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.
To defend Israel - To save, deliver, and protect Israel ; 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.
there arose - Not of himself, but raised by God, as the other judges were. The term “there arose,” also marks Tola as one of the Judges, properly so called, raised by divine providence.
Tola the son of Puah - Both names of heads of houses in the tribe of Issachar 1Ch_7:1; Gen_46:13. 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.
Tola the son of Puah - 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, 1Ch_7.
he dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim - 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 . 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.
Jdg 10:2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
Jdg 10:3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.
Jair, a Gileadite - Who was of the half tribe of Manasseh, on the other side Jordan, which inhabited the land of Gilead, and who is the first of the judges that was on that side Jordan; it pleased God, before the government was settled in a particular tribe, to remove it from one to another, and to honour them all, and to show that though the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, were separated from their brethren by the river Jordan, they were not neglected by the Lord; and generally speaking judges were raised up in all those parts which were most oppressed, and liable to be oppressed by their enemies, as Gilead by the Ammonites; wherefore this, and the next judge that followed him, Jephthah, were of Gilead:
Jair the Gileadite - Nothing further is related of him than that he had thirty sons who rode upon thirty asses, which was a sign of distinguished rank in those times when the Israelites had no horses. They had thirty cities. These cities they were accustomed to call Havvoth-jair unto this day (the time when our book was written), in the land of Gilead . This statement is not at variance with the fact, that in the time of Moses the Manassite Jair gave the name of Havvoth-jair to the towns of Bashan which had been conquered by him (Num_32:41; Deu_3:14); for it is not affirmed here, that the thirty cities which belonged to the sons of Jair received this name for the first time from the judge Jair, but simply that this name was brought into use again by the sons of Jair, and was applied to these cities in a peculiar sense.
Jair, a Gileadite--This judge was a different person from the conqueror of that northeastern territory, and founder of Havoth-jair, or "Jair's villages" (Num_32:41; Deu_3:14; Jos_13:3; 1Ch_2:22).
Jdg 10:4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
He had thirty sons - It appears that there was both peace and prosperity during the time that Jair governed Israel ; he had, it seems, provided for his family, and given a village to each of his thirty sons; which were, in consequence, called Havoth Jair or the villages of Jair. Their riding on thirty ass colts seems to intimate that they were persons of consideration, and kept up a certain dignity in their different departments.
they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day - These villages were called so before this time from another Jair, but the old name was revived and confirmed upon this occasion. There were some of this name that belonged to Jair, a son of Manasseh, in the times of Moses, Num_32:41 and these may be the same, at least some of them; for they were but twenty three he had, whereas these were thirty, 1Ch_2:22 and these coming by inheritance to this Jair, a descendant of the former, and he being of the same name, and these cities perhaps repaired and enlarged by him, the name of them was continued and established, for it is not reasonable to suppose that this is the same Jair that lived in the times of Moses, who, if so, must have lived more than three hundred years, an age men did not live to in those times.
Jdg 10:5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
Jdg 10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.
The gods of Syria - Or “ Aram .” In the times of the Judges the various tribes of Aramites, or Syrians, were not compacted into one state, nor were they until after the time of Solomon. The national gods of these various Aramean tribes were probably the same; and their worship would be likely to be introduced into the trans-Jordanic tribes. It has been remarked that the Hebrew words for “to divine,” “to practice magic,” “idolatrous priests,” and other like words, are of Syrian origin. The Syriac ritual proved very attractive to king Ahaz 2Ki_16:10-12 And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria at Damascus. And he saw an altar at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar, and the form of it, according to all its work. And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest did until King Ahaz came in from Damascus. And the king came in from Damascus, and the king saw the altar. And the king approached to the altar and offered on it.
the gods of Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistines - 1Ki_11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites;
1Ki_11:7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill which is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the sons of Ammon.
1Ki_11:33 because they have forsaken Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the goddess of the sons of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways, to do what is right in My eyes, and to keep My statutes and My judgments, as David his father did.
