to be one of those many deities they worshipped, but quite cast
him off: They forsook the Lord, and served not him at all. Those that think to serve both
God and Mammon will soon come entirely to forsake God, and to serve Mammon only.
If God have not all the heart, he will soon have none of it.
JAMISO , "Jdg_10:6-9. Israel oppressed by the Philistines and Ammonites.
the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord — This apostasy
seems to have exceeded every former one in the grossness and universality of the
idolatry practiced.
K&D, "Jdg_10:6-8
In the account of the renewed apostasy of the Israelites from the Lord contained in
Jdg_10:6, seven heathen deities are mentioned as being served by the Israelites: viz., in
addition to the Canaanitish Baals and Astartes (see at Jdg_2:11, Jdg_2:13), the gods of
Aram, i.e., Syria, who are never mentioned by name; of Sidon, i.e., according to 1Ki_
11:5, principally the Sidonian or Phoenician Astarte; of the Moabites, i.e., Chemosh
(1Ki_11:33), the principal deity of that people, which was related to Moloch (see at
Num_21:29); of the Ammonites, i.e., Milcom (1Ki_11:5, 1Ki_11:33) (see at Jdg_16:23). If
we compare the list of these seven deities with Jdg_10:11 and Jdg_10:12, where we find
seven nations mentioned out of whose hands Jehovah had delivered Israel, the
correspondence between the number seven in these two cases and the significant use of
the number are unmistakeable. Israel had balanced the number of divine deliverances by

30. a similar number of idols which it served, so that the measure of the nation's iniquity
was filled up in the same proportion as the measure of the delivering grace of God. The
number seven is employed in the Scriptures as the stamp of the works of God, or of the
perfection created, or to be created, by God on the one hand, and of the actions of men in
their relation to God on the other. The foundation for this was the creation of the world
in seven days. - On Jdg_10:7, see Jdg_2:13-14. The Ammonites are mentioned after the
Philistines, not because they did not oppress the Israelites till afterwards, but for purely
formal reasons, viz., because the historian was about to describe the oppression of the
Ammonites first. In Jdg_10:8, the subject is the “children of Ammon,” as we may see
very clearly from Jdg_10:9. “They (the Ammonites) ground and crushed the Israelites
in the same year,” i.e., the year in which God sold the Israelites into their hands, or in
which they invaded the land of Israel. ‫ץ‬ ַ‫ע‬ ָ‫ר‬ and ‫ץ‬ ַ‫צ‬ ָ‫ר‬ are synonymous, and are simply
joined together for the sake of emphasis, whilst the latter calls to mind Deu_28:33. The
duration of this oppression is then added: “Eighteen years (they crushed) all the
Israelites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites,” i.e., of
the two Amoritish kings Sihon and Og, who (dwelt) in Gilead. Gilead, being a more
precise epithet for the land of the Amorites, is used here in a wider sense to denote the
whole of the country on the east of the Jordan, so far as it had been taken from the
Amorites and occupied by the Israelites (as in Num_32:29; Deu_34:1 : see at Jos_22:9).
SBC, "I. As is frequently the case, the chief interest and instructiveness of Jephthah’s
career gather round that event in his life which, to himself and his contemporaries,
might seem to mar its symmetry and destroy its usefulness. It is the great blunder of his
life, his unfortunate vow, which unceasingly draws back men’s attention to him.
Through all his nature he was moved in prospect of the approaching battle. It made him
thoughtful, concentrated, grave. He felt more than usually thrown back upon God’s help
and so, according to his light, he vowed a vow. As we have no distinct evidence regarding
Jephthah’s state of mind in making his vow, it is the part of charity to believe that
though he was incomprehensibly rash in the terms of his vow, yet he was justified in
vowing to make some offering to God should He deliver the Ammonites into his hand.
II. Supposing him to have been right in making the vow, was he right in keeping it?
There is an obvious distinction between a promise made to God and a promise made to
man. God can never wish a man to fulfil a contract which involves sin. By the very
discovery of the sinfulness of a vow the maker of it is absolved from performing it. God
shrinks much more than we can do from the perpetration of sin. Both parties fall from
the agreement.
III. It has often been urged that Jephthah did not keep his vow, but compromised the
matter by causing his daughter to take a vow of virginity, to become a nun, in fact. This
seems to sacrifice the plain and obvious interpretation of the narrative. In Jdg_11:39 we
are plainly informed that her father did with her according to the vow which he had
vowed. Why did she ask for the one favour of two months to bewail her virginity if she
was to have thirty or forty years with leisure for that purpose? And lastly, if the mere fact
of her remaining unmarried fulfilled even that part of the vow which specified that she
was to be the Lord’s, a stronger foundation need not be sought for the establishment of
nunneries.
IV. We can scarcely help thinking that while the sacrifice itself was horrible, her spirit,
the spirit of the sacrifice, was acceptable to God, and what she did through reverence
and dutiful submission to her father, was accepted by Him.

