📖 Biblical Definition
Seventh judge of Israel (Judges 10:3-5), following Tola. Jair the Gileadite judged Israel twenty-two years and is distinguished by his thirty sons riding on thirty ass colts, who possessed thirty cities in the land of Gilead (called Havoth-jair, villages of Jair, unto this day). Jair's judgeship is reported with the characteristic brevity of the minor judges, but with one striking detail: the prominence of his thirty sons, riding ass colts (the mark of princely status in early Israel), and possessing thirty cities. This is a portrait of a clan patriarch whose household and inheritance line have been multiplied during his stewardship. After his twenty-two-year reign Jair died and was buried in Camon. The brief account preserves a pattern worth attending to: the judge whose faithfulness is measured in the multiplication and prosperity of his household and clan, not in dramatic deliverance. The patriarchal-Reformed reader recovers Jair as a model of the multigenerational steward whose faithful governance is honored by the Lord with a flourishing household and inherited possession.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Seventh judge of Israel (Judges 10:3-5); Gileadite; twenty-two-year reign; thirty sons riding ass colts possessing thirty cities (Havoth-jair).
expand to see more
JAIR, proper n. (OT judge) Seventh judge of Israel (Judges 10:3-5), following Tola. A Gileadite. Judged Israel twenty-two years. Distinguished by his thirty sons riding on thirty ass colts (the mark of princely status in early Israel), possessing thirty cities in Gilead called Havoth-jair (villages of Jair). Died and was buried in Camon. The judge whose faithfulness is measured in the multiplication and prosperity of his household and clan; the multigenerational steward whose governance is honored by the Lord with a flourishing household.
📖 Key Scripture
Judges 10:3-5 — "And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon."
Numbers 32:41 — "And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havoth-jair."
Deuteronomy 3:14 — "Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan-havoth-jair, unto this day."
Psalm 128:3-4 — "Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
No major postmodern redefinition. Jair is a quiet minor judge; the recovery is attention to the multigenerational-steward pattern his thirty sons and thirty cities represent.
expand to see more
Jair as a proper name does not undergo lexical corruption. The principal contemporary mishandling is the failure to attend to the multigenerational-steward pattern his thirty sons and thirty cities represent. The patriarchal-Reformed reader recovers Jair as the model of the patriarch whose faithful stewardship produces a flourishing multigenerational household possessing inherited estate — the very pattern modern individualist anti-natalism actively undoes. Psalm 128:3-4 (the fruitful vine, the olive plants round the table) celebrates the same pattern Jair embodies.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Judges 10:3-5; seventh judge; Gilead; Havoth-jair; multigenerational patriarchal pattern.
expand to see more
['Hebrew', 'H2971', 'Yair', 'he enlightens']
['Hebrew', 'H2334', 'Havoth-Yair', 'villages of Jair']
['Hebrew', 'H1568', 'Gilead', 'rocky region; Transjordanian Israelite territory']
Usage
"Seventh judge of Israel; twenty-two-year reign in Gilead."
"Thirty sons riding ass colts possessing thirty cities (Havoth-jair)."
"Pattern of the patriarch whose faithful stewardship multiplies the household."