JAIR jā’ ər (יָאִֽיר, He enlightens). 1. A son of Manasseh (Num 32:41; Deut 3:14; Josh 13:30; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chron 2:22). At the time of the conquest of Canaan he occupied a number of villages in Gilead and in the region of Argob. His father was said to be Segub of Judah (1 Chron 2:22). He prob., therefore, was a descendant of Manasseh.

2. A Gileadite who judged Israel for twenty-two years (Judg 10:3, 5). Each of his thirty sons rode on an ass and ruled over a city. He may have belonged to the family of 1, or even have been the same person as 1.

3. A Benjamite, the ancestor or the father of Mordecai, the guardian of Esther (Esth 2:5).

4. The father of Elhanan who killed the brother of Goliath (1 Chron 20:5). In 2 Samuel 21:19 it is said that he killed Goliath himself.