31. M. Dods, Israel’s Iron Age, p. 91.
BE SO , "10:6. Israel served the gods of Syria — They added to their former
idolatries the worship of new gods, particularly those of Syria, which were Bel, or
Baal, Astarte, Dagon, Moloch, Thammuz. And the gods of Zidon — The supreme
gods of the Sidonians were Baal and Ashtaroth: but it is likely they had more, such
as Asaroth, Asarim, Asarah. And the gods of Moab — The principal of which was
Chemosh, 1 Kings 11:7. And the gods of the children of Ammon — The chief of
which was Milcom, (1 Kings 11:5,) where Ashtaroth is mentioned as the goddess of
the Sidonians. And the gods of the Philistines — They had more, it seems, besides
Dagon, but their names are not mentioned in Scripture. And forsook the Lord —
They grew worse and worse, and ripened themselves for ruin. Before, they
worshipped God and idols together: now they forsake God, and wholly cleave to
idols.
COFFMA , "Verse 6
ISRAEL FELL I TO IDOLATRY AGAI (Judges 10:6-9)
"And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah,
and served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of
Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods
of the Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah, and served him not. And the anger of
Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the
Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon. And they vexed and
oppressed the children of Israel that year: eighteen years oppressed they all the
children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Ammonites, which
is in Gilead. And the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight against
Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was
sore distressed."
Beginning here, and through the end of the chapter, we have what some have called
an expansion of the usual introductory paragraph recounting the usual cycle, of
apostasy, oppression, crying unto Jehovah, and the sending of relief. The surprise
that some have expressed at this is due to their failure to recognize the fact that we
have here a double introduction: (1) There is the introduction to the judgeship of
Jephthah and his deliverance of Israel out of the hand of the Ammonites, and (2)
this chapter also is an introduction anticipating the conflict of Samson with the
Philistines. "This also explains the fact that the Samson narrative, which is the
second longest in the Book of Judges, has but a single verse introducing the
story."[11]
Yates also agreed that, "This chapter is introductory to the Samson story (Judges
10:13:1-16:31), as well as to the judgeship of Jephthah (Judges 11:1-40)."[12]
"And Israel served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth ..." (Judges 10:6). In addition to

32. these, they also served: (2) the gods of Syria (which are never mentioned by name);
(3) of Sidon (Astarte); (4) of the Moabites (Chemosh); (5) the Ammonites (Milcom);
(6) or Molech; and (7) the god of the Philistines (Dagon). As Keil noted, "Seven of
these heathen deities are mentioned as being served by the Israelites."[13] Some
writers express amazement at the repeated apostasies of Israel, wondering how a
people so often blessed of God could again and again resort to idolatry, but, human
nature being what it is, there is noting unusual about it. This is exactly the thing that
always happens when a people is not diligent to cultivate and nurture the spiritual
resources which God has provided.
This very day, America is threatened with a total relapse into idolatry. Oh yes, the
old idols of antiquity are no longer visible, but the drunkards of our era are
worshipping Bacchus no less than did the ancient citizens of Crete; and our sex-mad
generation is worshipping Aphrodite Pan Demos no less than the wicked inhabitants
of Corinth at the top of their Acro Corinthus; and the diabolical leaders of
Communistic tyranny all over the world, such as the evil masters of Cuba, China,
and Russia (until recently), these evil denizens, are worshipping Mars (the God of
War) no less than did the ancient Romans.
Also, as William Jennings Bryan said a few years ago, "What about the gods of
Fashion, Travel, Money, Power, Pleasure, Self, etc."? Are not millions worshipping
these gods?
Carl F. H. Henry, editor of "The Christian Century," published an article
ovember 5,1980, p. 32, warning America about the consequences of its current
lapse into idolatry.
"God may thunder His awesome [@paradidomi] (I abandon them, or I give them
up, as in Romans 1:24ff) over America's professed greatness. Our massacre of one
million fetuses a year; our deliberate flight from the monogamous family; our
normalizing of fornication and adultery; our shameful acceptance of homosexuality
and other sexual perversions - all these things represent a quantum leap in moral
deterioration, a leap more awesome than even the gulf between conventional
weapons and nuclear missiles. Today, American has all but tripped the worst
ratings on God's Richter scale of fully-deserved moral judgment."[14]
The awesome record of God's punitive judgments upon the antediluvian world,
upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and upon many cultures and civilizations since them
should be enough to warn America that:
There is by us unseen
A hidden boundary between
God's mercy and God's wrath!
ELLICOTT, "(6) Did evil again.—Literally, added to do evil: “joining new sins to
their old ones,” as the Vulg. paraphrases it (Judges 2:11; Judges 3:7, &c).