1Sa_5:2-5 And the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it beside Dagon. And when those of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him. And neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord - They became universal idolaters, adopting every god of the surrounding nations.
the gods of Moab - the chief of which were Baalpeor and Chemosh, Num_25:3 And Israel joined himself to Baal-peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
the gods of the children of Ammon - as Milcom or Molech, 1Ki_11:5. The Ammonites are mentioned after the Philistines, not because they did not oppress the Israelites till afterwards, but for purely formal reasons, viz., because the historian was about to describe the oppression of the Ammonites first.
the gods of the Philistines - as Dagon the god of Ashdod , Beelzebub the god of Ekron, Marnas the god of Gaza , and Derceto the goddess of Ashkalon:
forsook the Lord, and served not him - not even in conjunction with the above deities; at other times, when they worshipped other gods, they pretended to worship the Lord also, they served the creature besides the Creator; but now they were so dreadfully sunk into idolatry, that they had wholly forsaken the Lord and his worship at the tabernacle, and made no pretensions to it, but entirely neglected it. This apostasy seems to have exceeded every former one in the grossness and universality of the idolatry practised.
The third stage in the period of the judges, which extended from the death of Jair to the rise of Samuel as a prophet, was a time of deep humiliation for Israel, since the Lord gave up His people into the hands of two hostile nations at the same time, on account of their repeated return to idolatry; so that the Ammonites invaded the land from the east, and oppressed the Israelites severely for eighteen years, especially the tribes to the east of the Jordan; whilst the Philistines came from the west, and extended their dominion over the tribes on this side, and brought them more and more firmly under their yoke. It is true that Jephthah delivered his people from the oppression of the Ammonites, in the power of the Spirit of Jehovah, having first of all secured the help of God through a vow, and not only smote the Ammonites, but completely subdued them before the Israelites. But the Philistine oppression lasted forty years; for although Samson inflicted heavy blows upon the Philistines again and again, and made them feel the superior power of the God of Israel, he was nevertheless not in condition to destroy their power and rule over Israel . This was left for Samuel to accomplish, after he had converted the people to the Lord their God.
In the account of the renewed apostasy of the Israelites from the Lord contained in Jdg_10:6, seven heathen deities are mentioned as being served by the Israelites. If we compare the list of these seven deities with Jdg_10:11 and Jdg_10:12, where we find seven nations mentioned out of whose hands Jehovah had delivered Israel, the correspondence between the number seven in these two cases and the significant use of the number are unmistakable. Israel had balanced the number of divine deliverances by a similar number of idols which it served, so that the measure of the nation's iniquity was filled up in the same proportion as the measure of the delivering grace of God. The number seven is employed in the Scriptures as the stamp of the works of God, or of the perfection created, or to be created, by God on the one hand, and of the actions of men in their relation to God on the other. The foundation for this was the creation of the world in seven days.
Jdg 10:7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.
The anger of the Lord was hot - This Divine displeasure was manifested in delivering them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites. The former dwelt on the western side of Jordan ; the latter, on the eastern: and it appears that they joined their forces on this occasion to distress and ruin the Israelites, though the Ammonites were the most active.
and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines - that is, delivered them into their hands, and they became subject and were in bondage to them, as such are that are sold for "slaves".
Jdg 10:8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
That year they troubled - The Philistines on one side, and the children of Ammon on the other; meaning either that year in which Jair died; or the first year they began to bring them into bondage: "and from that year" they vexed and distressed them, they continued to vex and distress them
Jdg 10:9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
the children of Ammon passed over Jordan - Not content with the oppression of the tribes on the other side Jordan, which had continued eighteen years, they came over Jordan into the land of Canaan to ravage that, and bring other of the tribes into subjection to them, particularly the three next mentioned, who lay to the south and the southeast of the land of Canaan, and were the first the Ammonites had to fight with and subdue, when they had crossed Jordan to the east of it:
Israel was sore distressed - by the Ammonites in the east, threatening those three tribes, mentioned, and the Philistines on the west, who gave disturbance to the tribes that lay nearest them, as Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, Issachar, and Dan; and this distress was begun the same year in different parts, by different enemies.
