Judges 10 · a question people ask
Is this the Jair who named Havvoth Jair in Moses' day?
Judges says Jair's thirty sons "had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead" (10:4). The name was already given in Moses' day: "Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh" (Numbers 32:40), and "Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its villages, and called them Havvoth Jair" (Numbers 32:41). Deuteronomy says he called the region "after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day" (Deuteronomy 3:14). The Jair of this chapter is "Jair, the Gileadite", who comes after Tola (10:3), and Tola comes "After Abimelech" (10:1). The Bible doesn't say how the two men are related, or how the name came to be used for the cities of this Jair's sons. Numbers 32 looks at the name itself.
The verses
“After Abimelech, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.”
“After him Jair, the Gileadite, arose. He judged Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkey colts. They had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.”
“Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh; and he lived therein. Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its villages, and called them Havvoth Jair.”
“Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them, even Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day.)”