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Judges Chapter
Three
Judges 3
Outlines
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 3
This
chapter gives an account of the nations left in Canaan to prove Israel, and who
became a snare unto them, Judges 3:1; and of
the servitude of Israel under the king of Mesopotamia for their sins, from
which they were delivered by Othniel, Judges 3:8; and of
their subjection to the Moabites, from which they were freed by Ehud, who
privately assassinated the king of Moab, and then made his escape, Judges 3:12; and of
the destruction of a large number of Philistines by Shamgar, with an ox goad, Judges 3:31.
Judges 3:1 Now
these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test
Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan
YLT
1And these [are] the nations
which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars
of Canaan;
Now these are the nations which the Lord left to prove
Israel by them,.... Which are later mentioned, Judges 3:3,
even as many of
Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; those that
Joshua, and the people of Israel under him, had with the Canaanites, when they
first entered the land and subdued it; being then not born, or so young as not
to have knowledge of them, at least not able to bear arms at that time.
Judges 3:2 2 (this was only so
that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at
least those who had not formerly known it),
YLT
2(only for the sake of the
generations of the sons of Israel's knowing, to teach them war, only those who
formerly have not known them) –
Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know and
teach them war,.... That is, the following nations were left in the land, that
the young generations of Israel might by their wars and conflicts with them
learn the art of war, and be inured to martial discipline; which, if none had
been left to engage with, they had been ignorant of: besides, their fathers in
Joshua's time, as Jarchi and Kimchi observe, had no need to learn the art of
war, for God fought for them; they did not get possession of the land by their
own arm, and by their sword, but by the power of God in a miraculous way; but
now this was not to be expected, and the Canaanites were left among them to
expel, that they might be trained up in the knowledge of warlike affairs, and
so be also capable of teaching their children the military art; which they
should make use of in obeying the command of God, by driving out the remains of
the Canaanites, and not give themselves up to sloth and indolence; though some
think that the meaning is, that God left these nations among them, that they
might know what war was, and the sad effects of it; and the difference of
fighting with their enemies alone, as other men, and the Lord fighting along
with them, and for them, as he did for their fathers:
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.
Judges 3:3 3 namely,
five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the
Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of
Hamath.
YLT
3five princes of the
Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting
mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath;
Namely, five lords of
the Philistines,.... The places they were lords of were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon,
Gath, and Ekron; see Joshua 13:3; three
of these, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, had been taken from them by Judah, since
the death of Joshua, Judges 1:18; 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 neighbours to the Israelites in later times; see Genesis 10:14,
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, Numbers 13:29;
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, Genesis 10:15,
and the Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon; on the north
of the land of Canaan:
from Mount Baalhermon; the eastern part of
Lebanon, the same with Baalgad, where Baal was worshipped:
unto the entering in of Hamath; the boundary of the
northern part of the land, which entrance led into the valley between Libanus
and Antilibanus; see Numbers 34:8.
Judges 3:4 4 And they were left,
that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the
commandments of the Lord,
which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
YLT
4and they are to prove
Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that 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:
to know whether 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, Deuteronomy 7:1.
Judges 3:5 5 Thus the children of
Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites,
the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
YLT
5And the sons of Israel have
dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the
Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,
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; such were their sloth and
indolence, and such the advantage the inhabitants of the land got over them
through it, and through their compliances with them; and this was the case not
only of one sort of them, the Canaanites, but of the rest:
the Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and
Jebusites; who all had cities in the several parts of the land, with whom
the children of Israel were mixed, and with whom they were permitted to dwell.
Judges 3:6 6 And they took their
daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they
served their gods.
YLT
6and take their daughters to
them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve
their gods;
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their
daughters to their sons,.... The Israelites intermarried with the inhabitants of the land,
contrary to the express command of God, Deuteronomy 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 Ezekiel 16:3,
"thy father was an Amorite and thy mother an 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, Exodus 34:15.
Judges 3:7 7 So the children of Israel
did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and
served the Baals and Asherahs.[a]
YLT
7and the sons of Israel do
the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve
the Baalim and the shrines.
