Jair

Jair the Gileadite was a judge of Israel who judged for twenty-two years (Judges 10:3–5). He is described as having thirty sons who rode thirty donkeys and possessed thirty towns in Gilead called Havvoth-jair ('the villages of Jair'), a detail that probably reflects both his political influence and the practice of Gileadite settlement. Like Tola, he belongs to the 'minor judges' whose accounts contain no narrative of military deliverance but instead offer a snapshot of administrative leadership. The riding of donkeys may indicate his sons' positions as local officials or judges. Jair is distinguished from the earlier conqueror Jair son of Manasseh mentioned in Numbers 32:41.