Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon Rule Israel
Judges 12:8-15
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Jud.12.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישפט: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אחריו: PREP,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבצן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Judg.12.7 (structural): Immediate parallel in the same chapter: uses the same judge-report formula ('and Jephthah judged Israel…'), part of the sequential listings of judges.
- Judg.12.10 (structural): Same chapter and narrative pattern: 'And after him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel…' — another entry in the concluding catalogue of judges with tribal/local designation.
- Judg.3.11 (verbal): Earlier example of the stereotyped judicial formula ('and Othniel judged Israel…'), illustrating the recurring narrative structure reporting each judge's rule.
- 1 Sam.17.12 (thematic): Identifies David as 'of Bethlehem' — thematically related by noting Bethlehem as the hometown of notable Israelite leaders (Ibzan here, later David), highlighting Bethlehem's leadership significance.
Alternative generated candidates
- And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
- After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
Jud.12.9 - 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
- ושלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- בנות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- החוצה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ושלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- בנות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- הביא: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- לבניו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- מן: PREP
- החוץ: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וישפט: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שבע: NUM,card
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Judges 10:3 (verbal): Jair is said to have thirty sons (and thirty towns/ass- colts) — a close verbal and numeric parallel in which a judge’s thirty sons are singled out.
- Judges 8:30 (verbal): Gideon is recorded as having seventy sons by his many wives; another instance where a judge’s large progeny and polygynous household are explicitly noted.
- 1 Kings 11:1-3 (thematic): Solomon’s numerous foreign wives and marriages for alliance purposes echo the theme of marrying/bringing in daughters from abroad for political or familial arrangements.
- Ezra 10:2-3 (thematic): The community’s response to intermarriage (putting away foreign wives) parallels the social and religious implications of sending away/brokering marriages with foreign women mentioned in Judges 12:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- He had thirty sons and thirty daughters; he sent away the thirty daughters and brought in thirty daughters for his sons from abroad. He judged Israel seven years.
- He had thirty sons and thirty daughters; he sent them away, and he brought in thirty daughters for his sons from abroad. He judged Israel seven years.
Jud.12.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וימת: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אבצן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויקבר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Judges 8:32 (verbal): Short obituary formula—'and he died and was buried in…'—used for another judge (Gideon buried in Ophrah).
- Judges 12:14 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same chapter: Abdon's death and burial in Pirathon follows the same concise biographical formula as Ibzan's burial in Bethlehem.
- Judges 16:31 (thematic): Death and burial of another major judge (Samson), showing the common motif of noting a judge's death and place of burial.
- Genesis 35:19 (thematic): Rachel's death and burial 'on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)'—connects the motif of burial associated with Bethlehem/its vicinity.
- 1 Kings 2:10 (verbal): Royal obituary formula ('David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David') parallels the succinct death-and-burial notices found in Judges.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
- Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Jud.12.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישפט: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אחריו: PREP,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אילון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הזבולני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- וישפט: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עשר: NUM,card,m,sg,cons
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Judg 10:1-2 (verbal): Tola, a man of Issachar, 'judged Israel twenty and three years'—same succinct judicial-summary formula ('and he judged Israel ... years') and identification by tribe/people.
- Judg 12:8-10 (structural): Abdon son of Hillel is recorded immediately before/after Elon in the chapter's list of minor judges; the passage follows the same structural pattern of naming a judge, tribal/ancestral identification, and years of judging.
- Judg 3:11 (verbal): After Ehud's deliverance the narrative states a period of rest and judicial rule ('and the land had rest forty years'); parallels the genre's summary statements about a judge's tenure and the nation's rest under him.
- Judg 10:3-4 (thematic): Jair is introduced and said to have 'judged Israel twenty and two years'—another example of judges named with a stated length of rule, illustrating the recurring theme of sequential, time‑bounded judgeship entries.
Alternative generated candidates
- And after him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; he judged Israel ten years.