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Both by
marrying with Heathens, and worshipping their gods:
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:
and served Baalim, and the groves; of Baalim, see Judges 2:11; the
groves mean either idols worshipped in groves, as Jupiter was worshipped in a
grove of oaks, hence the oak of Dodona; and Apollo in a grove of laurels in
Daphne: there were usually groves where idol temples were built; and so in
Phoenicia, or Canaan, Dido the Sidonian queen built a temple for Juno in the
midst of the city, where was a grove of an agreeable shadeF4"Lucus
in urbe fuit media", &c. Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1. : so BarthiusF5Animadv.
ad Claudian. de raptu Proserp. l. 1. v. 205. observes, that most of the ancient
gods of the Heathens used to be worshipped in groves. And groves and trees
themselves were worshipped; so Tacitus saysF6De mor. German. c. 9.
Vid. Plin. l. 12. 1. of the Germans, that they consecrated groves and forests,
and called them by the names of gods. Groves are here put in the place of Ashtaroth,
Judges 2:13;
perhaps the goddesses of that name were worshipped in groves; and if Diana is
meant by Astarte, ServiusF7In Virgil. Georgic. l. 3. col. 295. says
that every oak is sacred to Jupiter and every grove to Diana; and OvidF8"Est
nemus et piceis", &c. Ep. 12. v. 67. Vid. Metamorph. l. 11. Fab. 9. v.
560. speaks of a temple of Diana in a grove. But as they are joined with
Baalim, the original of which were deified kings and heroes, the groves may be
such as were consecrated to them; for, as the same writer observesF9In
Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1. col. 481. & in l. 3. col. 721. , the souls of heroes
were supposed to have their abode in groves; See Gill on Exodus 34:13 and
See Gill on Deuteronomy 7:5. It
was in this time of defection that the idolatry of Micah, and of the Danites,
and the war of Benjamin about the Levite's concubine, happened, though related
at the end of the book; so JosephusF11Antiqu. l. 5. c. 2. & 3.
places the account here.
Judges 3:8 8 Therefore the anger of the
Lord was hot
against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of
Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years.
YLT
8And the anger of Jehovah
burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim
king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight
years;
Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel,.... Because
of their idolatry; see Judges 2:14,
and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim, king of
Mesopotamia; or Aramnaharaim; that is, Syria, between the two rivers, which
were Tigris and Euphrates; hence the Greek name of this place is as here called
Mesopotamia. JosephusF12Antiqu. l. 5. c. 3. sect. 2. 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 mystical
exposition of the JewsF13T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 105. I. , refers to
two wicked things Syria did to Israel, one by Balaam the Syrian, and the other
by this Cushan. Mr. BedfordF14Scripture Chronology, p. 507. thinks
it may be rendered,"Cushan, king of the two wicked kingdoms;'the Assyrian
monarchy being at this time like two kingdoms, Babylon being the metropolis of
the one, and Nineveh of the other; but it is question whether the monarchy was
as yet in being. HillerusF15Onomastic. p. 154, 155. makes Cushan to
be an Arab Scenite, from Habakkuk 3:7; and
Rishathaim to denote disquietudes; and it represents him as a man very
turbulent, never quiet and easy, and so it seems he was; for not content with
his kingdom on the other side Euphrates, he passed over that, and came into
Canaan, to subject that to him, and add it to his dominions. Kimchi says that
Rishathaim may be the name of a place, and some conjecture it to be the same
with the Rhisina of PtolemyF16Geograph. l. 5. c. 18. ; but it seems
rather a part of this king's name, who came and fought against Israel, and the
Lord delivered them into his hands:
and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years; became
tributaries to him during that space of time, but when that began is not easy
to say. Bishop UsherF17Annal. Vet. Test. p. 42. places it in A. M.
2591, and before Christ 1413.
Judges 3:9 9 When the children of
Israel cried out to the Lord,
the Lord
raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel
the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
YLT
9and the sons of Israel cry
unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he
saveth them -- Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother;
And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord,.... 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
the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel; he heard
their cry, and sent them a saviour, whose spirit he stirred up, and whom he
qualified for this service:
who delivered them; out of the hands of the king of
Mesopotamia, and freed them from his oppressions:
even Othniel, the
son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother; the same that took
Debir, and married Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, Judges 1:12; who
now very probably was a man in years.
