The Histories · Old Testament

Judges 10

Tola and Jair, renewed oppression and Israel's cry

General context

After Abimelech, Tola of Issachar rises to deliver Israel and judges for twenty-three years from Shamir, where he is buried. Jair the Gileadite follows for twenty-two years. His thirty sons ride thirty young donkeys and hold thirty towns called Havoth-jair; he is buried at Camon. Israel again turns to the gods of surrounding peoples and forsakes the Lord. The Lord gives it over to Philistine and Ammonite power. Eighteen years of oppression afflict the Israelites east of the Jordan, and Ammon also crosses to fight Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim. Israel confesses its abandonment of the Lord, but the divine reply recalls earlier deliverances and tells it to appeal to the gods it chose. The people renew their confession, put away foreign gods and serve the Lord; the account says he is grieved by their misery. With Ammon assembled in Gilead and Israel at Mizpeh, the leaders ask who will begin the fight and offer that person headship over Gilead.

Cited passages: Judges 10:1, Judges 10:2, Judges 10:3, Judges 10:4, Judges 10:5, Judges 10:6, Judges 10:7, Judges 10:8, Judges 10:9, Judges 10:10, Judges 10:11, Judges 10:12, Judges 10:13, Judges 10:14, Judges 10:15, Judges 10:16, Judges 10:17, Judges 10:18

Judges 10 (KJV)

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.

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

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

⁴And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

⁵And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Tola's parentage, tribe, residence, twenty-three years and burial are given, but no particular battle is described. Jair's notice links thirty sons, mounts and towns with a twenty-two-year tenure. The repeated place-name Havoth-jair does not by itself establish that this Jair is the earlier figure named in Moses' land account. The eighteen-year oppression is described for Israel in Gilead, with later fighting west of Jordan; no precise nationwide synchronization is supplied. Unlike a cry alone, verses 10–16 explicitly include confession and removal of other gods. For the Lord's response in verse 16, KJV/ASV say grieved, while BBE says angry because of Israel's sorrows. The chapter ends with an unresolved search for a leader.

Literary context

Two brief leadership notices give way to another cycle of abandonment and distress. The long list of gods is answered by a list of earlier deliverances, and the command to seek help from those gods exposes the people's choice. Their second appeal is followed by an actual change in worship. The gathering armies and unanswered leadership question leave the chapter poised for Jephthah's introduction.

Key moments

Tola's brief account (Judges 10:2). His twenty-three years of judging end with death and burial at Shamir.
Jair's thirty sons and towns (Judges 10:4). The repeated thirty links sons, mounts and holdings in Gilead.
Foreign gods are put away (Judges 10:16). Israel changes its worship after its confession and renewed appeal.
Gilead seeks a leader (Judges 10:18). The people and leaders offer headship to whoever begins the fight against Ammon.

For reflection

Israel's confession is followed by putting away the other gods. What difference is there between naming a failure and changing the practice connected with it?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here:

Ephraim
Jair
Abimelech
Dodo
Issachar
Puah
Tola