And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
Jephthah's rule was harsh and violent. After him the record slows to one quiet sentence about a man from Bethlehem. Two questions sit inside it. Which Bethlehem is meant? And why does Scripture say so little about a man it names as Israel's leader?
The Bethlehem everyone knows is in Judah. A second town of the same name stood in the north, in Zebulun. One reference work leaves the choice open:
A man of Bethlehem, perhaps the city in Zebulun, and if so, he was judge of Israel in the north-east of the land.
Commentators differ. One writer decides for the northern town, then weighs two possible meanings of the name:
Of Ibzan himself we have only the fact that he was a man of Bethlehem. This Bethlehem is not the one in Judah, but the town named in Joshua (19:15) as belonging to Zebulun… Ibzan is said to mean "labour," "great labour." That meaning comes from Chaldee, a closely related language. If the name comes straight from the Hebrew, then we must decide for "white," perhaps "shining."… "White" is the common symbol of purity. That meaning is just as natural, and perhaps fits better here, where he stands first in the line of successors.
Jephthah's story runs on for chapters. Ibzan gets three verses. One commentator reads that shortness as a good sign:
The very brevity of their rule shows the simplicity of it. … God has to break down and humble self-will, and that history needs many details. But when there is divine blessing, when there is a real work of God, a few words can often describe it. As the historian tells us, the most interesting and exciting chapters of history are the worst times to live in. What seems dull and dreary on the page of the book is the best time to live in — the era of quietness and prosperity.
What is not said about Ibzan counts in his favour:
Three judges followed Jephthah, but Scripture tells us nothing of their character or their actions… His rule lasted seven years. At least Scripture says nothing bad about him.
Jephthah had killed fellow Israelites at the Jordan crossings. The next judge's name suggests whiteness, and it reads as the correction. That correction cuts both ways:
The meaning of Ibzan is probably purity, from a root meaning to be white. That is the remedy for harshness and relentlessness, such as Jephthah exercised. There must be purity. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable… We must criticise Jephthah's harshness as it deserves. It will not do to seize the Jordan crossings and kill our brothers without telling one from another. So, you say, let us give up all argument about such things. Let us not worry about what our brothers hold, or how they behave, or how far they obey God. Let us open our arms and take them all in. No, that is the mistake on the other side. The wisdom from above is first pure, and there can be no peace without purity. Sacrifice that, and you sacrifice everything.
The one detail we are given is a large family. Its shape is the opposite of Jephthah's story.
You notice that this judge, in contrast to Jephthah, has thirty sons and thirty daughters. Again this seems to suggest the growth and multiplication of what stands for God. Here is a judge who does not kill his brothers or his one daughter. He does not put an end to any hope of growth for the principles he stood for. He gathers in, and in that way he can multiply his family.
Ibzan is not remembered as a deliverer:
Scripture also names judges who are rich, influential, or prosperous (Judges 10:1-4; Judges 12:8-15). God uses them, no doubt, but more to hold the ground already won than as deliverers.
Quiet years bring their own danger:
Periods of outward prosperity are not the most profitable for the people of God. The record shows how important these judges were in themselves, but says nothing of the condition of Israel… So as soon as the last of these judges died, Israel fell back into its old condition… Those who are not fed are not able to fight. Let us use the times of prosperity to grow in our personal knowledge of the Lord and to walk in communion with Him.
- Place — Ibzan is only "of Bethlehem." Commentators differ: the town in Judah, or the lesser-known one in Zebulun. The verse does not decide.
- Purity — his name, read as "white" or "shining," answers Jephthah's harshness. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. Peace bought by dropping purity is no peace.
- Increase — Jephthah lost his one daughter and killed his brothers. Ibzan gathers thirty sons and thirty daughters. What is pure multiplies.
- Peace — three verses and no rescue mark a quiet time. Long chapters belong to self-will. Short ones belong to blessing.
- Peril — calm years only hold the ground an earlier victory won. Israel fell back as soon as these judges died. Feed and grow in such seasons: those who are not fed cannot fight.
And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent out of the house, and thirty daughters he took in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
The story just before this verse ends with Israelites killing Israelites at the fords of the Jordan, and with Jephthah's line stopping at the daughter he had vowed. Then comes Ibzan. The record gives him a large family, sixty arranged marriages, and seven quiet years — and nothing else. Why would God write down a judge who fought nobody?