Jdg 10:10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord - In this their distress, seeing nothing but ruin and destruction before their eyes, their land being invaded by such powerful enemies in different quarters; this opened their eyes to a sense of their sins, the cause of it, and brought them to a confession of them:
we have sinned against thee – they had been guilty not only of sins of omission, neglecting the pure of God, but also of sins of commission, even gross idolatry, in serving Baalim, and other gods, before mentioned.
We have sinned against thee--The first step of repentance is confession of sin, and the best proof of its sincerity is given by the transgressor, when he mourns not only over the painful consequences which have resulted from his offenses to himself, but over the heinous evil committed against God.
Jdg 10:11 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
And the Lord said - By what means these reproofs were conveyed to the Israelites, we know not: it must have been by an angel, a prophet, or some holy man inspired for the occasion.
Did I not deliver you - The Israelites were delivered from the “Egyptians” at the Exodus; from the “Amorites” in the victories over Sihon, and Og, and the five kings of the Amorites Jos_10:5; from the “children of Ammon” by Ehud; and from the “Philistines,” by the hand of Shamgar.
from the Egyptians - by bringing them out of subjection and bondage to them, and by delivering them out of their hands at the Red sea :
from the Amorites - the kings of Sihon and Og, whose countries were taken from them, and put into their hands, when they attempted to stop them in their march to the land of Canaan :
from the children of Ammon - when they joined with the Moabites against them, Jdg_3:13.
from the Philistines - in the times of Shamgar, Jdg_3:31.
Jdg 10:12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
The Zidonians - Who were left in the land to distress them, though there is no particular mention of them, and of the distress they gave them, and of their deliverance from it. An allusion to the time of Barak, when the Zidonians doubtless formed part of the great confederacy of Canaanites under Jabin king of Hazor. See Jos_11:8.
The Amalekites - both quickly after they came out of Egypt , Exo_17:13 and when they were come into the land of Canaan , joining the Moabites and the Midianites against them, Jdg_3:13 in the time of Gideon.
The Maonites - Probably one of the tribes of the “children of the East,” who came with the Midianites and Amalekites in the time of Gideon, and may have been conspicuous for their hostility to Israel , and for the greatness of their discomfiture, though the record has not been preserved. The name is “Mehununs” in 2Ch_26:7.
and the Maonites - meaning either the old inhabitants of Maon, a city in the mountains in the south of Judah, near to which was a wilderness of this name, Jos_15:55 1Sa_23:25, 1Sa_25:2 or rather a people of Arabia, called Minaeans, the same with Mehunim, mentioned with the Arabians, 2Ch_26:7 and who perhaps came along with the Midianites, when they oppressed Israel; though some have thought of the old inhabitants of Bethmeon and Baalmeon, Num_32:38.
Jdg 10:13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
wherefore I will deliver you no more - which is not to be understood absolutely, since after this he did deliver them, but conditionally, unless they repented of their idolatries, and forsook them. This is said to bring them to a sense of their sin and danger. Since they had been so remarkably saved, time after time, and delivered from so many powerful enemies, which was dreadful ingratitude:
Jdg 10:14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen - Therefore the Lord would not save them any more. They might get help from the gods whom they had chosen for themselves. The Israelites should now experience what Moses had foretold in his song Deu_32:37-38 And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let it be your hiding place. This divine threat had its proper effect. The Israelites confessed their sins, submitted thoroughly to the chastisement of God, and simply prayed for salvation;
The change in the purpose of God does not imply any changeableness in the divine nature; it simply concerns the attitude of God towards His people, or the manifestation of the divine love to man. In order to bend the sinner at all, the love of God must withdraw its helping hand and make men feel the consequences of their sin and rebelliousness, that they may forsake their evil ways and turn to the Lord their God. When this end has been attained, the same divine love manifests itself as pitying and helping grace. Punishments and benefits flow from the love of God, and have for their object the happiness and well-being of men. Hebrews 12:4-11
4 You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons, "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked by Him;
6 for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives."
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the father does not chasten?
8 But if you are without chastisement, of which all are partakers, then you are bastards and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us , and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For truly they chastened us for a few days according to their own pleasure, but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.
