Doctrines Covered		Doctrines Alluded To
Baalim	List of the Technological Accomplishments of the Hamitic People Following the Flood	Testing	Racial Intermarriage
		Baal	Moab and Ammon

I ntroduction: Judges 3 will move away from summary and into narrative. In fact, we will study three judges in this chapter alone: Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar, the latter judge being given very little air time. I should also point out that these various judges were not kings who ruled over all Israel, but they had territories or tribes over which they likely ruled or judged, although the book of Judges rarely gives us enough information to place them in a particular period of time or any particular territory. In fact, even the exact nature of their political rulership is left unknown.

This chapter begins with a list of the various nations and peoples who still live within Israel and tells of the intermarriage which took place. The proper understanding of this is not the fact that various Israel men marry foreign women (or, vice versa), but that they are influenced enough to walk away from Jehovah God Who placed them in the Land of Promise to begin with. They turn away from God and toward the gods of the heathen. At the first instance of this, God allows the king of Mesopotamia to place Israel into servitude. The one who delivers them was the nephew of Caleb, Othniel, also the son of Kenaz, who was the brother of Caleb. This is one of the most successful deliverances, although we are told very little about it. Israel was subjected to the king of Mesopotamia for eight years and Othniel ben Kenaz delivers Israel into a time of peace for forty years.

Israel again falls under the religious influence of those around them, and God places them under the control of Eglon the king of Moab. This time they are delivered by a man named Ehud, about whom we know very little apart from this narrative. It appears that he did rule over Israel for a time, something which is stated outright in the Greek Septuagint, but only implied by the connectives of v. 31 in the Hebrew.

Unlike the judges who bookend him, what Ehud does is given in great detail. Israel is paying tribute to Moab, and God raises up Ehud, who accompanies the tribute on one occasion. After Ehud gives the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, he tells him that he has a message from God. They go to Egon’s private residence within his castle and Ehud assassinates Eglon there. Ehud escapes, and then comes back against Moab with Israeli soldiers, and soundly defeats Moab.

After Ehud, Shamgar ben Anath rules (or, judges), who also was a military man.

Also, for the first time in this book, we can make a reasonable guess as to who one of the authors is. We will note that the deliverance described by Ehud is given in some detail and that the vocabulary and sentence structure becomes slightly more difficult during that narrative. We can therefore reasonably conclude that this report was by Ehud himself (certain events which took place were known only to Ehud and to the king that he will kill in this chapter). In my opinion, Samuel, hundreds of years later, gathers these documents from the period of the judges and edits them together, making very few changes (except as moved by God the Holy Spirit).

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I like to present at least one additional outline by another author. What is important about this outline is, it reveals that this chapter is really broken down into two sections; and the latter section is properly subdivided.

Matthew Henry Outlines Judges 3

I. A general account of Israel's enemies is premised, and of the evil they did then. Judges 3:1–7

II. A particular account of the brave exploits done by the first three of the judges. Judges 3:8–31

1. Othniel, whom God raised up to fight Israel's battles, and plead their cause against the king of Mesopotamia (Judges 3:8–11).

2. Ehud, who was employed in rescuing Israel out of the hands of the Moabites, and did it by stabbing the king of Moab (Judges 3:12-30).

a. Israel falls into apostasy again (Judges 3:12–14).

b. Ehud, Israel’s deliverer, assassinates Eglon, king of Moab (Judges 3:15–25).

c. Ehud gathers up Israel’s military and defeats the military of Moab (Judges 3:26–30).

3. Shamgar, who signalized himself in an encounter with the Philistines (Judges 3:31).

Taken from Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; from e-Sword, Judges 3 introduction. I further subdivided the section on Ehud.

Finally, as we exegete this chapter, we will come to observe, with J. Vernon McGee, that all of the judges had some defect, some odd characteristic, or handicap which God used. The Judges reveal that God can use any man who is willing to be used. McGee later writes: All of the judges are “little men.” There is not a big one in the lot. These men were used of God because they were—and I have to say it—odd characters. Their very oddness caused God to use them.

Like many chapters of the Bible, this was a poor chapter division. These first several verses really belong with Judges 2. In Judges 2, God rebukes Israel; and then, from v. 6 on, we are told why. In fact, we are given a history lesson, beginning with the death of Joshua in Judges 2:6. The problem, according to the latter half of Judges 2, is that God sends judges to Israel, yet Israel continually goes astray, chasing after the gods of the heathen. The final few verses of Judges 2 read: And so the anger of Y^ehowah burned against Israel; therefore, He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers; and [because] they did not listen to [and obey] My voice; I will not continue to expel anyone from them—from the nations which Joshua left when he died—to test Israel by them, whether they keep the way of Y^ehowah, to walk in them, as their fathers kept [them], or not.” And Y^ehowah caused to rest those nations that he did not dispossess quickly nor give into the hand of Joshua (Judges 2:20–23). This takes us directly to the first few verse of Judges 3: And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who have not known [war]): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanite, the Sidonian, and the Hivite, who is living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to as far as the entrance of Hamath. They were to test Israel to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah, which He commanded their fathers by Moses. Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Consequently, they [the Israelites] took their daughters to themselves for wives and their own daughters they gave to their sons; therefore, they served their gods. (Judges 3:1–6). As you can see by simply reading these verses, that Judges 3:1–6 should have closed out Judges 2. By the way, just in case you did not know, the chapter and verse divisions were added hundreds and thousands of years after these books were written, and there is nothing inspired about either.