Judges 3:10 10 The Spirit of the Lord came upon him,
and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord delivered
Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed
over Cushan-Rishathaim.
YLT
10and the Spirit of Jehovah
is upon him, and he judgeth Israel, and goeth out to battle, and Jehovah giveth
unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against
Chushan-Rishathaim;
And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him,.... Moved him
to engage in this work of delivering Israel, inspired him with courage, and
filled him with every needful gift, qualifying him for it; the Targum
interprets it the spirit of prophecy; it seems father to be the spirit of
counsel and courage, of strength and fortitude of body and mind:
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; and
this he did first before he took up arms for them:
and he went out to war; raised an army, and went
out at the head of them, to fight with their oppressor:
and the Lord delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into
his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim; gave him the
victory over him and his army, so that he fell into his hands, became his
captive, and perhaps was slain by him.
Judges 3:11 11 So the land had rest for
forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
YLT
11and the land resteth forty
years. And Othniel son of Kenaz dieth,
And the land had rest forty years,.... As it should seem
from the time of this deliverance; though, according to Ben Gersom and
Abarbinel, the eight years' servitude are to be included in them; and Bishop
UsherF18Anual. Vet. Test. p. 42. reckons these forty years from the
rest first settled in the land by Joshua; but the former sense seems best:
and Othniel the son of Kenaz died: not at the end of the
forty years; it is not likely he should live so long, but when he died is not certain;
EusebiusF19Evangel. Praepar. l. 1O. c. 14. p. 502. says he judged
Israel fifty years.
Judges 3:12 12 And the children of Israel
again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened
Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of
the Lord.
YLT
12and the sons of Israel add
to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengtheneth Eglon
king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the
eyes of Jehovah;
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord,.... Fell into
idolatry again, which was a great evil in the sight of God, and what they were
prone to fall into:
and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel; put it into
his heart to invade them, and encouraged him to it, and gave him success; what
kings reigned over Moab between Balak and this king we know not: it is a
commonly received notion of the Jews, that Ruth was the daughter of Eglon; see 1:4; and it was about this time that Elimelech with his
two sons went into Moab, and when many of those things recorded in the book of
Ruth were transacted:
because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord; which had
greatly provoked him to anger, and was the cause of stirring up the king of
Moab against them.
Judges 3:13 13 Then he gathered to
himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took
possession of the City of Palms.
YLT
13and he gathereth unto him
the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goeth and smiteth Israel, and they possess the
city of palms;
And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek,.... Either
the Lord gathered them to Eglon, inclined them to enter into a confederacy with
him, to assist in the war against Israel; or the king of Moab got them to join
with him in it, they being his neighbours, and enemies to Israel, and
especially Amalek:
and went and smote Israel; first the two tribes and
a half, which lay on that side Jordan Moab did, whom it is reasonable to
suppose he would attack first; and having defeated them, he came over Jordan:
and possessed the city of the palm trees; Jericho, as
the Targum, which was set with palm trees; see Deuteronomy 34:3;
not the city itself, for that was destroyed by Joshua, and not rebuilt until
the time of Ahab; but the country, about it, or, as Abarbinel thinks, a city
that was near it; here Josephus saysF20Antiqu. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 1.
he had his royal palace; it is probable he built a fort or garrison here, to
secure the fords of Jordan, and his own retreat; as well as to keep up a
communication with his own people, and prevent the tribes of the other side
giving any assistance to their brethren, if able and disposed to do it.
Judges 3:14 14 So the children of Israel
served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.
YLT
14and the sons of Israel
serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.
So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen
years. Ten years longer than they served the king of Mesopotamia, Judges 3:8, as a
severer correction of them for their relapse into idolatry.
Judges 3:15 15 But when the children of
Israel cried out to the Lord,
the Lord
raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a
left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of
Moab.
