Judges 3

Jdg 3:1 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

Even as many of Israel - These words show that the writer has especially in view the generation immediately after the close of the wars with the Canaanites Jos_23:1.

Now these are the nations - Which are later mentioned, Jdg_3:3 The nations left to prove the Israelites were the five lordships or satrapies of the Philistines: Gath, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gaza; the Sidonians, the Hivites, Baal-hermon; with the remains of the Canaanites, the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, and Jebusites. Those who were left to be proved were those Israelites that had not seen all the wars of Canaan.

Had not known all the wars of Canaan - That is, such as had no experience of those wars, nor of God's extraordinary power and providence manifested in them. In the wars of Canaan under Joshua, therefore, Israel had experienced and learned, that the power to conquer its foes did not consist in the multitude and bravery of its own fighting men, but solely in the might of its God, which it could only possess so long as it continued faithful to the Lord. This lesson the generations that followed Joshua had forgotten, and consequently they did not understand how to make war. To impress this truth upon them-the great truth, upon which the very existence as well as the prosperity of Israel, and its attainment of the object of its divine calling, depended; in other words, to teach it by experience, that the people of Jehovah could only fight and conquer in the power of its God-the Lord had left the Canaanites in the land. Necessity teaches a man to pray. The distress into which the Israelites were brought by the remaining Canaanites was a chastisement from God, through which the Lord desired to lead back the rebellious to himself, to keep them obedient to His commandments, and to train them to the fulfillment of their covenant duties.

these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel--This was the special design of these nations being left, and it evinces the direct influence of the theocracy under which the Israelites were placed. These nations were left for a double purpose: in the first instance, to be instrumental, by their inroads, in promoting the moral and spiritual discipline of the Israelites; and also to subserve the design of making them acquainted with war, in order that the young, more especially, who were total strangers to it, might learn the use of weapons and the art of wielding them.

Jdg 3:2 Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;

to teach them war - This was another reason why the Canaanites were left in the land, that the Israelites might not forget military discipline, but habituate themselves to the use of arms, that they might always be able to defend themselves against their foes. Their fathers fought by a divine power. God taught their hands to war and their fingers to fight, that they might be the instruments of destruction to the wicked nations on whom the curse rested; but now that they had forfeited His favor, they must learn what it is to fight like other men.

at least such as before knew nothing thereof - being either unborn, or at an age incapable of bearing arms, or learning the art of war.

Jdg 3:3 Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

Lords of the Philistines - Seranim, a title used exclusively of the princes of the five Philistine cities. The title is probably of Phoenician origin.

five lords of the Philistines - The places they were lords of were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron; Jos_13:3 from Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite, five lords of the Philistines: of Gaza, of Ashdod, of Ashkelon, of Gath, and of Ekron; also the Avim; three of these, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, had been taken from them by Judah, since the death of Joshua, Jdg_1:18 Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Askelon with its border, and Ekron with its border; but they soon recovered them again, perhaps by the help of the other two. The Philistines were a people originally of Egypt, but came from thence and settled in these parts, and were here as early as in the times of Abraham, and were very troublesome neighbors to the Israelites in later times.

And the Hivites that lived in Mount Lebanon - Joshua appears to have smitten and subdued the Hivites as far north as Baal-Gad, in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon Jos_11:17 from mount Halak that goes up to Seir, even to Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon. And he took all their kings, and struck them and killed them; Jos_12:7 And these are the kings of the land which Joshua and the sons of Israel struck on this side Jordan, on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even to the mount Halak that goes up to Seir, which Joshua gave to the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions, but no further Jos_13:5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal-gad under Mount Hermon to the border of Hamath. There was an unsubdued Hivite population to the north of Baal-hermon (probably Baal-Gad under Hermon, since it is not synonymous with Hermon; 1Ch_5:23 And the sons of the half tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They increased from Bashan to Baal-hermon and Senir, and to Mount Hermon, to the entering in of Hamath.