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The Nations Which Remained to Test Israel

Because the first several verses form one complete thought, it may be helpful to take them in as a whole to begin with. An individual and separate rendering of these 4 verses does not really hold together well.
Judges 3:1–4 Taken as a Whole
Translation	Judges 3:1–4
The Emphasized Bible	Now these are the nations which Yahweh left, that he might by them put Israel to the proof,—all who had not known any of the wars of Canaan; that the generations of the sons of Israel might certainly get to know by being taught to make war,—such, at least, as aforetime knew nothing thereof;—five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites, and the Zidonians, and the Hivites dwelling in Mount Lebanon,—from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entering in of Hamath. So then [these] were [left] that, by them, he might put Israel to the proof,—to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of Yahweh which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
ESV	Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
NASB	Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced [lit., known] any of the wars of Canaan; only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. And they were for testing Israel, to find out if they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers through Moses.
Young's Literal Translation	And these are the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan; (only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel’s knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them)—five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath; and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

The first 6 verses form a general summary of Israel during the time of the judges, essentially completing the second half of Judges 2. After Judges 2:6, we will examine specific judges and specific historical events in Israel’s history. In fact, had those who divided these chapters up been on the ball, there would have been a new chapter at Judges 2:7.

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Slavishly literal:

Moderately literal:

And these the nations which left Y^ehowah to test by them Israel—all of whom did not know all of wars [of] Canaan.

Judges

3:1

And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan...

The following is a list of all of the nations which Jehovah allowed to remain in the land of Canaan to test Israel (which generations had not fought in any of the wars of Canaan;...

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And these the nations which left Y^ehowah to test by them Israel—all of whom did not know all of wars [of] Canaan.

Septuagint Now these [are] the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV And the LORD had another reason for letting these enemies stay. The Israelites needed to learn how to fight in war, just as their ancestors had done. Each new generation would have to learn by fighting... [vv. 1–2].

The Message These are the nations that GOD left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars.

NAB The following are the nations which the Lord allowed to remain, so that through them he might try all those Israelites who had no experience of the battles with Canaan...

NLT The Lord left certain nations in the land to test those Israelites who had not participated in the wars of Canaan.

REB As a means of testing all the Israelites who had not taken part in the battles for Canaan, the Lord left these nations,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ These are the nations the LORD left behind to test all the Israelites who had not experienced any war in Canaan.

HCSB These are the nations the LORD left in order to test Israel, since none of these Israelites had fought in any of the wars with Canaan.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan.

Young's Updated LT And these are the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan...

What is the gist of this verse? God will leave specific nations and groups of people in the land to test Israel—those who had not fought in any wars previously.

We begin this verse with a few difficult words and some difficult sentence structure. Again, it is a situation where the information is simple, but the vocabulary and grammar is not. This does not mean that the writer is particularly complex in his thinking—in fact, this could even indicate that the author is weak in his Hebrew, and the difficulty is that the Hebrew is substandard. Another option is, the author is from an area where they simply speak in this fashion.

Judges 3:1a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
êlleh (ה ∵ ֵא) [pronounced ALE-leh]	these, these things	demonstrative plural adjective	Strong's #428 BDB #41
gôwyîm (ם̣י) [pronounced goh-YEEM]	Gentiles, [Gentile] nation, people, peoples, nations	masculine plural noun with the definite article	Strong’s #1471 BDB #156
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
nûwach (ַחנ) [pronounced NOO-ahkh]	to deposit, to set down, to cause to rest	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil perfect	Strong’s #5117 (and #3240) BDB #628
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan]... In the first 6 verses, the specific peoples which God left in and about the land will be named, and the reason that God left them in the land will be explained to us.

Application: At the time that I write this (July-August 2006), Israel has been in a shooting war with Hizbollah which resides in Lebanon. Now Lebanon, at this point in time, is one of the nations which we might see as being a model of how things should be done in the middle east—they are a generally non-violent, democratic nation with a diverse population, which includes a sizable Christian population (which, to the Arab world, essentially means people from the United States who are not Muslim). Hizbollah, one of the many violent, anti-Semitic groups of the middle east, have taken to bombing Israel and have kidnaped a few of Israel’s soldiers. Israel has responded with a great military effort. This is going to be Israel’s life in the middle east. Even though they occupy this postage-stamp sized territory (which is about 0.2% of the Middle East), they are going to find themselves the target of Islamic-fascism and Islamic hatred. Israel has left the God Who bought them, and has pursued other gods (which might be Judaism or humanism); so God has left a number of hostile nations around them. Even before I was a believer, I heard the words peace in the Middle East uttered again and again and 40–50 years later, there is no peace in the Middle East.

Application: At this point in time, because transportation is much less of an issue than it was before, the Middle East is actively exporting its instability, hatred and religious intolerance throughout the world. We have, in the past two dozen years, experienced several attacks specifically aimed against the United States by radical Muslim groups. However, at even greater risk is Europe where once there were nations with a great Christian population (the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany), and now these nations are threatened by the very Muslim populations which they welcomed into their country. Let me caveat that by saying, not all Muslims carry deep and abiding hatred in their souls; however, it is clear that a significant percentage of them do.

