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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

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HAVOTH-JAIR*, HAVVOTH-JAIR*

Series of settlements on the edge of Bashan across the Jordan captured by Jair, according to Numbers 32:41 (NLT mg). Because of their location, they fell into the allotment of the half-tribe of Manasseh. The number of these villages is given in Joshua 13:29-30 as 60, and they are probably included in the cities and towns of 1 Chronicles 2:22-23, although only 23 cities are specified as belonging to Jair. The KJB rendering as “Bashan-havoth-jair” (Dt 3:14) makes the location as specific as in the Hebrew. In Judges 10:4, a judge named Jair had 30 sons who controlled 30 cities named Havvoth-jair. But he is obviously different from the Jair of Numbers 32:41. If his sons controlled only 30 settlements, he himself probably governed the remaining 30. In 1 Chronicles 2:21-24, which reflects a relationship between Judah and Manasseh, Jair was said to have 23 cities in Gilead when Geshur and Aram captured 60 towns from the tent settlements of Jair and Kenath and its dependencies. While the variant numbers present difficulties, the narrative itself may be the Chronicler’s way of indicating Judah’s sense of sovereignty over Gilead.