YLT
15And the sons of Israel cry
unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a
Benjamite (a man -- shut of his right hand), and the sons of Israel send by his
hand a present to Eglon 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:
the Lord raised them up a deliverer; another saviour, one
that he made use of as an instrument of their deliverance:
Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded; who is
described by his parentage, a son of Gera, but who his father was is not known;
by his tribe a Benjamite, in which Jericho was, Eglon possessed, and so might
be more oppressed than any other part; and therefore the Lord stirred up one of
that tribe to be the deliverer; and by his being a lefthanded man, as several
of that tribe were, Judges 20:16;
though a Benjamite signifies a son of the right hand; and he perhaps was one of
those lefthanded Benjamites that fled to the rock Rimmon, as Dr. LightfootF21Works,
vol. 1. p. 46. conjectures, Judges 20:47; for
that affair, though there related, was before this: the Septuagint calls him an
"ambidexter", one that could use both hands equally alike; but the
Hebrew phrase signifies one that is "shut up in his right hand"F23אטר יד ימינו
"obturatum manu dextera sua", Montanus; "habens manum dexterum
obturatum", Munsterus; "erat clausa manu dextera", Tigurine
version; "clausum manu dextera", Drusius; "perclusum",
Junius & Tremellius; "praaeclusum", Piscator. ; who has not the
true use of it, cannot exercise it as his other hand, being weak and impotent,
or contracted through disuse, or some disease; or, as JosephusF24Ut
supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 4.) sect. 2. expresses it, who could use his left hand
best, and who also calls him a young man of a courageous mind and strong of
body, and says he dwelt at Jericho, and was very familiar with Eglon, and who
by his gifts and presents had endeared himself to all about the king:
and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the
king of Moab; either their yearly tribute, or rather a gift unto him, to
soften him, and reconcile him to them, and make their bondage easier; or to
give him access to him with more confidence and safety, though it does not seem
that they knew anything of Ehud's design.
Judges 3:16 16 Now Ehud made himself a
dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his
clothes on his right thigh.
YLT
16and Ehud maketh for himself
a sword, and it hath two mouths (a cubit [is] its length), and he girdeth it
under his long robe on his right thigh;
But Ehud made him a dagger, which had two edges, of a cubit length,.... A little
sword, as Josephus calls itF25Ibid. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2.) ,
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, the
"sagum", as the Vulgate Latin version, which was coarse, and made of
wool, and reached to the ankle, and was buttoned upon the shoulder, and put
over the coatF26Vid. Valtrinum de re militar. Roman. l. 3. c. 13. ;
the Septuagint makes use of a word SuidasF1In voce μανδυας. interprets a coat of
mail:
upon his right thigh; whereas a sword is more
commonly girt upon the left; though some observe, from various writers, that
the eastern people used to gird their swords on their right thigh; or this was
done that it might be the less discernible and suspected, and chiefly as being
most convenient for him, a lefthanded man, to draw it out upon occasion.
Judges 3:17 17 So he brought the tribute
to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)
YLT
17and he bringeth near the
present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon [is] a very fat man.
And he brought a present unto Eglon king of Moab,....
Accompanied by two servants, as Josephus saysF2Antiqu. l. 5. c. 4.
sect. 2. , and who doubtless bore the presents; for that there were such with
him that did is clear from Judges 3:18; nor
can it be thought that so great a personage as a judge in Israel should go
alone and carry a present in his own hands; though it is possible, when come to
the king of Moab, he might take it from his servants, and deliver it to him
with his own hands:
and Eglon was a very fat man: and so the less active,
and unable to decline and avoid the stroke, he might see, when about to be
given him.
Judges 3:18 18 And when he had finished
presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.
YLT
18And it cometh to pass, when
he hath finished to bring near the present, that he sendeth away the people
bearing the present,
And when he had 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:
he sent away the people that bare the present; not the
servants of Eglon that introduced him, as if they assisted in bringing in the
present to the king; for over them he could not have so much power as to
dismiss them at pleasure; but the children of Israel that came along with him,
and carried the present for him: these he dismissed, not in the presence of the
king of Moab, but after he had taken his leave of him, and when he had gone on
some way in his return home; and this he did for the greater secrecy of his design,
and that he might when he had finished it the more easily escape alone, and be
without any concern for or care of the safety of others.
