Judges · Chapter 3

V. 1. Had not known-That is, such as had no experience of those wars, nor of God’s extraordinary power and providence manifested in them.

Verse 1. Now these are the nations] The nations left to prove the Israelites were the five lordships or satrapies of the Philistines, viz., Gath, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gaza; the Sidonians, the Hivites of Lebanon, Baal-hermon, &c.; with the remains of the Canaanites, viz., 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.

Verse 1. Now these are the nations, &c. — The sacred historian having declared, in general, that God did not judge it proper to drive out all the Canaanites, because he intended to try the fidelity and zeal of his people in his service, proceeds now to enumerate the particular nations which remained unsubdued. As many as had not known all the wars of Canaan — That is, such as were born since the conclusion of the wars, or were but infants during their continuance, and therefore had no experience of them, nor of God’s extraordinary power and providence manifested therein.

V. 2. Teach them war-That by the neighbourhood of such warlike enemies, they might be purged from sloth and security, and obliged them to innure themselves to martial exercises, and to stand continually upon their guard, and consequently to keep close to that God whose assistance they had so great and constant need of.

Verse 2. That-Israel might know, 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. Had they been faithful to God, they would have had no need of learning the art of war; but now arms became a sort of necessary substitute for that spiritual strength which had departed from them. Thus Gods in his judgments leaves one iniquitous nation to harass and torment another. Were all to turn to God, men need learn war no more.

Verse 2. Only that the generations, &c. — Le Clerc and some other versions, instead of only put and, this seeming to be a new and additional reason alleged why God left some of the Canaanitish nations in the land, namely, that the Israelites might be inured to war and hardship, and thereby be preserved from sinking into sloth and luxury; and that by the neighbourhood of such warlike enemies, and a knowledge of the danger they were in from them, they might never be carnally secure, but stand continually on their guard, and keep close to that God of whose protection and aid they had such great and constant need.

V. 3. Five lords-Whereof three had been in some sort subdued, Judges 1:18. but afterwards recovered their strength. Canaanites-Properly so called, who were very numerous, and dispersed through several parts of the land, whence they gave denomination to all the rest of the people. Zidonions-The people living near Zidon, and subject to its jurisdiction. Baal-hermon-Which was the eastern part about Lebanon.

Verse 3. Five lords of the Philistines — See Joshua 13:2, 3, and Judges 1:18, where it appears that three of them had been, in some measure, subdued, but had now recovered their country again, in consequence of the slothful conduct of the Israelites. All the Canaanites — Properly so called, who were very numerous, and dispersed through several parts of the land, whence they gave denomination to all the rest of the people. Sidonians — The people living near Zidon, and subject to its jurisdiction. Baal-hermon — Which was the eastern part about Lebanon.

V. 4. To know-That is, that they and others might know by experience.

Verse 4. To know whether they would hearken] 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.

Verse 4. To prove Israel — That their piety and faithfulness to the one living and true God might appear, if they did not imitate these nations, and relapse into idolatry, and their baseness and degeneracy if they did. To know whether they would hearken — That is, that they themselves and others might know by experience.

V. 6. Served their gods-Were drawn to idolatry by the persuasions and examples of their yoke-fellows.

Verse 6. 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.

Verses 6, 7. They took their daughters, and served their gods — Were drawn to idolatry by the persuasions and examples of their yoke-fellows. And served Baalim and the groves — Or, Baalim in groves; that is, false gods, or rather their images, set up under shady trees, contrary to the command given Exodus 34:13. Some expositors, however, think the meaning is, Baalim and Ashtaroth; for by the addition of a single letter, the Hebrew word rendered groves, will be Ashtaroth, and the greater part of the versions so render it, understanding thereby goddesses, as distinguished from Baalim or lords. It must be acknowledged, however, that the trees themselves, which composed those shady retreats in which they placed their idols, and which were consecrated to their honour, were accounted sacred by the ancient pagans, and held in great veneration. They decorated them with ribands and lights, made vows to them, and hung the spoils of their enemies upon them: insomuch that it was customary for travellers to stop, when they were to pass by them, and approach them with veneration and religious awe, as if they had been the habitation of some god.

V. 7. And the groves-That is, in the groves, in which the Heathens usually worshipped their Baalim or idols.

Verse 7. Served Baalim and the groves] 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 honour of the deities was a practice very usual with the ancients. Pliny assures us that trees, in old times, served for the temples of the gods. Tacitus reports this custom of the old Germans; Quintus Curtius, of the Indians; and Cæsar, and our old writers, mention the same of the Druids in Britain. The Romans were admirers of this way of worship and therefore had their luci or groves in most parts of the city, dedicated to some deity. But it is very probable that the word twrva asheroth which we translate groves, is a corruption of the word twrtv[ ashtaroth, the moon or Venus, (see on Judges 2:13, ) which only differs in the letters [, t, from the former. Ashtaroth is read in this place by the Chaldee Targum, the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Vulgate, and by one of Dr. Kennicott’s MSS.

Verses 6, 7. They took their daughters, and served their gods — Were drawn to idolatry by the persuasions and examples of their yoke-fellows. And served Baalim and the groves — Or, Baalim in groves; that is, false gods, or rather their images, set up under shady trees, contrary to the command given Exodus 34:13. Some expositors, however, think the meaning is, Baalim and Ashtaroth; for by the addition of a single letter, the Hebrew word rendered groves, will be Ashtaroth, and the greater part of the versions so render it, understanding thereby goddesses, as distinguished from Baalim or lords. It must be acknowledged, however, that the trees themselves, which composed those shady retreats in which they placed their idols, and which were consecrated to their honour, were accounted sacred by the ancient pagans, and held in great veneration. They decorated them with ribands and lights, made vows to them, and hung the spoils of their enemies upon them: insomuch that it was customary for travellers to stop, when they were to pass by them, and approach them with veneration and religious awe, as if they had been the habitation of some god.

Verse 7. The children of Israel—served Baalim and the groves. So is the French. twrva asheroth; rendered by the Chaldaic and the Latin versions, lucis, light. The sense seems to be a revolt to Sabianism, or the worship of the hosts of heaven, as on Job 1:15. Jeremiah 7:18.

CHUSHAN’S OPPRESSION, AND THE DELIVERANCE BY OTHNIEL, 7-11.

7. The children of Israel did evil — Matrimony strongly influences character. A pagan wife will paganize her husband, especially if that husband be so for backslidden as to trample down so plain a prohibition of such a marriage as is recorded in the book of the law. Deuteronomy 7:3. It did not require a supernatural prescience, but only a knowledge of the human heart, to make the prediction contained in Deuteronomy 7:4.: “For they will turn away thy sons from following me, that they may serve other gods.” “In such unequal matches,” says Henry, “there is more reason to fear that the bad will corrupt the good, than to hope that the good will reform the bad.” Hence to all Christians there is an apostolic prohibition, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” 2 Corinthians 6:14. And forgat… God — By long neglect of his service, and absence from his sanctuary and the appointed means of knowledge. The groves — Hebrew, the Asheroth. Our translators have followed the Septuagint in rendering this word, groves. The Vulgate — Ashtaroth — comes nearer to the Hebrew, which signifies the image-pillars of Asherah, the Sidonian Astarte, the oriental Venus. From the fact that these images were the stumps of trees, several versions have translated the word Asheroth, trees or groves. Bertheau identifies Asheroth with Ashtareth, but supposes that the latter is rather the name of the goddess, while the former refers more specially to the idols erected to her honour. See on Judges 2:13, and 1 Kings 14:15.