The judges after Jephthah were not deliverers. They held ground others had won, and what we learn about them is mostly their wealth and standing.
When things are in a low moral state, God uses instruments that are imperfect in themselves and carry the mark of weakness... Other judges appear who are rich, influential, or prosperous (Judges 10:1-4; Judges 12:8-15), and God uses them, no doubt, but more to keep results already gained than as deliverers.
The account is short, and that is part of the point. Strip a story to bare facts, and what stands out is no longer the man.
The shortness of the description reminds us again that we may expect what emphasizes God's side rather than man's.
Commentators differ over what Ibzan's name means. One reading traces it to a root for whiteness.
Ibzan probably means "purity," from a root meaning "to be white." That is the remedy for the harshness and relentlessness Jephthah showed. There must be purity. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable.
Another reading takes the name as brightness. It reads the three judges who close this chapter as one picture.
Ibzan means "shining"—"splendour." Then there is Elon, which means "strength." And there is Abdon, which means "service," the son of Hillel, which means "praising." These three give us a small glimpse of "Him who will come in splendour and in strength"—that is "in power and great glory," to set things right. Then all strife and disorder will end and happy service and praise will follow.
The one detail the verse dwells on is family size, and it lands right after Jephthah's story. Jephthah's vow cost him his only child. Ibzan's record runs the other way.
Here is a judge who does not kill his own people, or his one daughter. Instead of ending any hope that the principles he stood for would grow, he gathers in, and in that way he multiplies his family. So he can carry out the principles he stands for in greater measure, and those are the principles of purity.
Purity here is not softness. Pride still gets dealt with — just not the way Jephthah dealt with it.
Where purity rules, the pride of Ephraim will be dealt with in some way. If it can be helped, it will never be left to break out and divide the people of God — and it will never be met with indifference.
Sixty marriages, every one of them arranged outside the family. Scripture never tells us who those outsiders were.
Ibzan had thirty sons and thirty daughters, and all of them married. His sons were given wives from elsewhere — whether from Israel or from the nations is not clear. His government lasted seven years. At least Scripture says nothing bad about him.
Ibzan's seven years were quiet, and so were the years of the two judges after him. That quiet is where the warning lies.
Periods of outward prosperity are not the most profitable for the people of God. The personal importance of the judges comes out, but not the condition of Israel... And so, as soon as the last of these judges died, Israel slipped back into their old condition (Judges 13:1). How do we use the matching days of peace the Lord allows us? Do we strengthen ourselves in the truths God has given us? Or do we fall asleep in comfortable surroundings, only to be woken with a shock when Satan attacks again, and find ourselves powerless in front of the enemy? Those who are not fed cannot fight. Let us use times of prosperity to grow in our personal knowledge of the Lord and to walk in communion with Him.
- Purity first. One reading of Ibzan's name is purity. It is the answer to Jephthah's harshness: wisdom from above is pure before it is peaceable.
- Purity is not indifference. Where purity rules, pride still gets dealt with. It is never ignored, and never answered with a sword.
- Purity multiplies. Jephthah killed his own people and lost his only child. Ibzan gathers sixty children and marries them all, so what he stood for grows instead of dying with him.
- Purity is not proved by quiet. His seven years show the judge's standing, not the people's heart. Prosperity is not the most profitable season for God's people.
- Purity must be fed. Days of peace are for growing in the truth. Those who sleep through them have no strength when the enemy comes back — which is just what Israel showed in Judges 13.
And Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.
Judges 12:10 ends the account of Ibzan with the only two facts Scripture keeps for him: his death and his burial place. The chapter before this was full of civil war and killing at the fords of the Jordan, so the sudden quiet raises a question — why did God preserve a judge we are told almost nothing about?
Ibzan is one of three judges whose entire story fits into a few lines. One commentator gathers up everything on record about him:
Three judges followed Jephthah, but nothing is said of their character or their actions. Ibzan had thirty sons and thirty daughters, and all of them were married. His sons were given wives from elsewhere, though whether from Israel or from the nations is not clear. He governed for seven years. At least nothing bad is said of him.
