Ibzan the Judge (אִבְצָן, ivtsan). The tenth judge of Israel who led Israel for seven years after Jephthah (Judg 12:8–10). Ibzan is considered one of the six “minor judges” mentioned in the book of Judges. The classification of “minor judge” is only indicative of the brevity of their appearance in the biblical narrative. Ibzan is the first of three minor judges mentioned briefly in Judg 12:8–15. He is identified as “Ibzan from Bethlehem” (Judg 12:8) and is buried at Bethlehem when he dies (Judg 12:10). However, the text does not provide any clues as to whether Bethlehem of Judah or Bethlehem of Zebulun was meant. The judges Elon and Abdon mentioned after Ibzan in Judg 12:11–15 are from the territories of Zebulun and Ephraim respectively. The northern setting for Elon and Abdon supports the possibility that Ibzan was from Bethlehem of Zebulun, a town near the border of the territories of Zebulun and Asher. Ibzan is also presented as the successor of Jephthah who was from Gilead, a region of the Transjordan east and northeast of the territory of Ephraim. However, it is still possible that Ibzan was from Bethlehem of Judah. For more information, see these articles: Judge, Role in Israel; Judges, Book of; Bethlehem of Judah; Bethlehem of Zebulun.