Thirty, Thirty, Thirty - Judges 10:4

In the book of Judges we learned, “after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years”, and in chapter ten and verse four of Judges, we learn how Jair, “had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities”  where we read,

And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities,

 which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

The verse reads, “And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, …” The writer began with the words, “and he had thirty sons” which means “and he, Jair, possessed thirty male offspring and progeny” “that rode on thirty ass colts” which means ”who sat and mounted to ride upon thirty male donkeys”, “and they had thirty cities” or “and they, the thirty sons of Jair possessed thirty dwelling places, abodes, habitations and towns”.  The writer shared how “Jair” had “thirty” male offspring who mounted to ride upon “thirty” male donkeys and possessed “thirty” dwelling places. 

The verse continues, “… which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.” The writer added the words, “which are called Havothjair” which means “who are named and known as Havothjair whose name means ‘villages of Jair’ and were certain villages on the east of Jordan, in Gilead or Bashan, which were taken by Jair, the son of Manasseh, and called after his name; 60 or 23 or 30 cities in total” “unto this day” or “to the current sunrise to sunset or time period”, “which are in the land of Gilead” which means “that exist within the territory and region belonging to Gilead whose name means ‘rocky region’ and was a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called 'Mount Gilead' or the 'land of Gilead' or just 'Gilead'. Divided into north and south Gilead”. The writer shared how the “thirty” towns possessed by the “thirty sons of Jair” were known as “Havothjair” to the present “day” and were within the territory of “Gilead”. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how ”Jair” not only had “thirty” male offspring, but they also mounted upon “thirty” male donkeys and owned “thirty” villages that were known by the name of “Havorthjair” which was located within the region of “Gilead”. Needless to say, this was a wealthy family. God blessed the family of “Jair”, and as he was employed by Jehovah God to govern over “Israel”, his family benefitted from it. Jesus said, “seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (See Matthew 6:33), and when we surrender our lives to Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of everyone and was raised from the dead after three days as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the ability to make His Kingdom first while He tends to all our other needs. (See Philippians 4:19)

Next time we learn how “Jair died, and was buried in Camon”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance”.