To the border of Hamath - Hamath is always spoken of as the extreme northern boundary of the land of Canaan. It was the gate of approach to Canaan from Babylon, and all the north Zec_9:2 and Hamath also borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though very wise; Jer_39:5 But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him, and made him go up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment on him. It formed part of the dominions of Solomon 2Ch_8:4 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities which he built in Hamath, and of the future inheritance of Israel, as described in vision by Ezekiel Eze_47:16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.

and all the Canaanites - these were a particular tribe or nation in the land so called, which inhabited by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan, Num_13:29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan, otherwise this is the general name for the seven nations:

and the Sidonians - the inhabitants of the famous city of Sidon, which had its name from the firstborn of Canaan, Gen_10:15 And Canaan fathered Sidon, his first-born, and Heth,

from Mount Baalhermon - the eastern part of Lebanon, the same with Baalgad, where Baal was worshipped:

Jdg 3:4 And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

And they were to prove Israel by them - They were left in the land, as to inure them to war, and try their courage, so to prove their faithfulness to God: This would be the consequence of the Canaanites being left among them: if they should be faithful to God, their enemies would not be able to enslave them; should they be rebellious, the Lord would abandon them to their foes.

they would hearken to the commandments, of the Lord - which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses; even all the commandments of the Lord delivered to them by Moses, moral, civil, and ceremonial, and particularly those that concerned the destruction of the Canaanites, their altars, and their idols, Deu_7:1- 6 When the LORD your God shall bring you into the land where you go to possess it, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and the LORD your God shall deliver them before you, you shall crush them, completely destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter to your son. For they will turn away your son from following Me, so that they may serve other gods. So the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and will destroy you suddenly. But you shall deal with them in this way: you shall destroy their altars and break down their images, and cut down their groves and burn their graven images with fire. For you are a holy people to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a special people to Himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

Jdg 3:5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites - As if they had been only sojourners with them, and not conquerors of them; and dwelt by sufferance, and not as proprietors and owners.

the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites--The two peoples by degrees came to be on habits of intercourse. Reciprocal alliances were formed by marriage till the Israelites, relaxing the austerity of their principles, showed a growing conformity to the manners and worship of their idolatrous neighbors. Dwelling in the midst of the Canaanites, of whom six tribes are enumerated, they contracted marriages with them, and served their gods, contrary to the express prohibition of the Lord in Exo_34:13-16 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves. For you shall worship no other god. For the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God; lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice to their gods, and call you, and you eat of his sacrifice; and lest you take from their daughters for your sons, and their daughters go whoring after their gods and make your sons go whoring after their gods; Exo_23:24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them. And you shall not do according to their works. But you shall surely pull them down, and surely you shall smash their images, Deu_7:3-4 Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter to your son. For they will turn away your son from following Me, so that they may serve other gods. So the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and will destroy you suddenly.

Jdg 3:6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

And they took their daughters - They formed matrimonial alliances with those proscribed nations, served their idols, and thus became one with them in politics and religion. The Israelites intermarried with the inhabitants of the land, contrary to the express command of God, Deu_7:3; whereby they confounded their families, debased their blood, and were ensnared into idolatry, as follows: perhaps to these unlawful marriages, in their first settlement in the land of Canaan, reference is had in Eze_16:3, And say, So says the Lord Jehovah to Jerusalem, Your origin and your birth is of the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite, an Amorite marrying a daughter of Israel, and an Israelitish man an Hittite woman:

and served their gods - this was the natural consequence of their intermarriages, which the Lord foresaw, and therefore cautioned them against them, Exo_34:15. Were drawn to idolatry by the persuasions and examples of their yoke fellows.