Application: God has left hostile populations throughout the world, threatening the very existence of nations who have forsaken Him, just as He has done here in Judges 3 to Israel.

Judges 3:1b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
nâçâh (ה ָסָנ) [pronounced naw-SAWH]	to test, to try, to attempt, to try to do a thing; to practice doing a thing	Piel infinitive construct	Strong’s #5254 BDB #650
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, upon, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #none BDB #88
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: ...to test by them Israel... This actually picks up the thought of Judges 2:23, which essentially explains why God left these nations within the borders of Israel. In the beginning of this chapter, the reason is given almost incidentally; but we will be given the specific nations. Judges 2:20–3:6: So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, "Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not." And Y^ehowah caused to rest those nations that he did not dispossess quickly nor give into the hand of Joshua And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who have not known [war]): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanite, the Sidonian, and the Hivite, who is living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to as far as the entrance of Hamath. They were to test Israel to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah, which He commanded their fathers by Moses. Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Consequently, they [the Israelites] took their daughters to themselves for wives and their own daughters they gave to their sons; therefore, they served their gods.

When we put all of these verses together, it is clear that God does not want Israel to experience war for war’s sake; the problem is, Israel goes astray, chasing after the gods of those around them; Israel deserts the God Who bought them. Therefore, God puts them in situations where they must call upon their True God.

We will discuss testing a little later in this exegesis, but perhaps we should look at a few verses which deal with the testing of our faith:

Testing as Found in Scripture

Deut. 8:2: Remember that the LORD your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. Since God knows the heart, His testing reveals to angels and to ourselves what is in our heart.

Deut. 8:16–18: He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper. You may say to yourself, 'My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,' but remember that the LORD your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant He swore to your fathers, as it is today. God makes it clear to us, through testing, that what we receive from Him is grace and undeserved.

Prov. 17:3: A crucible is for silver and a smelter for gold, but the LORD tests the heart. These metals are heated to melting to remove their impurities; God tests the heart of man in much the same way. Zech. 13:9 is a parallel passage.

Jer. 17:9–10: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." God tests mankind in their actions, to properly reward them for their deeds. God does not reward or punish us for what He knows we will do but for what we actually do.

1Peter 1:6–9: In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. The genuineness of our faith is tested, and that testing is more precious than gold—and the result is praise, glory and honor at the revealing of Jesus Christ, which would be the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1Peter 4:12–13: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. Testing should not surprise us, but it should cause us to rejoice.

By no means do these few Scriptures cover the doctrine of testing; however, they give us a brief background and explanation for testing in our lives.

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Application: Did you ever think, if I could just solve this or that problem, my life would be a whole lot better? You can’t seem to make your bills month after month, so you think the solution is more money. You have a couple of people at work who do not like you, so they talk behind your back and even sabotage you once and awhile; if only they could mellow out or find another job. Your neighbor never mows his lawn, and he is single-handedly lowering the value of your property. For all I know, you might even pray to God to remove these problems. Or maybe you have real problems—you’re suffering from a painful and debilitating disease; you’ve been removed from the profession in which you have always wanted to work, Hizbollah is lobbing bombs into your general neighborhood. You believe that, if only these things could be resolved, that your life would be significantly better and you would be happier. During the time that I live in, teenagers have more freedom and greater access to money and hedonistic pleasures that at any time in previous history, and they aren’t happy; they aren’t satisfied; and they have not turned toward the God Who bought them. There are going to be problems in your life simply because that is the nature of this world; furthermore, God is going to send some problems your way either to test you, to improve you, or to turn you more towards Him. It is not always man’s nature to turn toward God while in great prosperity; however, man is much more likely to turn toward God during times a great distress. There is that old maxim, there are no atheists in foxholes; you put the most hardened atheist or agnostic in a life or death situation—particularly day after day after day—and many of them will crack, so to speak. Great revivals are more likely to break out in countries where there has been wars and hardship, more than in nations where there is great prosperity. Sometimes, God has to kick us in the hiney to get us to go in the right direction. That is what we have in this chapter of Judges.

Judges 3:1c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all, the entirety, every	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
Together, kôl ăsher mean all whom, all that [which]; whomever, all whose, all where, wherever.
lô (אֹל or אל) [pronounced low]	not, no	negates the word or action that follows; the absolute negation	Strong’s #3808 BDB #518
yâda׳ (עַדָי) [pronounced yaw-DAHĢ]	to know, to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to become acquainted with, to know by experience, to have a knowledge of something; to see	3^rd person plural, Qal perfect	Strong’s #3045 BDB #393
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	with a plural noun, it is rendered all of, all; any of	masculine singular construct with a masculine plural noun	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
mil^echâmâh (הָמָח׃ל ̣מ) [pronounced mil-khaw-MAW]	battle, war	feminine plural noun construct?	Strong’s #4421 BDB #536
K^ena׳an (ן -ע-נ) [pronounced k^eNAH-ģahn]	which possibly means merchant and is transliterated Canaan	masculine proper noun; territory	Strong’s #3667 BDB #488

Translation:...(all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan... The people alluded to here are Israelites who were either too young to fight when Israel first took Canaan; or were born after that time.

