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Judges 3

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The Lord Tests Israel 1–7

1
Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; ​
2
Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; ​
3
Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.
4
And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. ​
5
And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:
6
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. ​
7
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. ​

Israel Delivered by Othniel 8–11

8
Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years. ​
9
And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. ​
10
And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim. ​
11
And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Ehud and Shamgar Deliver Israel 12–31

12
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. ​
13
And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. ​
14
So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15
But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. ​
16
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. ​
17
And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. ​
18
And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.
19
But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.
20
And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. ​
21
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:
22
And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. ​
23
Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.
24
When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber. ​
25
And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
26
And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.
27
And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
28
And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. ​
29
And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.
30
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.
31
And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Judges 3

Verse 1

to prove Israel by them — Nasah, to test or try. The same purpose is stated in Judg 2:22, 'That through them I may prove Israel', and the verb of Deut 8:2, 'to humble thee, and to prove thee'. The nations were left by the LORD himself, for a generation that 'had not known all the wars of Canaan'.

Verse 2

to teach them war — Lamad, to teach, literally to goad. The goad of v.31 (malmad) comes from the same root, the tool Shamgar used against the Philistines. The generations that knew no battle were to learn it; v.4 shows the larger trial was obedience.

Verse 4

hearken unto the commandments — Shama, to hear with obedience, and mitsvah, commandment, 'which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses'. The nations left were a test of obedience to such commands as Deut 7:3, 'Neither shalt thou make marriages with them', broken in v.6.

Verse 6

took their daughters to be their wives — The very act forbidden in Deut 7:3, with the reason given in Deut 7:4: 'they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods'. Here the order follows: they took, they gave, and 'served their gods'.

Verse 7

Baalim and the groves — Baal in the plural, the lords of the Canaanite places; and asherah, rendered 'groves', which the LORD had told Israel to 'cut down' (Ex 34:13). 'Forgat' (shakach) is the forgetting Moses warned of in Deut 4:9.

Verse 8

he sold them — Makar, the verb of sale into the hand of an enemy, as in Judg 2:14. The king's name, Chushan-rishathaim, means Cushan of double wickedness; his realm Aram-naharaim is Aram of the two rivers. The first servitude in the book lasted 'eight years'.

Verse 9

cried unto the LORD — Za'aq, to cry out in distress. The LORD 'raised up' (qum) a 'deliverer' (yasha, to save), Othniel, who had earlier 'took' a city and received Achsah, Caleb's daughter, as wife (Judg 1:13). He is Caleb's 'younger brother' in the KJV's reading.

Verse 10

the Spirit of the LORD came upon him — The Spirit of the LORD likewise came on Gideon (Judg 6:34), Jephthah (Judg 11:29) and Samson (Judg 14:6, 'came mightily'). Here the Spirit comes first, then follow 'judged' (shaphat, to govern and vindicate), going out to war, and the victory that the LORD gave.

Verse 12

strengthened Eglon — Chazaq, to make strong. The LORD himself empowers the king of Moab; the cause is stated twice, because Israel 'did evil again' (yasaph, to add). The pattern of v.7 returns after Othniel's forty years of rest (v.11), and the service lasts eighteen years (v.14).

Verse 13

the city of palm trees — Jericho is called 'the city of palm trees' in Deut 34:3. Eglon joined 'Ammon and Amalek' to his own force, and 'possessed' (yarash, the verb of taking an inheritance) a city of Benjamin's inheritance (Josh 18:21).

Verse 15

a man lefthanded — Itter yad-yemino, literally one shut up or impeded as to the right hand. Ehud is 'a Benjamite', the son of Gera. He is the LORD's 'deliverer' (yasha), as Othniel was (v.9), and Israel uses him to carry the 'present' (minchah, tribute) to Eglon.

Verse 16

a dagger which had two edges — Chereb, a blade, here made by Ehud himself; 'edges' is peyah, literally a mouth. Its length is a gomed, rendered 'cubit'. The dagger hung 'upon his right thigh', where the left hand reaches it; v.21 says he used 'his left hand'.

Verse 17

a very fat man — Bari, fatted or plump. The name Eglon comes from egel, a calf. The 'present' (minchah) was tribute brought to him; v.29 later calls Moab's slain 'lusty' (shamen, fat, rich), a different word for the same fatness.

Verse 20

a message from God — Dabar elohim, literally a word of God. Ehud finds the king in a 'summer parlour', an upper room (aliyah) of cooling (meqerah), alone. At the words 'he arose out of his seat' (kisse, the word for a throne).

Verse 22

the dirt came out — Parshedon, a word understood of the body's discharge. The 'haft' (nitsab) followed the 'blade' (lahab, a flash), and the 'fat' closed over it so that the dagger could not be drawn out.

Verse 24

he covereth his feet — A phrase of privacy: Saul 'went in to cover his feet' in the cave (1 Sam 24:3). The servants judged by it that the locked 'doors of the parlour' (v.23) meant the king was relieving himself, and so delayed, as v.25 says, 'till they were ashamed'.

Verse 28

the fords of Jordan — Israel 'took' (lakad, to seize) the crossings 'toward Moab' and let no man pass. Ehud's order rests on the LORD's gift: 'the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand'. The passages were taken again in Judg 12:5.

Verse 31

an ox goad — Malmad, from lamad, to teach, the verb of v.2: a goad was a farmer's tool, and the 'six hundred' Philistines fell to it. Shamgar 'the son of Anath' is named again in Judg 5:6, where 'the highways were unoccupied' in his days. He 'also delivered Israel'.