Jdg 3:7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

And the groves - literally, Asheroth, images of Asherah (the goddess companion of Baal) No groves were ever worshipped, but the deities who were supposed to be resident in them; and in many cases temples and altars were built in groves, and the superstition of consecrating groves and woods to the honor of the deities was a practice very usual with the ancients.

and forgot the Lord their God - as if they had never heard of him, or known him, their Maker and Preserver, who had done so many great and good things for them:

Jdg 3:8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

Served Chushan-Rishathaim - This is the same phrase as in Jdg_3:14. From it is derived the expression, “the times of servitude,” as distinguished from “the times of rest,” in speaking of the times of the Judges. Mesopotamia, or Aram-naharaim, was the seat of Nimrod’s kingdom, and Nimrod was the son of Cush Gen_10:8-12. Rishathaim is perhaps the name of a city, or a foreign word altered to a Hebrew form.

Chushan-rishathaim - Kushan, the wicked or impious. He overran their country, and forced them to pay a very heavy tribute, the payment of a stipulated tribute yearly, the raising of which must have caused a great amount of labor and privation.

King of Mesopotamia - King of Aram naharayim, “Syria of the two rivers” which were Tigris and Euphrates, translated Mesopotamia by the Septuagint and Vulgate. It was the district situated between the Tigris and Euphrates. This lay at such a distance, that one would not have thought Israel's trouble should have come from such a far country: which shows so much the more of the hand of God in it.

Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel - Because of their idolatry; Jdg_2:14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of spoilers who spoiled them. And He sold them into the hand of their enemies all around, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

Served Chushan-Rishathaim - Josephus calls him king of Assyria, and gives him the name of Chusarthus; and indeed Chushanrishathaim seems to be his whole name, though the Targum makes Rishathaim to be an epithet, and calls him Cushan, the wicked king of Syria; the word is of the dual number, and signifies two wickednesses; which, according to the exposition of the Jewish scholars, refers to two wicked things Syria did to Israel, one by Balaam the Syrian, and the other by this Cushan.

Jdg 3:9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

Othniel the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz - The first judge was Othniel: even in Joshua's time Othniel began to be famous, distinguished in Joshua’s lifetime as a brave and successful leader. Jos_15:16-17 And Caleb said, He who smites Kirjath-sepher, and takes it, I will give my daughter Achsah to him for a wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. Othniel was of the tribe of Judah, and nephew and son-in-law to Caleb.

And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord - In their distress they had recourse to earnest prayer, accompanied by humble and penitent confession of their errors. Towards the close of the eight years' bondage, as it may be supposed, groaning under the oppressive taxes laid upon them, and the bondage they were brought into: and

Jdg 3:10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him - The phrase occurs frequently in this book and in the books of Samuel and Kings. It marks the special office of the Judges. They were saviors called and directed by the Holy Spirit, who endued them with extraordinary wisdom, courage, and strength for the work which lay before them, and were in this respect types of Christ the “Judge of Israel” Micah 5:1 Now gather yourself in troops, daughter of a troop; one sets a siege against us; they shall strike the Judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek, in whom “the Spirit of the Lord God” was “without measure” Isaiah 11:1-2 And a Shoot goes out from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is on Me; because the LORD has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; Mat_12:17-21 so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "Behold My Child whom I have chosen; My Beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He shall declare judgment to the nations. He shall not strive, nor cry, nor shall any one hear His voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not quench a smoking wick, until He sends out judgment to victory. And in His name the nations shall trust".

His hand prevailed - We are not told or what nature this war was, but it was most decisive; and the consequence was an undisturbed peace of forty years, during the whole life of Othniel.

and he judged Israel - took upon him the office of a judge over them, and executed it; very probably the first work he set about was to reprove them for their sins, and convince them of them, and reform them from their idolatry, and restore among them the pure worship of God.

Jdg 3:11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

And the land had rest forty years – The equivalent of a generation.

Jdg 3:12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

The children of Israel did evil - The Israelites, deprived of the moral and political influences of Othniel, were not long in following their native bias to idolatry. They fell into idolatry again, which was a great evil in the sight of God, and what they were prone to fall into: God made those very people, whom they had imitated in their idolatrous worship, the means of their chastisement.

The Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab - The success he had against the Israelites was by the especial appointment and energy of God.