V. 8. Served-That is, were made subject to him. Mesopotamia was that part of Syria which lay between the two great rivers, 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 shews so much the more of the hand of God in it.

Verse 8. Chushan-rishathaim] Kushan, the wicked or impious; and so the word is rendered by the Chaldee Targum, the Syriac, and the Arabic, wherever it occurs in this chapter.

King of Mesopotamia] King of נהרים ארם Aram naharayim, “Syria of the two rivers; “ translated Mesopotamia by the Septuagint and Vulgate. It was the district situated between the Tigris and Euphrates, called by the Arabian geographers Maverannaher, “the country beyond the river,” it is now called Diarbek. See Clarke’s note on “Ac 2:9”.

Served Chushan-eight years.] He overran their country, and forced them to pay a very heavy tribute.

Verse 8. He sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim — So that the first enemies that oppressed the Israelites were the Syrians; who, either out of hatred, or a desire to enlarge their dominions, came over the Euphrates, and invaded them, and kept them in subjection eight years. King of Mesopotamia — Which was that part of Syria which lay between the two great rivers 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; but this shows so much the more that the hand of God was in it.

Ver. 8. King of Mesopotamia. Meso is middle or lying between the river Euphrates and the Tigris, and Potamia is river. The king of this country was without doubt the king of Nineveh, whose conquests were often like the flux and reflux of the sea. He is here branded with the name of Chushan to designate his wickedness. This country is celebrated for its fertility, and as the birth place of many of the holy patriarchs.

8. Anger… sold — See on Judges 2:14. Chushan-rishathaim — The last word is a Hebrew dual signifying of double wickedness — Chushan, the moral monster. Of this Eastern king we have no other Scripture notice. “It is quite a gratuitous supposition of Bunsen’s that he was ‘a Mesopotamian satrap’ — ’the Assyrian satrap of Mesopotamia.’ Scripture calls him king, and besides, the cuneiform monuments make it perfectly clear that Assyria did not extend her dominion to Mesopotamia till the middle of the twelfth century B.C. If the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms of the early period be rightly apprehended, there is no more difficulty in supposing a powerful Aramaean state in western Mesopotamia, than in imagining the country divided up, as we must otherwise regard it, among a number of petty principalities. Chushan-rishathaim reigned, probably, before the Assyrian independence was established.” — Rawlinson’s Hist. Evidences, p. 300. Mesopotamia, signifying between the rivers, was that part of Syria which lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris. It is for the most part a vast plain seven hundred miles long and from twenty to two hundred and fifty broad. It is first mentioned in the Bible as the land where Nahor and his family settled after quitting Ur of the Chaldees. Genesis 24:10. Served — Not as slaves: the servitude was not personal, but political, and consisted in the loss of national independence, and the payment of onerous tributes to this tyrant. This remark applies to the state of servitude to which the Hebrews often were reduced in the days of the Judges.

V. 9. Cried-That is, prayed fervently for deliverance.

Verse 9. Raised up-Othniel, the son of Kenaz] This noble Hebrew was of the tribe of Judah, and nephew and son-in-law to Caleb, whose praise stands without abatement in the sacred records. Othniel had already signalized his valour in taking Kirjath-sepher, which appears to have been a very hazardous exploit. By his natural valour, experience in war, and the peculiar influence of the Divine Spirit, he was well qualified to inspire his countrymen with courage, and to lead them successfully against their oppressors.

Verses 9, 10. When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord — When they returned to him in repentance, acknowledged him to be their only Protector and Saviour, and prayed fervently for pardon and deliverance; the Lord raised up a deliverer — Qualified a person for, and called him to, the great work of delivering them. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him — With extraordinary influence, endowing him with singular wisdom and courage, and stirring him up to this great undertaking. Judged Israel — That is, pleaded and avenged the cause of Israel against their oppressors. And went out to war — The sacred historian gives us no further account of this war than that Othniel obtained a victory over the king of Mesopotamia, and a peace which lasted forty years. This victory and deliverance of Israel, it seems, happened about thirty-eight years after the death of Joshua.

Ver. 9. Othniel, nephew of Caleb, a man who inherited the virtues of his family. The God who called him, soon threw the tents of Chushan into affliction. Habakkuk 3:7. He knew how to conquer in war, and how to secure peace. He so preserved the pure religion that the apostasy to their secreted idols did not take place till after his death. Such judges are worthily called saviours or deliverers, as in this verse; and 2 Esdras 9:27.

9. When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord — Here is a sudden revival of memory. Adversity banishes that forgetfulness of God which prosperity has produced. The Lord raised up a deliverer — There is an adage among the Jews that “when the tale of bricks is increased, Moses comes forth.” Every nation has had its national saviour, who has stepped to the front of its decimated armies, and lifted up its drooping banner, and inspired it with his own indomitable courage and sublime faith. Not only true piety but true philosophy must regard such men at such times as the gift of the God of nations. Othniel — See on Joshua 15:17. The fact that Othniel, whether he were brother or nephew of Caleb, was the first judge of Israel, shows that Chushan’s oppression came not long after the death of Joshua.

V. 10. Came upon him-With extraordinary influence, endowing him with singular wisdom and courage, and stirring him up to this great undertaking. Judged Israel-That is, pleaded and avenged the cause of Israel against their oppressors.

Verse 10. 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. By the Spirit of the Lord coming upon him, the Chaldee understands the spirit of prophecy; others understand the spirit of fortitude and extraordinary courage, as opposed to the spirit of fear or faintness of heart; but as Othniel was judge, and had many offices to fulfil besides that of a general, he had need of the Spirit of God, in the proper sense of the word, to enable him to guide and govern this most refractory and fickle people; and his receiving it for these purposes, shows that the political state of the Jews was still a theocracy. No man attempted to do any thing in that state without the immediate inspiration of God, the pretension to which was always justified by the event.

Verses 9, 10. When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord — When they returned to him in repentance, acknowledged him to be their only Protector and Saviour, and prayed fervently for pardon and deliverance; the Lord raised up a deliverer — Qualified a person for, and called him to, the great work of delivering them. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him — With extraordinary influence, endowing him with singular wisdom and courage, and stirring him up to this great undertaking. Judged Israel — That is, pleaded and avenged the cause of Israel against their oppressors. And went out to war — The sacred historian gives us no further account of this war than that Othniel obtained a victory over the king of Mesopotamia, and a peace which lasted forty years. This victory and deliverance of Israel, it seems, happened about thirty-eight years after the death of Joshua.

Ver. 10. The Lord delivered Chushan—into his hand. By subtracting 764 from the Julian period, we find on collation with the chronology of the bible, that Belochus 2. was on the throne of Nineveh; so that he, or some rival king, fell before the illustrious Othniel. See Genesis 11. Some think he was a Phœnician prince, with whom many Canaanites had taken refuge.

10. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him — This expression occurs six times in this book, and is by no means equivalent to the New Testament “gift of the Holy Ghost;” nor can it be used as certain proof of great spiritual purity or eminent piety in him to whom it is referred. It designates the sudden divine impulse that quickened the heroes of this age to marvellous feats of valour, and was chiefly of a physical and psychical character. It denotes the supernatural influence that thrilled all the heroic passions of the soul, and always led to deeds of bravery and power. Thus it is used of the supernatural impulse that led Gideon to blow the trumpet and assemble the people for war, (Judges 6:34;) that inspired Jephthah to lead his army against Ammon, (Judges 11:29;) that moved Samson to his early feats of strength, (Judges 13:25,) and to rend the young lion of Timnath, (Judges 14:6,) and to slay the thirty men of Ashkelon, (Judges 14:19.) In Othniel’s case it seems to denote the divine guidance by which he both judged and fought. His high natural qualities, love of justice, love of country, courage, and military skill, were crowned with an unwavering faith in God, breathed into his soul by the Holy Spirit. There can be no great warrior and national saviour without a large infusion of the religious element into his nature. He judged Israel — He was born to command. His generation of Hebrews yielded him instinctive and unquestioning obedience. The spirit which he infused into them, and the trust which he reposed in God, together with the unanimity of the nation in rallying to his standard, were sufficient credenda of his divine vocation to the leadership of Israel. He judged not in the narrow, technical sense, but he administered the military and civil government of the theocracy.

V. 11. Forty years-It rested about forty years, or the greatest part of forty years: it being most frequent in scripture to use numbers in such a latitude. Nor is it unusual either in scripture, or in other authors, for things to be denominated from the greater part; especially, when they enjoyed some degrees of rest and peace even in their times of slavery.

11. Forty years — This long period of peace and independence was necessary to the development of the nation. Othniel… died — How remarkable the fact that a nation may be held back for nearly a half century from rebellion against God by the influence of a faithful ruler. It is not necessary to suppose that Othniel lived during all the forty years of rest. His influence may have held the people in check long after he was dead, and ever after those years of rest were associated with his name. Few individuals or nations, however, can endure undisturbed prosperity without damage to their moral character.

V. 12. Strengthened Eglon-By giving him courage, and power, and success against them.

Verse 12. The children of Israel did evil] They forgat the Lord and became idolaters, and 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 is supposed to 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 ˆwlg[ Eglon signifies a little calf!

Verse 12. And the children of Israel did evil again — This was the case of the Israelites during all the time of their judges: the same person who freed them from servitude, purified them also from idolatry; but he was no sooner dead than their religion was at an end, though their peace and happiness were sure to expire with it. Thus every epocha of their history, during the administration of the judges, is only an alternate succession of sinning and contrition, of servitude and deliverance. This may evince what a mighty influence even one good man in authority may have over a whole people. The Lord strengthened Eglon — By giving him courage, and power, and success against them. As God raised up deliverers to Israel, when they became penitent, so he spirited up enemies against them, and gave them power to oppress them, whenever they revolted from his service.

MOABITISH OPPRESSION, AND THE DELIVERANCE BY EHUD, 12-30.

12. The Lord strengthened Eglon — Or, as some explain, encouraged Eglon. He inspired him with zeal and consciousness of ability to vanquish Israel. Jehovah did this, not because Eglon was the righteous king of a righteous nation, but because he wished to use him as an instrument for the punishment of Israel. All that is known of Eglon and his rule over Israel is recorded in this passage of Holy Scripture. The archives of Moab have been destroyed for thousands of years; the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Moab — This nation occupied the territory east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon river.

V. 13. City of Palm-trees-That is, Jericho. Not the city which was demolished, but the territory belonging to it. Here he fixed his camp, for the fertility of that soil, and because of its nearness to the passage over Jordan, which was most commodious both for the conjunction of his own forces which lay on both sides of Jordan; to prevent the conjunction of the Israelites in Canaan with their brethren beyond Jordan; and to secure his retreat into his own country.

Verse 13. 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, 1 Kings 16:34. However, as Jericho is expressly called the city of palm trees, Deuteronomy 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. Calmet supposes that the city of palm trees means En-gaddi.

Verses 13, 14. City of palm-trees — That is, Jericho. Not the city which was demolished, but the territory belonging to it. Here he fixed his camp, for the fertility of that soil, and because of its nearness to the passage over Jordan, which was most commodious both for the conjunction of his own forces, which lay on both sides of Jordan, to prevent the conjunction of the Israelites in Canaan with their brethren beyond Jordan, and to secure his retreat into his own country. Eighteen years — The former servitude lasted but eight years; this eighteen; for if smaller troubles do not the work, God will send greater.

Ver. 13. The city of palm-trees; the suburbs of Jericho, called by the residence of the Kenites the city of literature. See on 1 Chronicles 2:55.

13. And he gathered — Not the Lord, but Eglon gathered unto himself, (see Sept.,) and went and smote, and possessed. Ammon was an incestuous child of Lot by his younger, as Moab was by his elder, daughter. These two nations were intimately related through their entire biblical history. The Ammonites cannot be very exactly located. They seem to have been migratory and predatory, like the modern Bedouins, and hence ready to join the Moabites in a war with Israel. See on Joshua 12:2. Amalek — A nomadic tribe occupying the peninsula of Sinai and the wilderness stretching away to the hill country of Southern Palestine. They dwindled into a band of robbers, and were destroyed by David at Ziklag. 1 Samuel 30:16-19. See more on Judges 6:3; Genesis 14:7; Exodus 17:8. The city of palm trees — Jericho was so called because of the groves of palms in its vicinity. See on Joshua 2:1. According to Josephus, the course of Eglon’s conquest was first to gain dominion over the eastern tribes, a portion of whose land had been wrested from his ancestors, then to make a sudden incursion into Western Palestine, establishing his headquarters at Jericho, the key of the whole country. Here, according to Josephus, he built a royal palace, and at this place he was assassinated by Ehud.

V. 14. Eighteen years-The former servitude lasted but eight years; this eighteen: for if smaller troubles do not the work, God will send greater.

Verses 13, 14. City of palm-trees — That is, Jericho. Not the city which was demolished, but the territory belonging to it. Here he fixed his camp, for the fertility of that soil, and because of its nearness to the passage over Jordan, which was most commodious both for the conjunction of his own forces, which lay on both sides of Jordan, to prevent the conjunction of the Israelites in Canaan with their brethren beyond Jordan, and to secure his retreat into his own country. Eighteen years — The former servitude lasted but eight years; this eighteen; for if smaller troubles do not the work, God will send greater.

14. Served Eglon — That is, were tributary. Verse 8, note. Eighteen years — We cannot estimate the length of the period of Israel’s idolatry from the duration of their punishment. Men are often imprisoned for life for crimes committed in a minute.

V. 15. A Benjamite-This tribe was next to Eglon, and doubtless most afflicted by him; and hence God raiseth a deliverer. Left handed-Which is here noted, as a considerable circumstance in the following story.

Verse 15. Ehud the son of Gera-a man left handed] wnymy dy rca vya ish itter yad yemino, a man lame in his right hand, and therefore obliged to use his left. The Septuagint render it andra amfoterodexion, an ambidexter, a man who could use both hands alike. The Vulgate, qui utraque manu pro dextera utebatur, a man who could use either hand as a right hand, or to whom right and left were equally ready. This is not the sense of the original, but it is the sense in which most interpreters understand it. It is well known that to be an ambidexter was in high repute among the ancients: Hector boasts of it:—

Autar egwn en oida macav tJ, androktasiav te,

OidJ epi dexia, oidJ epJ aristera nwmhsai bwn

Azalehn, to moi esti talaurinon polemizein.

