Judges 12:15
in Judges 12Then Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, died, and he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.
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This verse in Judges 12
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis 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
buried at Pirathon in Ephraim
The chapter that opened with Ephraim at war with Gilead closes with an Ephraimite judge buried in his own town. Albert Barnes cites 1 Chronicles 27:14, which names Benaiah of Pirathon, of the sons of Ephraim, among David's commanders. The town kept its place in 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 Abdon the son of Hillell the Pirathonite died,....
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֛מָת | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| עַבְדּ֥וֹן | avdon | Abdon | H5658 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הִלֵּ֖ל | hilel | Hillel | H1985 → | |
| הַפִּרְעָתוֹנִ֑י | hapiratoni | the Pirathonite | H6553 → | |
| וַיִּקָּבֵ֤ר | vaiyikaver | and he was buried | H6912 → | 133 times |
| בְּפִרְעָתוֹן֙ | befiraton | at Pirathon | H6552 → | |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֶפְרַ֔יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| בְּהַ֖ר | behar | in [the] hill country of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הָעֲמָלֵקִֽי׃ פ | haamalki | the Amalekite[s] | H6003 → |
וַיָּ֛מָתand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 times
עַבְדּ֥וֹןAbdon
avdonH5658 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
הִלֵּ֖לHillel
hilelH1985 →
הַפִּרְעָתוֹנִ֑יthe Pirathonite
hapiratoniH6553 →
וַיִּקָּבֵ֤רand he was buried
vaiyikaverH6912 →133 times
בְּפִרְעָתוֹן֙at Pirathon
befiratonH6552 →
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
אֶפְרַ֔יִםEphraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
בְּהַ֖רin [the] hill country of
beharH2022 →546 times
הָעֲמָלֵקִֽי׃ פthe Amalekite[s]
haamalkiH6003 →
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
Exodus 17:8After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:17–19
Remember what the Amalekites did to you along your way from Egypt,
- Genesis 36:12
Additionally, Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to Amalek. These are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.
- 1 Samuel 30:1
On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
- Deuteronomy 25:17–19
Through
1 Samuel 15:7Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
it leads to
- Genesis 25:18
Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
- 1 Samuel 14:48
He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of its plunderers.
- Genesis 16:7
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
- Genesis 25:18
Through
Judges 3:27On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader.
it leads to
- Judges 6:34
So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.
- 1 Samuel 13:3
Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”
- Judges 6:34
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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.
