After Abimelech, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.
Parallel Translations
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After Abimelech, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.
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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.
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And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Judges 10:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 2:16 Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.
- Joshua 15:48 In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
- Judges 3:9 When the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a savior to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, his uncle.
Or, his uncle.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jdg 10:1 And after Abimelech there arose to defend…
Jdg 10:1 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.
Ver. 1. There arose, to defend Israel.] Heb., To save. He thrust not himself into the office, as Abimelech, that usurper, had done; but was raised up by God, and accordingly qualified.
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A man of Issachar.] The men of this tribe are little memorised. Deborah, indeed, celebrateth them in her song, {Jdg 5:15} and David made great account of them, because "they had understanding of the time, to know what Israel ought to do." {1Ch 12:32} This Tola, likely, was such a one, by a specialty.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain There arose; not of himself, but either chosen by…
There arose; not of himself, but either chosen by the people; or rather, raised by God, as the other judges were. To defend Israel, or, to save, which he did not by fighting against and overthrowing their enemies, but by a prudent and pious government of them, whereby he kept them from sedition, and oppression, and tyranny, as also from idolatry, as may be gathered from Jdg 10:6, which if not restrained and purged out, would have brought certain ruin upon them.
In Shamir in Mount Ephraim;
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which was in the very heart and midst of the land.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Quiet and peaceable reigns, though the best to live…
Quiet and peaceable reigns, though the best to live in, are the worst to write of, as yielding least variety of matter for the historian to entertain his reader with; such were the reigns of these two judges, Tola and Jair, who make but a small figure and take up but a very little room in this history. But no doubt they were both raised up of God to serve their country in the quality of judges, not pretending, as Abimelech had done, to the grandeur of kings, nor, like him, taking the honour they had to themselves, but being called of God to it. 1. Concerning Tola it is said that he arose after Abimelech to defend Israel, Jdg 10:1. After Abimelech had debauched Israel by his wickedness, disquieted and disturbed them by his restless ambition, and, by the mischiefs he brought on them, exposed them to enemies from abroad, God animated this good man to appear for the reforming of abuses, the putting down of idolatry, the appeasing of tumults, and the healing of the wounds given to the state by Abimelech's usurpation. Thus he saved them from themselves, and guarded them against their enemies. He was of the tribe of Issachar, a tribe disposed to serve, for he bowed his shoulder to bear (Gen 49:14, Gen 49:15), yet one of that tribe is here raised up to rule; for those that humble themselves shall be exalted. He bore the name of him that was ancestor to the first family of that tribe; of the sons of Issachar Tola was the first, Gen 46:13; Num 26:23. It signifies a worm, yet, being the name of his ancestor, he was not ashamed of it. Though he was of Issachar, yet, when he was raised up to the government, he came and dwelt in Mount Ephraim, which was more in the heart of the country, that the people might the more conveniently resort to him for judgment. He judged Israel twenty-three years (Jdg 10:2), kept things in good order, but did not any thing very memorable. 2. Jair was a Gileadite, so was his next successor Jephthah, both of that half tribe of the tribe of Manasseh which lay on the other side Jordan; though they seemed separated from their brethren, yet God took care, while the honour of the government was shifted from tribe to tribe and before it settled in Judah, that those who lay remote should sometimes share in it, putting more abundant honour on that part which lacked. Jair bore the name of a very famous man of the same tribe who in Moses's time was very active in reducing this country, Num 32:41; Jos 13:30. That which is chiefly remarkable concerning this Jair is the increase and honour of his family: He had thirty sons, Jdg 10:4. And, (1.) They had good preferments, for they rode on thirty ass colts; that is, they were judges itinerant, who, as deputies to their father, rode from place to place in their several circuits to administer justice. We find afterwards that Samuel made his sons judges, though he could not make them good ones, Sa1 8:1-3. (2.) They had good possessions, every one a city, out of those that were called, from their ancestor of the same name with their father, Havoth-jair - the villages of Jair; yet they are called cities, either because those young gentlemen to whom they were assigned enlarged and fortified them, and so improved them into cities, or because they were as well pleased with their lot in those country towns as if they had been cities compact together and fenced with gates and bars. Villages are cities to a contented mind.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel,.... To…
And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel,.... To save, deliver, and protect Israel; which does not necessarily imply that Abimelech did; for he was no judge of God's raising up, or the people's choosing, but usurped a kingly power over them; and was so far from saving and defending them, that he involved them in trouble and distress, and ruled over them in a tyrannical manner, and left them in the practice of idolatry: it only signifies that after his death arose a person next described to which this may well be attributed, that he was raised up as a judge by the Lord; and though we read of no enemies particularly, that he delivered the people from in his days, yet it is not impossible nor unlikely that there might be such, though not made mention of; besides, he might be said to save them, as the word signifies, in that he was an happy instrument of composing those differences and dissensions, which Abimelech had occasioned, and of recovering them from the idolatry they had fallen into in his times, and of protecting them in their liberties, civil and religious: and this was
Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; he was of the tribe of Issachar, and bore the same name as the eldest son of Issachar did, as his father Puah had the name of the second son of Issachar, Ch1 7:1 and as for Dodo his grandfather, this is elsewhere mentioned as the name of a man, as it doubtless is here, Sa2 23:9 though some copies of the Targum, the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, render it, the son of his uncle, or father's brother; meaning that his father Puah was the son of Abimelech's uncle, or father's brother, and so was one of the family which was raised up to be a judge after his death; but it is not likely that Gideon, the father of Abimelech, and Puah, the father of this man, should be brethren, when the one was of the tribe of Manasseh, and the other of the tribe of Issachar:
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and he dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim: that is, when he became judge in Israel he removed to this place, as being in the midst of the tribes, and near the tabernacle of Shiloh, and so fit for a judge to reside in, to whom the people might apply from all parts to have justice and judgment administered to them. It is called Shamir in Mount Ephraim, to distinguish it from another of the same name in the mountain of Judah, Jos 15:48 it seems to have its name from the thorns which grew about it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The government of Tola and Jair, ver. 1-5. Israel's…
The government of Tola and Jair, ver. 1-5. Israel's sin and trouble, ver. 6-9. Their repentance and reformation, which found acceptance with God, ver. 10-16. Preparation for their deliverance, ver. 17, 18.
There arose - Not of himself, but raised by God, as the other Judges were. To defend - Or, to save, which he did not by fighting against, and overthrowing their enemies, but by a prudent and pious government of them, whereby he kept them from sedition, oppression, and idolatry. In Shamir - Which was in the very midst of the land.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Tola judges Israel twenty-three years, 1, 2.
CHAPTER X
Tola judges Israel twenty-three years, 1, 2.
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Jair is judge twenty-two years, 3-5.
After him the Israelites rebel against God, and are delivered
into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites eighteen
years, 6-9.
They humble themselves, and God reproves them, 10-14.
They put away their strange gods, and gather together against
the Ammonites, 15-17.
The chiefs of Gilead inquire concerning a captain to head them
against the Ammonites, 18.
NOTES ON CHAP. X
Verse 1. Tola the son of Puah] As this Tola continued twenty-three years a judge of Israel after the troubles of Abimelech's reign, it is likely that the land had rest, and that the enemies of the Israelites had made no hostile incursions into the land during his presidency and that of Jair; which, together continued forty-five years.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jdg 10:1. There arose — Not of himself, but…
Jdg 10:1. There arose — Not of himself, but raised by God, as the other judges were. To defend — Or, to save, which he did, not by fighting against and overthrowing their enemies, but by a prudent and pious government of them, whereby he kept them from sedition, oppression, and idolatry. He dwelt in Shamir — Which was in the very midst of the land.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Defend - The marginal reading “to deliver,” is far…
Defend - The marginal reading “to deliver,” is far preferable. The word is the same as in Jdg 2:16, Jdg 2:18; Jdg 3:9, Jdg 3:15, Jdg 3:31, etc., and is the technical word applied to the judges. Compare Neh 9:27 (“saviours who saved them,” the King James Version).
The term “there arose,” also marks Tola as one of the Judges, properly so called, raised by divine providence.
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Tola and Puah - Both names of heads of houses in the tribe of Issachar 1Ch 7:1; Gen 46:13.
Shamir - Not the same as that mentioned in Jos 15:48, which was in the hill country of Judah. Issaehar would seem from this to have extended into the northern part of mount Ephraim.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Uncle of Abimelech, i.e., Half-brother to Gedeon, as being…
Uncle of Abimelech, i.e., Half-brother to Gedeon, as being born of the same mother, but by a different father, and of a different tribe. (Challoner) --- The wife of Joas might have been married to a person of the tribe of Issachar, by whom she had Phua, who was half-brother of Gedeon. (Haydock) --- Thola was cousin-german of Abimelech. (St. Augustine, q. xlvii., &c.) The Israelites elected Thola for their judge, (Abulensis) out of respect to Gedeon, (Cornelius a Lapide) that he might put an end to the commotions which had been excited by the tyrant. (Menochius) -- Joatham might be passed over on account of his youth. The Septuagint and Chaldean have "Thola, the son of Phua, the son of his uncle by the father’s side," which may be true, if the brother of Gedeon adopted him; or this uncle might refer to Abimelech. The uncertainty arises from the Hebrew Dodo, which may be taken as a proper name. "Phua, the son of Dodo;" (Pagnin; Protestants, &c.; Haydock) or as denoting a relation, the paternal uncle of Abimelech, or of Thola, (Bonfrere, &c.; Calmet) or simply "his kinsman." The Hebrew, Septuagint, &c., assert that Thola "arose to defend or to save Israel." He seems to have kept all quiet during the 23 years of his administration. --- Samir. Septuagint (Alexandrian) reads "Samaria;" but the city was not built till the reign of Amri. There was a city on a mountain, (Haydock) called Samir, in the tribe of Juda, (Josue xv. 48,) different from this. (Menochius) --- People were at liberty to dwell where they pleased, out of their own tribe. (Calmet) --- This judge was buried among the Ephraimites. (Haydock) --- But we know not the exact place where Samir stood. (Calmet) --- There seems, however, to be no inconvenience in allowing that there was a town in the vicinity of Sichem, long before Amri made Samaria the capital of his kingdom; (see 3 Kings xiii. 22., and xvi. 24,) and here Thola might reside. He was probably the eldest, or of the second branch, of Issachar, (Numbers xxvi. 23, ) of great nobility and virtue, and the 10th judge of Israel.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Two Judges In Quiet, Peaceful Times: Tola Of Issachar…
SIXTH SECTION
Two Judges In Quiet, Peaceful Times: Tola Of Issachar And Jair The Gileadite
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__________________
The Judgeships of Tola and Jair
Jdg_10:1-5
1And after Abimelech there arose to defend [deliver] 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 [the] Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. 4And he had thirty sons [,] that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, [those] which are called Havoth-jair [the circles of Jair] unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL
Jdg_10:1. And after Abimelech there arose Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo. The record of this man’s life contains no stirring actions, like those of Abimelech, but tells of something better. He “delivered” and “judged” Israel. This, however, always presupposes renewed consciousness of sin on the part of Israel, and return to the living God. It is probable that the horrible deeds and the terrible end of Abimelech and Shechem made such an impression upon the conscience of Israel, as to open the way for deliverance. Under this view, the words “after Abimelech” receive a deeper significance; and the reason why the history of that personage was so copiously narrated becomes still more evident. That which at other times was the result of terrors from without, is this time brought about by the civil catastrophe within.