As Wesley said, [This generation of Israel] had no experience of those wars, nor of God's extraordinary power and providence manifested in them. Judges 2:10 reads: And that previous generation was gathered to their fathers, and another generation arose after them who had not known Jehovah, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.

We stop in mid-sentence and move to the next verse, which completes the parenthetical or secondary thought begun in v. 1c. The chapter and verse divisions in the book of Judges are less than inspired.

...only to know, generations of sons of Israel, to teach them war; only which, before [their] faces, they have not known them.

Judges

3:2

...in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who formerly have not known [war]):...

...so that this generation of the sons of Israel might know war and that He might teach them war, as they had not faced the Canaanites in war previously):...

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text ...only to know, generations of sons of Israel, to teach them war; only which, before [their] faces [or simply, before], they have not known them.

Septuagint Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before they had not known them:... [I changed a portion of Brenton’s English translation from the Greek in order to better match the Greek].

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV The Israelites needed to learn how to fight in war, just as their ancestors had done. Each new generation would have to learn by fighting...

The Message He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war.

NAB ...[just to instruct, by training them in battle, those generations only of the Israelites who would not have had that previous experience]:...

NLT He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.

REB ...his purpose being to train succeeding generations of Israel in the art of warfare, or those at least who had not learnt it in former times.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ The LORD left them to teach Israel's descendants about war, at least those who had known nothing about it in the past.

HCSB This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.

JPS (Tanakh) ...so that succeeding generations of Israelites might be made to experience war—but only those who had not known the former wars:... [former wars is literally them formerly].

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.

Keil and Delitzsch ...only (for no other purpose than) that the succeeding generations (the generations which followed Joshua and his contemporaries) of the children of Israel, that He (Jehovah) might teach them war, only those who had not known them (the wars of Canaan).

LTHB ...only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, to teach them war, only those who did not before know them:...

Young’s Updated LT ...(only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel’s knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them) —.

What is the gist of this verse? God left heathen in the land that Israel would war with, for the sake of those in Israel who did not know war.

Judges 3:2a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
raq (קַר) [pronounced rahk]	only, provided, altogether, surely—this adverb carries with it restrictive force	adverb	Strong’s #7534 & #7535 BDB #956
l^ema׳an (ן ַע ַמ ׃ל) [pronounced l^e-MAH-ģahn]	for the sake of, on account of, to the intent of, to the intent that, to the purpose that, in order that, in view of, to the end that	compound preposition and substantive which acts like a preposition	Strong’s #4616 BDB #775
This is the substantive ma׳an (ן ַע ַמ) [pronounced MAH-ģahn], which means purpose, intent, combined with the lâmed preposition (which is the only way that it is found in Scripture).
yâda׳ (עַדָי) [pronounced yaw-DAHĢ]	to know, to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to become acquainted with, to know by experience, to have a knowledge of something; to see; to learn	Qal infinitive construct	Strong’s #3045 BDB #393
dôwr (ר) [pronounced dohr]	generation; race; people; age, period, time period [of a generation], a time slice	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1755 BDB #189
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: ...in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war],... A more literal rendering would be ...only in order to know, generations of sons of Israel, to teach them... God left many groups of heathen within the Land of Promise for the reason given in this verse. These heathen, with whom Israel would war, are there in order for the sons of Israel to learn something. In the previous verse, we are told these are Israelites who have not known war—the heathen in the land would be those whom they would have to war against, so the idea here is, so that these generations of Israelites would learn war. Let me explain why: we are dealing with a generation of Israelites who grew up without having to conquer the land, without having to trek through the desert in order to get to the Land of Promise; they are born, and they find themselves within a land flowing with milk and honey. They did not come out of slavery; they did not have to fight to take this land; they did not have to cross a desert in order to get to this land—they are born and their God-given land is all around them. The end result is, this generation of Israelites (which may have been the first generation to rise up after the Judæan advance to take their own cities) had no appreciation for why they were there. When a generation grows up amid prosperity, they have no concept of how this all happened. Even when they are told, it is ancient history to them, even though that ancient history might have occurred less than 20 years prior to their birth. In our lifetime, we have been blessed with a movie like Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan where we have some concept of appreciation for the generation of men who sacrificed so much for us; however, the Jews of this generation had nothing nearly as graphic to view and understand.

Because this generation of Israelites has no appreciation for what God has given them, they go astray from the Lord of Glory; they chase after other gods; their focus is misdirected.

Application: We have several generations of Americans who have no concept of our spiritual and military history; we have no concept of the real sacrifices which have been made throughout our history in order to obtain and then maintain our precious freedoms. We do not realize how important religious freedom was to those who settled this land; we have distorted religious freedom to mean freedom from religion. So many people today simply ape phrases like separation of church and state, having no real appreciation as to what that actually means. In fact, many do not realize that this phrase does not even occur in our constitution. We have a generation of men who have no concept of personal responsibility, who idolize pimps and rappers; or who have been given so many material things that they have no concept of where these things have come from. What does this passage tell us? It tells us that, if we continue to stray from our spiritual heritage, that we may face increasing violence and war, coming closer and closer to our country. We may even face attacks within our own country.