33. Served Baalim, and Ashtaroth.—Judges 2:19. Seven kinds of idols are mentioned, in
obvious symmetry with the seven retributive oppressions in Judges 10:11-12.
The gods of Syria.—Heb. Aram. (See Genesis 35:2; Genesis 35:4.) Manasseh seems
to have had an Aramean concubine (1 Chronicles 7:14), who was mother of Machir.
Of Syrian idolatry we hear nothing definite till the days of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:10; 2
Kings 16:12):—
“Thammuz came next behind,
Whose annual wound in Lebanon allured
The Syrian damsels to lament his fate
In amorous ditties all a summer’s day.”—Par. Lost, 1
The gods of Zidon.—1 Kings 11:5. As Milton borrowed his details from the learned
Syntagma de Diis Syris of Selden, we cannot find better illustration of these
allusions than in his stately verse:—
“Ashtoreth, whom the Phoenicians cali
Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns,
To whose bright image nightly by the hour
Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs, “—Id.
The gods of Moab.—1 Kings 11:7.
“ Chemosh, the obscene dread of Moab’s sons.
From Areer to ebo, and the wild
Of southmost Abarim . . .
Peor his other name.”—Id.
The gods of the children of Ammon—Leviticus 18:21; 1 Kings 11:7.
“First Moloch, horrid king. . . . Him the Ammonite
Worshipped in Rabba and his watery plain,
In Argob and in Basan, to the stream

34. Of utmost Arnon.”—Id.
The gods of the Philistines.—1 Samuel 5:2; 1 Samuel 16:23.
“One
“Who mourned in earnest when the captive ark
Maimed his brute image; head and hands lopt off
In his own temple on the grunsel edge,
Where he fell flat and shamed his worshippers.
Dagon his name—sea-monster—upwards man
And downwards fish.”—Id.
WHEDO ,"PHILISTI E A D AMMO ITE OPPRESSIO , Judges 10:6-9.
6. Did evil again — This apostasy, as appears from what follows respecting the
number of false gods they worshipped, was of a most aggravating character.
Baalim, and Ashtaroth — See note on chap. Judges 2:13.
Gods of Syria — These are nowhere in Scripture mentioned by name.
Gods of Zidon — The peculiar forms of the Baal and Asherah worship as practiced
among the Phenicians. Compare 1 Kings 11:33. This worship was, in its principles,
common among several of the surrounding nations, but each nation seems to have
given it some peculiar modification of its own.
Gods of Moab — Among whom Chemosh was the principal deity. umbers 21:29; 1
Kings 11:33.
Gods of… Ammon — Particularly the abominable Moloch, the fire-god, to whom
human sacrifices were offered. 1 Kings 11:7.
Gods of the Philistines — Dagon, the fish-god. Compare chap. Judges 16:23. Here
we have the mention of seven classes of gods to whose worship Israel had turned,
thus filling up the measure of a sevenfold idolatry. This seems more execrable still
when we compare with it the seven deliverances of Jehovah mentioned in Judges
10:11-12. They had seemed to choose a new idol for every deliverance.
TRAPP, "10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD,
and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon,
and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the