Had thirty sons. — An indication of his rank and position, which assumed an ostentatious polygamy. (Comp. Judges 8:30.)
That rode on thirty ass colts. — Comp. Judges 5:10; see on Judges 12:14. Implying that Jair was able to bring up his numerous household in wealth. The horse was little used in Palestine — for which, indeed, it is little suited — till the days of Solomon (1 Kings 4:26), and its introduction was always discouraged by the prophets (Deuteronomy 17:16; Joshua 11:6-9; Psalms 33:17, &c). There is a curious play of words on Jair (yair), “ass-colts” (ayârîm), and “cities,” which ought to be arîm, but is purposely altered for the sake of the paronomasia. (See on Judges 15:16.) Such plays on words in serious narratives point to a very early form of literature — but probably they then rose from some popular proverb. The LXX., like Josephus, writing for Gentiles, who did not understand the value attached to asses in Palestine, almost always euphemise the word into “colts,” or “foals” (pôlous), which here enables them happily to keep up the play of words with “cities” (poleis).
Thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair. — Havoth means villages (LXX., epauleis), and since they are here called “cities,” and thirty are named, we must suppose that this Jair (if he was a different person from the other) had increased the number of the villages originally wrested from Og from twenty-three to thirty (Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14; 1 Chronicles 2:22. In the latter passage the Jair there mentioned is spoken of as a son of Segub, and a great-grandson of Manasseh).
Unto this day. — Judges 1:26.