Application: One of the things which we learn from the Old Testament are historical trends; we observe the actions of the Israelites, their motivations; and we observe what God does and why He does what He does. There are few books which parallel our current condition as closely as the book of Judges does.

Judges 3:2b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
lâmad (ד ַמָל) [pronounced law-FAHD	to train, to accustom, to teach	Piel infinitive construct; with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #3925 BDB #540
mil^echâmâh (הָמָח׃ל ̣מ) [pronounced mil-khaw-MAW]	battle, war	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #4421 BDB #536

Translation: ...[God would] teach them war;... What is being taught it the feminine noun for battle or war. These generations must be given the opportunity to know and to be taught war. Do not become confused by this. God is not bloodthirsty; God does not delight in the prospect that war will continue within the borders of Israel; God does not delight in the idea that men must face the horror of war. However, when a nation goes so far astray as does Israel, it is war which brings them back to God. I’ve already mentioned the axiom there are no atheists in foxholes. Israel had to learn war in order to appreciate their unique relationship to Jehovah Elohim.

Application: I am certain you have heard that, you can learn the easy way or the hard way. The easy way for us to learn is in Bible class; the hard way for us to learn is to get beat on the head for going astray. Had Israel continued with doctrine; had Israel continued with the observation of the Feast Days and the teaching of the Mosaic Law, the time period of the Judges would have been a cakewalk for them. However, we are given a taste of their day-to-day life and the sorts of decisions which they made in Judges 17–21 (which, arguably, might be the first chapters that we should study). With the sort of thinking they we find in these chapters, it is easier to understand why God had to teach them the hard way, which involved them being in subjection to the heathen around them, and then going to war against these heathen.

The Jews were brought into the Land of Promise by Jehovah Elohim; they owe all of their prosperity to Him. God defeated the heathen who lived in this beautiful land and, during the time of the Judges, we will have generation after generation of Israelites who will pursue the false gods of the very people their fathers warred against. Therefore, Jehovah Elohim will set them at war with the heathen whose gods they worship.

Application: We have several generations of African-Americans who, despite their rich spiritual heritage, have picked up the Koran and have begun to worship a false god; many have even changed their names to reflect this commitment to heathenism. Is it any wonder that today we find ourselves at war with the radical adherents to this same faith? Do you see the parallel between Israel’s history under the judges and our lives today? Don’t think that we can worship heathen gods and that nothing bad will happen as a result.

Application: Do not become confused; religious freedom is a basic tenet of our society; and no one can be forced to worship the God Who bought us. That is, we cannot persecute or prosecute those among us whose faith rests in the idolatry of Islam, Buddhism, or material wealth. We cannot legislate against it; nor can we take vigilante action against it. What we can do is to learn God’s Word; we can apply the doctrine that we learn; and we can evangelize those around us.

Judges 3:2c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
raq (קַר) [pronounced rahk]	only, provided, altogether, surely—this adverb carries with it restrictive force	adverb	Strong’s #7534 & #7535 BDB #956
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
pânîym (םי̣נָ) [pronounced paw-NEEM]	face, faces, countenance; presence	masculine plural noun (plural acts like English singular)	Strong’s #6440 BDB #815
Together, they mean upon the face of, before, before the face of, in the presence of, in the sight of, in front of. When used with God, it can take on the more figurative meaning in the judgment of. This can also mean forwards; the front part [or, the edge of a sword]. L^epânîym (םי.נָפל) can take on a temporal sense as well: before, of old, formerly, in the past, in past times.
lô (אֹל or אל) [pronounced low]	not, no	negates the word or action that follows; the absolute negation	Strong’s #3808 BDB #518
yâda׳ (עַדָי) [pronounced yaw-DAHĢ]	to know, to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to become acquainted with, to know by experience, to have a knowledge of something; to see	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal perfect; with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #3045 BDB #393

Translation: ...specifically to those who formerly have not known [war]):... This is followed by the restrictive use of raq again, the relative pronoun, which tell us exactly whom God would teach.

This is followed by the negative and the 3^rd person plural, Qal perfect of to know, with a masculine plural suffix. I would have expected a feminine singular suffix to refer back to war; however, this refers back to faces or forward to the heathen who will be named.

Keil and Delitzsch write: the suffix attached...refers to “the wars of Canaan,” although this is a feminine noun, the suffix in the masculine plural being frequently used in connection with a feminine noun. What they had not known were the wars of Canaan, but we are still dealing with a masculine plural being matched to a feminine plural. Another option is that they did not known them refers back to Israel not knowing the Canaanites intimately—that is, in war.

To be honest, I am not thrilled with my first explanation nor with Keil and Delitzsch’s here. However, the third alternative which I have presented I think is the most reasonable. My thinking is that this was a play on words; down in vv. 5–6, we will see that the Israelites knew the Canaanites in marriage (which is what God specifically warned against), but they did not know the Canaanites in war. Although this is not the normal use of the word know, it would seem to be reasonable for this passage.

Let’s summarize this, as it is a difficult passage.

Explanation of the 3^rd Person Masculine Plural Suffix of Judges 3:2

We first need to recognize that most Bibles ignore this suffix:

NKJV ...(this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it),...

