10:1 Tola son of Puah One of the so-called minor judges—judges about whom the biblical text gives little information. Nothing is known of Tola’s career apart from what is included here.

Judges and Their Rule Table

a man of Issachar See Gen 46:13; Num 26:23.

Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim Tola The location of Shamir is uncertain, but the hill country of Ephraim includes the general vicinity of Shechem, where Abimelech caused so much chaos (ch. 9).

10:3 After him Jair the Gileadite rose up The description here is the extent of what is known about this judge.

Judges and Their Rule Table

Gileadite A hilly territory and border territory occupied by the tribes of Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben (Num 32). This suggests Jair and his sons came to the aid of multiple tribes. There was also a clan called Gilead, to which Jair may have belonged (Num 26:28–33).

10:4 thirty sons who would ride on thirty donkeys A cultural mark of prestige and wealth.

they called Havvoth Jair until this day Jair’s time as judge is connected in some way to the conquest of Havvoth-jair (“the tent villages of Jair”) described in Num 32:39–42 and Deut 3:14. The Jair in these other passages may be the same as that in the present passage, but it may also suggest a family name.

10:5 Kamon The location is uncertain.

10:6 again, the Israelites did evil The wording of the verse situates the narrative in the cycle that repeats throughout the book (see note on 2:11–15).

the Ashtaroth See 2:11 and note; and 2:13 and note. Israel is worshiping Canaanite deities (v. 12) like Baal and Astarte.

the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines The list of gods from Aram (Syria), Phoenicia (Sidon), Moab, and Ammon after “the Baals and Ashtaroth” likely indicates similarity in their worship.

10:7 into the hand of the Philistines and the Ammonites The Philistines occupied the coastal region of Canaan (Josh 13:3; 15:45–46), whereas Ammon was in the Transjordan. Jephthah, from Gilead, is in proximity to the Ammonite oppression (see note on Judg 10:3). After the Jephthah cycle ends in ch. 12, the narrative switches to the judge who takes on the Philistine oppressors: Samson.

Judges and Their Rule Table

10:8 the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead The ot elsewhere associates the Amorites with the region of Gilead in the Transjordan. This was the region of Sihon and Og, the two giant Rephaim kings whom the Israelites defeated in Moses’ day (Num 32:39; Deut 2:10–11; 3:1–13; Josh 12:2).

10:9 against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim While the Israelites suffered under Ammonite oppression primarily in the Transjordan region of Gilead, tribes in Canaan proper also felt the wrath of Ammon.

10:10 ; we have abandoned our God The wording of the verse situates the narrative in the cycle that repeats throughout the book (see Judg 10:6 and note).

10:11 Yahweh said How or through whom Yahweh communicates these oracles is unclear.

from the Egyptians See Exod 7–12 (i.e., the plagues on Egypt and the exodus).

from the Egyptians, the Amorites The Rephaim kings of Sihon and Og (see Num 21; Deut 2–3).

from the Ammonites See Judg 3:13.

from the Philistines See 3:31.

Philistines

10:12 And when the Sidonians Neither the Pentateuch nor the book of Judges records any specific prior conflict with the Sidonians. On the Amalekite deliverance, see 3:13; 6:3.

the Maonites “Maonites” is likely a scribal error for “Midianites,” which is preserved in the Greek Septuagint text of Judges (see ch. 6). However, Maon is the name of a people in the region who would trouble Judah at a later date (see 1 Chr 4:41; 2 Chr 20:1; 26:7).

10:15 do to us accordingly as you see fit The people reply by essentially saying, “God’s will be done—but deliver us at any rate.” While this may seem illogical or even shallow, it indicates the people’s desperation; they desire deliverance from their enemies no matter the cost.

10:16 So they removed the foreign gods Israel had acknowledged that worshiping idols was sinful (Judg 10:10), but they apparently had not fully demonstrated their sincerity and repentance, as they do here.

he could no longer bear the misery of Israel Meaning Yahweh is now willing to deliver the Israelites since they fully turned from their idolatry (v. 13).

10:17 And the Ammonites were summoned A bad situation gets worse, as Ammon once again prepares to invade.

the Ammonites A people group from the Transjordan who the Israelites were instructed to leave alone (Deut 2:19–21, 37); nonetheless, Israel ended up acquiring some land belonging to the Ammonites (Josh 13:24–25).

camped at Mizpah See Judg 11:29.

10:18 head over all the inhabitants of Gilead The leadership in Gilead offers the right to rule to anyone who can deliver them from the Ammonites.