Judges 3:19 19 But he himself turned back
from the stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message
for you, O king.”
He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him went out from
him.
YLT
19and he himself hath turned
back from the graven images which [are] at Gilgal, and saith, `A secret word I
have unto thee, O king;' and he saith, `Hush!' and go out from him do all those
standing by him.
But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by
Gilgal,...., For so far he accompanied the men that came with him. These
quarries were places where they dug stones and hewed them, according to the Targum,
and most Jewish writers; but some render the word "engravings", and
understand them of inscriptions engraved on pillars here, which remained from
the times of Seth the son of Adam; of which see more on Judges 3:26; but
according to the Vulgate Latin, and other versions, graven images or idols are
meant, which the king of Moab set up here in contempt of the Israelites, it
being a place where the ark remained some time, and circumcision had been
performed, Joshua 5:3; or in
order to draw them into idolatry, those idols perhaps being made of the twelve
stones they had set up there, Joshua 4:20; or
rather in honour of his gods, to invoke their assistance when he first entered
into the land, or by way of gratitude and thankfulness for the subduing of it:
and this it is thought by some stirred up the spirit of Ehud, and caused him to
turn back, resolving to avenge this profaneness:
and said; when he came to the palace of the king of Moab, and into his
presence:
I have a secret errand unto thee, O king; which he had
forgot when with him before, as he might pretend; or something new had occurred
unto him to acquaint him of, and which required privacy:
who said, keep silence; that is, the king of
Moab said so either to Ehud, to be silent until be had sent out his servants
that were about him, that they might not hear the secret; or to a person or
persons that were speaking to him, whom he bid to desist and depart, it being
his pleasure to hear Ehud before them; so Ben Gersom; but the former sense
rather seems best:
and all that stood by him went out from him; his servants,
his courtiers that were waiting upon him, or such as were admitted into his
presence, to have audience of him, and deliver their messages, or make their
petitions to him.
Judges 3:20 20 So Ehud came to him (now
he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a
message from God for you.” So he arose from his seat.
YLT
20And Ehud hath come unto
him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he hath for
himself, and Ehud saith, `A word of God I have unto thee;' and he riseth from
off the throne;
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 parlour; 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:
and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself
alone: into which he was wont to go and sit alone, for the sake of
coolness and refreshment in the hot season of the year, which it seems it now
was; a room this was, in which, as Kimchi and others observe, were many windows
to let in air to cool and refresh; or it was in such a part of the palace that
was cool, and sheltered from the heat of the sun; see Amos 3:15,
and Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee; which was to
kill him; and undoubtedly he was sent of God on this errand to him: whether it
be rendered a "word" or "thing" from God, as it signifies
both, it was true, and no lie; for it was the Lord that spoke to him by an
impulse on his spirit, and the thing was from the Lord he was to do, for
nothing less could have justified him in such an action; and therefore this
instance can be no warrant for the assassination of princes; as Ehud did not
this of himself, but of the Lord, so neither did he do it as a private man, but
as a judge of Israel. JosephusF3Antiqu. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2. says,
he told him that he had a dream at the order of God to declare unto him; but
for this there is no warrant; however it seems pretty plain that his view in
making mention of the name of God, and of Elohim, a name given to false gods as
well as the true, rather than Jehovah, was to strike his mind with awe and
reverence, and cause him to rise from his seat, that he might the better thrust
him with his dagger; and it had the desired effect:
and he arose out of his seat; in reverence of God,
from whom he expected to receive a message; this he did, though in his mind a
blind ignorant idolater; in his body fat, corpulent, and unwieldy; and in his
office a king, and a proud and tyrannical man. The above writer says, that, for
joy at the dream he was to hear, he rose from his throne.
Judges 3:21 21 Then Ehud reached with his
left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.
