Mention is made in Num. 32:41 of a contemporary of Moses named Jair of the tribe of Manasseh who captured some towns in Gilead and settled there. We may conjecture that the Jair mentioned here in Judges was of the same tribe.
Gileadite.
Gilead was the name given to the territory east of the Jordan that lay between the southern end of the Sea of Chinnereth and the northern end of the Dead Sea.
Judged Israel.
These words were never applied to the cruel Abimelech. Of him it was merely stated that he “reigned” over Israel. Jair’s rule must have been enlightened and beneficial like that of the other judges.