Jephthah, the judge before him, had killed fellow Israelites at the fords of the Jordan. One writer reads Ibzan's name as the remedy for that, and then puts the opposite suggestion into words:
I have no doubt that the last part of chapter twelve gives us the remedy for this wretched condition, the contrast to Jephthah's failure... After the death of Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. The meaning of Ibzan is probably purity, from a root meaning to be white. That is the remedy for the harshness and relentlessness Jephthah showed. There must be purity. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable... Jephthah's harshness must be criticised as it deserves. It will not do to take the fords of the Jordan and kill our fellow believers without distinction. Then, you say, let us give up all arguing about things. Let us not be concerned about what our fellow believers hold, or how they act, or how far they obey God. Let us open our arms and take them in.
His answer to that suggestion is short:
No, that is the mistake on the other side. The wisdom from above is first pure, and there can be no peace without purity. Sacrifice that, and you sacrifice all.
More than one town carried the name Bethlehem. One writer picks out which one this was, and weighs what Ibzan's own name means:
All we are told about Ibzan himself is that he was a Bethlehemite. This Bethlehem is not the one in Judah, but the one named in Joshua (19:15) as belonging to Zebulun. Of course it carries the same meaning. Ibzan is said to mean "labour," "great labour," which comes from the closely related Chaldee. If the name comes straight from Hebrew, then we must decide for "white," perhaps "shining." Take the first, and "labour" in the "place of bread" seems naturally connected as a result. On the other hand, "white," the common symbol of purity, is just as natural. It may fit better with the place he stands in here, first in the line. Sanctification comes through the truth, and the satisfaction for the soul that "bread" — the "bread of life" — stands for is a main part of sanctification.
The same writer reads his tribe and his many family links in the same direction:
That he is a Zebulunite fits well. The ties spoken of as binding him to others may well point to the spiritual links that form where the word of God is felt in power and spread abroad. He is a fitting successor, then, to Jephthah.
Ibzan never led an army. His seven years belong to a time when Israel lived off a victory someone else had won. One writer presses the danger hidden in such years:
After Jephthah, under three judges, Israel enjoyed the peace that had already been won... They were not called to fight, but to keep the people in the condition victory had given them... Times of outward prosperity are not the most profitable for the people of God. The personal importance of the judges comes out, but not the condition of Israel... So as soon as the last of these judges died, Israel slipped back into its old condition (Judges 13:1)... How do we use the days of peace the Lord allows us? Do we strengthen ourselves in the truths God has given us? Or do we fall asleep in comfortable surroundings, wake with a shock when Satan attacks again, and find ourselves powerless in front of the enemy? Those who are not fed cannot fight. Let us use times of prosperity to grow in our personal knowledge of the Lord and to walk in communion with Him. We shall then be strengthened to resist fresh attacks, and to avoid falling into bondage more cruel than the one we have escaped.
- Purity — Ibzan's name comes from a root meaning white. One writer calls it the remedy for Jephthah's harshness to fellow Israelites.
- Then peace — that order holds. There is no peace without purity, and to sacrifice purity is to sacrifice everything.
- Bread — Ibzan belongs to a "place of bread," and those who are not fed cannot fight.
- Quiet — nothing bad is said of him. His seven years held a victory someone else had won.
- Warning — quiet years show us the judge, not the people's heart. Israel slipped back as soon as the last of these judges died.
And after him Elon, the Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.
After Jephthah, the book of Judges slows to a bare list of names. Elon gets one sentence — a tribe, a title, ten years. Why does God keep a record of a leader whose deeds He never records?
Elon follows a great deliverer without being one himself. One writer sees two kinds of leader in the book:
When things are morally low, God uses instruments that are imperfect in themselves and carry the marks of weakness… The book also names other judges who are rich, influential, or prosperous (Judges 10:1-4; Judges 12:8-15). God certainly uses them, but more to keep results already won than to deliver.
Ten years of holding ground is still God's work. It is a different job from Jephthah's.
The silence is not only about Elon. It covers the people he led, and that matters:
Times of outward prosperity are not the most profitable for the people of God. The personal importance of the judges comes out, but not the condition of Israel. We know who they were and what they did, but nothing of what was going on in the heart and conscience of the people. So as soon as the last of these judges died, Israel fell back into its old condition (Judges 13:1)… How do we use the matching days of peace the Lord allows us to have? Do we strengthen ourselves in the truths God has given us? Or do we fall asleep in comfortable surroundings, only to be woken suddenly when Satan attacks again, and to find ourselves powerless in front of the enemy? Those who are not fed cannot fight.