11 Now chastening for the present does not seem to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are exercised by it.
Jdg 10:15 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
We have sinned - The reprehension of this people was kind, pointed, and solemn; and their repentance deep. And they gave proofs that their repentance was genuine, by putting away all their idols: but they were ever fickle and uncertain.
do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee - inflict what punishment he would upon them, as famine or pestilence, they could not but own it would be just and righteous, and what their sins deserved:
deliver us only, we pray thee, this day - out of the hands of men; they chose rather to fall into the hands of God; and however he thought fit to deal with them, they entreated that this once he would save them out of the hands of their enemies.
Jdg 10:16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel - He acted towards them, like one that felt their sufferings; he had pity upon them, quite changed his carriage towards them, and punished their enemies as sorely as if they had grieved and injured his own person. What a proof of the philanthropy of God! Here his compassions moved on a small scale; but it was the same principle that led him to give his Son Jesus Christ to be a sacrifice for the sins of the Whole world. God grieves for the miseries to which his creatures are reduced by their own sins. Be astonished, ye heavens, at this; and shout for joy, all ye inhabitants of the earth! for, through the love whence this compassion flowed, God has visited and redeemed a lost world!
and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel - Not that there is any grief in God; he has infinite joy and happiness in himself, which cannot be broken in upon by either the sins or the miseries of his creatures. Not that there is any change in God; for he is of one mind, and who can turn him? But his goodness is his glory; by it he proclaims his name, and magnifies it; and as he is pleased to put himself into the relation of a father to his people, so he is pleased to represent his goodness to them by the compassion of a father to his children; for as he is the Father of lights, so is he the Father of mercies.
Jdg 10:17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.
The historian, having related the preliminary incidents, now comes to the final issue which forms the subject matter of his narrative. On a certain occasion, as on many previous ones, the Ammonites were encamped in Gilead, with the intention of dispossessing the Israelites of the whole country, or at least as far as the river Jabbok Jdg_11:13, and of invading the West-Jordanic tribes. The children of Israel on the East of Jordan assembled together to resist them, and pitched their camp in Mizpeh. The narrative proceeds to detail what happened.
Mizpeh - as its name, “watch-tower” or “look-out” indicates was situated on a height of Mount Gilead , and was, as such, a strong post. Four or five places of the name occur in Scripture. There were several cities in the land of Israel , on both sides Jordan with this name; this must design a place on the other side Jordan, either in the tribe of Gad or Manasseh, for it seems there was of this name in each, Gen_31:49. This Mizpeh may have been in eastern Manasseh (Jos_11:3).
The children of Ammon were gathered together - Literally, they cried against Israel - they sent out criers in different directions to stir up all the enemies of Israel ; and when they had made a mighty collection, they encamped in Gilead . They had passed over Jordan, as in Jdg_10:9 and had been distressing three of the tribes of Israel on that side; but now being informed, by an herald at arms, that the children of Israel, on the other side Jordan, were risen up in defence of their country, rights, and liberties, the children of Ammon came back and crossed over Jordan again:
the children of Ammon were gathered together--From carrying on guerrilla warfare, the Ammonites proceeded to a continued campaign. Their settled aim was to wrest the whole of the trans-jordanic territory from its actual occupiers. In this great crisis, a general meeting of the Israelitish tribes was held at Mizpeh.
Jdg 10:18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
And the people and princes - The inhabitants of Gilead appear as a separate and independent community, electing their own chief, without any reference to the West-Jordanic tribes.
What man is he that will begin to fight - It appears that, although the spirit of patriotism had excited the people at large to come forward against their enemies, yet they had no general, none to lead them forth to battle. God, however, who had accepted their sincere repentance, raised them up an able captain in the person of Jephthah. In those ancient times much depended on the onset; a war was generally terminated in one battle, the first impression was therefore of great consequence, and it required a person skillful, valorous, and strong, to head the attack. Jephthah was a person in whom all these qualifications appear to have met. When God purposes to deliver, he, in the course of his providence, will find out, employ, and direct the proper means.