Iliad, lib. vii., ver. 237.

“But am in arms well practiced; many a Greek

Hath bled by me, and I can shift my shield

From right to left; reserving to the last

Force that suffices for severest toil.”

COWPER.

Asteropæus is also represented by Homer as an ambidexter, from which he derives great advantages in fight:-

JWv fatJ apeilhsav, o dJ anesceto diov Acilleuv

Phliada melihn, o dJ omarth dourasin amfiv

JHrwv Asteropaiov, epei peridexiov he.

Iliad, lib. xxi., ver. 161.

“So threatened he. Then raised Achilles high

The Pelian ash:-and his two spears at once

Alike, (a practised warrior,) with both hands

Asteropæus hurled.”

COWPER.

We are informed by Aristotle, that Plato recommended to all soldiers to acquire by study and exercise an equal facility of losing both hands. Speaking of Plato, he says: Kkai thn en toiv polemikoiv, opwv amfidexioi ginwntai kata thn melethn, wv deon mh thn men crhsimon einai tain ceroin, thn de acrhston.-Deuteronomy Repub., lib. ii., cap. 12. “He (Plato) also made a law concerning their warlike exercises, that they should acquire a habit of using both hands alike; as it is not fit that one of the hands should be useful and the other useless.” In Judges 20:16 of this book we have an account of seven hundred men of Benjamin, each of whom was wnymy dy rca itter yad yemino, lame of his right hand, and yet slinging stones to a hair’s breadth without missing: these are generally thought to be ambidexters. Sent a present unto Eglon] This is generally understood to be the tribute money which the king of Moab had imposed on the Israelites.

Verse 15. A Benjamite — This tribe was next to Eglon, and doubtless most afflicted by him; and hence God raised a deliverer. Left-handed — Which is here noted as a considerable circumstance in the following story. The Seventy render the word amfoterodexion, who could use both his hands alike, which is probably the true meaning, as the same quality is ascribed to seven hundred chosen men of the tribe of Benjamin, chap. 26:16, all of whom one can hardly believe to have had no use of their right hands. The children of Israel sent a present — Some interpreters understand by this the tribute which had been imposed upon them; but it rather signifies a voluntary present above their usual payments, whereby they hoped to mollify his mind and render him favourable to them. For the Hebrew word mincha is used for such offerings as were presented to God in order to obtain his gracious regards.

Ver. 15. Ehud—a man left-handed. The Vulgate, as the LXX, reads “both handed;” yet the reading of the English is evidently correct, because the seven hundred Benjamites were all left-handed.

15. Cried unto the Lord — History repeats itself, because like causes produce like effects. A second oppression calls forth a second cry. Left-handed — Heb, lamed (margin, shut) in the right hand. The Septuagint reads, amfoterodexion, which is well translated in the Vulgate by, who used either hand for a right hand. “The phrase,” says Hervey, “must originally have described an accidental defect; but when we read of seven hundred chosen men of Benjamin all left-handed, (Judges 20:16; 1 Chronicles 12:2,) and skilful slingers, it is obvious that this was no accidental defect, but an acquired art.” The name Benjamin, son of my right hand, seems to have been a misnomer in the case of his numerous left-handed progeny. A present unto Eglon — Either the annual tribute, brought with formality and parade, or a gratuity, to soften the severity of Eglon.

V. 16. A cubit length-Long enough for his design, and not too long for concealment. His right thigh-Which was most convenient both for the use of his left hand, and for avoiding suspicion.

Verse 16. A dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length] The word dmg gomed, which we translate cubit, is of very doubtful signification. As the root seems to signify contracted, it probably means an instrument made for the purpose shorter than usual, and something like the Italian stiletto. The Septuagint translate it by spiqamh, a span, and most of the versions understand it in the same sense.

Upon his right thigh.] Because he was left-handed. Ordinarily the sword is on the left side, that it may be readily drawn out by the right hand; but as Ehud was left-handed, to be convenient his sword must be on the right side.

Verse 16. Ehud, made him a dagger — It is probable that none of the Israelites were suffered to wear arms, and therefore this particular is mentioned of Ehud; and that he wore it under his upper garment to conceal it: for it does not appear that he made it purposely for the occasion, in which we are told in the following verses, he employed it. A cubit length — Long enough for his design, and not too long for concealment. His right thigh — Which was most convenient both for the use of his left hand, and for avoiding suspicion.

16. Of a cubit length — The Hebrew gomed, here rendered cubit, means a span, (Septuagint,) or a hand’s length, (Vulgate.) It occurs nowhere else in Scripture. Luther translates it an elle — twenty-three inches, a dagger too long to be hidden on the thigh. Upon his right thigh — Where it would not be looked for by the king, and yet where it could be most easily unsheathed with the left hand.

V. 17. The present-Which was to be paid to him as a part of his tribute.

Verse 17. Eglon was a very fat man.] The ayrb vya ish bari of the text is translated by the Septuagint anhr asteiov sfodra, a very beautiful or polite man, and in the Syriac, a very rude man. It probably means what we call lusty or corpulent.

MOABITISH OPPRESSION, AND THE DELIVERANCE BY EHUD, 12-30.

12. The Lord strengthened Eglon — Or, as some explain, encouraged Eglon. He inspired him with zeal and consciousness of ability to vanquish Israel. Jehovah did this, not because Eglon was the righteous king of a righteous nation, but because he wished to use him as an instrument for the punishment of Israel. All that is known of Eglon and his rule over Israel is recorded in this passage of Holy Scripture. The archives of Moab have been destroyed for thousands of years; the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Moab — This nation occupied the territory east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon river.

V. 18. Sent the people-He accompanied them part of the way, and then dismissed them, and returned to Eglon alone, that so he might have more easy access to him.

Verse 18. Made an end to offer the present] Presents, tribute, &c., 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.

Verses 18, 19. He sent away the people — He accompanied them part of the way, and then dismissed them, and returned to Eglon alone, that so he might have more easy access to him. He himself turned again from the quarries, as if he had forgotten some important business. Houbigant takes the word µylycp, pesilim, here rendered quarries, for the name of a place. But the Septuagint and Vulgate take it for graven images, as indeed it commonly signifies in the Scriptures, and as it is rendered in the margin of our Bibles. Some suppose that these images had been placed there by the Moabites, in contempt of the God of Israel, who had so long honoured Gilgal with his presence; and that they might ascribe the subjection of the land to their idols, as the Israelites gave the glory of their conquest to the true God. And they further suppose that when Ehud beheld these idolatrous images, he was inflamed with zeal and indignation, so that instead of proceeding any further in his return home, he went back with a full resolution to revenge the indignity offered to the Divine Majesty, as well as the oppression of his people. Who said, Keep silence — That is, forbear to speak till my servants are withdrawn. For he would not have them to be made acquainted with a business which he supposed to be of great importance.

Ver. 18. To offer the present. There is no approach to a prince or a great man in the east to the present day without a suitable present. Princes do this to each other, as a mark of honour. 1 Kings 10.

18. The people that bare the present — Eastern style required quite a pompous retinue to bring a gift to a distinguished person. See 2 Kings 5:15.

V. 19. Turned again-As if he had forgot some important business. Keep silence-‘Till my servants be gone: whom he would not have acquainted with a business which he supposed to be of great importance.

