Judges 12:13

And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(13) Abdon.—The name means “servant.” Some suppose that he is the unknown Bedan of 1Samuel 12:11.

Hillel.—The first occurrence of a name (“praising”) afterwards destined to be so famous in the annals of Jewish theology. Hillel, the rival of Shammai, shortly before our Lord’s day, may be regarded, with all his faults, as by far the greatest and best of the Rabbis.

A Pirathonite.—And, therefore, of the tribe of Ephraim.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

12:8-15 We have here a short account of three more of the judges of Israel. The happiest life of individuals, and the happiest state of society, is that which affords the fewest remarkable events. To live in credit and quiet, to be peacefully useful to those around us, to possess a clear conscience; but, above all, and without which nothing can avail, to enjoy communion with God our Saviour while we live, and to die at peace with God and man, form the substance of all that a wise man can desire.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A Pirathonite - He was, therefore, an Ephraimite 1 Chronicles 27:14. Its name still lingers in "Feratah," 6 miles west of Shechem. The 25 years, apparently consecutive, occupied by the judgeship of Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, seem to have been very uneventful and prosperous, since the only record of them, preserved in the annals of their country, relates to the flourishing families and peaceful magnificence of two of the number.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7. Jephthah died—After a government of six years, this mighty man of valor died; and however difficult it may be for us to understand some passages in his history, he has been ranked by apostolic authority among the worthies of the ancient church. He was followed by a succession of minor judges, of whom the only memorials preserved relate to the number of their families and their state [Jud 12:8-15].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And after him Abdon the son of Hillell, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. So called from Pirathon, where he was born, and which was in the tribe of Ephraim, as appears from Judges 12:15.

Geneva Study Bible

And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13. Abdon … the Pirathonite] Pir‘athon (2 Samuel 23:30 etc.) prob. = Far‘atâ, situated on a high rock a little to the S.W. of Nâblus; if this is correct, Abdon belonged to an Ephraimite family. In 1 Chronicles 8:23 Abdon is a Benjamite; but the name was a common one.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 13. - A Pirathonite, i.e. an inhabitant of Pirathon in the tribe of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites (ver. 15), afterwards famous as the birthplace of Benaiah, one of David's mighty men (2 Samuel 23:30). The Pharathon which is mentioned in 1 Macc. 9:50, and by Josephus, following its authority, as fortified by Jonathan the brother of Judas may have been the same, though its collocation between Titans and Tekoah rather suggests a more southern position; and the Ferata found by Robinson between two and three hours from Samaria, south-south-west, on the way to Jerusalem, seems certainly to represent Pirathon. Judges 12:13

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

He was followed by the judge Abdon, the son of Hillel of Pirathon. This place, where Abdon died and was buried after holding the office of judge for eight years, was in the land of Ephraim, on the mountains of the Amalekites (Judges 12:15). It is mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:30 and 1 Chronicles 11:31 as the home of Benaiah the hero; it is the same as Φαραθώ (read Φαραθόν) in 1 Macc. 9:50, and Joseph. Ant. xiii. 1, 3, and has been preserved in the village of Ferta, about two hours and a half to the S.S.W. of Nabulus (see Rob. Bibl. Res. p. 134, and V. de Velde, Mem. p. 340). On the riding of his sons and daughters upon asses, see at Judges 10:4.