The NKJV is one of the best, if not the best, of the English translations to come out of the 20^th century; we find the neuter singular suffix also in the ESV, MKJV, NASB, WEB and completely ignored by God’s Word™, HCSB, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible.

Only two English Bibles that I am aware of, translate this accurately: Young and LTHB, which reads: ...only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, to teach them war, only those who did not before know them:... Interestingly enough, the Greek translation agrees with the Hebrew as well. Keil and Delitzsch provide a reasonable rendering in their commentary as well.

There are 3 possible explanations:

1. This 3^rd person masculine plural suffix refers back to faces. The problem with this explanation is, the meaning of to the faces probably means formerly in this verse.

2. Keil and Delitzsch tell us that the masculine plural suffix is frequently used in connection with a feminine noun (in this case war).

3. This suffix refers to the heathen who will be enumerated in the next verse. There is a clever play on words here; they have known these heathen in marriage; now they will know them in war. This, I think, is the correct understanding here.

I realize that this is probably way more information than you wanted on this little suffix; however, I feel that I must deal with these details in full, whether you are interested in them or not.

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Clarke’s interpretation of this passage: 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.

Keil and Delitzsch tell us much the same thing: In the wars of Canaan under Joshua, therefore, Israel had experienced and learned, that the power to conquer its foes did not consist in the multitude and bravery of its own fighting men, but solely in the might of its God, which it could only possess so long as it continued faithful to the Lord. This lesson the generations that followed Joshua had forgotten, and consequently they did not understand how to make war. To impress this truth upon them–the great truth, upon which the very existence as well as the prosperity of Israel, and its attainment of the object of its divine calling, depended; in other words, to teach it by experience, that the people of Jehovah could only fight and conquer in the power of its God–the Lord had left the Canaanites in the land. Necessity teaches a man to pray [and to depend upon God]. The distress into which the Israelites were brought by the remaining Canaanites was a chastisement from God, through which the Lord desired to lead back the rebellious to himself, to keep them obedient to His commandments, and to train them to the fulfilment of their covenant duties. In this respect, learning war, i.e., learning how the congregation of the Lord was to fight against the enemies of God and of His kingdom, was one of the means appointed by God to test Israel, or prove whether it would listen to the commandments of God (Judges 2:22 3:4), or would walk in the ways of the Lord. If Israel should so learn to war, it would learn at the same time to keep the commandments of God. But both of these were necessary for the people of God. For just as the realization of the blessings promised to the nation in the covenant depended upon its listening to and obeying the voice of the Lord, so the conflicts appointed for it were also necessary, just as much for the purification of the sinful nation, as for the perpetuation and growth of the kingdom of God upon the earth.

Application: This generation of Israelites only knew war from God’s Word and through the stories from their ancestors, but they do not know war with the Canaanites face to face; they have not experienced war directly. Although the Hebrew is difficult at this point, let’s see if you can grasp this point of interpretation and application: when a generation turns from God, one of the things which God wants that generation to face is war. It is in war where some people first begin to grasp how horrible this world really is. It is in war where some people turn to God; or, often, promise to turn to God. It is in war where we lose a great deal of our youthful optimism and it rids us of a lot of false ideas as to what the world is like. Being involved with high school, I am familiar with many of the kids thinking that they will graduate and then somehow, through their efforts, through college and through their job, somehow make this world a better place to live in. Most of us as adults, realize that this is futile, if not absolutely foolish; and that this world as a whole is not going to get any better. Technological advance is not the same as an advance in human morality. Some of our technological advances, particularly many which have to do with computers, are partially a result of a lack of business ethics. What this passage teachers us for today is that a generation which moves so far away from God will not only face the rude awakening that the world isn’t going to get any better, but God often places the young ones into war so that there is no confusion on this issue. For some people, the only way God can gain their attention is to put their lives at risk or to place them in a helpless and hopeless situation.

Although the thought of this verse ends at v. 4, I can tell that what we will have to do at the end of v. 3 is to put these three verses together, so that we can complete the punctuation and so that they flow together.

Five warlords of Philistines and all the Canaanite and the Sidonian and the Hivite dwelling [in] mountain of the Lebanon from mountain of Baal-hermon as far as to an entrance of Hamath.

Judges

3:3

...the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites, who are living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon [to] as far as the entrance of Hamath.

...the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who live in the region of Mount Lebanon, between Mount Baal-Hermon and the entrance to Hamath.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text Five warlords of Philistines and all the Canaanite and the Sidonian and the Hivite dwelling [in] mountain of the Lebanon from mountain of Baal-hermon as far as to an entrance of Hamath.

Septuagint Namely, five lords of the other nations, and all the Canaanite, and the Sidonian, and the Hivite that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

Significant differences: Although we have other nations in the Greek, rather than Philistines; this could be the gist of αλλοφυλων, the word that we find here. It reads Philistines in the Syriac and Latin, as well as the Hebrew. Apart from this, there are no significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV ...the Philistines and their five rulers, as well as the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites that lived in the Lebanon Mountains from Mount Baal-Hermon to Hamath Pass.

The Message He left the five Philistine tyrants, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to Hamath's Pass.

NLT These were the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers); all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the hill country of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ He left the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the border of Hamath.

HCSB These nations included: the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.

JPS (Tanakh) These served as a means of testing Israel, to learn whether they would obey the commandments which the Lord had enjoined upon their fathers through Moses.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.