- After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel ten years.
Jud.12.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וימת: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הזבולני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ויקבר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- באילון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- זבולן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Judg.12:11 (structural): Immediate context: the preceding verse introduces Elon as the Zebulunite judge—part of the same judges-list formula.
- Judg.12:13-15 (structural): Parallel phrasing for the next judge (Abdon): death and burial notice follows the same formula used for Elon.
- Gen.46:14 (verbal): Elon appears in the patriarchal genealogy as a son of Zebulun—verbal/onomastic link identifying Elon with the tribe of Zebulun.
- Josh.10:12-13 (allusion): Mentions the valley of Aijalon (Ajalon). The place-name Aijalon/Ajalon in Judges 12:12 echoes this geographic tradition.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
- Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
Jud.12.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישפט: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אחריו: PREP,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדון: NOUN,m,sg,abs,prop
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הלל: NOUN,m,sg,abs,prop
- הפרעתוני: ADJ,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Judges 12:14-15 (structural): Immediate continuation and close parallel material: the same episode (Abdon) expanded—lists his many sons and grandsons and notes his death and burial, completing the short judge-formula that begins in 12:13.
- Judges 12:11 (verbal): Another entry in the judges' succession formula in the same chapter: like 12:13, it announces a named judge who ‘judged Israel,’ showing the book’s recurring formulaic summary of minor judges (Elon/others).
- Judges 4:4 (verbal): Uses the same verb and role-language of leadership—‘Deborah ... judged Israel’—illustrating the common biblical formula for describing Israel’s leaders/judges.
- 1 Samuel 7:15 (thematic): Samuel’s role described with the same judicial/leadership language (‘Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life’), providing a longitudinal parallel for the institution of judging and leadership in Israelite tradition.
Alternative generated candidates
- And after him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
- After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
Jud.12.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ארבעים: NUM,m,pl
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ושלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- רכבים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- שבעים: NUM,card,m,pl
- עירם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- וישפט: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמנה: NUM,card,f,pl,abs
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Judg 10:3 (verbal): Jair is said to have 'thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts'—a near-verbatim motif of numbered sons and riding animals that parallels Abdon’s forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy ass colts.
- Judg 12:8–9 (verbal): Ibzan is described as having 'thirty sons and thirty daughters'—another entry in the judges' summaries that uses counts of offspring to signal clan size and social standing, paralleling Abdon’s large household.
- Judg 8:30–31 (thematic): Gideon (Jerubbaal) 'begot seventy sons'—a thematic parallel of judges with numerous sons (and wives), reflecting familial/political power and the recurring motif of many offspring in the social context of the judges.
Alternative generated candidates
- He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys; and he judged Israel eight years.
- He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; he judged Israel eight years.
Jud.12.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וימת: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עבדון: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הלל: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הפרעתוני: NOUN,prop,m,sg,def
- ויקבר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בפרעתון: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- אפרים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בהר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- העמלקי: NOUN,prop,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Judges 8:32 (verbal): Gideon’s death and burial are reported with the same concise formula (“And Gideon died, and was buried…”) and specify burial in his own town, paralleling Abdon’s notice.
- Judges 16:31 (structural): Samson’s death/burial follows the same biographical formula—death and burial in a local place between two towns—showing a common structural ending for judge biographies.
- Joshua 24:30 (thematic): Joshua’s death and burial in the land’s allotted territory parallels the theme of leaders’ deaths tied to particular locations within Israel’s tribal lands.
- 1 Kings 2:10 (structural): David’s death-and-burial formula (“And David slept with his fathers, and was buried…”) exemplifies the standard royal/leader obituary structure echoed in Judges’ burial notices like Abdon’s.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, on the hill of the Amalekite.
- Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekite.
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sent them away and brought in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. He judged Israel seven years.
Ibzan died, and he was buried at Bethlehem.
After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; he judged Israel ten years.
Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel eight years.
Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and he was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekite.