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Judges 10

KJV · Chapter 10/21

1And 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.

2And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

3And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.

4And 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.

5And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

6And 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.

7And 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.

8And 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.

9Moreover 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.

10And 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.

11And 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?

12The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.

13Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.

14Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

15And 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.

16And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

17Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.

18And 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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

After the minor judges Tola and Jair, Israel again serves foreign gods and is oppressed by the Ammonites. The people cry out to God, who initially responds with harshness, but has compassion when they truly repent.

Explanation

God's initial response to Israel's cry is surprisingly blunt: 'go and cry out to the gods you have chosen' (v.14), a way of confronting the people with the futility of serving idols that cannot save. This confrontation is not a final rejection, but a call to genuine repentance, which proves real when the people actually remove the foreign gods from among them, not merely speak words of repentance. The closing statement, that God's 'soul was grieved for the misery of Israel' (v.16), uses intense emotional language to describe divine compassion, showing that even God's discipline is born of deep love, not indifference.

Fun facts

  • Jair had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and possessed thirty towns called 'Havvoth-jair' — a sign of considerable prosperity and social status for the time.
  • The list of foreign gods served by Israel in this chapter (the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and the Philistines) shows how spiritually eclectic the nation had become, absorbing influences from every neighboring people.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Judges 10:1After Abimelech, Tola, of the tribe of Issachar, rises up to save Israel; he lives in Shamir, in the mountains of Ephraim.
  2. Judges 10:2Tola judges Israel for twenty-three years, dies, and is buried in Shamir. The text moves past him quickly, without recounting any great battle.
  3. Judges 10:3After Tola, Jair the Gileadite rises up and judges Israel for twenty-two years.
  4. Judges 10:4Jair has thirty sons who ride on thirty donkeys and own thirty cities, called Havoth-jair right up to the time the book was written, a sign of a large and influential family.
  5. Judges 10:5Jair judged Israel for 22 years and had thirty sons, each with his own city in Gilead, a mark of wealth and power in the time of the judges.
  6. Judges 10:6Israel again does what is evil in the sight of the Lord, now serving an even longer list of foreign gods: the Baalim, Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, of Zidon, of Moab, of Ammon, and of the Philistines.
  7. Judges 10:7The Lord’s anger burns against Israel, and He sells them into the hand of the Philistines and of the Ammonites, widening the oppression to two fronts at once.
  8. Judges 10:8That same year, an eighteen-year oppression begins over the Israelites living on the other side of the Jordan, in the land of the Amorites, in Gilead.
  9. Judges 10:9The Ammonites even cross the Jordan to attack Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim as well, leaving all Israel in great distress.
  10. Judges 10:10Israel cries out to the Lord, admitting its own sin of forsaking God to serve the Baalim.
  11. Judges 10:11God answers by reminding them that He has already delivered Israel before, from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines.
  12. Judges 10:12God continues the list, reminding them that He also delivered the people from the Zidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites when they cried out before.
  13. Judges 10:13Despite so many deliverances, the people always go back to abandoning God for other gods, and so He warns that this time He will not deliver them anymore.
  14. Judges 10:14God answers the people’s cry by telling them, with a certain irony, to go and cry out for help to the gods they chose to serve. It is a hard way of exposing the inconsistency of turning to Him only when the other gods fail.
  15. Judges 10:15Even so, Israel keeps pleading, admitting their sin and asking God to do with them whatever He pleases, as long as He delivers them now, in this moment of distress.
  16. Judges 10:16After the people rid themselves of the foreign gods, the text describes God as grieved over Israel’s suffering, one of the few times in the Bible where the narrative shows this kind of stirring even before deliverance is granted.
  17. Judges 10:17The Ammonites gather together and camp in Gilead, while the Israelites gather together and camp in Mizpeh, preparing for the confrontation.
  18. Judges 10:18The leaders of Gilead ask one another who will lead the attack against the Ammonites, promising that whoever does will become head over all the inhabitants of the region. It is this question that opens the way for Jephthah in the next chapter.

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