The Meaning of Judges 10:4 Explained

Judges 10:4

KJV: And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

YLT: and he hath thirty sons riding on thirty ass-colts, and they have thirty cities, (they call them Havoth-Jair unto this day), which are in the land of Gilead;

Darby: And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty asses; and they had thirty cities, called Hav'voth-ja'ir to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

ASV: And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he had thirty  sons  that rode  on thirty  ass colts,  and they had thirty  cities,  which are called  Havothjair  unto this day,  which [are] in the land  of Gilead. 

What does Judges 10:4 Mean?

Study Notes

Havothjair
Or, The villages of Jair. Numbers 32:41 .

Context Summary

Judges 10:1-16 - Inveterate Idolatry
The scene is now removed to the tribes across the Jordan, especially those settled, in Gilead and its vicinity. The children of Ammon were the aggressors, and acquired such boldness as even to cross the Jordan and fight against Judah and Ephraim. "Israel was sore distressed." Almost spontaneously we say, "Surely it served them right." It seems incredible that, after all they had suffered on account of their idolatry, they should again relapse to Baal, and add further the gods of Zidon, of Moab, of Ammon and of Philistia. If Jehovah had finally cast them off, could they have complained? But as the psalmist puts it in his touching words, "God regarded their distress and heard their cry." See Psalms 106:3, etc.
All these things were written for our example and instruction. Israel did not forsake God more often than we have done. Life has been full of fits and starts, of backsliding and recommencement, of sin and repentance. We have nothing to say against Israel; let us look at home, and search our hearts, and thank the Lord that His mercy endureth forever, Psalms 136:1-26. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 10

1  Tola judges Israel in Shamir
3  Jair, whose thirty sons had thirty cities
6  The Philistines and Ammonites oppress Israel
10  In their misery God sends them to their false gods
15  Upon their repentance he pities them

What do the individual words in Judges 10:4 mean?

And had he thirty sons who rode on donkeys and thirty towns they had which are called Havoth Jair to day this which [are] in the land of Gilead
וַֽיְהִי־ ל֞וֹ שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים בָּנִ֗ים רֹֽכְבִים֙ עַל־ עֲיָרִ֔ים וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים עֲיָרִ֖ים לָהֶ֑ם לָהֶ֞ם יִקְרְא֣וּ ׀ חַוֺּ֣ת יָאִ֗יר עַ֚ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֶ֥רֶץ הַגִּלְעָֽד

וַֽיְהִי־  And  had 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים  thirty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: שְׁלֹשִׁים  
Sense: thirty, thirtieth.
בָּנִ֗ים  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
רֹֽכְבִים֙  who  rode 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָכַב  
Sense: to mount and ride, ride.
עֲיָרִ֔ים  donkeys 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: עִיר 
Sense: he-ass, male ass.
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים  and  thirty 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, common plural
Root: שְׁלֹשִׁים  
Sense: thirty, thirtieth.
עֲיָרִ֖ים  towns 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: עִיר 
Sense: he-ass, male ass.
לָהֶ֑ם  they  had 
Parse: Preposition-l, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
יִקְרְא֣וּ ׀  are  called 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
חַוֺּ֣ת  Havoth 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
יָאִ֗יר  Jair 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַוּׄת יָאִיר  
Sense: certain villages on the east of Jordan, in Gilead or Bashan, which were taken by Jair, the son of Manasseh, and called after his name; 60 or 23 or 30 cities in total.
הַיּ֣וֹם  day 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַזֶּ֔ה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
אֲשֶׁ֖ר  which  [are] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בְּאֶ֥רֶץ  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הַגִּלְעָֽד  of  Gilead 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּלְעָד  
Sense: a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called ‘Mount Gilead’ or the ‘land of Gilead’ or just ‘Gilead’.

What are the major concepts related to Judges 10:4?

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