Young's Updated LT ...five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

What is the gist of this verse? The nations which God left in Israel are herein named: the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians and Hivites.

These verses give a list of enemy nations which roughly describe an ark along the western and northern boundaries of the area which Israel occupied at the time of Joshua. The landmarks named here are pretty much the same as we find in Joshua 13:5–6, which is somewhat more detailed.

Judges 3:3a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
chămishshâh (הָ ̣מֲח) [pronounced khuh-mish-SHAW]	five	feminine numeral construct	Strong’s #2568 BDB #331
ç^erânîym (ן∵ר∵ס) [pronounced s^e-RAW-neem]	warlords, lords, princes, czars, generals, officers; officials, VIP’s	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #5633 BDB #710
P^elish^etîy (י. ש ̣ל) [pronounced p^e-lish-TEE]	transliterated Philistines	masculine plural gentilic adjective (acts like a proper noun)	Strong’s #6430 BDB #814

Translation: ...the five warlords of the Philistines,... This verse goes back to complete the thought of v. 1—vv. 1c–2 was parenthetical. Judges 3:3 is a list of the more important enemy forces which are still resident in Israel. The author uses the term çeren (ן ∵ר ∵ס) [pronounced SEH-ren], which means warlord, tyrant, lord, potentate, czar, despot. Çeren is only used of heathen rulers. Barnes suggests that this word is Phœnician in origin, and for that reason, we might ought to transliterate it. However, I think that warlord is the best English rendering.

The Philistines are primarily found in the book of the Judges and 1Samuel; see Joshua 13:3 Judges 10–16 1Sam. 4:1–2 6:18 13:5, 19–23 29:2.

Three of the five Philistine cities are shown above; as is Sidon, which will be mentioned later in this verse.

Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/wae/ht04wae.htm

The five major cities of the Philistines were between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. The five rulers are not enumerated here; this refers to the five rulers of the five major cities of the Philistines named in Joshua 13:3 (i.e., Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron). Judah, at one time, conquered three of these cities (Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—Judges 1:18), but apparently control was taken back by the Philistines. I should stop and explain this. The first couple of chapters are introductory chapters, which cover a long period of time. Judah, early on, conquered this three Philistine cities; however, the Philistines were never driven completely out of the valley (Judges 1:19). Therefore, sometime during the three+ centuries which follow, the Philistines took their cities back. We will find this to be the case throughout the history of Israel and Philistia—every few decades, one country will encroach upon the other; some border cities will belong to Israel; and, a few decades later, these cities will be under the control of the Philistines. In the book of Samuel, the Philistines will come into the center of Israel and capture several cities, dividing Israel in half.

Judges 3:3b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all of, the entirety of, all; can also be rendered any of	masculine singular construct followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
K^ena׳ănîy (י.נֲע-נ) [pronounced k^e-nah-ģuh-NEE]	merchant, trader; and is transliterated Canaanite, Canaanites	adjective/nominative gentilic; with the definite article	Strong’s #3669 BDB #489

Translation: ...the Canaanites,... The Canaanites were strewn throughout the land—in fact, the Canaanite name is often used to name all of the inhabitants of the land; however, here, it refers to those in the low-lying areas. Gill, on the other hand, sees these as a particular group of people (in this context) who live along the sea and along the coast of the Jordan River (which would be the low-lying areas). Num. 13:29 gives the spies’ report: Amalek is dwelling in the land of the south, and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite is dwelling in the hill country, and the Canaanite is dwelling by the sea, and by the side of the Jordan.

Judges 3:3c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all of, the entirety of, all; can also be rendered any of	masculine singular construct followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
Tsîydônîy (י.נֹדי.צ) [pronounced tsee-doh-NEE]	hunting, fishing, catching fish; translated inhabitants of Sidon; transliterated Sidonians	proper noun/gentilic; singular adjective; with the definite article	Strong’s #6722 BDB #851

Translation: ...the Sidonians,... The Sidonians are the Phœnicians; Sidon is one of their cities, along the northern coast of the Mediterranean, shown in the map above. This people and city take their name from Canaan’s firstborn (Gen. 10:15). We find the Sidonians mentioned in the following passages: Joshua 11:8–13 19:28 Judges 10:12 18:7.

Judges 3:3d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all of, the entirety of, all; can also be rendered any of	masculine singular construct followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
Chivvîy (י..ח) [pronounced khihv-VEE]	villagers, transliterated Hivite	masculine singular, gentilic adjective	Strong’s #2340 BDB #295

Translation: ...and the Hivites,... The Hivites were scattered in several places. To remind you, some Hivites lived in Gibeon made a pact with Israel back in Joshua 9:1–27 11:19. The Hivites spoken of here occupied northern Canaan on up to the entrance to Hamath (this was as far north as the original Israelite spies went—Num. 13:21). Now Joshua had conquered that far north (Joshua 11:17 12:7), but he had not gone any further (Joshua 13:5). The Hivites are one of the most ancient families or races of people, dating back to Gen. 10:17 where we find that they are sons of the Canaanites.

