Abdon

Abdon son of Hillel was a judge of Israel from the town of Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, who judged for eight years (Judges 12:13–15). Like Jair, he is remembered for the impressive number of his male descendants: forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys, indicating significant social standing and possibly the role of judge as a family-based institution. He was buried at Pirathon in the hill country of the Amalekites. As the last of the minor judges listed before the extended Samson narrative, Abdon's peaceful tenure contrasts with the dramatic conflict that follows. His account, like those of the other minor judges, likely reflects a period of relative stability between major crises.