Verse 19. He-turned-from the quarries] µylysp pesilim. Some of the versions understand this word as meaning idols or graven images, or some spot where the Moabites had a place of idolatrous worship. As lsp pasal signifies to cut, hew, or engrave, it may be applied to the images thus cut, or to the place, or quarry whence they were digged: but it is most likely that idols are meant. Some think that trenches are meant, and that pesilim here may mean the boundaries of the two countries: and when Ehud had got thus far, he sent away the people that were with him, under pretense of having a secret message to Eglon, and so got rid of his attendants, in presence of whom he could not have executed his scheme, nor have secured his escape afterwards. But I do not see the evidence of this mode of interpretation.

Verses 18, 19. He sent away the people — He accompanied them part of the way, and then dismissed them, and returned to Eglon alone, that so he might have more easy access to him. He himself turned again from the quarries, as if he had forgotten some important business. Houbigant takes the word µylycp, pesilim, here rendered quarries, for the name of a place. But the Septuagint and Vulgate take it for graven images, as indeed it commonly signifies in the Scriptures, and as it is rendered in the margin of our Bibles. Some suppose that these images had been placed there by the Moabites, in contempt of the God of Israel, who had so long honoured Gilgal with his presence; and that they might ascribe the subjection of the land to their idols, as the Israelites gave the glory of their conquest to the true God. And they further suppose that when Ehud beheld these idolatrous images, he was inflamed with zeal and indignation, so that instead of proceeding any further in his return home, he went back with a full resolution to revenge the indignity offered to the Divine Majesty, as well as the oppression of his people. Who said, Keep silence — That is, forbear to speak till my servants are withdrawn. For he would not have them to be made acquainted with a business which he supposed to be of great importance.

19. He himself turned again — At the ceremony of offering the present to Eglon “Ehud had no opportunity to attempt anything, for he neither came near the king nor saw him alone; nor yet was he willing, among so many bystanders, to involve his companions in the consequences of a possible failure. On the contrary, he accompanied them back to the border, in order to be sure that he was alone when making the dangerous attempt.” — Cassel. The quarries — Our version follows the Chaldee in this rendering of the Hebrew word µylysp, pesilim, and Keil adopts this interpretation. But the word elsewhere always means graven images, or idols, and so the Septuagint and Vulgate here translate it. These pesilim were graven images set up by Gilgal, probably by the Moabites, to commemorate their conquests in that part of Palestine. It would especially vex and trouble the better part of Israel to have the site of their ancient camp profaned by idolatrous images. Some suggest that the sight of these images nerved Ehud for his daring work. A secret errand — Ehud affects to be Eglon’s friend, and seems to the king to have gone to such pains to favour him with a secret that his deadly purpose is not suspected. Keep silence — sh, hist! hush! To the king’s attendants it implied that they should leave the room.

V. 20. A summer parlour-Into which he used to retire from company: which is mentioned as the reason why his servants waited so long ere they went in to him, ver. 25. A message-To be delivered not in words, but by actions. He designedly uses the name Elohim, which was common to the true God, and false ones; and not Jehovah, which was peculiar to the true God; because Ehud not knowing whether the message came; not from his own false god, he would more certainly rise, and thereby give Ehud more advantage for his blow; whereas he would possibly shew his contempt of the God of Israel by sitting still to hear his message. He arose-In token of reverence to God.

Verse 20. He was sitting in a summer parlour] Besides the platforms, says Dr. Shaw, which were upon the ancient houses of the East, and which are found there to this day, it is probable that heretofore, as well as at present, most of the great houses had a smaller one annexed, which seldom consisted of more than one or two rooms and a terrace. Others, built as they frequently are above the porch or gateway, have, if we except the ground-floor, all the conveniences belonging to the house, properly so called. There is a door of communication from them into the gallery of the house, kept open or shut at the discretion of the master of the house, besides another door which opens immediately from a privy stairs down into the porch or street, without giving the least disturbance to the house. In these back houses strangers are usually lodged and entertained; hither the men are wont to retire from the hurry and noise of their families, to be more at leisure for meditation or diversions; and they are often used for wardrobes and magazines. These the Arabs call oleah, which exactly answers to the Hebrew word tyl[ aliyath found in this place; and without doubt such was the apartment in which Eglon received Ehud, by the privy stairs belonging to which he escaped, after having killed Eglon. The doors of the Eastern buildings are large, and their chambers spacious, conveniences well adapted to those hotter climates; but in the present passage something more seems to be meant; at least there are now other conveniences in the East to give coolness to particular rooms, which are very common. In Egypt the cooling their rooms is effected by openings at the top, which let in the fresh air. Mons. Maillet informs us that their halls are made very large and lofty, with a dome at the top, which towards the north has several open windows, so constructed as to throw the north wind down into the rooms; and by this means, though the country is excessively hot, they can make the coolness of those apartments so great, as often not to be borne without being wrapped in furs. Eglon’s was a chamber; and some contrivance to mitigate the heat of it was the more necessary, as he appears to have kept his court at Jericho, Judges 3:13, 28, where the heat is so excessive as sometimes to prove fatal. See Harmer’s Observations.

I have a message from God unto thee] Ëyla yl אלהים דבר debar elohim li aleycha, a word of the gods to me, unto thee. It is very likely that the word elohim is used here to signify idols, or the pesilim mentioned above, Judges 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. This, being an idolater, he would not have done to any message coming from the God of Israel. I have a message from God unto thee is a popular text: many are fond of preaching from it. Now as no man should ever depart from the literal meaning of Scripture in his preaching, we may at once see the absurdity of taking such a text as this; for such preachers, to be consistent, should carry a two-edged dagger of a cubit length on their right thigh, and be ready to thrust it into the bowels of all those they address! This is certainly the literal meaning of the passage, and that it has no other meaning is an incontrovertible truth.

Verse 20. He was sitting in a summer parlour — Into which, it is probable, he used to retire from company; which is mentioned as the reason why his servants waited so long ere they went in to him, verse 25. I have a message from God unto thee — To be delivered, not in words, but by actions. This was true if Ehud was stirred up to this, as it appears he was, by a divine influence. Ehud, however, expressed himself in this manner to remove from the king any apprehensions of danger; and likewise to oblige him to rise from his seat, which Ehud knew he would do, since such was the common practice of the heathen, when receiving, or expecting to receive, messages from the gods they worshipped. He designedly made use of the word Elohim, which was common both to the true God and the pagan deities; and not the Word Jehovah, which was peculiar to the true God; because thus Eglon, not knowing whether the message came not from his own false god, would have the greater inclination to rise, whereby Ehud would have an opportunity of directing his blow in the most advantageous manner: whereas he would possibly have shown his contempt of the God of Israel, by sitting still to hear his message. And he arose out of his seat — In token of reverence to God. This is a remarkable instance of the ancient veneration men paid to whatsoever carried the name and authority of God in it, and it reproaches those who can now presume to behave themselves irreverently, even in the time and place of divine worship.

Ver. 20. I have a message from God unto thee. Josephus says here, that God had spoken to Ehud in a dream: an awful message! The oppression of Moab justified the deed, and his commission was divine.

