Jair of Gilead Judges Israel
Judges 10:3-5
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Jud.10.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקם: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אחריו: PREP,3,m,sg
- יאיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הגלעדי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- וישפט: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עשרים: NUM,card,pl
- ושתים: CONJ+NUM,card,2,f
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Judges 10:1-2 (structural): Immediate context: lists the preceding judge Tola and continues the sequence of short notices introducing judges (same cataloguing section of the Book of Judges).
- Judges 3:9-11 (verbal): Formulaic parallel: introduces Othniel and uses the same pattern of judgment and a stated number of years ('and he judged Israel... years').
- Judges 12:7 (verbal): Jephthah is introduced with the identical judicial formula and a specified term of rule ('and Jephthah judged Israel six years'), showing the recurring literary formula for judges' tenure.
- Judges 2:16 (thematic): Broader theme: God 'raised up judges' to deliver Israel—provides theological rationale for the appearance of individual judges like Jair in the narrative.
Alternative generated candidates
- After him arose Jair the Gileadite, and he judged Israel twenty-two years.
- After him arose Jair the Gileadite, and he judged Israel twenty-two years.
Jud.10.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- שלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- רכבים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- שלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- עירים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ושלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- עירים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- יקראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- חות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יאיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- הגלעד: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Numbers 32:41 (verbal): Mentions Jair (son of Manasseh) who took towns and named them Havoth‑Jair — same place-name and eponymous figure, suggesting a shared tradition about towns called Havoth‑Jair in Gilead/Bashan.
- Deuteronomy 3:14 (verbal): Refers to the towns called Havoth‑Jair taken by Jair in the region of Bashan/Gilead — repeats the place-name and links it to an ancestral Jair, paralleling Judges' Havoth‑Jair.
- 1 Chronicles 2:21–23 (structural): Genealogical account naming Jair (descendant in the Hezron/Machir line) as holding towns in Gilead (here numbered as twenty‑three), paralleling Judges' tradition of Jair and his holdings and showing variant local traditions about Jair's territory and number of towns.
- Judges 10:3 (structural): Immediate literary context in Judges: verse 3 introduces Jair the Gileadite; verse 4 (the given verse) expands the account — together they form a single tradition about Jair, his sons, and Havoth‑Jair.
Alternative generated candidates
- He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkey colts, and they had thirty towns—these are called Havvoth‑Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
- He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty settlements; they called them Havoth Jair to this day in the land of Gilead.
Jud.10.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וימת: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יאיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויקבר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בקמון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Judg.10.3 (structural): Same character (Jair the Gileadite); 10:3 records his judgeship (22 years) and 10:5 gives the notice of his death and burial, forming a connected biographical unit.
- Judg.12:14 (thematic): Speaks of 'Havoth Jair' and Jair's thirty sons/30 cities in Gilead — relates to Jair's family, legacy, and territorial association with the region where he is said to be buried (Kamon).
- Deut.3.14 (allusion): Mentions a Jair associated with the Gilead/Argob region and towns called Havoth Jair; parallels the association of the name Jair with territorial holdings in Transjordan, providing a broader geographical and onomastic parallel.
- Judg.10.2 (verbal): Employs the same recurring Judges formula 'and he died and was buried in...' (here of Tola in Shamir), paralleling the brief burial notice style used for Jair in 10:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
- Jair died and was buried at Kamon.
After him arose Jair the Gileadite, and he judged Israel twenty-two years.
He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; and they had thirty towns, which are called Havvoth Jair to this day in the land of Gilead.
Then Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.