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Bible Encyclopedias
Izban
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
or 1.
—Biblical Data:
The tenth judge of Israel. He was a Zebulonite, and succeeded Ibzan as judge. He judged Israel for ten years, when he died and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun (Judges 12:11,12). "Elon" (
) and "Aijalon" (
) differ merely in their vowels, and it is generally thought that they should be considered the same. The Septuagint renders both Αἰλώμ
—Critical View:
Elon is one of the five minor judges whose names are given together with a few statistics about them, but who are connected with no historical exploits. The others are Tola, Jair, Ibzan, and Abdon. Elon is, in Genesis 46:14 and Numbers 26:26, a clan of the tribe of Zebulun. Since Tola and Jair are also clans; since Ibzan and Abdon, from the number of their posterity, are probably likewise; and since the narratives of the minor judges are late additions to the Book of Judges, it is probable that Elon is a personified clan and never had historical existence as a judge (compare Moore, "Commentary on Judges," pp. 270 et seq., 310 et seq., and Budde's Commentary to Judges, p. 78).
2. A Hittite; father of Esau's wife, Bashemath or Adah (Genesis 26:34, 36:2).
3. One of the three sons of Zebulun; he was the ancestor of the Elonites (Genesis 46:14; Numbers 26:26).
4. A city on the border of Dan (Joshua 19:43). The place has not yet been positively identified. Some consider it the same as Elon-beth-hanan (1 Kings 4:9), which is mentioned as belonging to the second taxing district of Solomon, and according to Schick (in "Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina Vereins," 10:137), is identical with Khirbat Wadi Alin, east of 'Ain Shams. Elon-beth-hanan, on the other hand, is sometimes taken as representing two places (compare LXX. and Vulgate: the former has καὶ Ελὼν ἕως Βηθανάν; the latter, "et in Elon et in Bethanan"). In Joshua 19:42 "Aijalon" (A. V. "Ajalon") occurs, and perhaps "Elon" in the next verse is a dittography, the two words having the same consonants (compare Elon, 1).
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Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Izban'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tje/i/izban.html. 1901.
