n. Ibzan (12:8–10)
n. Ibzan (12:8–10)
There is no mention of Ibzan anywhere else in the Old Testament. The number of his children indicates his wealth and position in the community. The word abroad (AV, RV) means no more than that his children married members of another clan (cf. RSV). Beth-lehem is not to be identified with Bethlehem in Judah, which is usually written as Bethlehem-judah. The tribe of Judah, apart from occasional references, appears to have been cut off from intertribal life during the major portion of the period of the judges. The likelihood is that this Beth-lehem was the town in western Zebulun, about 10 miles north of Megiddo (Josh. 19:15).