_A.M. 2798. B.C. 1206._ The government of Tola and Jair, Judges 10:1. Israel's sin and trouble, Judges 10:6. Their repentance and reformation, which found acceptance with God, Judges 10:10. Preparation for their deliverance, Judges 10:17; Judges 10:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
_There arose_ Not of himself, but raised by God, as the other judges were. _To defend_ Or, _to save_, which he did, not by fighting against and overthrowing their enemies, but by a prudent and pious government of them, whereby he kept them from sedition, oppression, and idolatry. _He dwelt in Shamir... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jair, a Gileadite_ Of Gilead, beyond Jordan. _He had thirty sons_ Who, it seems, were itinerant judges, and went from place to place, as their father's deputies, to administer justice. _That rode on thirty ass- colts_ It was customary for the noblest persons to ride on those beasts, and that not on... [ Continue Reading ]
_Israel served the gods of Syria_ They added to their former idolatries the worship of new gods, particularly those of Syria, which were Bel, or Baal, Astarte, Dagon, Moloch, Thammuz. _And the gods of Zidon _ The supreme gods of the Sidonians were Baal and Ashtaroth: but it is likely they had more,... [ Continue Reading ]
_He sold them into the hand of the Philistines_, &c. The one on the west, the other on the east, so that they were molested on both sides. _That year they vexed_, &c. Or, _that year they had vexed and oppressed the children of Israel eighteen years_ This was the eighteenth year from the beginning of... [ Continue Reading ]
_We have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim_ Not contented to add idols to thee, we have preferred them before thee. All the rest of the pagan gods, mentioned Judges 10:6, are here comprehended under the name of _Baalim._ They were so many and various, that they had entirely alienated the affe... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord said unto Israel_ Either by some prophet whom he raised up, and sent for this purpose, or by the high-priest consulting God for them by Urim and Thummim. For we find that the Israelites, notwithstanding their idolatries, when they were sorely afflicted, bethought themselves of repairing to... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Zidonians_ We do not read of any oppression of Israel, particularly, by the Zidonians. But many things were done which are not recorded. _The Maonites_ Either, first, those who lived in or near the wilderness of Maon, in the south of Judah, 1 Samuel 23:25; 1 Samuel 25:2; whether Edomites or oth... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will deliver you no more_ Except you repent in another manner than you yet have done: which when they performed, God suspended the execution of this threatening: _Cry unto the gods you have chosen_ You have not been forced to worship those gods by your oppressors; but you have freely chosen them... [ Continue Reading ]
_Do thou unto us_, &c. Do not give us up into the hands of these cruel men, but do thou chastise us with thine own hand as much as thou pleasest, if we be not more faithful and constant to thee than we have hitherto been.... [ Continue Reading ]
_They put away the strange gods_ As an evidence of the sincerity of their sorrow, and that they did not only confess their sins, but also forsake them. And it is probable that, for the present, a thorough reformation took place, and that they entirely quitted the worship of strange gods, and served... [ Continue Reading ]