Ibzan

Ibzan (Hebrew אבצן) appears in the Bible as one of the Judges of Israel. Very little is said about him, except the following:

⁸And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

⁹ And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

¹⁰ Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.

Many scholars believe that the Bethlehem referred to in the story is the Bethlehem in the territory of the Tribe of Zebulun, rather than the more famous Bethlehem in the Tribe of Judah. However the Talmud (Bava Batra 91a) asserts that Ibzan is to be identified with Boaz from the story of Ruth, who lived in the Bethlehem of Judah, and that he consummated his marriage with Ruth on the last night of his life.

See also

• Biblical judges
• Book of Judges