Judges 3:31

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 3:31

When it is said the land had rest eighty years, some think it meant chiefly of that part of the land which lay eastward on the banks of Jordan, which had been oppressed by the Moabites; but it seems, by this passage here, that the other side of the country which lay south-west was in that time infested by the Philistines, against whom Shamgar made head. 1. It seems Israel needed deliverance, for he delivered Israel; how great the distress was Deborah afterwards related in her song (Jdg. 5:6),... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 3:31

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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 3:31

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 - הבקר מלמד ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 3:31

From this verse and Judges 5:6 we may gather that Shamgar was contemporary with Jael, and that he only procured a temporary and partial deliverance for Israel by his exploit. He may have been of the tribe of Judah.An ox goad - An instrument of wood about eight feet long, armed with an iron spike or point at one end, with which to spur the ox at plow, and with an iron scraper at the other end with which to detach the earth from the plowshare when it became encumbered with it. The fact of their... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 3:31

Judges 3:31. 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 מלמד הבקר , malmad habakar, signifies any instrument by which oxen are broken to labour. The Philistines, it seems, were... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Judges 3:7-31

Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar (3:7-31)The first invader of Israel seems to have come from Aram, which was far to the north of Palestine. The Israelite leader who finally defeated him, Othniel, came from the tribe of Judah, which was in the south of Palestine (see Joshua 15:13-19). It appears, therefore, that the enemy had overrun most of the land. As in other cases recorded in Judges, Israel’s victory came through God’s special power given to the deliverer (7-11; cf. 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6,19;... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Judges 3:31

Shamgar. Compare Judges 5:6-8 . an ox goad. See note on Judges 3:21 . No weapons. Compare Jdg 5:8 . 1 Samuel 13:19-22 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Judges 3:31

III. SHAMGAR (Judges 3:31)"And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who smote of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad: and he also saved Israel."It is surprising that so little is said of the deliverance mentioned here, yet the message is dear enough that the efforts of this judge "saved Israel." That far more must have entered into that deliverance than the slaughter of six hundred Philistines appears to be certain."The son of Anath" (Judges 3:31). "Anath was the Canaanite... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Judges 3:31

Judges 3:31. After him was Shamgar, &c.— It is uncertain of what tribe Shamgar was, and when he commenced judge of Israel; nothing being mentioned concerning him, but this exploit against the Philistines, in which he slew six hundred men with an ox-goad; i.e. the instrument by which oxen are broken to the plough and managed. An observation of Mr. Maundrel will justify our version. He says, that in Palestine he observed them to use goads of an extraordinary size. "Upon measuring of several,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Judges 3:31

31. after him was Shamgar—No notice is given of the tribe or family of this judge; and from the Philistines being the enemy that roused him into public service, the suffering seems to have been local—confined to some of the western tribes. slew . . . six hundred men with an oxgoad—This instrument is eight feet long and about six inches in circumference. It is armed at the lesser end with a sharp prong for driving the cattle, and on the other with a small iron paddle for removing the clay which... read more

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