Tola and Jair
1 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo became judge and began to deliver Israel. He was from Issachar and lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 Tola judged Israel twenty-three years and when he died, was buried in Shamir.
3 After him came Jair the Gileadite, b who judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. They had thirty towns in Gilead, which are still called Jair’s Villages today. 5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
Israel’s Rebellion and Repentance
6 Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. c They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. d They abandoned the LORD and did not worship him. e 7 So the LORD’S anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites. f 8 They shattered and crushed the Israelites that year, and for eighteen years they did the same to all the Israelites who were on the other side of the Jordan g in the land of the Amorites h in Gilead. 9 The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim. Israel was greatly oppressed, 10 so they cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against you. i We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”
11 The LORD said to the Israelites, “When the Egyptians, j Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, 12 Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites ,k oppressed you, and you cried out to me, did I not deliver you from them? 13 But you have abandoned me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. l Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed.”
15 But the Israelites said, “We have sinned. Deal with us as you see fit; only rescue us m today! ” 16 So they got rid of the foreign gods n among them and worshiped the LORD, o and he became weary p of Israel’s misery.
17 The Ammonites were called together, and they camped in Gilead. So the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. q 18 The rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Which man will begin the fight against the Ammonites? He will be the leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
G. Tola and Jair (10:1–5). After the death of Abimelech, 10:1–5 briefly introduces two more judges, Tola (10:1–2) and Jair (10:3–5), commonly referred to as minor judges. Although the minor judges are traditionally considered to have a distinct role from the major judges, as administrators during times of peace, the so-called minor judges may also have served a military function. (See the article “The Minor Judges versus the Major Judges.”) [The Minor Judges versus the Major Judges]
H. Jephthah (10:6–12:7). 10:6–9. The new cycle that begins with sin, oppression, and crying out to the Lord is again reported in 10:6–16, but with greater detail than before. The “evil” the Israelites commit is clearly specified as apostasy, and the people’s deteriorating spiritual state is highlighted both by the long list of foreign gods they have come to serve and by the explicit statement that they have forsaken the Lord and no longer serve him (10:6). The mention of the Philistines together with the Ammonites in 10:7 as people into whose hands the Lord has sold Israel perhaps anticipates also the Samson cycle. In the narrative featuring Jephthah, however, the focus is on the Ammonites. In addition, although the Ammonite oppression seems to be most keenly felt by the tribes east of the Jordan, 10:9 makes it clear that the western and southern tribes, such as Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim, are also affected, so that the crisis is justifiably presented as national.
10:10–16. This time, not only is Israel’s crying out to the Lord reported, but their confession that accompanies their crying out is also quoted (10:10). But instead of immediately providing a deliverer as he did in the Othniel, Ehud, and Barak cycles, the Lord, for the second time, responds with a rebuke (10:11–12). It even comes directly from him rather than through a prophet, as in the Gideon cycle. To make matters worse, the Lord initially refuses to save his people, telling them instead to go and cry out to the various gods they now serve (10:13–14). This leads to a second round of confession from the people, accompanied by concrete action as they get rid of the foreign gods among them and return to the Lord (10:15–16a).
10:17–18. But instead of waiting for the Lord to raise up a deliverer for them, Israel’s leaders decide to find a deliverer for themselves when the Ammonites are called to arms (10:17–11:11). They initially offer to make anyone willing to lead the attack against the Ammonites the head of all Gilead (10:18), but when no one apparently responds, they approach Jephthah to enlist him for the job (11:4).