Judges 3:19

THE ASSASSINATION

"But he himself turned back from the quarries that were near Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body; and the fat closed upon the blade, for he drew not the sword out of his body; and it came out behind."

"He ... turned back from the quarries near Gilgal" (Judges 3:19). Gilgal was located in two or three miles of the old Jericho, and this indicates that the headquarters of the king of Moab was in that vicinity.

"The quarries" (Judges 3:19). The Hebrew word here is, "Sculptured stones near Gilgal, meaning `graven images' or `carvings' - perhaps the figures carved on the standing stones from which Gilgal received its name."[18] The same word is used again in Judges 3:26.

"Keep silence" (Judges 3:19). Bruce tells us that this is "An onomatopoeic word,"[19] that is, a word based upon its resemblance to some sound, such as `bow wow,' `splash' or `bang.' In this light, the word here was probably something like, "Shhhush," a word which the king's valets interpreted as requiring them to withdraw from his presence.

"And he arose out of his seat" (Judges 3:20). "This is supposed to be a sign of reverence because of the Divine oracle he expected to receive.[20]

"And it came out behind" (Judges 3:22). Dummelow affirmed that, "No meaning can be obtained from the Hebrew words so rendered."[21] The guesses that have been suggested are that: (1) it refers to an anal discharge; (2) that it means the sword penetrated even through the king's back; or (3) that the sword penetrated the intestines and that the discharge came through the opening by the sword. One of the key words here is not found anywhere else. "The most plausible suggestion is that the sword passed through the abdomen and projected through his body. It (the sword) came out behind."[22]