The deliverer’s name was “Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo.” The mention of father and grandfather both, is unusual, and occurs in the case of no other Judge. It was therefore natural, that already at an early date, and also, it would seem, by the Masora, “ben Dodo” was taken appellatively, as meaning “Son of his Uncle or Cousin.” The “his” in that case must refer to Abimelech; and Tola would have to be regarded as the son of a brother or a sister of Gideon. The son of Gideon’s brother, he cannot have been (although this is just the relation indicated by ancient expositions, cf. the πατραδέλφον of the LXX.); for he belonged not to Manasseh, but to Issachar. If a sister of Gideon had married a man of the tribe of Issachar, this person might indeed have been called an uncle (dod) of Abimelech. But if such were the relation, is it not more likely that the writer would have said, “Son of the sister of Jerubbaal?” The names Tola and Puah, as borne by sons of Issachar, are already found in Gen_46:13. They became established in the families of that tribe, and frequently recur. It was just so in German families, especially of the Middle Ages. Particular names were peculiar to particular families. (Instead of פּוּאָה, Puah, we have פֻּוָּה, Puvah, in Gen_46:13 and Num_26:23, though not in all MSS. 1Ch_7:1 has פּוּאָה, Puah.) These names indicate a certain industry, which, it may be inferred, must have been carried on in Issachar. Tola (תּוֹלָצ) is the Kermesworm (coccus ilicis), from which the crimson, or deep scarlet color (תּוֹלַצַת שַׁנִי), of which we read so much in connection with the tabernacle, was derived; and Puah is Chaldee for rubia tinctorum, or madder red (cf. Buxtorff, sub voce). We shall not err, perhaps, if we conjecture that the third name also is added because of its agreement in meaning with the two preceding. For Dodo, if we derive it from דּוּד, dud, instead of דּוֹד, dod, cousin, means “pot,” or “vessel,” a prominent utensil in the preparation of dyes.1 Names of this kind, it is well known, are not unfrequent in the East. Hammer (Namen der Araber) even adduces the name Fihr, which signifies the stone used for grinding perfumes.
He dwelt in Shamir, on Mount Ephraim. The centre of his judicial activity was permanently fixed in Ephraim. As to Shamir, this name (on its import, compare my treatise Schamir, Erf. 1856) may be identified with Shemer, name of the owner of the hill on which king Omri afterwards built Shomeron, Samaria (1Ki_16:24).
Jdg_10:3-5. And after him arose Jair, the Gileadite. Just as Tola was a family-name in Issachar, so was Jair in Gilead. The ancestor of this Jair was the son of Manasseh, whose name was associated with the acquisition of the greatest part of the territory in possession of the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. Machir, it is stated, Num_32:39-41, took Gilead, and “Jair, son of Manasseh,” the “circles,” which were afterwards called the “circles of Jair.” It has already been pointed out in connection with our explanation of the name Hivite (Chivi), that chavah, (plur. chavoth, Eng. Ver. Havoth), means “circle,” from the form in which those villages to which it is applied were laid out (see on Jdg_3:3). It would, therefore, involve a twofold error to explain Havoth-Jair, as modern expositors do, by making it analogous to such German names as Eisleben and Aschersleben; for, in the first place, chavah does not mean “life” here; and, secondly, in such names as the above, the German leben does not mean vita but mansio.
By these “circles of Jair” we are evidently to understand the whole of the present western Hauran, reaching as far as Jebel Hauran, for Kenath (the present Kenawath) is reckoned among the sixty cities of Jair (1Ch_2:23; 1Ki_4:13). Wetzstein’s conjecture (Hauran, p. 101), that these cities are only sixty tent-villages of the nomadic order, is by no means to be accepted; for the books of Kings and Chronicles are conversant with great cities, with walls and brazen bars, in the region that “pertained to Jair.” The objection that if such cities had existed, the Assyrians could not have subjected the two and a half tribes so readily, is not borne out. In the first place, because the accounts of this conquest are very brief and scanty; and in the second place, because the history of all ages teaches us, that when the Spirit has left a people, neither fortresses nor “steep heights” avail to detain the enemy. At all events, the Assyrian successes do not prove that the architectural remains of the Hauran cannot in their elements be referred back to the time of the Amorites and Israelites. Without at present entering into any discussion of this subject, we hold the contrary to be highly probable, even though, at the places which would here come into consideration, more recent buildings bear the stamp of more recent times. Indeed, it seems to me, that just as it was possible to identify Kenath, Salcah, Golan, etc., so the name Jair also is in existence to this day. I find it in the name of the city called “Aere” by Burckhardt, “Eera” by Seetzen, and “Ire” by Wetzstein. It is still the seat of an influential (Druse) chieftain. Ritter (xv. 944) warns us against confounding it with the Aera which the Itinerary of Antonine puts in the place of the present Szanamein; but it were more proper to say that the repeated occurrence of the name, should be regarded as evidence that the whole region was once called “Jair’s circles.”
The narrator’s remark that the cities of Jair “are sailed Havoth Jair unto this day,” has been supposed to conflict with the statement of the Pentateuch, wherein this name is derived from the first Jair (cf. Hengst., Pent. ii. 193). With regard to some other names of places, such an exchange of one derivation for another, may perhaps be made out; but here it is quite impossible that one should have taken place. The narrator, who keeps the Pentateuch constantly before his eyes, designs only to remind the reader of what was there stated. In themselves, his words would have been entirely insufficient to explain the origin of the designation Havoth-Jair, seeing the discourse was about “cities” (צֲיָרִים). Moreover, the number of these cities, at a later date, was reckoned at sixty, whereas here mention is made of only thirty. The sentence is indeed peculiar on account of the double לָהֶם; for which reason a few codices read it but once. But the word does not bear the same sense in both cases. The second לָהֶם, introduces an explanatory clause; so that the meaning of the sentence is this: “thirty cities belonged to them (לָהֶם), of those2(לָהֶם) which (the relative אֲשֶׁר is frequently omitted) are called Havoth-Jair unto this day.” The closing words of this sentence (“unto this day”) are evidently a mere verbal citation from Deu_3:14; for no other occasion exists here, where the question is only of Jair’s distinguished position, for their use. Jair, by his strength and virtue, had diffused his family over one half of the entire district, with which his ancient progenitor had long ago associated his own name.
And he had thirty sons, who rode on thirty asses, and had thirty cities. The paronomasia between עֲיָרִים, asses, and the rare form עַיָרִים for “cities,” authorizes the conjecture that we have here a sentence from a song of praise in honor of Jair and his prosperous fortune. That which is celebrated is, not that he possessed thirty asses—what would that be to a man who had thirty cities?—but that he was the father of thirty sons, all of whom enjoyed the honor and distinction implied in the statement that they rode upon asses. They rode, that is to say, not merely as men of quality—the usual explanation,—but as chiefs, governors, and judges. It was peculiar to such persons especially that they made use of the ass, as the animal of peace. Their very appearance on this animal, was expressive of their calling to reconcile and pacify. The sons of Jairs judged their thirty cities. This is something not given to all rich fathers; it was a happiness which not even Samuel the Priest was destined to enjoy.
Jair was buried in Camon, doubtless one of the thirty cities of Hauran. The farther and more thorough investigation is carried in the country east of the Jordan, the more instructive will its results become. Perhaps we may take the Sahwed el-Kamh, on Wetzstein’s map, not far from Ire (Jair), for the Camon of the text. However little may be told of many of the Judges of Israel, of their place of burial information is given. The whole land was to be, as it were, a memorial hall, by which the people are reminded of the men who brought help in distress, when they repented, and which may also teach them to know that all men, however valiant, die, and that only the one, eternal God survives in deathless existence. But how inadequate monuments and sepulchres are to preserve energy and piety among the people, that the following section once more teaches.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Two judges in times of quiet. After the terrible storm, comes a calm. For half a century Tola and Jair judge Israel, without committing frightful wrongs, or performing enviable deeds. The greatness of Gideon’s times, and the baseness of Abimelech’s, are both exhausted. An unknown, but happy, generation lives and works in peace under pious Judges. No enemy threatens, the word of God is quick and active, the country prospers, commerce flourishes. A quiet life is rich in seeds. Amid the silence of repose, the germs of spring prepare themselves. It is a type of the Kingdom in the future, when through the eternal calm only the anthems of adoring choirs will be heard, like the voices of nightingales resounding through the night.
So, it is not given to every one to live a quiet, peaceful life, undisturbed by political and social alarms. Let him who enjoys it, not envy the fame with which publicity surrounds great names. In quietness and confidence shall be your strength says the prophet (Isa_30:15).
Starke: To govern a nation well in times of peace, is not less praiseworthy than to carry on wars and overcome enemies.—Lisco: Tola saved his people, not indeed by wars and victims, but by right and justice, by the concord and peace which he restored in Israel.
[Scott: The removal of hardened sinners, by a righteous God, often makes way for reformation and public tranquillity, and proves a great mercy to those who survive.—Wordsworth: The time in which they [i. e. Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon] judged Israel amounted to seventy years, but the Holy Spirit does not record a single act done by any one of them; and thus He leads us to look forward and upward to another life, and to that heavenly chronicle which is written with indelible characters in the memory of God Himself, and is ever open to his divine eye.—Tr.]
Footnotes:
[1]On the vessels excavated in the sandstone, which were used in the preparation of the purple dye at Tyre, see Wilde, Voyage in the Mediterranean, Dublin, 1840, ii. 148 ff. quoted by Ritter, xvii. 372.
[2][In the text, Dr. Cassel renders לָהֶם by “those,” while here he writes “of those.” The first rendering may be defended, but the second is as doubtful as it is unnecessary. If the intention be to avoid all appearance of conflict with the Pentateuch, this is just as effectually reached by the unimpeachable version of De Wette: Man nennet Jair’s Dörfer bis auf diesen Tag—they are called Jair’s Villages unto this day. יִקְרְאוּ is the indeterminate 3d per. plural, and (as is remarked by Bertheau and Keil) does not at all affirm that the name was now first given. לָהֶם is the dative of that to which the name is given, and stands first for the sake of emphasis; “they had thirty cities, precisely those cities people call Havoth-Jair.”—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain TOLA AND JAIR, Jdg_10:1-5.
TOLA AND JAIR, Jdg_10:1-5.