The verse gives us little more than a name and a tribe. So writers look at what both mean. Elon's name points to the oak:
Elon, the "oak," comes next. His name implies strength that is the fruit of life and growth. Growth by the truth fits the second place well, and Elon is again a Zebulunite. The record says nothing else about him, except that he judged Israel ten years and was buried in Aijalon.
Another writer draws meaning from the tribe name, and puts Elon in a sequence:
Zebulun is the tribe that speaks of abiding in communion with God. And Elon, the "strong," shows how strength comes after purity, and prosperity comes in that way.
Elon's one recorded act is that he judged. So what does government among God's people take? Firmness, not softness:
There must be strength in the government of the people of God. It is sheer madness to ignore this. It is worse — it is harmful evil — to argue for carelessness or unfaithfulness to the principles of divine truth. God's house must be kept in order with a firm hand. Indifference to the will of God is unthinkable. Where it is allowed, the testimony to Christ is finished.
One writer takes Elon with the judges on either side of him, and looks past his ten years:
Ibzan means "shining" or "splendour." Elon means "strength." Abdon means "service," and he is the son of Hillel, whose name means "praising." These three give us a small glimpse of "Him who will come in splendor and in strength" — that is, "in power and great glory," to set things right. Then all strife and disorder will end and happy service and praise will follow.
- Maintain. Elon was not raised up to fight. He held what an earlier victory had won — work God uses, though it makes no headlines.
- Dwell. His tribe, Zebulun, stands for abiding communion with God — the root that strength grows from.
- Strength. His name means the oak: strength that comes from life and growth, not from a sudden burst of power. It has to show in firm government, because carelessness about God's order ends the testimony to Christ.
- Watch. The quiet decade tells us nothing about the people's hearts. Israel collapsed as soon as the last of these judges died. Peace is time for feeding, because the unfed cannot fight.
- Coming. Shining, strength, service, praise: these names give a glimpse of the One who will come in power and great glory to set all things right.
And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Ajalon in the land of Zebulun.
Judges 12:12 closes the account of a man Scripture tells us almost nothing about: his tribe, his ten years of rule, and the plot of ground where his people buried him. Does a record this bare carry any lesson at all, or is it just a line in a register?
Scripture gives little more than labels for the judges who follow Jephthah. One commentator faces that head-on: if these names mean nothing, the passage teaches nothing.
Very briefly indeed we now have the account of Jephthah's successors. The quiet of twenty-five years after his death was no doubt the result of his victory. In the same way, these men seem to represent the spiritual consequences, in their names and their connections. We have almost nothing except names here. So if these names are meaningless, the history as a whole can be little else. So any escape from that conclusion is welcome — any light where otherwise all must be darkness… There are three successors. The first two are Zebulonites; the third is apparently an Ephraimite.
Commentators differ a little on the exact sense of the name, but they agree it points to strength. One takes it as "oak," and points to a strength that grows.
Elon, the "oak," comes next. The name implies strength that is the product of life and growth. Growth by the truth fits the second place well, and Elon is again a Zebulonite. Nothing else is recorded of him except that he judged Israel ten years and was buried in Aijalon.
Another reads the name as "the strong," and places Elon in a sequence that begins with purity.
After him you have Elon the Zebulonite, who judged Israel for ten years, and there is nothing mentioned except that he judged them. Zebulun is the tribe that speaks of abiding in communion with God. And Elon, the "strong," shows how after purity comes strength, and in that way prosperity.
Samuel Ridout presses that strength into the present, and warns what happens where it is missing.
There must be strength in the government of the people of God. It is sheer madness to ignore this. It is worse — it is harmful evil — to plead for carelessness or unfaithfulness to the principles of divine truth. The order of God's house must be enforced with a firm hand. Indifference to the will of God cannot be thought of. Where that is allowed, say farewell to any testimony to Christ.
Elon fought no battles. He kept a peace won before him. One writer draws a warning out of such quiet years.
