Easton’s Bible Dictionary

Jair

Name meaningJairus, my light; who diffuses light

1.

Enlightener.

2.

The son of Segub. He was brought up with his mother in Gilead, where he had possessions (1 Chr. 2:22). He distinguished himself in an expedition against Bashan, and settled in the part of Argob on the borders of Gilead. The small towns taken by him there are called Havoth-jair, i.e., “Jair’s villages” (Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14; Josh. 13:30).

3.

The eighth judge of Israel, which he ruled for twenty-two years. His opulence is described in Judg. 10:3-5. He had thirty sons, each riding on “ass colts.” They had possession of thirty of the sixty cities (1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chr. 2:23) which formed the ancient Havoth-jair.

4.

A Benjamite, the father of Mordecai, Esther’s uncle (Esther 2:5).

5.

The father of Elhanan, who slew Lahmi, the brother of Goliath (1 Chr. 20:5).

Jair in Nave’s Topical Bible9 references, arranged by theme

Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain. Text via Theographic Bible Metadata, CC BY-SA 4.0.