1. There arose — In the providence of God.
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To defend — Rather, to save Israel. No particular acts of Tola are recorded, but only the general statement (Jdg_10:2) that he judged Israel twenty three years. Hence it has been a question among the commentators, How did Tola save Israel?
There is no record of any new oppressions, or of any special dangers. But the chief difficulty comes from assuming that there was no sense in which he might have saved Israel unless they had been in bondage to some foreign foe. He might have saved them from civil discords and fearful feuds by his wise and prudent judgments. He may have saved them from foreign invasions by a timely and prudent caution. We should also remember that the silence of Scripture respecting an individual is not sufficent ground for assuming that he did no mighty works. Tola was raised up to defend Israel; that is, for the purpose of defending or saving them in case any difficulty or danger came; and perhaps an important part of his labour was to save or reclaim the people from the idolatry into which they had fallen after the death of Gideon.
A man of Issachar — One of that tribe by birth.
Dwelt in Shamir — The site of Shamir has not been satisfactorily identified. “It is singular that this judge, a man of Issachar, should have taken up his official residence out of his own tribe. We may account for it by supposing that the Plain of Esdraelon, which formed the greater part of the territory of Issachar, was overrun, as in Gideon’s time, by the Canaanites or other marauders, of whose incursions nothing whatever is told us, (though their existence is certain,) driving Tola to the more secure mountains of Ephraim. Or, as Manasseh had certain cities out of Issachar allotted to him, so Issachar, on the other hand, may have possessed some towns in the mountains of Ephraim.” — Grove, in Smith’s Bib. Dict. Others have supposed that at this city in the mountains of Ephraim he was more accessible to the various tribes, and could thus more conveniently judge Israel.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1. to save Israel] Cf. Jdg_2:16; Jdg_2:18, Jdg_3:9 f.
1. to save Israel] Cf. Jdg_2:16; Jdg_2:18, Jdg_3:9 f.
Tola the son of Puah] According to Gen_46:13, Num_26:23 (P), 1Ch_7:1, Tola and Puah were brothers, ‘sons,’ i.e. clans of Issachar. Tola means ‘the crimson worm,’ ‘cochineal,’ and Puah probably ‘madder,’ a plant from which a red dye was obtained, in Arab, fûh; the coincidence can hardly be accidental; see Deu_33:19.
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the son of Dodo] The name again in 2Sa_23:9; 2Sa_23:24, 1Ch_11:12; 1Ch_11:26; varieties of it are David, Dodavahu, Eldad; the Babyl. form Dûdu occurs in the Amarna letters, e.g. 44 and 45; on the Moab. St. l. 12 Daudoh, apparently a local god worshipped by the Israelites E. of Jordan. Dod = lit. ‘loved one,’ then ‘kinsman,’ ‘uncle’; so LXX and Syr. render here ‘the son of his [Abimelech’s] uncle.’
in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim] Site unknown; not the Shamir of Jos_15:48, which was in Judah. LXX. A and Luc. read Samaria, replacing a strange name by a familiar one. In historical times the territory of Issachar lay to the N.E. of the Plain of Jezreel; from this verse we learn that at least one clan of the tribe had its seat further south. There may have been some connexion between Shamir and Shimron, a clan of Issachar (Gen_46:13, Num_26:24).
Ch. Jdg_10:1-5. The Minor Judges: Tola and Jair
The five Minor Judges, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon (Jdg_12:8-15), are so called because, unlike the other Judges, they fill but a small place in the general history; no record of their exploits has been preserved. Sometimes Shamgar is grouped with them, but see the notes on Jdg_3:31. These five Judges are regarded as carrying on the succession (and after … there arose, Jdg_10:1; Jdg_10:3 etc.), and, according to the view adopted in the Introduction § 2 a, the 76 years assigned to them (with Jephthah’s 6) are included in the chronological scheme of the book. In each case the few bare particulars are cast into the same form, clearly by the same hand, which is not that of the Deuteronomic editor; the latter uses quite a different formula to conclude each period (Jdg_3:30, Jdg_5:31, Jdg_8:28). It seems probable that these notices were in existence before the Dtc. editor set to work; their general character is early rather than late; they appear to be founded on ancient traditions, like the somewhat similar details embedded in the genealogies of 1 Chron. (e.g. 1Ch_1:46, 1Ch_2:7; 1Ch_2:22 f., 1Ch_4:9 f., 1Ch_4:27; 1Ch_4:39 ff. etc). Out of the five names, three, Tola, Jair, Elon, occur elsewhere as the names of clans; the other two were probably clan-names also: but it would be rash to conclude that these names were never borne by individuals.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) After Abimelech.—his is merely a note of time.…
(1) After Abimelech.—his is merely a note of time. Abimelech is not counted among the judges, though it is not improbable that, evil as was the episode of his rebellions, he may have kept foreign enemies in check.
To defend Israel.—Rather, to deliver, as in the margin and elsewhere (Jdg_2:16; Jdg_2:18; Jdg_3:9, &c).
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There arose.—The phrase implies a less direct call and a less immediate service than that used of other judges (Jdg_2:18; Jdg_3:9).
Tola.—The name of a son of Issachar (Gen_46:13) It means “worm” (perhaps the kermes -worm), and may, like Puah, be connected with the trade in purple dyes. He seems to have been the only judge furnished by this indolent tribe, unless Deborah be an exception. Josephus omits his name.
Puah.—Also a son of Issachar (1Ch_7:1).
The son of Dodo.—The LXX. render it “the son of his uncle,” but there can be little doubt that Dodo is a proper name, as in 1Ch_11:12; 2Sa_23:9; 2Sa_23:24. It is from the same root as David, “beloved.” Since Tola was of Issachar, he could not be nephew of Abimelech a Manassite.
He dwelt in Shamir.—The name has nothing to do with Samaria, as the LXX. seem to suppose. It may be Sanûr, eight miles north of Samaria.
In mount Ephraim.—As judge, he would have to fix his residence in a town more central than any in his own tribe. There was another Shamir in Judah (Jos_15:48).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo.…
Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo. Nothing more is known of Tola than what is here told us, viz., his name, his parentage, his dwelling-place, his office, the length of time which he held it, and the place of his burial. Who were the enemies from whom Tola was raised up to save Israel we are not told. There was probably no great invasion or grievous servitude, but perhaps frequent border wars requiring an able and watchful chief to maintain the independence of Israel. Tola and Puah (otherwise written Puvah) were both names of families in Issachar. (Gen_46:13 Num_26:23) Shamir in mount Ephraim, to distinguish it from Shamir in the hill country of Judah. (Jos_15:48) Both are otherwise unknown.
Vers. 1-5. The lull
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In the affairs of nations, as in the lives of men, there are occasional periods of uneventful quietness, when the storms and winds of stirring interests and aggressive actions are lulled, and a monotonous rest succeeds to exciting change. At such times no great characters stand out from the historic canvas, no activity of mind producing a clashing of opinion agitates the surface of society, no great measures are called for, no striking incidents of a prosperous or of an adverse kind diversify the scene. It is so likewise sometimes in the Church. Heresy is still; persecution is still; aggressive movements of parties are still; controversy is hushed; Christianity folds her wings and takes no flight into distant lands; there are no reformers at work. Fanaticism is asleep; the uniformity of slumber supersedes the diversities of energetic religious life. Such periods of stillness may have their uses in Church and State, but they have their evils likewise. And they are only temporary; often only the lull before the storm. Such were the forty-five years of the judgeships of Tola and Jair. In their days we read of no invasions of their foes. No Gideon comes to the front with the strong life of unquenchable faith and indomitable courage. The only events chronicled are the peaceful ridings of Jair"s sons upon their asses" colts amidst their ancestral cities. But troublous times were at hand. It was the lull before the storm Would the storm find the people prepared? The sequel will show. Meanwhile the reflection arises, Be it our aim in quiet times not to fall asleep; in times of excitement not to lose the balance of a sober mind and the calmness of a deep-rooted faith.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR. Vers. 1-5. The calm after the storm.
Partly exhaustion, partly consciousness of Divine judgment, restrains the spirit of Israel. The punishment of its unfaithfulness had come from within itself, and was the more felt. The pendulum now swings slowly back.
I IT WAS A "PEACE OF GOD." The hand of Jehovah was seen. The consciences even of the wicked had been touched. So in the lives of individuals and nations there are times given of God after judgments in which to repent and amend; and these are not of their own creation, but a result of a gracious Providence. But as they are each a calm after a storm, so, being unimproved, they may be but the portentous lulls before greater judgments. The enemy from without is restrained, as if to say that the real danger could only arise from within.
II ITS CHARACTER. Undistinguished by great individual exploits; but showing a general advance in civilisation, the arts of peace, and external respect for government and religion. The solid monuments of the people"s industry and foresight (the cities of the circle of Jair, etc.) remained. A happier generation lived and throve over the ashes of the guilty past; and some steps were taken towards the more settled and permanent type of government, the monarchy.
III ITS IMPORT. God"s punishments and judgments are intended to prepare for peace. The sinner can never say he has had "no room for repentance." But this was only external and temporary peace a truce with an unreconciled Heaven. It is precious, therefore, only as making for and typifying the kingdom of Christ, and the peace of believers, which follow upon storm and overturning and Divine chastisements, but confer unspeakable blessings and make happy. M.
HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY Vers. 1-5. Quiet times.
I THE BEST MEN ARE NOT ALWAYS BEST KNOWN. We know nothing of Tola and Jair in comparison with what we know of Abimelech. Yet the very fact that little is said of them is a proof that they were good and honest men. We are too ready to mistake notoriety for fame and both for signs of greatness. They are not the greatest men who make the most noise in the world. It is something if this censorious world can say no ill of us. Aim at doing well rather than at striking attention.
II QUIET TIMES ARE HAPPY TIMES. Israel was now experiencing the happiness of the people whose annals are dull. It is generally a miserable thing to be the subject of an interesting story; the more full of incident the story is, the more full of distress will be the person to whom it relates. Happiness generally visits private lives in their obscurity, and forsakes those which are protruded into the glare of vulgar curiosity. David"s happiest days were spent with the sheep on the hills of Bethlehem. Christ found more happiness at Capernaum than in Jerusalem.