YLT
21and Ehud putteth forth his
left hand, and taketh the sword from off his right thigh, and striketh it into
his belly;
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his
right thigh,.... Being, as before observed, a lefthanded man; Judges 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, and which also was hidden under his raiment, Judges 3:16,
and thrust it into his belly; JosephusF4Antiqu.
l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2. says into his heart; it is certain the wound was mortal,
and must have been in a part on which, life depended.
Judges 3:22 22 Even the hilt went in
after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the
dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out.
YLT
22and the haft also goeth in
after the blade, and the fat shutteth on the blade, that he hath not drawn the
sword out of his belly, and it goeth out at the fundament.
And the haft went in, after the blade,.... The
handle of the dagger, as well as the blade; so strong and violent was the
thrust, he determining to do his business effectually:
and the fat closed upon the blade; being an excessive fat
man, the wound made by the dagger closed up at once upon it, through the fat:
so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; being not
able to take hold of the haft or handle, that having slipped in through the fat
after the blade, so that he was obliged to leave it in him:
and the dirt came out; the margin of our Bibles
is, "it came out at the fundament"; that is, the dagger did, the
thrust being so strong and vehement; but that is not so likely, the dagger
being so short, and Eglon a very fat man. The Targum is,"his food went
out;'which was in his bowels; but as the wound was closed up through fat, and
the dagger stuck fast in it, it could not come out that way: rather therefore
this is to he understood of his excrements, and of their coming out at the
usual place, it being common for persons that die a violent death, and indeed
others, to purge upon it; some, as Kimchi observes, interpret it of the place
where the guards were, the guard room, through which Ehud went out, but that is
expressed in another word in Judges 3:23; the
Syriac and Arabic versions read, "he went out in haste", that is,
Ehud.
Judges 3:23 23 Then Ehud went out through
the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
YLT
23And Ehud goeth out at the
porch, and shutteth the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and hath bolted
[it];
Then Ehud went forth through the porch,.... Which the
Targum interprets by "exedra", a place, as Kimchi, 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 parlour upon him, and locked them; joined the
doors of the parlour, as the Targum, the two folds of the door, shut them close
together upon Eglon within the parlour, and bolted them within, or drew the
bolt on the inside, which he was able to do with a key for that purpose; of
which see more on Judges 3:25; and
which it is probable he took away along with him; this must be understood as
done before he went through the porch, and therefore should be rendered,
"when" or "after he had shut the doors", &c.F5ויסגר "quum occlusisset", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator. ; wherefore in the Vulgate Latin version this clause is
put first.
Judges 3:24 24 When he had gone out, Eglon’s[b] servants
came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were
locked. So they said, “He is probably attending to his needs in the cool
chamber.”
YLT
24and he hath gone out, and
his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are
bolted, and they say, `He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the
wall.'
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 parlour door to reassume their former place, and
finish their business with the king, or in order to wait upon him as usual:
and when they saw that behold the doors of the parlour were
locked; which they supposed were done by the king himself with inside,
having no suspicion of Ehud:
they said, surely, or "perhaps", as NoldiusF6Ebr.
Concord. part. p. 47. No. 237. renders it:
he covereth his feet in his summer chamber; that is, was
easing nature; 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, see 1 Samuel 24:3;
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
parlour than the former, and better accounts for the servants waiting so long
as they did; and JosephusF7Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2.)
is express for it, that his servants thought he had fallen asleep. Indeed, the
Jews in later times used the phrase in the first senseF8Misn. Yoma,
c. 3. sect. 2. , which seems to be taken from hence.
Judges 3:25 25 So they waited till they
were embarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room.
Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master,
fallen dead on the floor.
YLT
25And they stay till
confounded, and lo, he is not opening the doors of the upper chamber, and they
take the key, and open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth -- dead.