He not only abandoned the Israelites, but strengthened the Moabites against them. Eglon may have been the immediate successor of Balak. Some great men have borne names which, when reduced to their grammatical meaning, appear very ridiculous: the word Eglon signifies a little calf.

the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab--The reigning monarch's ambition was to recover that extensive portion of his ancient territory possessed by the Israelites. In conjunction with his neighbors, the Ammonites and the Amalekites, sworn enemies of Israel, he first subjected the eastern tribes; then crossing the Jordan, he made a sudden incursion on western Canaan, and in virtue of his conquests, erected fortifications in the territory adjoining Jericho (according to Josephus), to secure the frontier, and fixed his residence there. This oppressor was permitted, in the providence of God, to triumph for eighteen years.

Jdg 3:13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

The city of palm trees - Eglon allied himself with the Ammonites and Amalekites, those arch-foes of Israel, invaded the land, took the palm-city, Jericho and made the Israelites tributary for eighteen years. Sixty years had passed since Jericho had been burnt by Joshua. During that time the Israelites had occupied the ruined city, Joshua 18:21 And the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and the valley of Keziz, Jdg_1:16 And the sons of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the sons of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad. And they went and lived among the people; but they had not fortified it, on account of the curse pronounced by Joshua upon any one who should restore it as a fortress Joshua 6:26 And Joshua charged them at that time, saying, Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city of Jericho. He shall lay the foundation of it in his first-born, and in his youngest son he shall set up the gates of it so that the Moabites could easily conquer it, and using it as a base, reduce the Israelites to servitude. Build up in the context of Joshua 6:26 means to fortify. The city of palm trees was merely an unwalled village at this time.

The city of palm trees - This the Targum renders the city of Jericho; but Jericho had been destroyed by Joshua, and certainly was not rebuilt till the reign of Ahab, long after this, 1Ki_16:34. However, as Jericho is expressly called the city of palm trees, Deu_34:3, the city in question must have been in the vicinity or plain of Jericho, and the king of Moab had seized it as a frontier town contiguous to his own estates.

Jdg 3:14 So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years - Ten years longer than they served the king of Mesopotamia, Jdg_3:8, as a severer correction of them for their relapse into idolatry. If smaller troubles do not the work, God will send greater.

Jdg 3:15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord - After being long oppressed, and groaning under their burdens, and brought to a sense of their sins, and humiliation for them, they asked forgiveness of God, and deliverance from their bondage; for it is very probable they were until towards the close of those years stupid and hardened, and did not consider what was the reason of their being thus dealt with:

But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord - The very same words as are used at

Jdg_3:9 And when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the sons of Israel, who delivered them, Othniel, the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.

Jdg_2:16 But the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who spoiled them.

Jdg_2:18 And when the LORD raised judges up for them, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD took pity because of their groanings before their oppressors and their crushers.

Neh_9:27 And You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who troubled them. And in the time of their trouble, they cried to You, and You heard from Heaven. And according to Your manifold mercies, You gave them deliverers, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

Ehud the son of Gera - Ehud “the Benjamite” was of the family or house of Gera, the son of Bela, Benjamin’s first-born, born before Jacob’s descent into Egypt 1Ch 8:3 And the sons of Bela: Addar, and Gera, and Abihud, and then included among “the sons of Benjamin.” Gen_46:21 And the sons of Benjamin: Belah and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard, The genealogy in 1Ch_8:6 And these are the sons of Ehud, these are the heads of the fathers of the people of Geba; and they exiled them to Manahath intimates that Ehud became the head of a separate house.