20. Summer parlour — Literally, a loft for cooling; an alijah, or upper chamber, which served both for retirement and coolness. “The alijah,” says Thomson, “is the most desirable part of the establishment, and is best fitted up, and is still given to guests who are to be treated with honour.” See note on 2 Kings 4:10; 1 Kings 17:19. For himself alone — For his own private comfort and refreshment. Eglon’s private room opened into a hall, and the hall had a porch. See on verse 22. A message from God — Literally, a word of God; a bitter irony to designate the deadly dagger. Every act and word of Ehud seems to have disarmed the king of all suspicion of danger. He arose — Out of reverence for God, whose ambassador he supposed stood before him. The upright posture of his victim was more favourable to the purpose of Ehud.

Verse 21. Ehud put forth his hand and took the dagger — It is justly observed by Dr. Dodd, that this action of Ehud “is certainly among the number of those which are not to be imitated without that which gave it all its sanction; namely, a divine commission. The text expressly says, The Lord raised up Ehud; and it is well known that all the deliverances which the Jews had under the judges, were directed and conducted by the immediate hand of God, according as the people, by their repentance, became fit to receive them. A divine warrant, in such a case, is a clear ground to go upon, but it can be no precedent for others to go upon, who have no divine warrant at all, but quite the contrary. What are reason and understanding given us for, but to distinguish upon cases and circumstances?” As reasons why God excited Ehud to this action, it may be observed, that Eglon had been the aggressor, and that he was the oppressor of God’s people, and held them under a cruel subjection and bondage; that he was undoubtedly guilty of great injustice and violence toward them, and, in all probability, continued to make many thousands of them miserable daily, by means of their servitude, which he had no right to do. Therefore God, who had called Ehud to the office of delivering and governing Israel, stirred him up on this occasion, to take this method of cutting off their enemy and oppressor.

MOABITISH OPPRESSION, AND THE DELIVERANCE BY EHUD, 12-30.

12. The Lord strengthened Eglon — Or, as some explain, encouraged Eglon. He inspired him with zeal and consciousness of ability to vanquish Israel. Jehovah did this, not because Eglon was the righteous king of a righteous nation, but because he wished to use him as an instrument for the punishment of Israel. All that is known of Eglon and his rule over Israel is recorded in this passage of Holy Scripture. The archives of Moab have been destroyed for thousands of years; the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Moab — This nation occupied the territory east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon river.

Verse 22. 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 through the fright and anguish.

The original, hnwdvrp parshedonah, occurs only here, and is supposed to be compounded of vrp peresh, dung, and hdv shadah, to shed, and may be very well applied to the latter circumstance; so the Vulgate understood it: Statinque per secreta naturæ alvi stercora proruperunt.

Verse 22. And the dirt came out — The Hebrew word hndvrp, parschedona, here translated dirt, is found only in this place. It is from the Chaldee that it is thus rendered, and all agree that it signifies the excrements.

22. The dirt came out — The meaning of the word translated dirt is quite uncertain. The English version errs in making hndvrp, parshedonah, rendered the dirt, the subject of the verb came out; for, as Gesenius says, “the He paragogic implies rather the place to which a thing comes out.” It seems, therefore, better to understand this obscure word as denoting either the place on Eglon’s body where the blade of Ehud’s dagger came out, or else an apartment of Eglon’s palace into which Ehud came out. This latter is, perhaps, preferable. Three apartments seem to be mentioned: the private parlour, (verse 20,) the hall, and the porch, (verse 23.) Having buried his dagger in Eglon’s body, Ehud went out through the hall and porch, and so escaped. Bachmann thinks the parshe-donah was a flat roof, upon which Ehud came out from the chamber where he assassinated Eglon, and that it is further defined by the word porch, in the next verse, which, in his view, means not an ordinary porch, but the platform of the roof, enclosed by lattice work.

V. 23. Went forth-With a composed countenance and gait, being well assured, that God, who by his extraordinary call had put him upon that enterprise, would by his special providence carry him through it. Upon him-Upon or after himself. Locked them-Either pulling it close after him, as we do when doors have spring locks; or taking the key with him.

Verse 23. Ehud went forth — With a composed countenance and motion, being well assured that God, who by his extraordinary call had excited him to this enterprise, would, by his special providence, carry him through it. And shut the doors upon him — Upon, or after, himself; and locked them — Either pulling them closely after him, as we do, when doors have spring-locks; or taking the key with him.

23. Locked them — The lock was, probably, a simple slide of wood or iron, which might have been fastened by one going out, by pulling a string, so as to throw it into a catch or socket; but which could be unfastened from the outside only by a key. Verse 25.

V. 24. Covereth his feet-This phrase is used only here, and 1 Samuel 24:3. A late judicious interpreter expounds it, of composing himself to take a little sleep, as was very usual to do in the day-time in those hot countries. And when they did so in cool places, such as this summer parlour unquestionably was, they used to cover their feet. And this may seem to be the more probable, both because the summer parlour was proper for this use, and because this was a more likely reason of their long waiting at his door, lest they should disturb his repose. And this sense best agrees with Saul’s case in the cave, when being asleep, David could more securely cut off the lap of his garment.

Verse 24. 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.

Verse 24. He covereth his feet — This phrase is used only here, and 1 Samuel 24:3. A late judicious interpreter expounds it, of composing himself to take a little sleep, as it was very usual to do in the day-time in those hot countries. And when they did so in cool places, such as this summer parlour unquestionably was, they used to cover their feet. And this may seem to be the more probable, both because the summer parlour was proper for this use, and because this was a more likely reason for their long waiting at his door, lest they should disturb his repose. And this sense best agrees with Saul’s case in the cave, when, being asleep, David could more securely cut off the lap of his garment.

24. He covereth his feet — A euphemism for attention to a call of nature. See note on 1 Samuel 24:3.

V. 25. Ashamed-Or, confounded, not knowing what to say or think; lest they should either disturb him, or be guilty of neglect towards him. A key-Another key, it being usual in princes courts to have divers keys for the same door.

Verse 25. They tarried till they were ashamed — Till they were in great confusion, not conceiving what could cause him to sleep so much longer than usual; and not knowing what to say or think, afraid that they should either disturb him, or be guilty of neglect toward him. They took a key and opened them — Another key, it being usual in the courts of kings for more persons than one to be intrusted with keys to the same room.

25. Took a key — See on verse 23. Dead on the earth — That is, on the floor of his chamber. Perhaps the fatal thrust of Ehud’s dagger had not produced instant death, but had so far disabled the king that he could not raise an alarm. He was found dead.

Verse 26. Passed beyond the quarries] Beyond the pesilim, which appear to have been the Moabitish borders, where they had set up those hewn stones as landmarks, or sacred boundary stones.

26. Seirath is unknown. Its name indicates that it was a wooded district of Mount Ephraim.

V. 27. The children of Israel-Whom doubtless he had prepared by his emissaries gathered together in considerable numbers.

Verses 27, 28. He blew a trumpet — In order to summon those who were disposed to recover their liberty to take arms and follow him. And the children of Israel went down with him — Whom doubtless he had prepared by his emissaries, and gathered together in considerable numbers. With these he attacked the Moabites who were in garrisons on the west of Jordan, and slew ten thousand of their best men; which utterly broke the power of Moab, and freed the Israelites from the yoke of that nation. They took the fords of Jordan — Where that river was usually passed, that neither the Moabites that were in Canaan might escape, nor any more Moabites come over Jordan to their succour.