III QUIET TIMES ARE OFTEN HEALTHFUL TIMES. There is a quietness which betokens the stagnation of death, and there is a condition of ease which favours indolence, luxury, and vice. But there is also a quietness of healthy life. (Isa_30:15) The flowers grow, not in the noisy storm, but in soft showers and in quiet sunshine. In times of quiet a nation is able to effect legislative improvements, to open up its internal resources, to develop commerce, to cultivate science, art, and literature, and to turn its attention to the promotion of the highest welfare of all within its borders. In times of quiet the Church is able to study Divine truth more deeply and to carry out missionary enterprises with more energy. In times of quiet rightly used the soul enjoys the contemplation of God and grows under the peaceful influences of his Spirit. (Psa_72:6)
IV QUIET TIMES ARE MORE FREQUENT THAN WE COMMONLY SUPPOSE. History directs inordinate attention to scenes of tumult, and necessarily so. Hence we are likely to magnify the range of these. In times of war there are vast areas of peace. The terrible seasons which attract our attention are separated by long intervals of quiet which pass unnoticed. Thus it was
(1) in the history of Israel, which is really not so dark as it appears because so many generations were spent in peaceful obscurity;
(2) in the history of our own country, of the Church, and of the world; and
(3) in our own lives, since we commonly recollect the troublesome times (which are striking partly just because they are abnormal), and ungratefully ignore the long, quiet seasons of unbroken blessings. A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain Jdg_10:1-18; Jdg_11:1-11
GILEAD AND ITS CHIEF
Jdg_10:1-18; Jdg_11:1-11
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THE scene of the history shifts now to the east of Jordan, and we learn first of the influence which the region called Gilead was coming to have in Hebrew development from the brief notice of a chief named Jair, who held the position of judge for twenty-two years. Tola, a man of Issachar, succeeded Abimelech, and Jair followed Tola. In the Book of Numbers we are informed that the children of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it and dispossessed the Amorites which were therein; and Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh. It is added that Jair, the son or descendant of Manasseh, went and took the towns of Gilead and called them Havvoth-jair; and in this statement the Book of Numbers anticipates the history of the judges.
Gilead is described by modern travellers as one of the most varied districts of Palestine. The region is mountainous and its peaks rise to three and even four thousand feet above the trough of the Jordan. The southern part is beautiful and fertile, watered by the Jabbok and other streams that flow westward from the hills. "The valleys green Kith corn, the streams fringed with oleander, the magnificent screens of yellow-green and russet foliage which cover the steep slopes present a scene of quiet beauty, of chequered light and shade of uneastern aspect which makes Mount Gilead a veritable land of promise." "No one," says another writer, "can fairly judge of Israels heritage who has not seen the exuberance of Gilead as well as the hard rocks of Judaea, which only yield their abundance to reward constant toil and care." In Gilead the rivers flow in summer as well as in winter, and they are filled with fishes and fresh-water shells. While in Western Palestine the soil is insufficient now to support a large population, beyond Jordan improved cultivation alone is needed to make the whole district a garden.
To the north and east of Gilead lie Bashan and that extraordinary volcanic region called the Argob or the Lejah, where the Havvoth-jair or towns of Jair were situated. The traveller who approaches this singular district from the north sees it rising abruptly from the plain, the edge of it like a rampart about twenty feet high. It is of a rude oval shape, some twenty miles long from north to south, and fifteen in breadth, and is simply a mass of dark jagged rocks, with clefts between in which were built not a few cities and villages. The whole of this Argob or Stony Land, Jephthahs land of Tob, is a natural fortification, a sanctuary open only to those who have the secret of the perilous paths that wind along savage cliff and deep defile. One who established himself here might soon acquire the fame and authority of a chief, and Jair, acknowledged by the Manassites as their judge, extended his power and influence among the Gadites and Reubenites farther south.
But plenty of corn and wine and oil and the advantage of a natural fortress which might have been held against any foe did not avail the Hebrews when they were corrupted by idolatry. In the land of Gilead and Bashan they became a hardy and vigorous race, and yet when they gave themselves up to the influence of the Syrians, Sidonians, Ammonites, and Moabites, forsaking the Lord and serving the gods of these peoples, disaster overtook them. The Ammonites were ever on the watch, and now, stronger than for centuries in consequence of the defeat of Midian and Amalek by Gideon, they fell on the Hebrews of the east, subdued them and even crossed Jordan and fought with the southern tribes, so that Israel was sore distressed.
We have found reason to suppose that during the many turmoils of the north the tribes of Judah and Simeon and to some extent Ephraim were pleased to dwell secure in their own domains, giving little help to their kinsfolk. Deborah and Barak got no troops from the south, and it was with a grudge Ephraim joined in the pursuit of Midian. Now the time has come for the harvest of selfish content. Supposing the people of Judah to have been specially engaged with religion and the arranging of worship that did not justify their neglect of the political troubles of the north. It was a poor religion then, as it is a poor religion now, that could exist apart from national well being and patriotic duty. Brotherhood must be realised in the nation as well as in the church, and piety must fulfil itself through patriotism as well as in other ways.
No doubt the duties we owe to each other and to the nation of which we form a part are imposed by natural conditions which have arisen in the course of history, and some may think that the natural should give way to the spiritual. They may see the interests of a kingdom of this world as actually opposed to the interests of the kingdom of God. The apostles of Christ, however, did not set the human and divine in contrast, as if God in His providence had nothing to do with the making of a nation. "The powers that be are ordained of God," says St. Paul in writing to the Romans; and again in his First Epistle to Timothy, "I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men: for kings and all that are in high place, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity." To the same effect St. Peter says, "Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake." Natural and secular enough were the authorities to which submission was thus enjoined. The policy of Rome was of the earth earthy. The wars it waged, the intrigues that went on for power savoured of the most carnal ambition. Yet as members of the commonwealth Christians were to submit to the Roman magistrates and intercede with God on their behalf, observing closely and intelligently all that went on, taking due part in affairs. No room was to be given for the notion that the Christian society meant a new political centre. In our own times there is a duty which many never understand, or which they easily imagine is being fulfilled for them. Let religious people be assured that generous and intelligent patriotism is demanded of them and attention to the political business of the time. Those who are careless will find, as did the people of Judah, that in neglecting the purity of government and turning a deaf ear to cries for justice, they are exposing their country to disaster and their religion to reproach.
We are told that the Israelites of Gilead worshipped the gods of the Phoenicians and Syrians, of the Moabites and of the Ammonites. Whatever religious rites took their fancy they were ready to adopt. This will be to their credit in some quarters as a mark of openness of mind, intelligence, and taste. They were not bigoted; other mens ways in religion and civilisation were not rejected as beneath their regard. The argument is too familiar to be traced more fully. Briefly it may be said that if catholicity could save a race Israel should rarely have been in trouble, and certainly not at this time. One name by which the Hebrews knew God was El or Elohim. When they found among the gods of the Sidonians one called El, the careless minded supposed that there could be no harm in joining in his worship. Then came the notion that the other divinities of the Phoenician Pantheon, such as Melcarth, Dagon, Derketo, might be adored as well. Very likely they found zeal and excitement in the alien religious gatherings which their own had lost. So they slipped into practical heathenism.
And the process goes on among ourselves. Through the principles that culture means artistic freedom and that worship is a form of art we arrive at taste or liking as the chief test. Intensity of feeling is craved and religion must satisfy that or be despised. It is the very error that led Hebrews to the feasts of Astarte and Adonis, and whither it tends we can see in the old history. Turning from the strong earnest gospel which grasps intellect and will to shows and ceremonies that please the eye, or even to music refined and devotional that stirs and thrills the feelings, we decline from the reality of religion. Moreover a serious danger threatens us in the far too common teaching which makes little of truth, everything of charity. Christ was most charitable, but it is through the knowledge and practice of truth He offers freedom. He is our King by His witness bearing not to charity but to truth. Those who are anxious to keep us from bigotry and tell us that meekness, gentleness, and love are more than doctrine mislead the mind of the ago. Truth in regard to God and His covenant is the only foundation on which life can be securely built, and without right thinking there cannot be right living. A man may be amiable, humble, patient, and kind though he has no doctrinal belief and his religion is of the purely emotional sort; but it is the truth believed by previous generations, fought and suffered for by stronger men, not his own gratification of taste, that keeps him in the right way. And when the influence of that truth decays there will remain no anchorage, neither compass nor chart for the voyage. He will be like a wave of the sea driven of the wind and tossed.
Again, the religious so far as they have wisdom and strength are required to be pioneers, which they can never be in following fancy or taste, Here nothing but strenuous thought, patient faithful obedience can avail. Hebrew history is the story of a pioneer people and every lapse from fidelity was serious, the future of humanity being at stake. Each Christian society and believer has work of the same kind not less important, and failures due to intellectual sloth and moral levity are as dishonourable as they are hurtful to the human race. Some of our heretics now are more serious than Christians, and they give thought and will more earnestly to the opinions they try to propagate. While the professed servants of Christ, who should be marching in the van, are amusing themselves with the accessories of religion, the resolute socialist or nihilist, reasoning and speaking with the heat of conviction, leads the masses where he will.
The Ammonite oppression made the Hebrews feel keenly the uselessness of heathenism. Baal and Melcarth had been thought of as real divinities, exercising power in some region or other of earth or heaven, and Israels had been an easy backsliding. Idolatry did not appear as darkness to people who had never been fully in the light. But when trouble came and help was sorely needed they began to see that the Baalim were nothing. What could these idols do for men oppressed and at their wits end? Religion was of no avail unless it brought an assurance of One Whose strong hand could reach from land to land, Whose grace and favour could revive sad and troubled souls. Heathenism was found utterly barren, and Israel turned to Jehovah the God of its fathers. "We have sinned against Thee even because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baalim."
Those who now fall away from faith are in worse case by far than Israel. They have no thought of a real power that can befriend them. It is to mere abstractions they have given the Divine name. In sin and sorrow alike they remain with ideas only, with bare terms of speculation in which there is no life, no strength, no hope for the moral nature. They are men and have to live; but with the living God they have entirely broken. In trouble they can only call on the Abyss or the Immensities, and there is no way of repentance though they seek it carefully with tears. At heart therefore they are pessimists without resource. Sadness deep and deadly ever waits upon such unbelief, and our religion today suffers from gloom because it is infected by the uncertainties and denials of an agnosticism at once positive and confused.
Another paganism, that of gathering and doing in the world sphere, is constantly beside us, drawing multitudes from fidelity to Christ as Baal worship drew Israel from Jehovah, and it is equally barren in the sharp experiences of humanity. Earthly things venerated in the ardour of business and the pursuit of social distinction appear as impressive realities only while the soul sleeps. Let it be aroused by some overturn of the usual, one of those floods that sweep suddenly down on the cities which fill the valley of life, and there is a quick pathetic confession of the truth. The soul needs help now, and its help must come from the Eternal Spirit. We must have done with mere saying of prayers and begin to pray. We must find access, if access is to be had, to the secret place of the Most High on Whose mercy we depend to redeem us from bondage and fear. Sad therefore is it for those who having never learned to seek the throne of divine succour are swept by the wild deluge from their temples and their gods. It is a cry of despair they raise amid the swelling torrent. You who now by the sacred oracles and the mediation of Christ can come into the fellowship of eternal life, be earnest and eager in the cultivation of your faith. The true religion of God which avails the soul in its extremity is not to be had in a moment, when suddenly its help is needed. That confidence which has been established in the mind by serious thought, by the habit of prayer and reliance on divine wisdom can alone bring help when the foundations of the earthly are destroyed.