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:
and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; this was what
surprised them, and threw them into this confusion of mind, that they knew not
what course to take for fear of incurring the king's displeasure, and yet
wondered the doors were not opened for so long a time:
therefore they took a key and opened them; this is the
first time we read of a key, which only signifies something to open with; and
the keys of the ancients were different from those of ours; they were somewhat
like a crooked sickleF9 κληιδ'
ευκαμπεα, Homer. Odyss. 21. ver. 6. & Eustathius in ib. , which they
put in through a hole in the door, and with it could draw on or draw back a
bolt, and so could lock or unlock with inside, see Song of Solomon 5:4;
and at this day the keys in the eastern countries are unlike ours. ChardinF11Apud
Calmet's Dictionary, on the word "Key". says, that a lock among the
eastern people is like a little harrow, which enters half way into a wooden
staple, and the key is a wooden handle with points at the end of it, which are
pushed into the staple, and so raise this little harrow:
and, behold, their lord was fallen dead on the earth; lay prostrate
on the floor of the parlour, dead.
Judges 3:26 26 But Ehud had escaped while
they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah.
YLT
26And Ehud escaped during
their tarrying, and hath passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath.
And Ehud escaped while they tarried,.... While the servants
of the king of Moab tarried waiting for the opening of the doors of the
parlour, this gave him time enough to make his escape, so as to be out of the
reach of pursuers; or else the sense is, that even when they had opened the
doors, and found the king dead, while they were in confusion at it, not knowing
what to ascribe it to, the dagger being enclosed in the wound, and perhaps but
little blood, if any, issued out, being closed up with fat, and so had no
suspicion of his being killed by Ehud; but rather supposing it to be an
accidental fall from his seat, and might call in the physicians to examine him,
and use their skill, if there were any hopes of recovery; all which prolonged
time, and facilitated the escape of Ehud:
and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped to Seirath; he got beyond
the quarries, which were by Gilgal, which shows that it could not be at Jericho
where the king of Moab was, as Josephus thinks, but either in his own country
beyond Jordan, though no mention is made of Ehud's crossing Jordan, or however
some place nearer the fords of Jordan; since Gilgal, from whence he returned,
and whither he came again after he had killed the king of Moab, lay on that
side of Jericho which was towards Jordan; and this Seirath he escaped to was in
or near the mountain of Ephraim, as appears from Judges 3:27,, but
of it we have no account elsewhere; but it is thought by some learned menF12Marsham.
Chronicon, p. 39. Vossius de 70 Interpret. p. 271. to be the place where Seth's
pillars stood, and they to be the engravings here spoken of, which we translate
"quarries": the words of JosephusF13Antiqu. l. 1. c. 2.
sect. 3. are, that the posterity of Seth, who very much studied astronomy,
having heard that Adam foretold the destruction of the universe at one time by
fire, and at another by water, erected two pillars, one of stone, and the other
of brick, on which they inscribed their inventions (in astronomy), that they
might be preserved, and which remain to this day in the land of Siriad; but
this account of Josephus seems to be taken from a fabulous relation of Manetho,
the Egyptian, and is abundantly confuted by Dr. StillingfleetF14Origines
Sacrae, l. 1. c. 2. . Jarchi interprets this of Seirath, a thick wood or
forest, the trees of which grew as thick as the hair on a man's head, and so a
proper place to escape to, and hide in: it may be it was the woody part of the
mount Ephraim, see Joshua 17:18.
Judges 3:27 27 And it happened, when he
arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children
of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them.
YLT 27And it cometh to pass, in
his coming in, that he bloweth with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim,
and go down with him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before
them;
And it came to pass, when he was come, That is, to
Seirath, Judges 3:26, in the
tribe of Ephraim:
that be blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim; which being
an high mountain, the sound of the trumpet was heard afar off; and if Ehud's
design was known to the Israelites, what he intended to do, this might be the
token agreed on, should he succeed, to call them together, see Jeremiah 31:6,
and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and
he before them; being there assembled together, and which might be the place
before appointed for their rendezvous, and where and when he took the command
of them, and went before them as their general.
Judges 3:28 28 Then he said to them,
“Follow me, for the Lord has delivered your
enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, seized the
fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.
YLT
28and he saith unto them,
`Pursue after me, for Jehovah hath given your enemies, the Moabites, into your
hand;' and they go down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan
towards Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over.
