Judges 10:1-5

Judges 10:1-5. The Minor Judges: Tola and Jair

The five Minor Judges, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon (Judges 12:8-15), are so called because, unlike the other Judges, they fill but a small place in the general history; no record of their exploits has been preserved. Sometimes Shamgar is grouped with them, but see the notes on Judges 3:31. These five Judges are regarded as carrying on the succession (and after … there arose, Judges 10:1; Judges 10:3 etc.), and, according to the view adopted in the Introduction § 2 a, the 76 years assigned to them (with Jephthah's 6) are included in the chronological scheme of the book. In each case the few bare particulars are cast into the same form, clearly by the same hand, which is not that of the Deuteronomic editor; the latter uses quite a different formula to conclude each period (Judges 3:30; Judges 5:31; Judges 8:28). It seems probable that these notices were in existence before the Dtc. editor set to work; their general character is early rather than late; they appear to be founded on ancient traditions, like the somewhat similar details embedded in the genealogies of 1 Chron. (e.g. 1 Chronicles 1:46 1 Chronicles 2:7; 1 Chronicles 2:22 f., 1 Chronicles 4:9 f., 1Ch 4:27; 1 Chronicles 4:39 ff. etc). Out of the five names, three, Tola, Jair, Elon, occur elsewhere as the names of clans; the other two were probably clan-names also: but it would be rash to conclude that these names were never borne by individuals.