Judges 10 opens with the end of Abimelech. We are quickly told about two more judges. Tola judged Israel for 23 years. Though we only have two sentences devoted to Tola but that does not mean he did not help Israel for a long time. The same is true regarding the next judge to rise after Tola, Jair. Jair judged Israel for 22 years. But there is an interesting detail given concerning Jair. He had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys and controlled 30 cities. Notice that this information echoes the problems of Gideon who had many wives and many sons, acting like a king. It seems that Jair, though a judge, rules like a king during his 22 years. The point is that we are rapidly declining from the ideal judges that we read about earlier in this book.
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