Judges 10

After Abimelech's time, a man from the tribe of Issachar rose up to rescue Israel. His name was Tola. He was the son of Puah, who was the son of Dodo. Tola lived in the town of Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.

1And 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.

NoteAbimelech was a son of Gideon who had himself made king at Shechem and whose short, violent rule collapsed in civil war (Judges 9). The phrase "after Abimelech's time" places Tola immediately after that episode.

2Tola led Israel as judge for twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

2And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

NoteA "judge" in this book is not a courtroom official. The Hebrew word covers military deliverers and ruling chieftains, leaders who settled disputes and, more often, led Israel in war. Some, like Tola and Jair, are recorded only with a name, a term of years and a burial place; these are traditionally called the "minor judges."

3After Tola came Jair, a man from Gilead. He led Israel as judge for twenty-two years.

3And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.

NoteGilead is the hill country east of the Jordan River, in what is now northwest Jordan. Israelite tribes settled there, which is why it is treated as part of Israel though it lies across the river.

4Jair had thirty sons, and they rode on thirty young donkeys. They also controlled thirty towns in the land of Gilead. Those towns are still called Havvoth-jair today.

4And 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.

NoteThirty sons implies multiple wives and so considerable wealth; donkeys were the mount of men of rank in this period, before horses came into ordinary Israelite use, so riding thirty of them is a display of standing. "Havvoth-jair" means roughly "the tent-villages of Jair," a play on his name.

5Jair died and was buried in the town of Kamon.

5And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

6Once again the people of Israel did what the LORD said was evil. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. They turned away from the LORD and did not serve him.

6And 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.

NoteThe Baals and Ashtoreths are plural forms: Baal was the Canaanite storm and fertility god, Ashtoreth (Astarte) a major goddess, each worshiped in local versions at local shrines, hence the plurals. Aram is the region around Damascus (the King James calls it Syria); Sidon was a Phoenician port on the coast of modern Lebanon; Moab and Ammon were kingdoms east of the Dead Sea; the Philistines occupied the coastal plain to the southwest. The list is deliberately comprehensive: the gods of every neighboring people.

7So the LORD became very angry with Israel. He handed them over to the Philistines and to the Ammonites.

7And 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.

NoteThe King James "sold them into the hands of" translates a Hebrew legal image, handing a person over into someone else's power, as goods are handed over to a buyer.

8That same year those enemies crushed and mistreated the Israelites, and they kept doing it for eighteen years. This happened to all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan River, in the land of the Amorites, which is Gilead.

8And 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.

Note"Amorites" is used broadly in the Hebrew Bible for the peoples living in Canaan before Israel; here it refers specifically to the kingdoms east of the Jordan whose territory became Gilead.

9The Ammonites even crossed the Jordan River to fight against the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and the people of Ephraim. Israel was in deep trouble.

9Moreover 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.

NoteJudah, Benjamin and Ephraim lie west of the Jordan. The point is that the raiding was no longer confined to the eastern territory but had crossed into the Israelite heartland.

10Then the people of Israel called out to the LORD. They said, "We have sinned against you. We turned away from our God, and we served the Baals."

10And 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.

11The LORD answered the people of Israel, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines hurt you, did I not rescue you?

11And 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?

NoteThe Hebrew of verses 11-12 is a broken sentence: it begins "Was it not from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites..." and never completes the thought before the list runs on. Translators supply the missing verb in different places, which is why some versions put "did I not rescue you?" at the end of verse 12 rather than here.

12The people of Sidon, the Amalekites, and the Maonites also mistreated you. You called out to me, and I saved you from their power.

12The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.

NoteThe Amalekites were nomadic raiders of the southern desert. The "Maonites" are uncertain: probably the Meunites, a people associated with Maon in the region south of the Dead Sea. Some ancient copies read "Midianites" instead.

13But you have left me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you again.

13Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.

14Go and call out to the gods you chose for yourselves. Let them save you when you are in trouble."

14Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

15The people of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned. Do to us whatever you think is right. Only please rescue us today."

15And 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.

16So they got rid of the foreign gods they had and served the LORD. And he could not bear Israel's suffering any longer.

16And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

NoteThe Hebrew idiom is literally "his soul grew short at the misery of Israel", the same phrase used elsewhere for running out of patience. It can be read as God being unable to endure their suffering any longer, or as impatience with Israel itself; the wording leaves both open.

17Then the Ammonites were called together for war, and they set up camp in Gilead. The Israelites gathered too, and they camped at Mizpah.

17Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.

NoteMizpah means "watchtower" and several places carry the name; this one is in Gilead, east of the Jordan, not the better-known Mizpah in Benjamin.

18The people and the leaders of Gilead said to each other, "Who will be the man to lead the attack against the Ammonites? He will become the head of everyone living in Gilead."

18And 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.

Note"Head" here means standing ruler, not merely commander for one battle: the offer is permanent leadership of the region in exchange for taking the risk of starting the war.