27. Blew a trumpet — The alarm-signal to call a people rapidly together. Compare Judges 6:34; 1 Samuel 13:3; 2 Samuel 20:1; 1 Kings 1:34. Thus Joel, (Joel 2:1,) “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain.” Mountain of Ephraim — See on Judges 17:1, and Joshua 17:15. Ehud does not first rally his own tribe to his standard, because Benjamin had at this time been almost annihilated by the other tribes. Chapters 19-21.

V. 28. Fords of Jordan-Where they passed over Jordan, that neither the Moabites that were got into Canaan, might escape, nor any more Moabites come over Jordan to their succour.

Verse 28. Took the fords of Jordan] It is very likely that the Moabites, who were on the western side of Jordan, hearing of the death of Eglon, were panic-struck, and endeavoured 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 doubtless the place where the Israelites had passed Jordan when they (under Joshua) took possession of the promised land.

Verses 27, 28. He blew a trumpet — In order to summon those who were disposed to recover their liberty to take arms and follow him. And the children of Israel went down with him — Whom doubtless he had prepared by his emissaries, and gathered together in considerable numbers. With these he attacked the Moabites who were in garrisons on the west of Jordan, and slew ten thousand of their best men; which utterly broke the power of Moab, and freed the Israelites from the yoke of that nation. They took the fords of Jordan — Where that river was usually passed, that neither the Moabites that were in Canaan might escape, nor any more Moabites come over Jordan to their succour.

28. Took the fords of Jordan toward Moab — That is, the fords by which the Moabites stationed at Jericho must pass to escape to their own land, on the east of the Jordan. Eglon occupied Jericho, and had built a palace there, (see note on verse 13.) and had ten thousand men (verse 29) with him. It was of the first importance for the Israelites to get possession of these fords, and thus cut off the retreat of the Moabite army to the eastern side of the Jordan.

Verse 29. All lusty, and all men of valour] Picked, chosen troops, which Eglon kept among the Israelites to reduce and overawe them.

29. About ten thousand men — The slaughter of these picked troops did not, probably, occur in one day, but in the course of this short, sharp, and decisive campaign. It was not customary to take prisoners in the battles of those days. All lusty — Fat, stout, robust men. The Moabite warriors seem to have been, like their king, (verse 17,) large, corpulent men. As this is the last mention of Ehud, it is proper here to inquire into the moral character of that act which made him prominent in the delivery of Israel. It is both superfluous and unwarrantable to say, as some do, that Ehud’s deed was done under a special impulse or inspiration from the Almighty. There is nothing in the narrative to justify such an opinion. It is not even said that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Ehud; nor does it follow that because God raised him up to deliver Israel, Divine Wisdom directed and approved all the measures he used in order to effect that object. Least of all is it supposable that Ehud’s acts in this case, whether in themselves censurable or not, are a precedent and worthy example for all times and all circumstances.

But let it once be noted that Eglon and the Moabites were now accursed of God, and ripe for judgment, and that Ehud both knew this fact and also that he himself was the divinely chosen minister of vengeance, and there is no need of criticising the morality of his deed, or of justifying it by a supposed special impulse of the Spirit. Verses 15 and 28 contain sufficient evidence to show that Ehud understood his divine commission as deliverer of Israel, and that the Moabitish oppression was about to be broken. Beyond this we do not suppose God gave him any special revelations or commands, but left him to the choice of such measures and plans of conquest as his own judgment and skill might devise. Viewed in this light, the murder of Eglon was as justifiable as the slaughter of the ten thousand Moabites. Verse 29. Ehud’s deed was but the first stroke of Divine judgment that fell on the idolatrous kingdom, and may be compared to the slaughter of Agag by the hand of Samuel. 1 Samuel 15:33. Samuel’s act was an after stroke of judgment, done to complete the curse of Amalek: Ehud’s was the first stroke, and so had more of the character of a stratagem of war. The acts of violence, barbarity, treachery, and deception common in war can never be justified on subjective grounds. So far as they are a part of war itself, they are not to be judged singly and apart from the moral issues involved in the war. Their apology or justification, if any is asked for, is to be found in that which justified the war itself. Compare the note on Jael’s deed at the close of chap. 4.

V. 30. Fourscore years-Chiefly that part of it which lay east of Jordan: for the other side of the country, which lay south-west, was even then infested by the Philistines.

Verse 30. The land had rest fourscore years.] This is usually reckoned from the deliverance under Othniel, that being a term from which they dated every transaction, as in other cases they dated from the exodus, from the building of Solomon’s temple, &c., and as other nations did from particular events: the ROMANS, from the building of the city; the MOHAMMEDANS, from the Hijreh, or flight of Mohammed to Medina; the CHRISTIANS, from the birth of Christ, &c., &c. But see the preface, and the different chronological schemes there mentioned.

Verse 30. The land had rest fourscore years — Not the whole land of Israel, but the eastern part of it, which had thus shaken off the yoke of Moab. For in the mean time the Philistines invaded the western parts, as it here follows, and were repulsed by Shamgar; and Jabin afflicted the northern, as it follows in the next chapter.

MOABITISH OPPRESSION, AND THE DELIVERANCE BY EHUD, 12-30.

12. The Lord strengthened Eglon — Or, as some explain, encouraged Eglon. He inspired him with zeal and consciousness of ability to vanquish Israel. Jehovah did this, not because Eglon was the righteous king of a righteous nation, but because he wished to use him as an instrument for the punishment of Israel. All that is known of Eglon and his rule over Israel is recorded in this passage of Holy Scripture. The archives of Moab have been destroyed for thousands of years; the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Moab — This nation occupied the territory east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon river.

V. 31. An ox goad-As Samson did a thousand with the jaw-bone of an ass; both being miraculous actions, and not at all incredible to him that believes a God, who could easily give strength to effect this. It is probable Shamgar was following the plough, when the Philistines made an inroad into the country. And having neither sword nor spear, when God put it into his heart to oppose them, he took the instrument that was next at hand. It is no matter how weak the weapon is, if God direct and strengthen the arm.

Verse 31. And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath] Dr. Hales supposes that “Shamgar’s administration in the West included Ehud’s administration of eighty years in the East; and that, as this administration might have been of some continuance, so this Philistine servitude which is not noticed elsewhere, might have been of some duration; as may be incidentally collected from Deborah’s thanksgiving, Judges 5:6.” Slew-six hundred men with an ox-goad] rqbh dmlm malmad

habbakar, the instructer of the oxen. This instrument is differently understood by the versions: the Vulgate has vomere, with the coulter or ploughshare, a dreadful weapon in the hand of a man endued with so much strength; the Septuagint has arotropodi twn bown, with the ploughshare of the oxen; the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, understand it of the goad, as does our translation.

1. THAT the ox-goad, still used in Palestine, is a sufficiently destructive weapon if used by a strong and skilful hand, is evident enough from the description which Mr. Maundrell gives of this implement, having seen many of them both in Palestine and Syria: “It was observable,” says he, “that in ploughing they used goads of an extraordinary size; upon measuring of several I found them about eight feet long, and at the bigger end about six inches in circumference. They were armed at the lesser end with a sharp prickle for driving the oxen, and at the other end with a small spade or paddle of iron, strong and massy, for cleansing the plough from the clay that encumbers it in working.” See his Journey from Aleppo, &c., 7th edit., pp. 110, 111. In the hands of a strong, skilful man, such an instrument must be more dangerous and more fatal than any sword. It is worthy of remark that the ox-goad is represented by Homer to have been used prior to this time in the same way. In the address of Diomed to Glaucus, Iliad. lib. vi., ver. 129, Lycurgus is represented as discomfiting Bacchus and the Bacchanals with this weapon. The siege of Troy, according to the best chronologers, happened within the time of the Israelitish judges.

