8After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years. 10Then Ibzan died, and he was buried in Bethlehem.
“Beth-lehem is not to be identified with Bethlehem in Judah, which is usually written as Bethlehem-judah… The likelihood is that this Beth-lehem was the town in western Zebulun, about 10 miles north of Megiddo (Joshua 19:15).” (Cundall)
Ibzan practiced the traditional custom of making alliances through marriage and was wealthy and prestigious enough to have so many children and so many alliances through marriage.
That’s a lot of children!
Blessings
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