Ibzan

Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel after Jephthah. His brief notice in the book of Judges records a long household, an arranged-marriage strategy that reached outside his clan, and a seven-year tenure.

Judge of Israel

He follows immediately on Jephthah in the sequence of judges: "And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel" (Jdg 12:8). The narrative gives no battle account, no oppressor, no deliverance scene — only a domestic profile and a length of service.

Household and Marriage Policy

The numbers are deliberately symmetrical: "And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years" (Jdg 12:9). The thirty daughters sent out and thirty brought in for his sons describe a marriage policy reaching beyond the local kin. The tenure of seven years closes the same verse.

Death and Burial

His notice ends with the standard formula for a minor judge: "And Ibzan died, and was buried at Beth-lehem" (Jdg 12:10). Beth-lehem appears at both ends of his entry — the place from which he came to judge, and the place where he was buried.