Judges 12:8-15 - He had thirty sons and thirty daughters

12:8-10

The chapter finishes with the mention of three rulers, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon. Very little is said at all about them. Izban had thirty sons and thirty daughters. It is unusual for the daughters to be mentioned, but the reason becomes apparent. Izban seems keen to promote more unity within his tribe, achieving this by intermarriage with other clans. Izban led for seven years.

12:11,12

Elon gets the briefest of mentions, after which we know very little indeed, apart from the fact that he was a Zebulunite, and led Israel for ten years.

12:13-15

Abdon had forty sons, and thirty grandsons. The number of grandsons seems rather small compared to the number of sons. They rode on thirty donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. We can probably assume that the time after Jephthah was relatively peaceful and prosperous. Overall, these last three leaders, all with relatively short periods of power, seem little more than a filler.