Havoth-Jair
Encyclopedia
Havoth-Jair is the name used by the Bible to refer to a certain group or groups of villages on the east of the Jordan. In various biblical passages, the towns are identified as
The group in Machir are identified by the bible as having been well fortified with high walls and gates (Deuteronomy 3:4-5, Joshua 13:30, 1 Chronicles 2:23), and in the time of Solomon are said to have formed a part of Ben-geber's commissariat district (1 Kings 4:13). This group are clearly identified by the bible as having been the main towns of the Argob
, a rocky region in the otherwise gentle plain of Bashan
, and having been originally ruled over by king Og
, before Israelite dominion.
The name Havoth-Jair can mean hamlets of Jair, and the bible portrays these as having been founded by a person named Jair who conquered the previous towns and villages in these locations; in the case of the villages with Machir ancestry it is a Jair named as a son of Manassah, while those with Gilead ancestry are identified as being founded by a Jair who is a Gileadite. According to critical scholarship this is likely to be folk etymology, particularly as in the eyes of archaeologists, the Israelite invasion of Canaan (and hence Jair being the particular conqueror for these locations) is non-historic, and the Israelites were most likely just a group of Canaanites. Translating Jair, the name Havoth-Jair is seen to mean hamlets of the enlightened one, and could in fact be a reference to Og, or another ruler.
It is thought possible that the three groups of towns in fact refer to the same set of places, but that the different reports of ancestry and locations reflect the geo-political circumstances of the towns and villages, in the time periods that each particular part of the bible were written.
- 60 towns in MachirMachirMachir/Makir - meaning bartered - was the name of two figures in the Bible.1. Machir, the son of Manasseh, and father of Gilead....
(the eastern half-tribe of ManassehTribe of ManassehAccording to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
) with Machir ancestry (Numbers 32:41, Deuteronomy 3:14) - 33 villages in GileadGileadIn the Bible "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, , a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, situated in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew . From its mountainous character...
(Gad) with Machir ancestry (1 Kings 4:13, 1 Chronicles 2:22) - 30 villages in Gilead with Gilead ancestry (Judges 10:4)
The group in Machir are identified by the bible as having been well fortified with high walls and gates (Deuteronomy 3:4-5, Joshua 13:30, 1 Chronicles 2:23), and in the time of Solomon are said to have formed a part of Ben-geber's commissariat district (1 Kings 4:13). This group are clearly identified by the bible as having been the main towns of the Argob
Argob
Argob , a region located east of the Jordan River, on an island of rock which was approximately by , and rose 20 or above the table-land of Bashan. An extremely rugged region, sixty walled cities were on the island, which was ruled over by Og. In the New Testament, it is called Trachonitis...
, a rocky region in the otherwise gentle plain of Bashan
Bashan
Bashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth", where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
, and having been originally ruled over by king Og
Og
Og, according to the bible, was an Amorite king of Bashan who, along with his army, was slain by Moses and his men at the battle of Edrei...
, before Israelite dominion.
The name Havoth-Jair can mean hamlets of Jair, and the bible portrays these as having been founded by a person named Jair who conquered the previous towns and villages in these locations; in the case of the villages with Machir ancestry it is a Jair named as a son of Manassah, while those with Gilead ancestry are identified as being founded by a Jair who is a Gileadite. According to critical scholarship this is likely to be folk etymology, particularly as in the eyes of archaeologists, the Israelite invasion of Canaan (and hence Jair being the particular conqueror for these locations) is non-historic, and the Israelites were most likely just a group of Canaanites. Translating Jair, the name Havoth-Jair is seen to mean hamlets of the enlightened one, and could in fact be a reference to Og, or another ruler.
It is thought possible that the three groups of towns in fact refer to the same set of places, but that the different reports of ancestry and locations reflect the geo-political circumstances of the towns and villages, in the time periods that each particular part of the bible were written.