Judges 12:8
in Judges 12After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel.
KJV
And after him Ibzan of Beth–lehem judged Israel.
⋯
This verse in Judges 12
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. There were two Bethlehems, one in the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:15 of which some think this man was; and another in the tribe of Judah, the city of Jesse and David, and of the Messiah; and Josephus says (x), Ibzan was of the tribe of Judah, of the city of Bethlehem; and because Boaz was of the same place, and lived in the times of the judges, the Jewish Rabbins (y) are of opinion that he is the same with Ibzan; so Jarchi and Ben Gersom. (x) Antiqu. l. 5. c.
This site's exposition
And after him Ibzan of
on Judges 12:8-15
Three judges close the chapter and what is recorded of them is households and graves rather than an enemy, which is how the book marks its quiet stretches; Adam Clarke counts twenty-five years of peace across the three. Abdon's forty sons and thirty nephews, which in this English means grandsons, ride seventy ass colts, and Jair's thirty sons rode thirty at 10:4, so standing is counted here in mounts and in marriages. Ibzan sent thirty daughters out and took thirty in, and which Bethlehem he came from is unsettled, since Joshua 19:15 puts one in Zebulun while Josephus places him in Judah, and the rabbis quoted by John Gill identify him with Boaz on the strength of the town. Abdon is buried in the mount of the Amalekites inside Ephraim at verse 15, an Amalekite name left standing in Israel's hill country, and Deborah's song at 5:14 already set Ephraim's name against Amalek.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
And after him Ibzan - It appears that during the administration of Jephthah, six years - Ibzan, seven years - Elon, ten years - and Abdon, eight years, (in the whole thirty-one years), the Israelites had peace in all their borders; and we shall find by the following chapter that in this time of rest they corrupted themselves, and were afterwards delivered into the power of the Philistines.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Ibzan of Bethlehem - Some have fancied him the same as Boaz Rth 2:1 of Bethlehem-Judah. Others, from the juxtaposition of Elon the Zebulonite Jdg 12:11, understand Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulon Jos 19:15.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֤ט | vaiyishpot | and he judged | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אַֽחֲרָיו֙ | ʾacharav | after him | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אִבְצָ֖ן | ʾivtzan | Ibzan | H78 → | |
| מִבֵּ֥ית | mibeit | from Beth- | H1035 → | 82 times |
| לָֽחֶם׃ | lachem | -lehem | H1035 → | 82 times |
וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֤טand he judged
vaiyishpotH8199 →202 times
אַֽחֲרָיו֙after him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אִבְצָ֖ןIbzan
ʾivtzanH78 →
מִבֵּ֥יתfrom Beth-
mibeitH1035 →82 times
לָֽחֶם׃-lehem
lachemH1035 →82 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Micah 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days…
it leads to
- John 7:42
Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 2:6
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people…
- Isaiah 9:6–7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- Luke 1:31–33
Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
- John 7:42
Through
Matthew 2:1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
it leads to
- Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days…
- Luke 2:4–7
So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.
- Psalms 72:9–12
May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
- Luke 2:11
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!
- Micah 5:2
About Judges

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.