And he said unto them, follow after me,.... This he
said to encourage them, putting himself at the head of them showing himself
ready to expose his own life, if there was any danger:
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:
and they went down after him: from the mountain of
Ephraim:
and took the fords of Jordan towards Moab; where the
river was fordable, and there was a passage into the country of Moab, which lay
on the other side Jordan; this they did 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:
and suffered not a man to pass over; neither out of Israel
into Moab, nor out of Moab into Israel.
Judges 3:29 29 And at that time they
killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man
escaped.
YLT
29And they smite Moab at that
time, about ten thousand men, all robust, and every one a man of valour, and
not a man hath escaped,
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, or had settled
themselves there for their better convenience, profit, and pleasure; it is very
probable there were some of both sorts:
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, according to Ben Gersom, it
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:
and there escaped not a man; for there being no other
way of getting into the land of Moab but at the fords of Jordan they fell into
the hands of the Israelites possessed of them, as they made up unto them.
Judges 3:30 30 So Moab was subdued that
day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
YLT
30and Moab is humbled in that
day under the hand of Israel; and the land resteth eighty years.
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel,.... Or the
Moabites were broken, as the Targum, 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:
and the land had rest fourscore years; eighty years,
which, according to Ben Gersom, are to be reckoned from the beginning of their
servitude, and that the rest properly was but sixty two years, and so both rest
and servitude were eighty years, as R. Isaiah; and, according to Abarbinel, the
rest was from the death of Othniel; and our Bishop UsherF15Annal.
Vet. Test. p. 42. reckons this eightieth year from the former rest restored to
it by Othniel; but othersF16Marsham. Canon. Chron. p. 306, 307.
Patrick in loc. Vid. Lampe Eccl. Hist. l. 1. c. 5. p. 21, 22. are of opinion
that there were several judges at a time in several parts of the land, and that
the land was at rest in one part when there was war in another; and so that at
this time it was only the eastern part of the land that had rest, while the
western parts were distressed by the Philistines, and the northern parts by
Jabin king of Canaan, as in Judges 3:31.
Judges 3:31 31 After him was Shamgar the
son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad;
and he also delivered Israel.
YLT
31And after him hath been
Shamgar son of Anath, and he smiteth the Philistines -- six hundred men -- with
an ox-goad, and he saveth -- he also -- 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:
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 Judges 5:6; they
entered as a banditti of thieves and robbers, who posted themselves in the
highways, and robbed travellers as they passed, so that they were obliged to
leave off travelling, or go through bypaths, and not in the public road; and
this man, who seems to have been called from the plough to be a judge of
Israel, as some among the Romans were called from thence to be dictators and
deliverers of them from the Gauls:
with an ox goad; which he had used to push on his oxen with
at ploughing, cleared the country of them, and with no other weapon than this
slew six hundred of them, either at certain times, or in a body together; which
is no ways incredible, being strengthened and succeeded by the Lord, any more
than Samson's slaying a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass, Judges 15:15. So
Lycurgus is said to put to flight the forces of Bacchus with an ox goadF17 βουπληγι, Homer. Iliad. 6. ver. 135. which is said to be done near Carmel,
a mountain in Judea, which makes it probable that this is hammered out of the
sacred history; or that Shamgar and Lycurgus are the same, as Bochart
conjecturesF18Hieozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 39. col. 385. & Canaan.
l. 1. c. 18. col. 446. . The ox goad, as now used in those parts, is an
instrument fit to do great execution with it, as Mr. MaundrellF19Journey
to Aleppo, &c. p. 110, 111. , who saw many of them, describes it; on
measuring them, he found them to be eight feet long, at the bigger end six
inches in circumference, at the lesser end was a sharp prickle for driving the
oxen, and at the other end a small spade, or paddle of iron, for cleansing the
plough from the clay:
and he also delivered Israel, from those robbers and
plunderers, and prevented their doing any further mischief in the land, and
subjecting it to their power, and so may very properly be reckoned among the
judges of Israel; but how long he judged is not said, perhaps his time is to be
reckoned into the eighty years of rest before mentioned; or, as Abarbinel
thinks, into the forty years of Deborah, the next judge; and who also observes,
that their Rabbins say, Shamgar judged but one year.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)