Judges 10:4

4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts; and they had thirty cities, which are called the villages of Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

Judges 10:4 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 10:4

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, ( Judges 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, ( 1 Samuel 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, ( Numbers 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, ( 1 Chronicles 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.

Judges 10:4 In-Context

2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died, and was buried in Shamir.
3 And after him rose up Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years.
4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts; and they had thirty cities, which are called the villages of Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
5 And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.
6 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baals, and the Ashtoreths, 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 Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah, and served him not.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or 'Havoth-Jair:' see Deut. 3.14.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.