Judges 12:8
New International Version
After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel.

New Living Translation
After Jephthah died, Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel.

English Standard Version
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

Berean Standard Bible
After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

King James Bible
And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

New King James Version
After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

New American Standard Bible
Now Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him.

NASB 1995
Now Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him.

NASB 1977
Now Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him.

Amplified Bible
And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

Christian Standard Bible
Ibzan, who was from Bethlehem, judged Israel after Jephthah

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Ibzan, who was from Bethlehem, judged Israel after Jephthah

American Standard Version
And after him Ibzan of Bethle-hem judged Israel.

Contemporary English Version
Ibzan, the next leader of Israel, came from Bethlehem.

English Revised Version
And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
After Jephthah, Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel.

Good News Translation
After Jephthah, Ibzan from Bethlehem led Israel.

International Standard Version
After he died, Ibzan from Bethlehem governed Israel for ten years.

Majority Standard Bible
After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

NET Bible
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel.

New Heart English Bible
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

Webster's Bible Translation
And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel.

World English Bible
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And after him Ibzan of Beth-Lehem judges Israel,

Young's Literal Translation
And after him Ibzan of Beth-Lehem judgeth Israel,

Smith's Literal Translation
And after him Ibzan of the House of Bread, will judge Israel.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
After him Abesan of Bethlehem judged Israel:

Catholic Public Domain Version
After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

New American Bible
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

New Revised Standard Version
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And after him Abitsan judged Israel, who was from Bayth Lekhem
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And after him Abaissan of Bethleem judged Israel.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon
8After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years.…

Cross References
Judges 10:1-2
After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. / Tola judged Israel twenty-three years, and when he died, he was buried in Shamir.

Judges 3:9-11
But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them. / The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him. / So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Judges 2:16-18
Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. / Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done. / Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.

Judges 5:31
So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.

Judges 11:1-3
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. / And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.” / So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.

Judges 4:4-5
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. / And she would sit under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, where the Israelites would go up to her for judgment.

Judges 6:11-14
Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. / And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” / “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.” ...

Judges 8:28
In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon,

Judges 9:1-6
Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother, / “Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.” / And when his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the leaders of Shechem, their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” ...

Judges 13:1-5
Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. / Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children. / The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son. ...

1 Samuel 12:11
So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely.

Hebrews 11:32
And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,

Acts 13:20
All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.

1 Samuel 7:15-17
So Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. / Every year he would go on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all these places. / Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.

1 Kings 11:26-28
Now Jeroboam son of Nebat was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon, but he rebelled against the king, / and this is the account of his rebellion against the king. Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David. / Now Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So when Solomon noticed that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.


Treasury of Scripture

And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

Ibzan.

Genesis 15:19
The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

1 Samuel 16:1
And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

Micah 5:2
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

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Bethlehem Beth-Lehem Ibzan Israel Judge Judged Judgeth Led
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Bethlehem Beth-Lehem Ibzan Israel Judge Judged Judgeth Led
Judges 12
1. The Ephraimites, quarrelling with Jephthah, are slain by the Gileadites
7. Jephthah dies
8. Ibzan, who had thirty sons, and thirty daughters
11. and Elon
13. and Abdon, who had forty sons, and thirty nephews, judge Israel














After Jephthah
This phrase indicates a transition in leadership among the judges of Israel. Jephthah was a Gileadite who led Israel to victory over the Ammonites. His story is marked by his vow and the tragic fulfillment involving his daughter. The transition suggests a period of relative peace or stability following Jephthah's leadership, as was common after the judges delivered Israel from oppression.

Ibzan of Bethlehem
Ibzan is identified as being from Bethlehem, which is significant as Bethlehem is a town with deep biblical roots. It is the birthplace of King David and later, Jesus Christ, highlighting its importance in biblical history. There are two Bethlehems in Israel: one in Judah and one in Zebulun. The text does not specify which Bethlehem, but traditionally, it is thought to be the one in Judah. This connection to Bethlehem may foreshadow the coming of the ultimate Judge and King, Jesus Christ, who would also come from Bethlehem.

Judged Israel
The role of a judge in Israel was not only judicial but also military and spiritual. Judges were raised by God to deliver Israel from oppression and lead them back to covenant faithfulness. Ibzan's judgeship suggests he played a role in maintaining justice and order in Israel during his tenure. The cyclical pattern of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance seen throughout the Book of Judges is a reminder of Israel's need for a righteous and eternal judge, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ibzan
A judge of Israel who succeeded Jephthah. His leadership is briefly mentioned, indicating a period of peace and stability.

2. Bethlehem
A town in the territory of Judah, significant in biblical history as the birthplace of King David and later, Jesus Christ.

3. Judges of Israel
Leaders raised by God to deliver Israel from oppression and to govern the people during the period before the monarchy.
Teaching Points
Leadership in Obscurity
Ibzan's brief mention reminds us that not all leaders are widely recognized, yet they play crucial roles in God's plan. We should value and support leaders in our communities, even if their work seems unnoticed.

Significance of Bethlehem
The repeated mention of Bethlehem in the Bible underscores God's intentionality in using specific places for His purposes. We should be attentive to the places God has placed us and seek to fulfill His purposes there.

Continuity of God's Plan
The transition from Jephthah to Ibzan illustrates the continuity of God's governance over Israel. We can trust that God is always at work, even when leadership changes.(8) Ibzan.--Nothing more is known of Ibzan than is detailed in these three verses. The notion that Ibhtsam (????) is the same as Boaz (???????) has nothing to support it.

Of Beth-lehem.--Usually assumed, as by Josephus (Antt. v. 7, ? 13), to be Bethlehem in Judah. There are, however, two reasons against the identification: (1) That Bethlehem is even in this book distinguished as Bethlehem Judah (Judges 17:7; Judges 17:9; Ruth 1:2; 1Samuel 17:12), or Bethlehem Ephratah (Micah 5:1); (2) Judah seems at this epoch to have stood entirely aloof from the general life of the nation. There was a Bethlehem in Zebulon (Joshua 19:15), and as the next judge was a Zebulonite (Judges 12:11), and that tribe had been recently powerful and prominent (Judges 4:10; Judges 5:18), it may be the town here intended. . . .

Verse 8. - Ibzan of Bethlehem. It is uncertain whether Bethlehem of Judah is meant, or Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebu-lun, mentioned in Joshua 19:15. Josephus says that Ibzan was of the tribe of Judah, and of the city of Bethlehem, and some have supposed a connection between the names of Boaz and Ibzan. ' But as Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah is generally called Bethlehem of Judah, or Bethlehem-Ephratah, and as Elon and Abdon were judges in North-East Israel, it is perhaps more probable that Bethlehem of Zebulun is meant. Dr. Robinson has identified it with a village - a "very miserable one" - called Beit Lahm, six miles west of Nazareth.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
After Jephthah,
אַֽחֲרָיו֙ (’a·ḥă·rāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 310: The hind or following part

Ibzan
אִבְצָ֖ן (’iḇ·ṣān)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 78: Ibzan -- a judge of Israel

of
מִבֵּ֥ית (mib·bêṯ)
Preposition
Strong's Hebrew

Bethlehem
לָֽחֶם׃ (lā·ḥem)
Preposition | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1035: Bethlehem -- 'place of bread', a city in Judah, also a city in Zebulun

judged
וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֤ט (way·yiš·pōṭ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8199: To judge, pronounce sentence, to vindicate, punish, to govern, to litigate

Israel.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc


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OT History: Judges 12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel (Jd Judg. Jdg)
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