According to the Bible, Tola () was one of the
Judges of Israel. His career is summarised in
Judges 10:1-2. He judged Israel for 23 years after
Abimelech
Abimelech (also spelled Abimelek or Avimelech; ) was the generic name given to all Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible from the time of Abraham through King David. In the Book of Judges, Abimelech, son of Gideon, of the Tribe of Manasseh, i ...
died. He lived at Shamir in
Mount Ephraim
Mount Ephraim ( he, הר אפרים), or alternately Mount of Ephraim, was the historical name for the central mountainous district of Israel once occupied by the Tribe of Ephraim (), extending from Bethel to the plain of Jezreel. In Joshua's time ...
, where he was also buried.
His name means "Crimson worm" or "scarlet stuff."
"Tola"
''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'' The son of Puah and the grandson of Dodo
The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The ...
from the tribe of Issachar
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Issachar () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel and one of the ten lost tribes. In Jewish tradition, the descendants of Issachar were seen as being dominated by religious scholars and influential in ...
, he had the same name as one of the sons of Issachar
Issachar () was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fifth of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's ninth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar. However, some Biblical scholars view this as an eponymous metaphor providing ...
who migrated to Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
with Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
his grandfather in .
Of all the biblical judges, the least is written about Tola. None of his deeds are recorded. The entire account from Judges 10:1-2 (KJV
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...
) follows:
:''1And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim''.
:''2And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir''.
See also
* Biblical judges
*Book of Judges
The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom ...
* List of minor biblical figures
References
External links
Book of Judges article
(Jewish Encyclopedia)
Judges of ancient Israel
Book of Judges
12th-century BCE Hebrew people
{{Tanakh-stub