Judges 12:13
in Judges 12After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
KJV
And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.
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This verse in Judges 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A Pirathonite - He was, therefore, an Ephraimite 1Ch 27:14. Its name still lingers in “Feratah,” 6 miles west of Shechem. The 25 years, apparently consecutive, occupied by the judgeship of Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, seem to have been very uneventful and prosperous, since the only record of them, preserved in the annals of their country, relates to the flourishing families and peaceful magnificence of two of the number.
This site's exposition
After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel
on Judges 12:8-15
Three judges close the chapter, and what is recorded of them is households and graves. Abdon's forty sons and thirty grandsons ride seventy donkeys. Which Bethlehem Ibzan came from is unsettled, since Joshua 19:15 names one in Zebulun, and the rabbis quoted by John Gill identify him with Boaz.
This site's exposition
Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon
Pirathon lies in Ephraim, and Albert Barnes places it at Feratah, six miles west of Shechem. Matthew Henry sees Ephraim judge Israel again through Abdon, after the slaughter of Ephraim at the fords. The tribe Jephthah struck down now judges Israel.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
3 And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the L ORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v3
And after him Abdon the son of Hillell, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. So called from Pirathon, where he was born, and which was in the tribe of Ephraim, as appears from Jdg 12:15.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֥ט | vaiyishpot | and he judged | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אַחֲרָ֖יו | ʾacharav | after him | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַבְדּ֥וֹן | avdon | Abdon | H5658 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הִלֵּ֖ל | hilel | Hillel | H1985 → | |
| הַפִּרְעָתוֹנִֽי׃ | hapiratoni | the Pirathonite | H6553 → |
וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֥טand he judged
vaiyishpotH8199 →202 times
אַחֲרָ֖יוafter him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַבְדּ֥וֹןAbdon
avdonH5658 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
הִלֵּ֖לHillel
hilelH1985 →
הַפִּרְעָתוֹנִֽי׃the Pirathonite
hapiratoniH6553 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.