Judges 12:8-15

Order Restored

12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem ¹  led ²  Israel. 12:9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family, ³  and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons. ⁴  Ibzan ⁵  led ⁶  Israel for seven years; 12:10 then he ⁷  died and was buried in Bethlehem.

12:11 After him Elon the Zebulunite led ⁸  Israel for ten years. ⁹  12:12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

12:13 After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite led ¹⁰  Israel. 12:14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. 12:15 Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

[12:8]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[12:8]  ² tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:9]  ³ tn Heb “thirty daughters he sent off outside.” Another option is to translate, “He arranged for his thirty daughters…” It is not clear if he had more than the “thirty daughters” mentioned in the text.

[12:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”

[12:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.

[12:9]  ⁶ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “Ibzan.” The pronoun “he” is used in the translation in keeping with English style, which tends to use a proper name first in a sentence followed by a pronoun rather than vice versa.

[12:11]  ⁸ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “…led Israel. He led Israel for ten years.”

[12:13]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally, “judged.”