What does Judges 12:8 mean?
The second half of Judges chapter 12 lists more of the so-called "minor judges." This title is often used since so little is known about them. Shamgar (Judges 3:31), Tola (Judges 10:1), and Jair (Judges 10:3) have been noted already. Nothing is known about the three judges at the end of chapter 12 beyond what's recorded in this passage.After Jephthah died and was buried in Gilead, a man named Ibzan was appointed by God (Judges 2:16). Ibzan was from Bethlehem. Scholars are divided over whether this was the Bethlehem in Judea, where Jesus will later be born, or the Bethlehem in Galilee, north of the Valley of Jezreel, in the territory of Zebulun. Either is possible. While Jephthah lost his only child (Judges 11:30–31, 34–35), Ibzan has an enormous family (Judges 12:9).