To Israel troubled and contrite came as on previous occasions a prophetic message; and it was spoken by one of those incisive ironic preachers who were born from time to time among this strangely heathen, strangely believing people. It is in terms of earnest remonstrance he speaks, at first almost going the length of declaring that there is no hope for the rebellious and ungrateful tribes. They found it an easy thing to turn from their Divine King to the gods they chose to worship. Now they perhaps expect as easy a recovery of His favour. But healing must begin with deeper wounding, and salvation with much keener anxiety. This prophet knows the need for utter seriousness of soul. As he loves and yearns over his country folk he must so deal with them; it is Gods way, the only way to save. Most irrationally, against all sound principles of judgment they had abandoned the Living One, the Eternal to worship hideous idols like Moloch and Dagon. It was wicked because it was wilfully stupid and perverse. And Jehovah says, "I will save you no more, Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them save you in the day of your distress." The rebuke is stinging. The preacher makes the people feel the wretched insufficiency of their hope in the false, and the great strong pressure upon them of the Almighty, Whom, even in neglect, they cannot escape. We are pointed forward to the terrible pathos of Jeremiah:-"Who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall turn aside to ask of thy welfare? Thou hast rejected me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore have I stretched out my hand against thee, and destroyed thee: I am weary with repenting."
And notice to what state of mind the Hebrews were brought. Renewing their confession they said, "Do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee." They would be content to suffer now at the hand of God whatever He chose to inflict on them. They themselves would have exacted heavy tribute of a subject people that had rebelled and came suing for pardon. Perhaps they would have slain every tenth man. Jehovah might appoint retribution of the same kind; He might afflict them with pestilence; He might require them to offer a multitude of sacrifices. Men who traffic with idolatry and adopt gross notions of revengeful gods are certain to carry back with them when they return to the better faith many of the false ideas they have gathered. And it is just possible that a demand for human sacrifices was at this time attributed to God, the general feeling that they might be necessary connecting itself with Jephthahs vow.
It is idle to suppose that Israelites who persistently lapsed into paganism could at any time, because they repented, find the spiritual thoughts they had lost. True those thoughts were at the heart of the national life, there always even when least felt. But thousands of Hebrews even in a generation of reviving faith died with but a faint and shadowy personal understanding of Jehovah. Everything in the Book of Judges goes to show that the mass of the people were nearer the level of their neighbours the Moabites and Ammonites than the piety of the Psalms. A remarkable ebb and flow are observable in the history of the race. Look at some facts and there seems to be decline. Samson is below Gideon, and Gideon below Deborah; no man of leading until Isaiah can be named with Moses. Yet ever and anon there are prophetic calls and voices out of a spiritual region into which the people as a whole do not enter, voices to which they listen only when distressed and overborne. Worldliness increases, for the world opens to the Hebrew; but it often disappoints, and still there are some to whom the heavenly secret is told. The race as a whole is not becoming more devout and holy, but the few are gaining a clearer vision as one experience after another is recorded. The antithesis is the same we see in the Christian centuries. Is the multitude more pious now than in the ago when a king had to do penance for rash words spoken against an ecclesiastic? Are the churches less worldly than they were a hundred years ago? Scarcely may we affirm it. Yet there never was an age so rich as ours in the finest spirituality, the noblest Christian thought. Our van presses up to the Simplon height and is in constant touch with those who follow; but the rear is still chaffering and idling in the streets of Milan. It is in truth always by the fidelity of the remnant that humanity is saved for God.
We cannot say that when Israel repented it was in the love of holiness so much as in the desire for liberty. The ways of the heathen were followed readily, but the supremacy of the heathen was ever abominable to the vigorous Israelite. By this national spirit however God could find the tribes, and a special feature of the deliverance from Ammon is marked where we read: "The people, the princes of Gilead said one to the other, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." Looking around for the fit leader they found Jephthah and agreed to invite him.
Now this shows distinct progress in the growth of the nation. There is, if nothing more, a growth in practical power. Abimelech had thrust himself upon the men of Shechem. Jephthah is chosen apart from any ambition of his own. The movement which made him judge arose out of the consciousness of the Gileadites that they could act for themselves and were bound to act for themselves. Providence indicated the chief, but they had to be instruments of providence in making him chief. The vigour and robust intelligence of the men of Eastern Palestine come out here. They lead in the direction of true national life. While on the west of Jordan there is a fatalistic disposition, these men move. Gilead, the separated country, with the still ruder Bashan behind it and the Argob a resort of outlaws, is beneath some other regions in manners and in thought, but ahead of them in point of energy. We need not look for refinement, but we shall see power; and the chosen leader, while he is something of the barbarian, will be a man to leave his mark on history.
At the start we are not prepossessed in favour of Jephthah. There is some confusion in the narrative which has led to the supposition that he was a foundling of the clan. But taking Gilead as the actual name of his father, he appears as the son of a harlot, brought up in the paternal home and banished from it when there were legitimate sons able to contend with him. We get thus a brief glance at a certain rough standard of morals and see that even polygamy made sharp exclusions. Jephthah, cast out, betakes himself to the land of Tob and getting about him a band of vain fellows or freebooter, becomes the Robin Hood or Rob Roy of his time. There are natural suspicions of a man who takes to a life of this kind, and yet the progress of events shows that though Jephthah was a sort of outlaw his character as well as his courage must have commended him. He and his men might occasionally seize for their own use the cattle and corn of Israelites when they were hard pressed for food. But it was generally against the Ammonites and other enemies their raids were directed, and the modern instances already cited show that no little magnanimity and even patriotism may go along with a life of lawless adventure. If this robber chief, as some might call him, now and again levied contributions from a wealthy flock master, the poorer Hebrews were no doubt indebted to him for timely help when bands of Ammonites swept through the land. Something of this we must read into the narrative, otherwise the elders of Gilead would not so unanimously and urgently have invited him to become their head.
Jephthah was not at first disposed to believe in the good faith of those who gave him the invitation. Among the heads of households who came he saw his own brothers who had driven him to the hills. He must have more than suspected that they only wished to make use of him in their emergency and, the fighting over, would set him aside. He therefore required an oath of the men that they would really accept him as chief and obey him. That given, he assumed the command.
And here the religious character of the man begins to appear. At Mizpah on the verge of the wilderness where the Israelites, driven northward by the victories of Ammon, had their camp there stood an ancient cairn or heap of stones which preserved the tradition of a sacred covenant and still retained the savour of sanctity. There it was that Jacob, fleeing from Padanaram on his way back to Canaan, was overtaken by Laban, and there raising the Cairn of Witness they swore in the sight of Jehovah to be faithful to each other. The belief still lingered that the old monument was a place of meeting between man and God. To it Jephthah repaired at this new point in his life. No more an adventurer, no more an outlaw, but the chosen leader of eastern Israel, "he spake all his words before Jehovah in Mizpah." He had his life. to review there, and that could not be done without serious thought. He had a new and strenuous future opened to him. Jephthah the outcast, the unnamed, was to be leader in a tremendous national struggle. The bold Gileadite feels the burden of the task. He has to question himself, to think of Jehovah. Hitherto he has been doing his own business and to that he has felt quite equal; now with large responsibility comes a sense of need. For a fight with society he has been strong enough; but can he be sure of himself as God's man, fighthing against Ammon? Not a few words but many would he have to utter as on the hilltop in the silence he lifted up his soul to God and girt himself in holy resolution, as a father and a Hebrew, to do his duty in the day of battle. Thus we pass from doubt of Jephthah to the hope that the banished man, the freebooter, will yet prove to be an Israelite indeed, of sterling character, whose religion, very rude perhaps, has a deep strain of reality and power. Jephthah at the cairn of Mizpah lifting up his hands in solemn invocation of the God of Jacob reminds us that there are great traditions of the past of our nation and of our most holy faith to which we are bound to be true, that there is a God, our witness and our judge, in Whose strength alone we can live and do nobly. For the service of humanity and the maintenance of faith we need to be in close touch with the brave and good of other days and in the story of their lives find quickening, for our own. Along the same line and succession we are to bear our testimony, and no link of connection with the Divine Power is to be missed which the history of the men of faith supplies. Yet as our personal Helper especially we must know God. Hearing His call to ourselves we must lift the standard and go forth to the battle of life. Who can serve his family and friends, who can advance the well being of the world, unless he has entered into that covenant with the Living God which raises mortal insufficiency to power and makes weak and ignorant men instruments of a divine redemption?
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain CRITICAL NOTES.— Jdg_10:1. After Abimelech.] This man is recognised…
FORTY-FIVE YEARS PASSED OVER IN SILENCE
(Jdg_10:1-5.)
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CRITICAL NOTES.— Jdg_10:1. After Abimelech.] This man is recognised as having been a ruler in Israel, notwithstanding his scandalous career. Probably he was permitted to occupy this position for a time, as a new method of chastising the people for their extreme tendency to choose another king than Jehovah, and to show that “their sorrows should be multiplied that hasten after another god.” The rigorous rule of the bramble-bush sovereign was as severe an affliction, as the inrushing of a marauding foe from without. By this course, too, means were furnished for exhibiting the desperate wickedness of the human heart; and the case is held up as a beacon to warn the men of every age.
To defend Israel.] Not against any actual assault of an enemy, but he stood forth as the guardian of the public safety, ready, when necessary, to ward off all danger, and, by his very presence, to prevent any disturbance of the national peace from within or from without. He would administer justice wisely, and provide against the likely or possible incursions of surrounding foes.
Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo.] Puah is also written Pua and Phuvah. This time the tribe of Issachar is chosen to provide a judge. In David’s time, they were men of renown, “that had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do” (1Ch_12:32). God chose the “saviours” from different tribes, to show His readiness to honour all the tribes in turn. This was a proof also that the organic unity of Israel was still preserved. Dodo—is here a proper name, and is not to be taken as meaning “uncle,” (Sept.) (2Sa_23:9).
Dwelt in Shamir.] When he entered on the duties of his office, he found it more convenient to live nearer the centre of the country, and accordingly he went to Mount Ephraim.
Jdg_10:2. Judged Israel.] The northern and eastern tribes. Twenty-three years and died.] Not a single particular of his public life is recorded. But it was not therefore unimportant. To secure peace was no small blessing. To be a check on the outbreakings of idolatry was for the covenanted people an immense benefit. Though no fame was acquired, “the Lord had need of him” for a time. He has need of the purling brook as well as the majestic stream. In man’s judgment the one may seem insignificant compared with the other, but in God’s estimation everything is beautiful in its place. The family line of Tola, however, appear to have been distinguished in Israel all along, beginning with the ancestor (Gen_46:13; Num_26:23), and going on to the days of David (1Ch_7:1-5), including the judge mentioned in this chapter.