After Jephthah, under the rule of three judges, Israel enjoyed the peace that had been won. They were not called to fight, but to keep the people in the condition victory had put them in… Periods of outward prosperity are not the most profitable for the people of God. The personal importance of the judges comes out, but not the condition of Israel… And so, as soon as the last of these judges died, Israel fell back into their previous condition. There are times when we have to "overcome," and others when we have to "stand" (Ephesians 6:13). How do we use the corresponding days of peace the Lord allows us? Do we strengthen ourselves in the truths God has given us? Or do we go to sleep in comfortable surroundings, only to be woken without warning when Satan returns to the attack, and to find ourselves powerless before the enemy? Those who are not fed are not able to fight.
Read together with the judges on either side of him, Elon's name forms part of a small picture of one still to come.
Ibzan means "shining" or "splendour." Then comes Elon, which means "strength." And Abdon means "service"; he is the son of Hillel, which means "praising." These three give us a little glimpse of "Him who will come in splendour and in strength" — that is, "in power and great glory," to set things right. Then all strife and disorder will end, and happy service and praise will follow.
- Names speak. The history gives little but a name, a tribe and a grave. The meaning lies in the names themselves — otherwise the passage is darkness.
- Strength grows. Elon means "oak" or "the strong." This strength is the product of life and growth, and it follows purity instead of replacing it.
- Strength governs. Leading God's people needs that same strength. Carelessness about God's order is not kindness, and testimony to Christ does not survive it.
- Strength is inherited. Elon fought no war of his own. He held the ground Jephthah's victory had won. Quiet years are for feeding, because those who are not fed cannot fight.
- Strength arrives. Splendour, strength and service — these three names sketch the One who comes in power and great glory. Then strife ends and praise begins.
And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, judged Israel.
Judges 12:13 gives Abdon one line: a man from Pirathon who judged Israel after Elon. There is no battle here and no crisis. So writers ask what such a quiet rule is for, and what his name is meant to tell us.
What we know for certain about Abdon fits in one line.
The tenth judge of Israel: he succeeded Elon, and ruled eight years.
The chapter adds family and property, nothing more.
Abdon followed to judge Israel eight years. Otherwise, all we are told about him is that he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, and every one of them had a donkey to ride.
Where the record is thin, writers read the names. One writer takes the two names together and sets the result against Jephthah, an earlier judge.
The last judge mentioned in this connection is Abdon, the son of Hillel the Pirathonite, "service the son of praise." Service that springs out of a heart filled with praise. He lives in a place that speaks of redemption and deliverance… That is not a Jephthah. He is not someone who measures people by one rule only and cuts them off if they do not come up to it… where God's people are overflowing with praise, dwelling in His house, and so still praising Him, they will serve their fellow believers, and the government of God's house will hold — not by violence, but in the power and strength of purity… The antidote to sternness is not carelessness.
His home town gets named twice in the chapter, and the burial notice locates it in a striking place — in the hill country of the Amalekites, the raiders who once oppressed Israel.
Place in Ephraim where Abdon was buried "in the mount of the Amalekites."
One writer takes the geography as part of the picture, reading Pirathon as freedom and Ephraim as fruitfulness, with Amalek standing for the appetites that once ruled.
The third judge is Abdon, "service," the son of Hillel, "praising," a Pirathonite, or one who lives in "freedom"… That Pirathon is in Ephraim links liberty with fruitfulness again. And "in the mount of the Amalekites" may point back to some past victory over them, or at least to land they once held and no longer held… Free service, which is the fruit of praise, has taken the place of the old Amalekite misrule of "lusts that war in the members."
Abdon judged in a time of peace. That shapes the kind of leader God gives.
The record mentions other judges who are rich, influential, or prosperous (Judges 10:1-4; Judges 12:8-15). God uses them, no doubt, but more to maintain results already won than as deliverers.
The same writer asks what those peaceful years did to the people.
Times of outward prosperity are not the most profitable for the people of God. The personal importance of the judges comes out, but not the condition of Israel. We know who they were and what they did, but nothing of what was going on in the heart and conscience of the people. So as soon as the last of these judges died, Israel fell back into their old condition (Judges 13:1). There are times when we have to "overcome," and other times when we have to "stand" (Ephesians 6:13). How do we use the days of peace the Lord allows us to have?… Those who are not fed are not able to fight.
