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Judges

Chapter 10

Tola and more

Judges 10 briefly names Tola and Jair as quiet judges whose years bring stability, then returns to Israel's deeper pattern of revolt. The people abandon the LORD for a crowd of foreign gods, suffer under Philistine and Ammonite pressure, and cry out again, but this time the chapter lingers over God's rebuke before ending with Israel gathered for war and still waiting for a leader.

After Abimelech's violent collapse in Judges 9, this chapter steadies the book for a moment and then reopens its recurring cycle of apostasy, oppression, and appeal. It prepares for Jephthah by turning from brief notices of lesser judges to a crisis in Gilead that has not yet found its deliverer.

3 sections·392 words·~2 min read

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Judges 10

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vv. 1-2

Tola

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A1fter the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. 2Tola judged Israel twenty-three years, and when he died, he was buried in Shamir.

vv. 3-5

Jair

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T3ola was followed by Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. 4He 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. 5When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

vv. 6-18

Oppression by the Philistines and Ammonites

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A6nd again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him. 7So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites, 8who that very year harassed and oppressed the Israelites, and they did so for eighteen years to all the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. 9The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was in deep distress. 10Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, for we have indeed forsaken our God and served the Baals.”

11The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, 12Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you and you cried out to Me, did I not save you from their hands? 13But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. 14Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.” 15“We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!” 16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.

17Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. 18And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”

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  1. 01vv. 1-2TolaTola rises after Abimelech to save Israel and judges for twenty-three years from Shamir in Ephraim. The notice is brief and quiet, marking a stretch of settled leadership without enlarging the story.
  2. 02vv. 3-5JairJair follows Tola and judges Israel for twenty-two years in Gilead. His many sons, donkeys, and towns suggest an established household and local reach before the notice ends, as Tola's did, with his death and burial.
  3. 03vv. 6-18Oppression by the Philistines and AmmonitesIsrael again abandons the LORD, this time for many surrounding gods, and falls under long oppression from the Philistines and Ammonites. When the people cry out, God answers with rebuke instead of immediate rescue; only after they put away their gods does the chapter move toward battle, with Gilead still searching for someone to lead.
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