a man left handed – The words are written as a man lame in his right hand or shut of his right hand, and therefore obliged to use his left. This Hebrew phrase intimates that, either through disease or disuse, he made little or no use of the right hand, but of his left only, and so was the less fit for war, because he would most likely wield a dagger awkwardly, yet God chose this left-handed man to be the minister of his retributive justice. It was God’s right hand that gained Israel the victory, Psa 44:3 For they did not get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but it was Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them; not the right hand of the instruments he employed Benjamites were often left handed it seems by this verse. Jdg 20:16 Among all this people were seven hundred chosen men, left-handed. Every one could sling stones at a hair's breadth, and not miss. 1Ch_12:1-2 And these were the ones who came to David to Ziklag, while banned from the face of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war, right and left-handed, armed with bows, with stones, and with arrows, with the bow from the brothers of Saul, of Benjamin.

a man left handed – hindered in the use of his right hand, not necessarily crippled, but in all probability disabled through want of use from his youth upwards. That the expression does not mean crippled, is confirmed by the fact that it is used again in connection with the 700 brave slingers in the army of the Benjaminites in Jdg_20:16, and it certainly cannot be supposed that they were all actual cripples.

Sent a present unto Eglon – sent a tribute This is generally understood to be the tribute money which the king of Moab had imposed on the Israelites.

A Benjamite - This tribe was next to Eglon, and doubtless most afflicted by him; and hence God raiseth a deliverer.

Jdg 3:16 But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

Upon his right thigh - The proper side for a left-handed man. It would give him the appearance of being unarmed. The narrative shows clearly that his action was premeditated Jdg_3:21.

But Ehud made him a dagger - A little sword, as Josephus calls it, with two edges, that it might cut both ways, and do the execution he designed by it, and was about half a yard long; which he could the more easily conceal, and use for his purpose:

and he did gird it under his raiment - that it might not be seen, and give occasion of suspicion; this was a military garment, coarse, and made of wool, and reached to the ankle, and was buttoned upon the shoulder, and put over the coat.

Jdg 3:17 And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.

Eglon was a very fat man - The Hebrew word for fat is an adjective denoting something as fat, healthy. It refers to cattle (Gen_41:4); persons (Jdg_3:17); food (Hab_1:16); healthy (fat) of flesh (Psa_73:4; Dan_1:15) through eating the Jewish diet.

Jdg 3:18 And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.

Made an end to offer the present - Had delivered the several things contained in it, and very probably made a speech to the king in the name of the people of Israel from whom he brought it. Presents, tribute in the eastern countries were offered with very great ceremony; and to make the more parade several persons, ordinarily slaves, sumptuously dressed, and in considerable number, were employed to carry what would not be a burden even to one. This appears to have been the case in the present instance.

Jdg 3:19 But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

He himself turned again from the quarries - this word means idols or graven images, or some spot where the Moabites had a place of idolatrous worship.

who said, keep silence - that is, the king of Moab said so to Ehud. Till the servants were gone: whom he would not have acquainted with a business which he supposed to be of great importance.

Jdg 3:20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

And Ehud came unto him - Somewhat nearer him than he was before; it seems probable that Eglon retired from the presence chamber, where he received company, into his summer parlor; which was smaller and more private, and in which he had used to be alone, as follows, and whither Ehud went in unto him, as he directed him:

I have a message from God unto thee - Ehud believed himself to be accomplishing the divine mandate, and so his words were true in a certain sense. But it was also a stratagem to cause the king to rise, that the thrust might be sure.

I have a message from God unto thee - a word of the gods to me, unto thee. It is possible that the word elohim is used here to signify idols, or the pesilim mentioned above, Jdg_3:19. Ehud, having gone so far as this place of idolatry, might feign he had there been worshipping, and that the pesilim had inspired him with a message for the king; and this was the reason why the king commanded silence, why every man went out, and why he rose from his seat or throne, that he might receive it with the greater respect.

He was sitting in a summer parlor - a summer parlor: Heb. a parlor of cooling, a ventilated area open to the currents of air, and so afforded a cool retreat.

Jdg 3:21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

took the dagger from his right thigh - Being a lefthanded man; Jdg_3:15, and this he could the better do, without being taken notice of by the king, who, if he saw him move his left hand, would have no suspicion of his going to draw a dagger with it.

Jdg 3:22 And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.

