Elon

Biblical Record

Elon appears only in Judges 12:11-12. He succeeded the judge Ibzan as judge of Israel and judged for ten years. He belonged to the tribe of Zebulun, and after his death he was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. Abdon judged Israel after him (Judges 12:13). Scripture records only Elon's tribe, the length of his tenure, and his burial place. It says nothing about any wars he fought, his deeds, or his family.

Significance in Scripture

Judges such as Elon, of whom only brief records survive, are commonly called "minor judges." The term reflects the length of the biblical record, not an assessment of the person's importance. Elon is the only judge recorded as coming from Zebulun, a northern tribe. On this basis he is sometimes cited as evidence that leaders in the period of the judges arose from various tribes. Elon is not mentioned in the New Testament, and his name does not appear in the list of the faithful in Hebrews 11.

Interpretation and Issues

• Name: The Hebrew name Elon is understood to mean "oak" or "terebinth."
• Name and burial place: In the Hebrew text, "Elon" and his burial place, "Aijalon," are written with the same consonants. For this reason, some scholars hold that the place name derived from his name, while others see a wordplay between the two. This Aijalon is understood to be distinct from the Aijalon in the territory of the tribe of Dan to the south.
• Others of the same name: One of the sons of Zebulun was named Elon, and from him came the family of the Elonites (Genesis 46:14; Numbers 26:26). Some interpreters suggest that the judge Elon came from this family, but the text does not say so directly. Elon the Hittite, Esau's father-in-law (Genesis 26:34; 36:2), is a different person. The Elon of Joshua 19:43 and Elonbethhanan of 1 Kings 4:9 are place names, not persons.
• Chronology: Because scholars calculate the chronology of the period of the judges differently, it is difficult to determine precisely when Elon judged.

In the Korean Church

Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted specifically to Elon are relatively rare. He is mentioned mainly in read-through-the-Bible programs or Bible studies, when participants learn the names and order of the judges.