“And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.”
King James Version (KJV)
30:23 My brethren - He useth his authority to over - rule them; but manageth it with all sweetness, tho' they were such wicked and unreasonable men, calling them brethren; not only as of the same nation and religion with him, but as his fellow - soldiers. What God hath freely imparted to us, we should not unkindly and injuriously withhold from our brethren.
30:24 Part alike - A prudent and equitable constitution, and therefore practiced by the Romans, as Polybius and others note. The reason of it is manifest; because they were exposed to hazards, as well as their brethren: and were a reserve to whom they might retreat in case of a defeat; and they were now in actual service, and in the station in which their general had placed them.
30:26 Elders of Judah - Partly in gratitude for their former favours to him: and partly, in policy, to engage their affections to him.