Jdg_10:3. Jair the Gileadite,] born in Gilead, the half of which was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Deu_3:13). This name has occasioned much discussion. It must be remembered that family names were a feature in Israelitish history—the same name frequently coming in, in the same line of descent, through different generations. Jair was the name of the ancestral head of one of the most influential family lines in Manasseh. He was one, apparently the chief, of the “children of Machir,” who, in the days of the dividing of the land, “dispossessed the Amorite that was in Gilead,” and first “took some of the small towns, calling them Havoth-jair” (the abodes of Jair), and afterwards accomplished the most important feat of taking “the 60 great cities with walls and brazen bars that were in the region of Argob, a part of Bashan.” This was the land of the giants; and such a victory could only have been gained through faith. To perpetuate it he called these 60 walled towns of the giants by the name of Bashan-havoth-jair—meaning the abodes, or towns, which Jair conquered for himself in the giant country. Hence, honour is done to this ancestor of the line by referring to him frequently (Num_32:39-41; Deu_3:13-14; Jos_13:30; 1Ki_4:13), and especially as the possessor of these Bashan cities by conquest.
Reference is made also to Jair in 1Ch_2:22, who cannot be the same with the first Jair, for “the towns of Jair” are spoken of as existing before his time (1Ch_2:23), i.e., the towns of the first, or ancestral Jair. Some suppose the allusion is to Jair, the judge. It may have been so, notwithstanding the statement that this Jair’s grandmother is said to have been the “daughter of Machir” (1Ch_2:21-22), and as hundreds of years elapsed between the days of Machir and the time of Jair the judge, there must have been several generations during the interval. Yet that difficulty could be solved by understanding the word “daughter” to mean descendant of Machir, which is so often done in the accounts given of family lines among the Israelites. But where the accounts given are so meagre, it is impossible to decide definitely whether the Jair in 1Ch_2:22 was the same with Jair, the judge here, or was another person of the same name. If he was the same, then he had at first 23 cities, and must have increased them to 30, that every one of his sons might have a city; or, as some think, he got possession of the 60 cities which the first Jair took out of the hands of the Amorite (1Ch_2:23). It is, however, probable that there were more than even two persons, heads of families, called by this name, for on account of its fame many would be desirous to hand it down.
Judged Israel twenty-two years.] From this long period of peaceable government, we may suppose, he was a very capable administrator of justice, as well as a man of high character for piety like his great ancestors.
Jdg_10:4. That rode on thirty ass colts.] Horses were not then in the country. To ride on an ass was at that time equivalent to a man keeping his carriage now. It was a mark of wealth, which few could afford, for nearly the whole population were accustomed to go from place to place on foot. This must, therefore, have been a large and opulent family. The ass was then a superior type of animal to what it is and long has been in these more recent times. This was especially true of the “white ass” (ch. Jdg_5:10, also ch. Jdg_12:14; 1Ki_1:33; 1Ki_10:28). The horse when it appeared was generally associated with war, while the ass being quiet and the reverse of formidable, was regarded as the symbol of peace. Hence Zion’s King came riding on an ass, His kingdom being one of peace (Zec_9:9).
Thirty cities which are called Havoth-jair unto this day.] Probably the same towns as those in Num_32:41, when the name Havoth-jair was first used; also in 1Ki_4:13 (second clause). They are here called “cities,” though in reality only villages. “Villages are cities to a contented mind” (Henry).
Jdg_10:5. Was buried in Camon.] Probably on the west side of Jordan. It deserves to be noticed, that of all whom God called to serve Him in the office of judge or king, care is taken to say what became of their dust.
A FRESH COURSE OF SIN AND PENITENCE
Jdg_10:6. Did evil again in the sight of the Lord.] (See on ch. Jdg_2:12-19; Jdg_3:7-8; Jdg_3:12; Jdg_4:1-3; Jdg_6:1-2, &c.). They continue to do evil, as if there were no curing of this plague of the heart, in departing from the living and true God.
The gods of Syria (Aram), of Zidon, of Moab, &c.] Notwithstanding all the expostulation used, the warnings given, and the severe applications of the rod, they still persisted in apostasy, nay, more, they are worse than ever; for now they go in for idolatry wholesale. Well might the prophet call on heaven and earth to listen to the tale of such dreadful impiety (Isa_1:2-7; Jer. chs. 1–10; Hosea-passim. The heathen being left only with the dim light of nature, could never rise to the vast conception of supposing universal power, infinite wisdom, and perfect goodness, to be concentrated in one God. Hence they supposed it laid a broader and safer basis, to have many gods, as implying greater resources. Even Cicero, though he set forth in his book, De Natura Deorum, the vanity of the heathen deities, yet declared in one of his orations, that it “did not become the majesty of the Roman empire to worship one god only.” But on this point, Israel had the most precise teaching, and therefore sinned against the clearest light.
The gods of Syria, or Aram, are not named, but one of them was Rimmon (2Ki_5:18), They were worshipped by Ahaz, as the gods of Damascus (2Ch_28:23; 2Ki_16:10), Those of the Zidonians, or Phenicians, were Baal and Ashteroth; of the Moabites, Chemosh; of the children of Ammon, Moloch, or Milcom; and of the Philistines, Dagon. These probably had all substantially the same features of character, just as all wicked men have a family likeness, yet there might be many varieties owing to local and accidental associations. The great fact always coming out was, that the worship of Jehovah was set aside (1Ki_11:6-8). This amounted to the plucking up of religion by the roots, had it been allowed to continue.
Jdg_10:7. The anger of the Lord was kindled.] After the modes of speech used among men, the strong Divine opposition to such high-handed sin is here intimated; but we are not to suppose there was any ungovernable emotion in the Divine mind, such as we always associate with anger in human bosoms. Sold them into the hands of, &c.] comp. Deu_32:30 (see on Jdg_3:8; Jdg_4:2). The idolatry seems to have been on all sides, and so one enemy is raised up on the east, and another on the west. The Ammonites oppressed those on the east side of Jordan principally, and the Philistines, the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin, being nearest to them. This oppression by the Philistines is that which is referred to in the days of Samson, but is supposed to have been coeval with that of the eastern tribes by the children of Ammon, so long as that continued. The calamity which befel the trans-Jordanic tribes is first described.
Jdg_10:8. That year they vexed and oppressed for eighteen years. &c.] We take it to be the year when God first gave them up helplessly into the hands of the enemy. That year on for 18 years. The enemy hated that people above all others, and as soon as they got the opportunity they were not slow to improve it. They oppressed with a will, and that for as many years as they had permission. Well might David say, “Let me not fall into the hands of man.” The verbs רָעַצ and רָצַץ have much the same meaning, and express rough and violent treatment, nearly equivalent to Psa_2:9 (last clause). They were crushed, or dashed to pieces. The use of the two words is to give emphasis to the statement (comp. ch. Jdg_4:3; Jdg_6:1-6.
9. Passed over Jordan to fight against Judah, &c.] Probably they had laid bare all the country on the east side, and now they wished to ravage the lands on the west side. This appears to have been when many years of the oppression had gone, and before as yet the weight of the Philistine power had been much felt.
10. Cried unto the Lord, &c.] Comp. ch. Jdg_2:9-15; Jdg_4:3; Jdg_6:6. This was no doubt a cry of distress, which is little more than an instinct of nature, but it also contains some acknowledgement of their sins, as the cause of their misery, and so is better than the mere howling of an animal when it is stricken (Hos_7:14). The connecting particles וַני in that, is a specific putting of the finger on the cause of all their distress. We have tinned, inasmuch as we have forsaken God and served Balaam.
Jdg_10:11. Did not I deliver you?] This is supplemented, but most justly so. From the Egyptians Exodus 1-14); from the Amorites (Num_21:21-35); from the children of Ammon (ch. Jdg_3:12-13, etc.); from the Philistines (ch. Jdg_3:31, through Shamgar). [In 1Sa_12:9, the Philistines come between Moab and Sisera, but we are not to take that as meaning the historical connection].
Jdg_10:12. The Zidonians also (the general name for the league of nations to the north of Canaan whose forces were commanded by Sisera); the Amalekites (the reference here is chiefly to ch. Jdg_3:13 and Jdg_6:3. When any attack was to be made on Israel, Amalek was always ready); and the Maonites (the Midianites, or probably that section of the Midianites that were next to Israel, and planned the invasion of ch. 6, but were joined by the great mass of the confederated people) see 2Ch_26:7.
Jdg_10:13. Yet ye have forsaken me, etc.] All this is said to produce deeper conviction of sin. For the really serious thing is to have thorough work in dealing with the sin. That well done, it is quick and easy work to bring round the deliverance. “God keeps count of His deliverances; much more ought we to do so”—(Trapp), comp. Deu_32:5-6; Ezr_9:13-14. The great deliverances which God here calls to mind are seven in number, corresponding with the number of the different national idols which they had served, every one of which had brought them low, almost to the point of destruction. A most valuable double instruction was conveyed by these sevens. A seven times trial (complete) was made of their hearts, and they were found capable of casting off their God in order to serve any idol, no matter what, all round the compass! An equally full trial was made of the character of their God, and He was found incapable of casting them off and breaking His covenant, notwithstanding their repeated and highly aggravated sins!
I will deliver you no more.] Speaking after the manner of men, this was the treatment they deserved. They could not reasonably expect anything else. It is the language of upbraiding, and partly of threatening. But even in Israel’s worst days the assurance is held out, that where there is true penitence, there will be pardon (Jer_26:3; Jer_26:13; Jer_31:18-20; Rev_2:5). For “God often threatens that He may not punish. He pardons such sin too, as no man could do (see Jer_3:1)”—(Trapp). The whole of this remonstrance is parallel to the case of Hos_5:15; Hos_6:1-3, where God chastises His people by hiding His face from them which soon brings them into deep waters, so that they are glad to return to Him; comp. also Isa_57:17-18.
Jdg_10:15. Do to us what seemeth good unto Thee.] They leave themselves, confessedly guilty, in God’s hands. They are ready “to accept the punishment of their iniquity” (Lev_26:41; Lev_26:43). They practically say “we will bear the indignation of the Lord, for we have sinned against Him” (Mic_7:9). This was the very best thing they could do—to confess at once they were all in the wrong and deserved chastisement, but leaving themselves entirely at God’s disposal. No sinner can take a safer course than, while confessing his sins with sorrow, to leave himself to the promptings of God’s heart. That heart never fails, if only the obstruction is removed to the outflow of the Divine loving kindness (Jer_31:18-19 with Jer_31:20). Their confessions are followed up by deeds. “They put away the strange gods,” and so the sincerity of their penitence is crowned (Pro_28:13; Hos_14:8; 1Sa_7:2-3; Gen_35:1-5; Job_34:31-32).
