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Judges 10

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The Judges Tola and Jair 1–5

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. ​
2
And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
3
And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.
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. ​
5
And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

Israel's Renewed Apostasy and Oppression 6–9

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 Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. ​
7
And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. ​
8
And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. ​
9
Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

God Rebukes Israel's Hypocrisy 10–16

10
And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. ​
11
And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
12
The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. ​
13
Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
14
Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. ​
15
And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. ​
16
And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. ​

Preparation for Battle Against Ammon 17–18

17
Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh. ​
18
And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Judges 10

Verse 1

arose to defend Israel — ‘Arose’ is qum, the verb of ‘the LORD raised up judges’ (2:16), and ‘defend’ is yasha, to save, the verb of ‘which delivered them’. The book records no enemy or battle for Tola. Tola is also the name of a son of Issachar (Gen 46:13), and the judge belonged to that tribe. He judged twenty and three years and was buried in Shamir (v.2).

Verse 4

Havothjair — The name, ‘villages of Jair’, was given earlier by Jair the son of Manasseh to the small towns he took in Gilead (Num 32:41), and 1 Chr 2:22 says he had ‘three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead’. The judge Jair, ‘a Gileadite’ (v.3), has thirty sons on thirty ass colts (’ayir) and thirty cities ‘unto this day’.

Verse 6

the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon — The list opens with Baalim and Ashtaroth, the gods Israel served after Joshua’s generation (2:13), then names the gods of five neighbouring peoples. Ashtoreth is the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab and Milcom the god of Ammon (1 Kgs 11:33). Ammon and the Philistines, named last, are the two the LORD sends against Israel in v.7.

Verse 7

he sold them — Machar is the verb used when the LORD ‘sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim’ (3:8) and of Jabin (4:2), and in the Song of Moses, ‘except their Rock had sold them’ (Deut 32:30). The two enemies are met in turn: Jephthah answers Ammon in chapters 11–12, and the Philistines are met by Samson in chapters 13–16.

Verse 8

vexed and oppressed — Both verbs mean to break in pieces: ra’ats (to dash, harass) and ratsats (to crush). The sufferers are the tribes east of Jordan, ‘in the land of the Amorites’, which Israel had possessed from Sihon (11:21–22). In v.9 Ammon crosses Jordan to fight Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim as well.

Verse 10

We have sinned — Earlier cries in Judges ask for rescue and say nothing of sin (3:9; 4:3; 6:6). Here the confession is stated, and chata, ‘sinned’, is repeated in v.15. Samuel recalls the same words in his farewell: ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth’ (1 Sam 12:10).

Verse 12

the Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites — With the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites and Philistines of v.11 these make seven peoples the LORD says he has delivered Israel from. The Amalekites came up with Midian (6:3), and the Sidonians are among the peoples left in the land (3:3). The Maonites are named nowhere else in Judges.

Verse 14

the gods which ye have chosen — ‘Chosen’ is bachar, the verb of Joshua’s call, ‘choose you this day whom ye will serve’ (Josh 24:15), and of ‘ye have chosen you the LORD’ (24:22). The challenge echoes the Song of Moses, ‘Where are their gods…? let them rise up and help you’ (Deut 32:37–38), and is repeated in Jer 2:28.

Verse 15

do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good — The submission uses the words of Eli, ‘It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good’ (1 Sam 3:18), and of David, ‘let him do to me as seemeth good unto him’ (2 Sam 15:26). The only request is for deliverance (natsal) ‘this day’, and v.16 shows what accompanied it.

Verse 16

put away the strange gods — The same two words, ‘put away’ and ‘strange gods’, are Joshua’s command at Shechem (Josh 24:23). ‘His soul was grieved’ translates qatsar, literally to be cut short, the word for the people’s soul ‘much discouraged’ in Num 21:4. ‘Misery’ is amal, toil. Isaiah says of the LORD, ‘In all their affliction he was afflicted’ (Isa 63:9).

Verse 17

encamped in Mizpeh — This is Mizpeh of Gilead, from which Jephthah later passes over to Ammon (11:29) and where he ‘uttered all his words before the LORD’ (11:11). The covenant heap of Jacob and Laban is also called Mizpah, for ‘The LORD watch between me and thee’ (Gen 31:49).

Verse 18

he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead — The people and princes offer the headship to whoever will ‘begin to fight’. The offer is kept in 11:11, when ‘the people made him head and captain’, and Jephthah holds the elders to it in 11:9: ‘shall I be your head?’