Judges 10:4

4 His thirty sons rode around on thirty donkeys, and they owned thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which are still called the Towns of Jair.

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 He judged Israel for twenty-three years. When he died, he was buried in Shamir.

3 After Tola died, Jair from Gilead judged Israel for twenty-two years.

4 His thirty sons rode around on thirty donkeys, and they owned thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which are still called the Towns of Jair.

5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

6 Again the Israelites did evil in the LORD ’s sight. They served the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They abandoned the LORD and no longer served him at all.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew Havvoth-jair.