One writer reads Abdon together with the two judges named beside him, and looks ahead.
Ibzan means "shining" — "splendour." Elon means "strength." Abdon means "service," the son of Hillel, "praising." These three give us a little glimpse of "Him who will come in splendor and in strength" — that is "in power and great glory," to set things right. Then all strife and disorder will end and happy service and praise will follow.
- Named — Abdon is the tenth judge, following Elon for eight years; the record keeps his family, not his battles.
- Service — his father's name means praise and his own means service: service grows out of a heart filled with praise, not out of harshness.
- Freedom — Pirathon means freedom and lies in fruitful Ephraim, and his grave in Amalek's hill country marks ground an old misrule no longer holds.
- Maintained — God gave men like Abdon to hold what earlier victories had won, not to deliver.
- Warning — peace shows the leader and hides the people's heart. Israel fell back as soon as the last of these judges died, and those who are not fed cannot fight.
And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy ass colts. And he judged Israel eight years.
After Jephthah, the book of Judges names three more judges we barely know — and Abdon is remembered for his large family and their donkeys. What does God want us to learn from a leader whose only monument is eight quiet years and seventy donkeys?
The details are domestic, not military. One writer sums up the whole public record of Abdon and the judge before him:
Elon judged Israel for two years, but besides this nothing is recorded of him but his death and burial. Abdon followed to judge Israel eight years. Otherwise, we are only told of him that he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, all of whom were provided with donkeys to ride.
The verse counts two generations. The Hebrew words behind the second group mean what the ESV says:
bene banim, "grandchildren."
Riding a donkey sounds humble to us. In Israel it was the opposite — it marked out the men who governed, and it belonged to the nation's best days:
In the purest days of Jewish government, the leading men in Israel used no animals but donkeys (Judges 5:10; Judges 10:4; Judges 12:14). Horses only came in during the corrupt times of Solomon. So when the Lord took up the title "King of Israel," He took every feature, however small, that belonged to the only pure and true form of that character. That is why He told His disciples to bring Him a donkey's colt.
So seventy riders means a whole family carrying the marks of Israel's leading men. The donkey also signals comfort. Judges 5:10 calls riders like these to stop and think — here in an older translation:
"Meditate, you who ride on white donkeys." This was a sign of wealth and prosperity. The sons of noble families and of the judges had this privilege... It is like an appeal to those who enjoy the fruit of the victory without doing any of the fighting.
Abdon's generation inherited a deliverance it never fought for. That is why the record is so thin, and why it ends as it does:
After Jephthah, under three judges, Israel enjoyed the peace that had been won. They were not called to fight, but to keep the people in the position victory had given them... Times of outward prosperity are not the most profitable for the people of God. We know who they were and what they did, but nothing of what was going on in the heart and conscience of the people. And so the moment the last of these judges died, Israel sank back into its old condition.
Rossier draws a practical lesson. Sometimes we have to overcome; at other times we only have to stand. Quiet years are for growing in the personal knowledge of the Lord, since "those who are not fed are not able to fight."
Several writers read Abdon's name as a picture. Set beside Jephthah, the contrast matters:
The last judge mentioned here is Abdon, the son of Hillel the Pirathonite — "service, the son of praise." Service that springs out of a heart filled with praise... This is not a Jephthah. It is not someone with one single rule by which he measures people, cutting off all who fail to meet it. Instead you have the spirit of service, and the only true spirit of rule and service: love flowing from a heart filled with praise.
Ridout adds that the cure for harshness is not carelessness. The swing away from sternness should show purity, strength and service. Another writer reads the same names, and adds the meaning of Abdon's home town:
The third judge is Abdon, "service," the son of Hillel, "praising," a Pirathonite, or dweller in "freedom"... That Pirathon is in Ephraim links liberty with fruitfulness, and "in the mountain of the Amalekites" may point to some past victory over them. In all of this the spirit of consecration speaks. Free service, the fruit of praise, has taken the place of the old Amalekite misrule of "lusts that war in the members."
One writer sets Abdon's forty sons beside other large families in Israel. He then asks a question busy servants of God should not dodge:
Gideon had seventy sons; Jair had thirty; Abdon had forty... Such numbers are considerable; how could fatherly care be given to them all?... Children are a great responsibility entrusted to us by God. It was never His original intention that our children should be brought up by others.
