Puah (Father of Tola)

Biblical Record

Puah appears only once, in Judges 10:1. The King James Version renders the verse: "And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar." According to this record, Puah was the son of Dodo of the tribe of Issachar and the father of Tola, the judge who led Israel after Abimelech. Scripture says nothing about Puah's own life or deeds.

Significance Within Scripture

Puah's name is used only to identify the lineage of his son Tola. In ancient Israel, a person's tribe and family were identified by recording the names of his father and grandfather, and this verse follows that practice. The New Testament does not mention Puah.

Interpretation and Issues

• A different person with the same name: Puah, the Hebrew midwife in Exodus 1:15, is a woman who appears alongside Shiphrah. She is a different person from the subject of this article.
• Names shared with the sons of Issachar: 1 Chronicles 7:1 lists "Tola, and Puah" together as sons of Issachar (Genesis 46:13 gives the name as Phuvah). Commentators frequently note that the judge Tola and his father Puah bear the same names as early ancestors of the tribe of Issachar. Some interpret this as reflecting a custom of passing down ancestral names within the tribe, but the text offers no explanation.
• Translation of "Dodo": The Hebrew word dodo can be read either as a personal name or as a common noun meaning "his uncle." Korean Bible translations such as the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version render it as a personal name, while some translations, including the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament), are reported to render it as a common noun. How the word is read affects the understanding of who Puah's father was.

In Korean Churches

In Korean Protestant churches, sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted specifically to Puah are rare. His name is usually mentioned only in passing when Tola is introduced, typically in studies of the period of the judges or when the judges are reviewed in order.