Bible Strands
Judges 10:4
He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jair the Gileadite concludes his twenty-two-year judgeship over Israel, detailing his family's wealth and territorial holdings before his death.
The words — שָׁלֹשִׁים (sheloshim) means "thirty," appearing three times to emphasize scale, while רֹכְבִים (rokhevim) literally denotes "who rode" or "mounted."
The thread — The naming of Havvoth-jair connects to Numbers 32:41 and Deuteronomy 3:14, where Jair captures and names villages in Gilead and Argob. The motif of riding donkeys echoes the imagery in Judges 5:10.
Why it lands — The text records Jair's material prosperity and administrative legacy without commentary, requiring the reader to weigh his wealth against the subsequent cycle of Israelite apostasy in Judges 10:6.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth–jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
Cross-references
- Numbers 32:41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair.
- Deuteronomy 3:14 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day.
- Judges 5:10 You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder
- Judges 12:14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.