Judges 10:4

4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; and they had thirty towns, which are in the land of Gilead, and are called Havvoth-jair to this day.

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 twenty-three years. Then he died, and was buried at Shamir.

3 After him came Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years.

4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; and they had thirty towns, which are in the land of Gilead, and are called Havvoth-jair to this day.

5 Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.

6 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, worshiping the Baals and the Astartes, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. Thus they abandoned the Lord, and did not worship him.