“And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of
Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim.
And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in
Shamir.”
As we read in the previous chapter, Abimelech died. Who was Tola, judge number 7 and his successor? Abravanel
provides two possibilities. Tola was the son of Puah, as our chapter’s lead verse conveys. But
what do the words “son of Dodo” mean? One possibility is that “dodo” is not Tola’s
grandfather, but rather “dodo” should be translated lower case, teaching that Tola and
Abimelech were cousins. In Hebrew, “dod” is uncle. Tola, then, was the son of Puah and a
cousin (son of the uncle) to Abimelech. This is in keeping with an ancient Biblical commentator.
Alternatively, Dodo was indeed a man’s name, making him Tola’s grandfather.
After judging the Hebrews for twenty-three years, Tola passed away “and was buried in Shamir.
And after him arose Jair, the Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty and two years”, just one
year shy of Tola’s tenure, Abravanel notes.
Jair as judge number 8 was prolific. “And he had thirty sons who 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.” Commentators
point out that our verse makes use of literary or poetic language. In Hebrew, the word for “ass
colts” is nearly identical with the word for “cities.” Actually, poetic license comes into play
when we consider the Hebrew (mis-) spelling of cities or “ayarim.” Technically, it should have
been “arim.” Hence, the play on words for ass colts and cities. Either way, “ayarim” or “arim”
refer to unwalled cities.
But, Abravanel wonders, what is the significance of the verse conveying Jair’s large family
(thirty sons) and large real estate holdings (thirty cities)? The description implies that Jair was a
magnate, a grandee. Each of Jair’s thirty sons, too, were elites. They saddled up and stood
behind Jair, riding as a unified unit, a most impressive one at that.
Abravanel hypothesizes, that on account of Jair’s fruitfulness and opulence, the Hebrews
turned to him and promoted him to judgeship. Another interesting tidbit. Ass colts, in those
days, were considered status symbols, flashy animals upon which to ride. Jair and sons traveled
via these ass colts, or as Abravanel teaches, mules – female and male mules.
In short fashion, Judges deals with Jair. “And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.” The next
chapter will have much more to say about Jephthah, the upcoming judge.