The haft also went in after the blade - As the instrument was very short, and Eglon very corpulent, this might readily take place.

And the dirt came out - This is variously understood: either the contents of the bowels issued through the wound, or he had an evacuation in the natural way.

Jdg 3:23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

Then Ehud went forth through the porch - Which the Targum interprets by "exedra", a place, where there were many seats, either for the people to sit in while waiting to have admittance into the presence of the king, or where the guards sat, and may be called the guard room; through this Ehud passed with all serenity and composure of mind imaginable, without the least show of distress and uneasiness in his countenance, being fully satisfied that what he had done was right, and according to the will of God:

and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them - joined the doors of the parlor, as the Targum, the two folds of the door, shut them close together upon Eglon within the parlor, and bolted them within, or drew the bolt on the inside, which he was able to do with a key for that purpose; Jdg_3:25 And they waited until they were ashamed. And, behold, he did not open the doors of the room. And they took a key and opened them. And behold, their lord had fallen down dead on the earth.

Jdg 3:24 When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.

He covereth his feet - He has lain down on his sofa in order to sleep; when this was done they dropped their slippers, lifted up their feet, and covered them with their long loose garments. But the versions, in general, seem to understand it as implying a certain natural act.

he covereth his feet in his summer chamber - that is, was easing nature (to put it delicately); and, as the eastern people wore long and loose garments, when they sat down on such an occasion, their feet were covered with them; or they purposely gathered them about their feet to cover them, and so this became a modest expression for this work of nature, 1Sa_24:3 And he came to the folds of the flock on the way, where there was a cave. And Saul went in to cover his feet. And David and his men remained in the sides of the cave; though some think that in that place, and also in this, is meant lying down to sleep; and that Eglon's servants supposed that he had laid himself down on his couch in his summer chamber to take sleep, when it was usual to cover the feet with long garments, to hide those parts of nature which otherwise might be exposed; and it must be owned that this seems more agreeable to a summer parlor than the former, and better accounts for the servants waiting so long as they did; and Josephus is express for it, that his servants thought he had fallen asleep.

When he was gone out, his servants came - When Ehud was gone through the porch, and out of the palace, the servants of Eglon, who had been put out, came to the parlor door to reassume their former place, in order to wait upon him as usual.

Ehud's conduct must be judged according to the spirit of those times, when it was thought allowable to adopt any means of destroying the enemy of one's nation. The treacherous assassination of a hostile king is not to be regarded as an act of the Spirit of God, and therefore is not set before us as an example to be imitated. Although Jehovah raised up Ehud as a deliverer to His people when oppressed by Eglon, it is not stated (and this ought particularly to be observed) that the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Ehud, and still less that Ehud assassinated the hostile king under the impulse of that Spirit. Ehud proved himself to have been raised up by the Lord as the deliverer of Israel, simply by the fact that he actually delivered his people from the bondage of the Moabites, and it by no means follows that the means which he selected were either commanded or approved by Jehovah.

Jdg 3:25 And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

They took a key - literally, “an opener.” This is the first time we read of a key. Probably a wooden instrument with which they either lifted up the latch within, or drew back the wooden bar or bolt. It was usual in princes courts to have many keys for the same door.

And they tarried until they were ashamed - And knew not what to think of it, or what methods to take to be satisfied of the truth of the matter, and what should be the meaning of the doors being kept locked so long:

Jdg 3:26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

Seirath - “The forest” or “weald,” which evidently bordered on the cultivated plain near Gilgal, and extended into “the mountain or hill country of Ephraim.” Once there, he was safe from pursuit and quickly collected a strong force of Ephraimires and probably the bordering Benjamites. Seirah is a place that is never mentioned again; and, judging from the etymology (the hairy), it was a wooded region, respecting the situation of which all that can be decided is, that it is not to be sought for in the neighborhood of Jericho, but “upon the mountains of Ephraim” (Jdg_3:27). For when Ehud had come to Seirah, he blew the trumpet “upon the mountains of Ephraim,” to announce to the people the victory that was placed within their reach by the death of Eglon, and to summon them to war with the Moabites, and then went down from the mountain into the plain near Jericho;

Passed beyond the quarries - Beyond the pesilim or graven images, which appear to have been the Moabitish borders.

