21-26. Ehud put forth his left hand—The whole circumstance of this daring act—the death of Eglon without a shriek, or noise—the locking of the doors—the carrying off the key—the calm, unhurried deportment of Ehud—show the strength of his confidence that he was doing God service. read more
II. THE RECORD OF ISRAEL’S APOSTASY 3:7-16:31"The judges are twelve in number, reckoning either Deborah or Barak as a judge and omitting Abimelech, whose status in fact depended wholly on his descent from Gideon, and who was in effect not a ’deliverer’, and a ’judge’ only in the sense of a local ruler on his own account." [Note: John Gray, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, p. 189.] Israel’s JudgesJudgeScriptureIsrael’s OppressorsLength in YearsNation(s)King(s)OppressionJudgeshipPeaceOthnielJudges... read more
1. Oppression under the Moabites and deliverance through Ehud 3:12-30The Moabites and Ammonites were not only neighbors who both lived to the southeast of Canaan, but they were also descendants of the same ancestor, Lot. The Amalekites lived on Israel’s southern border and were descendants of Esau. The Moabites had allied with the Ammonites and the Amalekites and had captured the site of Jericho (the "city of palm trees," Judges 3:13). They had evidently rebuilt it since Joshua’s conquest.... read more
B. The second apostasy 3:12-31As time went by, Israel’s departure from God progressed. The writer reflected this by showing that Israel suffered under two oppressing powers at the same time next: the Moabites and the Philistines. read more
The Story of the Judges. Othniel. Ehud. Shamgar1-6. Israel’s actual relations with the Canaanites.1. Wars of Canaan] i.e. those waged by Joshua, after whose death (Judges 2:21) the career of victory was made to cease by Jehovah. 2. A third reason for the survival of the heathen in Canaan, in addition to those given in Judges 2:1; and in. Judges 2:22; Judges 3:1. 3. Philistines] see Intro. § 5. The Philistines occupied the lowland in the SW. Their five cities formed a confederacy: see Judges... read more
History of the Judges (Jdg 3:5 to Jdg 16:31)On this, the main section of the book, see Intro. § 2 and List of Oppressions and Judges. The larger part of the book is concerned with six of the Judges, one of whom is not properly a Judge at all (Abimelech), and in the case of another (Samson) isolated forays are recorded, but no actual deliverance.7-11. Chushan-rishathaim and Othniel.7. The groves] RV 'the asheroth.' The word (another plural) means the sacred poles set up near an altar, which were... read more
(20) Ehud came unto him.—The previous message had either been spoken at some distance, in a loud voice, or had been merely a message sent to the king by the attendants.In a summer parlour.—Literally, a parlour of cooling (comp. Amos 3:15). The room is one of the kind known in the East as alijah (Greek, huperôon; Mark 14:15), the coolest part of an Eastern house. Obergemache der Kühlung (De Wette). Sommer-laube (Luther). The expression reminds us that the scene of the incident is placed in the... read more
(21) Thrust it into his belly.—This would involve certain, though not necessarily instant death. Josephus says, inaccurately, that he stabbed him to the heart (Antt. v. 4, § 2). The assassination is exactly similar to that of Henry III. of France, by the Dominican monk, Jacques Clement, who had provided himself with a commission from a friend of the king: “On Tuesday, Aug. 1, at 8 a.m.,” says L’Estoile, “he was told that a monk desired to speak with him. The king ordered him to be admitted. The... read more
(22) The haft also went in after the blade.—The tremendous violence of the blow marks that resoluteness of character which Ehud shows throughout. The Hebrew for “blade” is “flame,” as the LXX. here render it. It is as though the vivid narrator would make us see the flash of the dagger ere it is buried, hilt and all, in the huge body. So in Nahum 3:3 we have, “The horseman lifteth up the flame of the sword and the lightning of the spear.” The only other passage where the word occurs is to... read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Judges 3:20
20. a summer parlour—Hebrew, "chamber of cooling"—one of those retired edifices which Oriental grandees usually have in their gardens, and in which they repose during the heat of the day. read more