- Inherited — Abdon's eight years rest on a victory someone else won; his task was to hold the ground, not take it.
- Comfortable — the seventy donkeys mark rule and wealth, and such riders are told to stop and think. The same mount marked Israel's purest days — and the King Himself chose it.
- Silent — we learn about the judge, but nothing about the people's hearts. Right after him, Israel falls again.
- Consecrated — the names read as a picture: "service, son of praise," from the place of freedom. That is the antidote to Jephthah's harshness — rule kept by purity, not violence.
- Accountable — a large household is a trust, not a trophy. Public work is no excuse for leaving our children to others.
And Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.
Abdon's death ends a quiet stretch in Israel's history, in which three judges in a row fought no battles. The verse gives his name, his father, his hometown and his grave, and commentators have asked why so bare a notice is in the record at all.
Everything we know about this man fits in a sentence or two. The record gives his years in office and the size of his family. It says nothing about battles or reforms.
Elon judged Israel for two years, but apart from that the record tells us nothing about him except his death and burial (vv.11-12). Abdon followed, and judged Israel eight years. Otherwise, all we are told about him is that he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, and they all had donkeys to ride.
The burial site itself is fixed in Ephraim's territory, in an area that carried an older name from an earlier people:
Place in Ephraim where Abdon was buried "in the mount of the Amalekites." Judges 12:15.
Where the history is thin, some writers read the names themselves. Abdon, Hillel and Pirathon each carry a meaning. So does the note about Amalekite hill country:
The third judge is Abdon, which means "service," the son of Hillel, which means "praising." He is a Pirathonite, that is, someone who lives in "freedom"… Pirathon is in Ephraim, and that links freedom once more with fruitfulness. "In the hill country of the Amalekites" may point back to some past victory over them, or at least to land they once held and held no longer… Free service is the fruit of praise, and it has taken the place of the old Amalekite misrule of "lusts that war in the members."
Abdon's name points to a different kind of leader. One writer draws the contrast with Jephthah out of it:
after-note: DELETE
The last judge mentioned here is Abdon, the son of Hillel the Pirathonite — "service the son of praise." This is service that springs out of a heart filled with praise. He lives in a place that speaks of redemption and deliverance. That is not a Jephthah. It is not someone who has only one rule by which he measures people, and who cuts them off if they do not come up to it… Where God's people overflow with praise, living in His house and praising Him, there will be service to one another. And the government of God's house will be kept up, not by violence, but in the power and strength of purity… So let us remember these things as the antidote to Jephthah's harshness. The antidote to sternness is not carelessness.
Abdon and the two before him never fought. Their task was to hold what victory had already won. One writer finds a warning in how such quiet years are spent:
They were not called on to fight, but to keep the people where victory had put them… Two of these judges were men of great wealth. Times of outward prosperity are not the most profitable for the people of God. The judges themselves stand out, but the condition of Israel does not. We know who they were and what they did, but nothing of what was going on in the heart and conscience of the people. So as soon as the last of these judges died, Israel slipped back into their old condition (Judges 13:1)… How do we use the days of peace the Lord allows us? Those who are not fed are not able to fight.
Commentators differ on the tone of these three closing notices. One sees the danger of comfortable years. Another reads the three names together as a picture of something still ahead:
Ibzan means "shining" or "splendour." Elon means "strength." Abdon means "service," and he is the son of Hillel, "praising." These three give us a little glimpse of "Him who will come in splendor and in strength" — that is, "in power and great glory," to set things right. Then all strife and disorder will end and happy service and praise will follow.
- Praise — Abdon means "service," Hillel "praising," Pirathon "freedom." Free service is the son of praise, and in Ephraim freedom meets fruitfulness.
- Victory — the grave lies in hill country the Amalekites once held and held no longer. Free service has taken over ground that lust once ruled.
- Gentleness — Jephthah measured everyone by one rule and cut off those who failed it. Abdon is the opposite. Yet the cure for harshness is not carelessness.
- Watchfulness — these judges held a peace they had not won. When the last of them died, Israel fell back. Those who are not fed are not able to fight.
- Hope — splendour, strength and service, taken together, give a glimpse of the One who will come in power and great glory to set things right.