Jdg 3:27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim--summoned to arms the people of that mountainous region, which, adjoining the territory of Benjamin, had probably suffered most from the grievous oppression of the Moabites.

Jdg 3:28 And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.

Took the fords of Jordan - They did this to prevent the Moabites, which were in the land of Israel, going into their own land upon this alarm, and those in the land of Moab from going over to help them. It is likely that the Moabites, who were on the western side of Jordan, hearing of the death of Eglon, were panic-struck, and endeavored to escape over Jordan at the fords near Jericho, when Ehud blew his trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and thus to get into the land of the Moabites, which lay on the east of Jordan; but Ehud and his men, seizing the only pass by which they could make their escape, slew ten thousand of them in their attempt to cross at those fords. What is called here the fords was likely the place where the Israelites had passed Jordan when they (under Joshua) took possession of the promised land.

for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hands - which he concluded from the success he had had in cutting off the king of Moab which had thrown the Moabites into great confusion and distress, and from an impulse on his mind from the Lord, assuring him of this deliverance:

Jdg 3:29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men - Who had been sent into the land of Israel to keep it in subjection, and others who had likely settled themselves there for their better convenience, profit, and pleasure;

all lusty, and all men of valour - the word for "lusty" signifies "fat", living in ease for a long time, and in a plentiful country were grown fat; and signifies rich men, such as had acquired wealth by living in the land of Canaan; or who came over Jordan thither and settled about Jericho, because of the delightfulness of the place, and others were stout and valiant soldiers, whom the king of Moab had placed there to keep the land in subjection he had subdued, and to subdue what remained of it; but they were all destroyed:

at that time - The expression “at that time” seems to imply that they did not destroy this number in one single engagement, but during the whole course of the war.

Jdg 3:30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

The land had rest - that portion of land which had suffered from the oppression of Moab, probably Benjamin and Ephraim chiefly.

So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel - rather the Moabites were broken, that is, their forces in the land of Israel; for the land of Moab itself was not subdued and brought into subjection to the Israelites; but they were so weakened by this stroke upon them, that they could not detain the Israelites under their power any longer:

Jdg 3:31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath - That is, after the death of Ehud, when the people of Israel were in distress again from another quarter, this man was raised up of God to be a judge and deliverer of them; but who he was, and who his father, and of what tribe, we nowhere else read: From this verse and Jdg_5:6 we may gather that Shamgar was contemporary with Jael, and that he only procured a temporary and partial deliverance for Israel by his exploit. He may have been of the tribe of Judah.

And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath - Nothing is recorded about the descent of Shamgar, either here or in the Song of Deborah, in Jdg_5:6. The heroic deed recorded of him may be regarded as “merely the result of a holy inspiration that suddenly burst forth within him, in which he seized upon the first weapon that came to his hand, and put to flight the enemy when scared by a terror for God, just as Samson did on a later occasion.” For he does not seem to have secured for the Israelites any permanent victory over the Philistines. Moreover, he is not called judge, nor is the period of his labors taken into account, but in Jdg_4:1 the renewed apostasy of Israel from the Lord is dated from the death of Ehud.

An ox goad - An instrument of wood about eight feet long, armed with an iron spike or point at one end, with which to spur the ox at plow, and with an iron scraper at the other end with which to detach the earth from the plowshare when it became encumbered with it.

which slew of the Philistines six hundred men - who invaded the land, and came in an hostile manner into it; or rather, as it seems from Jdg_5:6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were empty, and the travelers walked through crooked ways; they entered as thieves and robbers, who posted themselves in the highways, and robbed travelers as they passed, so that they were obliged to leave off traveling, or go through bypaths, and not in the public road.