Ouk an egwge qeoisin epouranioisi macoimhn,

Oude gar oude druantov uiov kraterov lukourgov

* * * * * * * * *

Seue katJ hgaqeon nusshion, ai dJ ama pasai

Qusqla camai kateceuan, upJ androfonoio lukourgou

Qeinomenai bouplhgi.

“I fight not with the inhabitants of heaven;

That war Lycurgus, son of Dryas, waged,

Nor long survived.-From Nyssa’s sacred heights

He drove the nurses of the frantic god,

Thought drowning Bacchus: to the ground they cast

All cast, their leafy wands; while, ruthless, he

Spared not to smite them with his murderous goad.”

The meaning of this fable is: Lycurgus, king of Thrace, finding his subjects addicted to drunkenness, proscribed the cultivation of the vine in his dominions, and instituted agriculture in its stead; thus qusqla, the thyrsi, were expelled, bouplhgi, by the ox-goad. The account, however, shows that Shamgar was not the only person who used the ox-goad as an offensive weapon. If we translate bouplhx a cart-whip, the parallel is lost.

2. It appears that Shamgar was merely a labouring man; that the Philistines were making an inroad on the Israelites when the latter were cultivating their fields; that Shamgar and his neighbours successfully resisted them; that they armed themselves with their more portable agricultural instruments; and that Shamgar, either with a ploughshare or an ox-goad, slew six hundred of those marauders.

3. The case of Ehud killing Eglon is a very serious one; and how far he was justified in this action is with all a question of importance, and with not a few a question of difficulty. “Is it right to slay a tyrant?” I, without hesitation, answer, No individual has a right to slay any man, except it be in his own defence, when a person attacks him in order to take away his life. “But may not any of his oppressed subjects put an end to the life of a tyrant?” No. The state alone can judge whether a king is ruling contrary to the laws and constitution of that state; and if that state have provided laws for the punishment of a ruler who is endeavouring to destroy or subvert that constitution, then let him be dealt with according to those laws. But no individual or number of individuals in that state has any right to dispose of the life of the ruler but according to law. To take his life in any other way is no less than murder. It is true God, the author of life and the judge of all men, may commission one man to take away the life of a tyrant. But the pretension to such a commission must be strong, clear, and unequivocal; in short, if a man think he have such a commission, to be safe, he should require the Lord to give him as full an evidence of it as he did to Moses; and when such a person comes to the people, they should require him to give as many proofs of his Divine call as the Hebrews did Moses, before they should credit his pretensions. “But had not Ehud a Divine call?” I cannot tell. If he had, he did not murder Eglon; if he had not, his act, however it succeeded, was a murderous act; and if he had no message from God, (and there is no proof that he had,) then he was a most base and hypocritical assassin. The sacred historian says nothing of his motives nor call; he mentions simply the fact, and leaves it without either observation or comment, and every reader is left to draw his own inference. The life of any ruler can only be at the disposal of the constitution, or that system of rules, laws, and regulations, by which the people he rules should be governed; if he rule not according to these, he is, ipso facto, deposed from his government. If he break the constitution, to the great injury or ruin of his subjects, then he is to be judged by those laws according to which he must have pledged himself to govern. If a king be deposed on any other account, it is rebellion. If his life be taken away by any means but those provided by the constitution, it is murder. No pretended or proved tyranny can justify his being taken off in any other way, or on any other account. And what constitution in the civilized world provides for the death of the supreme magistrate? It is true the good people, as they were called, of England and France, have each under a pretense of law, beheaded their king; and they endeavoured to justify their conduct on the ground that those kings had broken the constitution: this being proved, they should have been deposed. But by what law, either of those nations or of the civilized world, were their lives taken away? Let it be remembered that the inflation of the punishment of death, either against or without law, is murder.

JUDGES

Verse 31. After him was Shamgar — He was the third judge of the Israelites, and delivered them from some small oppressions which they suffered from the Philistines. The sacred text gives us no further particulars concerning him than that he slew six hundred of them with an ox-goad; or, as the Latin and Greek versions render it, with a plough-share. Indeed the Hebrew rqbh dmlm, malmad habakar, signifies any instrument by which oxen are broken to labour. The Philistines, it seems, were more careful than any other nation to strip the Israelites of all their military weapons whenever they had them in subjection; and if this was the case at present, it is likely that the expression means only such rustic instruments as he could lay his hand on. It is probable he was following the plough when the Philistines made an inroad into the country, and having neither sword nor spear, when God put it into his heart to oppose them, he took up the instrument which was next at hand. “It is no matter,” says Henry, “how weak the weapon is, if God direct and strengthen the arm. An ox-goad, when God pleaseth, shall do more than Goliah’s sword. And sometimes he chooseth to work by such unlikely means, that the excellence of the power may appear to be of God,” and that he may have all the glory. If we may believe Mr. Maundrell, however, he saw goads used in Palestine which were of an extraordinary size, several of them being about eight feet long, and at the thicker end six inches in circumference. They were armed, he tells us, at the smaller end, with a sharp prickle for driving the oxen, and at the other end with a small spade or paddle of iron, strong and massy, for cleansing the plough from the clay that is wont to encumber it in working. And he conjectures it was with such a goad as one of these that Shamgar made this prodigious slaughter, and judges that such an instrument “was not less fit, perhaps fitter, than a sword for such an execution.” See Journey from Aleppo, p. 110. It is evident, however, that the sacred writer here does not attribute the slaughter made, and victory obtained by Shamgar, to the excellence of the weapon which he used, but to the power of God.

Ver. 31. Shamgar—slew six hundred men with an oxgoad. The Vulgate reads coulter of a plough, It is usually about the length of the short swords used by the Romans. This broad and heavy sword wielded by so powerful an arm, would mow down all opposers. The Philistines had now taken all armour from the Jews, as also in the days of Samuel. Shamgar therefore had no other armour. The highroads were shut up, and the oppression and poverty of the Hebrews were great beyond conception. Their theocracy, having the Lord for a king, would have been glorious, had they sought him instead of forsaking him.

EXPLOITS OF SHAMGAR, 31.

31. Shamgar — His tribe is not known, but it is probable that he belonged to a tribe bordering on the Philistines — Judah, Simeon, or Dan. The particulars of this Philistine oppression are unknown, but the fact here recorded shows that these enemies of the sea-coast had troubled Israel before the days of Samson. Which slew — We are not to suppose that he slew, or smote, all these six hundred on one occasion, or one day; nor is it necessary to maintain that he performed the feat without any assistance. Oxgoad — dmlm — The Septuagint and Vulgate render this word ploughshare. The oxgoad was about eight feet long and six inches in circumference, at one end pointed with iron, and at the other having an iron paddle for removing dirt from the plough. Why Shamgar had no better weapon we do not know, unless it be because the Philistines had conquered a part of Israel and disarmed them. Compare Judges 5:8, and 1 Samuel 13:19. Perhaps he was attacked in the field while ploughing, and made a brave defence with the utensil in his hand.