His soul was (vexed) grieved for the misery of Israel.] תּקְצַר was shortened or impatient (Num_21:4), like one who is restless or uneasy, and so is moved to take action. “My bowels are troubled for him” (Hos_11:8-9; Isa_40:2).
Jdg_10:17. Gathered together.] Assembled by public proclamation (ch. Jdg_4:13; Jdg_7:23). The purpose is stated in next chapter. Encamped in Gilead.] Here it refers to the whole territory possessed by Israel on the east side of Jordan, but sometimes it refers only to that part which was occupied by the half tribe of Manasseh. The children of Israel assembled.] No longer deserted by their God, they are animated with fresh courage (Psa_60:11-12; Psa_118:8-12; Psa_18:29-34). In Mizpeh.] Mizpeh (masc.) is said to be the town; Mizpah (fem.), the district (Jos_11:3; Jos_11:8), Other references are made to it as Ramoth-mizpeh, or simply Ramoth in Gilead (Jos_13:26; Jos_20:8; 1Ch_6:80, see also 1Ki_4:13; 1Ki_22:3; 1Ki_22:6. It was a convenient centre for rendezvous, and a place of great natural strength. With the article it means the watch-tower, or heap of witness (Gen_31:48-49).
Jdg_10:18. And the people and princes, etc.] Rather, and the people, even the princes of Gilead, i.e., the heads of tribes and families on the east side of Jordan. The name captain is used in ch. Jdg_11:6; Jdg_11:11, where it means the chief leader.
HOMILETIC REMARKS.—Jdg_10:1-18
QUIET TIMES
1. These come undeserved. On the principle, that there is “no peace to the wicked,” we might expect, in the ordinary exercise of justice, that troubles would never cease in a community where sin was daily committed. The existence of sin is always a cause of war with God, and, as it is manifest, that in every generation of Israel, the great majority of the people were idolaters in heart, the natural expectation was, that there would be no modifying of the severity of the Divine dealings with them at any period of their history. Yet, in fact, mild and pacific dealings did come in frequently, and so must be set down as the undeserved loving kindness of the Ruler of Providence.
How erroneous are the data, on which men form their judgments of God’s ways of dealing with them. They forget that they are ever provoking God to anger, by living every day for their own pleasure, and refusing to acknowledge His claims on their obedience, or even recognising His presence in their midst. They habitually banish him from their very thoughts, and yet murmur if He should send them trouble in any degree. They take for granted that immunity from trouble is their due; whereas “it is of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.” Were justice alone the rule of dealing, we could look for no respite. Quiet times, when they come, are entirely undeserved (Ezr_9:13; Ezr_9:15).
2. They come only after a vindication of the Divine Righteousness. In the frightful tragedy which came like a sweeping torrent on the great transgressors at Shechem, when a hurried and awful death overtook Abimelech and the inhabitants of Shechem, not a single man excepted, the whole nation were aroused from their slumbers to read the lesson of God’s anger against the idolaters. Every man seemed to hear the voice for himself, “Stand in awe and sin not.” It was God vindicating His own character as the righteous Moral Governor of the world. This being done in the sight of all Israel, it was fit that a pause should take place in the further sending of troubles on the land.
3. Quiet times fill the large spaces of human history. Even in this Book of Judges, which many think describes a tempestuous period of Israelitish history, the calamitous times are the exception, while those of peace and quiet are the rule. Israel’s first oppression was for eight years. This was followed by a rest of 40 years, or five times as long. The next period of distress lasted 18 years, and then the land had respite for 80 years. Then came trouble for 20 years, and rest for 40 years. Again we read of seven years’ oppression, and this followed by 40 years of quiet. Once more, we have the cataract of bloodshed and sin for three years, and now a pause, and dead stillness for 45 years.
So it is in human life generally, notwithstanding men’s high-handed provocations. Times of immunity from trial form by far the larger portions of our life. Our days of good health greatly outnumber the days of sickness. Our times of peace and comfort, are greatly longer than the periods of severe pain and great calamity. Our seasons of sunshine also are long, compared with those when our sky is overcast. Our hopes, as a rule, by many degrees exceed our fears. Cases also are numerous where, if we be true Christians, when our troubles abound, our consolations do much more abound. Generally, the expression of friendly feeling greets our ears more frequently than those of anger and disaffection. All things go to show that the largest spaces in human life partake of the character of quiet and goodwill, notwithstanding the provocations we give to the Ruler of Providence.
4. Quiet times are greatly needed.
(1). To preserve the benign attitude of God in dealing with guilty men.
To keep up this attitude is essential, for without this view of the Divine character, men would never be brought back to God. “We love Him because He loves us.” A free and full revelation of the loving nature of God, is necessary to remove the prejudice which is natural to the human heart against God, that He is hard and inexorable, ever disposed to say, “Pay me that thou owest to the uttermost farthing.” Happy is the man who gets entirely free of that prejudice.
By often sending seasons of quiet when He might justly appoint times of great distress, God shows that he will not be always frowning, as if, like weak man, He could not remain self-controlled in the face of so many provocations. But as He must show Himself jealous for His own great name, there are junctures when he comes forth to vindicate His honour. He reserves special occasions, called emphatically “the day of the Lord,” when “He lays judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plumbline,” and so vindicates His own Majesty on the one hand, while He visits sin as it deserves on the other. On these special occasions, He shows what he might do at any time, though for the most part he forbears. Thus the times of forbearance, or of quiet, are many compared with the times of smiting: “His tender mercies are over all His works.”
“He will not chido continually,
Nor keep His anger still;
With us He dealt not as we sinned,
Nor did requite our ill.”
(2.) To allow time to recover from the effects of great agitation. After the violent spasm to which the country was subjected by Abimelech, it required a period of calm to recover from the shock and the confusion. Each oppression of the land through the in-rush of Vandalic hordes produced a disastrous effect. The country was desolated, the homes of Israel were broken up, the bonds of society were loosed, the administration of justice ceased, and the whole nation was “scattered and peeled” (ch. Jdg_5:6; Jdg_5:8.) Quiet times were needed to set the nation on its feet again, to give heart to its people, and bring back days of prosperity and of hope. The operations of industry must be resumed, fields must be sown and reaped, the useful arts of life must be prosecuted, channels for trade must be opened up, and laws for the security of life and property must be established. God never wished to “make a full end” of His chosen people, and, though they were often brought very low for their sins, and made to feel how easy it would have been to dash them to the ground beyond all possibility of rising again, He ever remembered that they were the people on whom He had set His love, out of whom should arise the promised “seed” that was one day to bless the whole earth, and so they were restored.
(3) To carry on all the useful activities of life. If a nation is to live, there must be scope for its activity. Freedom of action must be allowed to the mass of its people to carry out their schemes and fulfil their duties. And it is in the unfettered, healthful working out of the innumerable small schemes and duties of life that the temporal wellbeing of a nation mainly consists. The great deeds of its heroes are things to dazzle the eye, and perhaps enkindle hope, inspire courage, and excite to lofty aspiration. But it is far less on these, that the true prosperity of a people depends, than on the industry and energy of the myriads of hands that are ever plying the loom in the common machinery of human life.
“Niagara excites our wonder, and we stand amazed at the power and greatness of God as He ‘pours it from the hollow of His hand.’ But one Niagara is enough for a continent and a world, while that same world needs tens of thousands of silver fountains and gently flowing rivulets, that shall water every farm, every meadow, and every garden, and shall flow on every day and night with their gentle and quiet beauty. So with the acts of our lives. It is not by great deeds only, like those of Howard, nor by great sufferings only, like those of the martyrs, that good is to be done. It is by the quiet and useful virtues of the Christian character, the meek forbearance of the Christian temper, the spirit of forgiveness in the husband, the wife, the father, the mother, the brother, the sister, the friend, and the neighbour in every avenue in which men move, that society is to be improved and its bonds strengthened.”—[Barnes.]
(4) For purposes of consideration and profitable meditation. Calm thought is always needed to weigh things in even scales. Amid the hurry and excitement of strong passing events the mind cannot estimate the strength of the forces at work around it, and is disturbed in its judgments, like the trembling of the needle in a rolling ship. Quiet hours are needed to consider the “why” and the “wherefore” of God’s dealings. Proper meditation on what has happened is apt to lead to self-humiliation and amendment of ways. It prompts men to say, “Let us search and try our ways, and turn to the Lord.” The broken and contrite spirit is cherished (Lam_3:28-36), arguments are weighed, motives and aims are examined, and new resolutions in the strength of God’s grace are formed. Deeper attention is paid to the roots of character, new seeds of profitable thought are deposited in the mind, and a more careful, more mature, and better-weighed decision is come to, not to continue the war any longer with God, but to yield up everything at the expression of His will.
THE SILENCES OF HISTORY
Here are two judges mentioned by name, as having occupied the posts of most public observation in the whole nation, and in charge of its public welfare for the long period of close on half a century, and yet not a single deed is noticed that either of them did. Their family circle is referred to, and their high social position, but as regards the share they took in the public events of their time there is a perfect blank in the narrative. On this we remark—
1. The silences of Scripture history are sometimes speaking silences. It is so in the case of Melchizedeck. All that is told of him in the narrative is comprised in one short paragraph. We are only told what he did in blessing Abraham, when he returned from the slaughter of the kings; but not a word is said about his father and mother on the one hand, nor about his death on the other. Yet see how much the apostle made of this silence in Heb_7:3; also David in Psalms 110. There is silence kept, too, in regard to the Rock in the wilderness as to its being a foreshadowing of Christ in being a Smitten Rock, and water issuing from it sufficient to preserve the life of God’s people to the end of their wilderness journey, with other particulars. But we should hardly have ventured to say that that Rock was Christ had not the inspired writer told us so (1Co_10:4). It is the same with many other objects in Old Testament history. And the absence of any statement that any one of them was a type of Christ has the significance of saying, that the whole framework of that history was made up in such a way as to foreshadow Christ.
Here there is a speaking silence, when two men follow each other as chief magistrates of the nation, at a most difficult juncture of affairs, when public morality was low, when the public administration of justice was all but paralysed, when the tide of ungodliness swept over the land, and nothing was so likely to happen as a series of the most tragic occurrences, and yet there is nothing to say! This fact speaks volumes for the practical wisdom, the tact and prudence, and the comprehensive “understanding of the times on the part of these men to know what Israel ought to do.” An uneventful age means a period of peace and contentment. Hence the adage, “Happy is the nation that hath no history.”
2. These silences are numerous. Over the history of the whole world before the Flood the veil of silence is spread. Only a few fragmentary utterances are given respecting the lives of thousands, nay, millions of actors for more than sixteen centuries! And the history of the whole heathen world is left out, except some black edgings of history, which are so bad that we scarcely can desire to have had more! But even among good men the silences are many, as in the case of Enoch, and Abel, and Seth; of Adam himself, also, after his fall; of the parents of Moses, and Jesse, the father of David; of Caleb, and Jethro, and Obadiah, and Jabez, with many more, all of whom are dismissed with a comparatively brief notice, and yet they are names of which we might well desire to hear more. Indeed, the persons selected for a moderately full notice on the page of Scripture history are very few.
3. They often occur in tenderness. This is specially the case, in the infrequent notices taken of the sins of God’s people. A few cases of aggravated offences are mentioned, but what multitudes are passed over in silence! David, by his own account, had so many transgressions to confess before his God that he felt them to be more in number than the hairs on his head (Psa_40:12). And of men generally, he says, “Who can understand his errors?” But with the sins which might exist with David before his God men had not to do, and God does not speak of them in the ears of men. It is of those that were a scandal before the world and the Church that open notice is taken in the Book of God. How many sins are “covered” (Psa_32:1); “removed far away” (Psa_103:12); “blotted out as a thick cloud” (Isa_44:22); “passed by” (Mic_7:19); “remembered no more!” (Heb_8:12).
4. They illustrate the sovereignty of God in giving to each one his place in history.
Some have a prominent station given them, while to others an obscure or unconspicuous post is assigned. Some receive notice only as “hewers of wood and drawers of water,” while others stand forth in the foreground like Joshua, and are made to perform deeds which require a whole Book to preserve a record of them. Gideon’s life occupies three long chapters; Zola and Jair together only five verses. Ehud’s one deed fills a whole page, while Shamgar’s feat is dismissed in a single verse. The story of Deborah and Barak runs on for fully two chapters, while Ibzan, Ebon, and Abdon all three scarcely occupy a moderate paragraph.
There are reasons for this:—
(1.) God has a plan of Providential dealing with His Church, and He selects instruments that are suitable to that plan. Hence one is taken and another is left.
(2.) He has a right to make use of His own creatures as it pleases Him. They are at His absolute disposal, but men forget what that means. It means they are at the disposal of One whose character is the reverse of that of man, He is One who is so just, that He cannot act unjustly by any of His creatures, so kind, that He cannot act by them unkindly, so wise that He cannot fall into any error in His dealings. No creature can be safer than to leave himself entirely in the hands of his God, doing His will.
(3.) In His sovereign disposal of men’s lot, He always acts from wise and just reasons.
(4). None have a right to claim a prominent position at His hands.
(5.) Grace always appears with sovereignty in God’s dealings with men in this world. We owe that to the essential character of God, whose “grace never faileth.”
NEW SINS AND NEW SORROWS
[See Remarks on ch. Jdg_3:12; Jdg_4:1, etc.; Jdg_6:1, etc.]
1. The human heart when left to itself is capable of going the whole round of sin. Here are seven different gods bowed to, and had there been other seven, or even seventy times seven, it would have made no difference in the result. Well might Jehovah say, “My people are bent to backsliding from Me.”
2. There is no possibility of serving Jehovah and other gods at the same time. Beginning with an attempt at the combination, they soon gave up even the semblance of worshipping Jehovah (Eze_20:39).
3. There is a fascination in worshipping false gods. The bias of the heart to that worship must have been strong, when such solemn arguments were used all along against it, but in vain. What was the magnetic force that drew them on?
(1) There was a charm in mere scenic representations. Visibility was given to one’s religion, and the senses were exercised rather than the mind. There was music and dancing, and even frivolity mixed up with their religion.
(2) In idolatry they had the power of making gods to their own minds, and they ascribed to them only such features of character as they wished them to possess.
(3) These gods permitted indulgence in all the evil propensities of the depraved heart—those “lusts and passions that war against the soul” (Numbers 25).
(4) The principle of imitation is strong. All other nations so worshipped. They did not like to be singular. These nations, too, were prosperous and rich.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain Jdg 10:6–Jdg 12:7
Jdg 10:6–Jdg 12:7
I. As is frequently the case, the chief interest and instructiveness of Jephthah’s career gather round that event in his life which, to himself and his contemporaries, might seem to mar its symmetry and destroy its usefulness. It is the great blunder of his life, his unfortunate vow, which unceasingly draws back men’s attention to him. Through all his nature he was moved in prospect of the approaching battle. It made him thoughtful, concentrated, grave. He felt more than usually thrown back upon God’s help and so, according to his light, he vowed a vow. As we have no distinct evidence regarding Jephthah’s state of mind in making his vow, it is the part of charity to believe that though he was incomprehensibly rash in the terms of his vow, yet he was justified in vowing to make some offering to God should He deliver the Ammonites into his hand.
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II. Supposing him to have been right in making the vow, was he right in keeping it? There is an obvious distinction between a promise made to God and a promise made to man. God can never wish a man to fulfil a contract which involves sin. By the very discovery of the sinfulness of a vow the maker of it is absolved from performing it. God shrinks much more than we can do from the perpetration of sin. Both parties fall from the agreement.
III. It has often been urged that Jephthah did not keep his vow, but compromised the matter by causing his daughter to take a vow of virginity, to become a nun, in fact. This seems to sacrifice the plain and obvious interpretation of the narrative. In Jdg 11:39 we are plainly informed that her father did with her according to the vow which he had vowed. Why did she ask for the one favour of two months to bewail her virginity if she was to have thirty or forty years with leisure for that purpose? And lastly, if the mere fact of her remaining unmarried fulfilled even that part of the vow which specified that she was to be the Lord’s, a stronger foundation need not be sought for the establishment of nunneries.
IV. We can scarcely help thinking that while the sacrifice itself was horrible, her spirit, the spirit of the sacrifice, was acceptable to God, and what she did through reverence and dutiful submission to her father, was accepted by Him.
M. Dods, Israel’s Iron Age, p. 91.
References: Jdg 10:16.—Parker, vol. vi., p. 167. 10-12:7—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 453. 10—J. Reid Howatt, The Churchette, p. 235. 10—Parker, vol. vi., p. 61. 10-12.—Parker, Pulpit Notes, p. 273. Jdg 11:7.—Parker, vol. vi., p. 167. Jdg 11:30, Jdg 11:31.—M. Nicholson, Communion with Heaven, p. 132. Jdg 11:34-36.—M. Dods, Israel’s Iron Age, p. 90. Jdg 11:35.—J. Keble, Sermons for the Christian Year: Lent to Passiontide, p. 328; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxiii., No. 1341. 11—Parker, vol. vi., p. 71. Jdg 12:6.—G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 269. 12—Parker, vol. vi., p. 85.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain The Ammonite Oppression
The Ammonite Oppression
1-5. The Minor Judges, Tola and Jair.
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1. Defend] RV 'save.' Tola] see on Gen_46:13; Num_26:23; 1Ch_7:1. Shamir] unknown. Issachar appears at this time to have had no territory' of its own.
3. Jair] see Num_32:41; Deu_3:14; 1Ki_4:13. Gilead is the country E. of the Jordan to which Jephthah also belongs, and which was specially open to attack.
4. Havoth-jair] i.e. tent-villages of Jair: cp. 1Ch_2:22.
5. Camon] unknown.
6-18. The Ammonite oppression. These vv. serve as an introduction to the story of Jephthah, and also, in part (Jdg_10:6-7), to those of Samson and Samuel. They repeat the lessons of Judges 2, and, like that passage, remind us throughout of the tone of Deuteronomy. The sequence of thought is the same; faithlessness, oppression, repentance, deliverance.
6. Baalim and Ashtaroth] see on Jdg_2:11-13.
7. The children of Ammon] see Gen_19:38, where they are said to be akin to the Hebrews. They claimed the land between the Arnon and the Jabbok, E. of Jordan, which the tribes of Reuben and Gad had partly possessed, and which includes a large part of Gilead (Jdg_10:8). The Amorites were the aboriginal inhabitants of this, as of the hill-country W. of the Jordan.
9. The Ammonite raids extended to the central strongholds of Palestine (cp. Jdg_12:1); but Judges 11 makes it clear that the brunt of their 'oppression' was felt in Gilead.
11. See Jdg_10:6. The two lists partially coincide. The Amorites] Perhaps a reference to Num_21:21. Ammon] So far no deliverance from these has been described.
12. We know nothing of a Zidonian oppression. Amalekites] see Jdg_3:13 and Jdg_6:3, Jdg_6:33, also Exo_17:8. Maonites] LXX has 'Midianites.' The Maonites lived S. of the Dead Sea: cp. 2Ch_20:1 RV, 2Ch_26:7.
17. Mizpeh] of Gilead, the scene of the compact between Jacob and Laban (Gen_31:49). The name means 'watch-tower.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain CHAPTER 10:1-5 Tola and Jair
CHAPTER 10:1-5 Tola and Jair
1. Tola judging twenty-three years (Jdg 10:1-2)
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2. Jair judging twenty-two years (Jdg 10:3-5)
These are but brief records but not without meaning. Tola means, translated, “a worm.” What a contrast with the proud, wicked, domineering Abimelech! Here is one, who takes the place in self-abasement. It reminds us of Him, whose voice we hear in the great Atonement Psalm “I am a worm and no man.” Tola, no doubt, typifies our Lord in His humiliation. When Abimelech’s awful rule is ended, He who was obedient unto death, the death of the cross, will come to reign in righteousness.
And this seems to be more fully brought to our attention in Jair, the judge, who followed Tola. His name means, “enlightener.” He is a type of our Lord in His coming as “the Sun of Righteousness.” The thirty sons, who rode on thirty ass-colts and had thirty cities, must mean the rule of that kingdom to come in which His sons, His co-heirs, will have a part, as Jair’s sons had authority over these cities.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Judgeship of Tola and Jair.
The Judgeship of Tola and Jair.
v. l. And after Abimelech there arose to defend, that is, to save, to deliver, Israel Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim, in its northern ranges.
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v. 2. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, his work consisting chiefly in deciding difficult cases and in opposing every tendency of the people toward idolatry, whereby he also saved them from oppression by hostile nations; and died, and was buried in Shamir.
v. 3. And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, a man whose home was in Gilead, on the east side of Jordan, and judged Israel twenty and two years.
v. 4. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair, the villages of Jair, from the original Jair, Deu 3:14, unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. The number of towns included in this designation was afterward increased to sixty.
v. 5. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon, evidently one of the thirty cities referred to above. Although both Tola and Jair waged no wars for Israel, their rule was beneficial nevertheless, for they kept the worship of Jehovah before the nation.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Tola ... Puah ... Dodo
Tola ... Puah ... Dodo
These are names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)
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Shamir
This is the name of a place. (See: How to Translate Names)
arose to deliver Israel
"came to deliver Israel" or "became the leader to deliver Israel"
deliver Israel
Here "Israel" represents the people of Israel. (See: Metonymy)
He judged Israel
Here "judged" means he led the people of Israel.
twenty-three years
"23 years" (See: Numbers)
was buried
This can be stated in active form. AT: "they buried him" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Abimelech
Issachar
Ephraim
raise
deliver
Israel
judge
year
die
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.