Judges 3:3e
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
yâshab (בַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAH^BV]	inhabiting, staying, remaining, dwelling, sitting	Qal active participle	Strong's #3427 BDB #442
har (ר ַה) [pronounced har]	hill; mountain, mount; hill-country	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #2042 (and #2022) BDB #249
L^ebânôwn (ןנָבל) [pronounced l^eb-vaw-NOHN]	white; and is transliterated Lebanon	proper noun/location; with the definite article	Strong’s #3844 BDB #526

Translation: ...who are living in Mount Lebanon,... You may know the location Lebanon from the contemporary events of Hizbollah occupying portions of that country today, and lobbing missiles down into Israel. Lebanon is also shown on the map above as well. We will examine Mount Lebanon in greater detail below:

Judges 3:3f
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, off, out from, out of, away from, on account of, since, than, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
har (ר ַה) [pronounced har]	hill; mountain, mount; hill-country	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #2042 (and #2022) BDB #249
Ba׳al (ל ַע ַ) [pronounced BAH-ģahl]	owner, lord, husband; transliterated Baal when referencing the heathen god	masculine singular noun	Strong's #1167 BDB #127
Cher^emôwn (ןמ ר∵ח) [pronounced Hermon]	sanctuary; sacred [mountain]; and is transliterated Hermon	proper noun mountain	Strong’s #2768 BDB #356
Together, these are transliterated Baal Hermon; Baal-hermon and are given Strong’s #1179 BDB #128.

Translation: ...from Mount Baal-hermon... The NIV Study Bible speculates that Mount Baal-Hermon is probably Mount Hermon, but they are distinguished in 1Chron. 5:23. Gill says that Mount Baal-Hermon is the same as Baalgad.

Barnes suggests that Baal-Hermon is probably the same as Baal-gad. Barnes: Hammath is always spoken of as the extreme northern boundary of the land of Canaan. It was the gate of approach to Canaan from Babylon, and all the north (Zech. ix. 2; Jer. xxxix. 5). It formed part of the dominions of Solomon (2 Chr. viii. 4) and of the future inheritance of Israel, as described in vision by Ezekiel (xlvii. 16).

The problem can be better understood if we place Joshua 13:5 side-by-side Judges 3:3:
Judges 3:3 Compared to Joshua 13:5
Joshua 13:5	Judges 3:3
...and the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to the entering to Hamath;...	...five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that lived in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to the entering of Hamath.
A problem here is expecting that these passages should read exactly the same, because we find Mount...Hermon and the entrance to Hamath in both of them.

Let’s examine two opinions on this matter:

Easton and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Mount Baal-Hermon
Easton	International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
(1.) Baal-hermon is a city near Mount Hermon inhabited by the Ephraimites (1Chron. 5:23). It is probably identical with Baal-gad (Joshua 11:17). (2.) Baal-hermon is a mountain east of Lebanon (Judges 3:3). Probably it may be the same as Mount Hermon, or one of its three peaks.	Baalgad under Mount Hermon is described as “toward the sunrising” in Joshua 13:5. If Mount Lebanon proper is here intended the reading may be taken as correct. But in Judges 3:3 Baal–gad is replaced by Baal-hermon. One or the other must be due to a scribal error. The Baal-hermon of 1Chron. 5:23 lay somewhere East of the Jordan, near to Mount Hermon. It may possibly be identical with Bâniâs.
The key may be that Mount Hermon actually has 3 peaks. Therefore, we should examine Mount Hermon:

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Since this is a topic which I have not studied extensively, let me pass along some information from www.ancientsandals.com:

Mount Hermon

Location and Setting:

• At 9,200 feet above sea level, Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria.

• The mountain is actually a cluster of mountains with three distinct summits, each about the same height. This cluster, the Anti-Lebanon Range, extends for approximately twenty miles in a northeast to southwest direction, running parallel to the Lebanon range on the west.

• Runoff from the snow-covered mountain’s western and southern bases feeds several streams and rivers. These merge to become the Jordan River. Additionally, the runoff facilitates fertile plant life below the snow line, where vineyards and pine, oak, and poplar trees are abundant.

• Mount Hermon is called the "gray-haired mountain," or the "mountain of snow," because of the covering of snow, which is present on it most of the year.

Historical and Biblical Significance:

• Mount Hermon was also called Senir by the Amorites and Sirion by the Sidonians (Deut. 3:9 Psalm 29:6 1Chron. 5:23 SOS 4:8 Ezek. 27:5).

• The mountain served as the northern boundary of the Land promised by God to Israel (Deut 3:8) and also was the northern limit of the Conquest (Joshua 11:17 12:1 13:5).

• The high places of Mount Hermon were apparently used by the Canaanites for their pagan religious rituals. They referred to the mountain as Mount Baal-hermon (Judges 3:3).

• Jesus and His disciples journeyed north from Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee to the city of Caesarea Philippi at the southern base of Mount Hermon (Matt. 16:13 Mark 8:27). There, Jesus revealed to them His purpose to build His Church and to go to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected (Matt. 16:18-21).

• Mount Hermon was a possible site of the Transfiguration, where Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, up on a high mountain for prayer. Before their eyes, Jesus was transfigured. He became radiantly white and conversed with Moses and Elijah, who had appeared beside Him. The disciples’ amazement and fear were further increased, when a voice from heaven exclaimed, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!" (Matt. 17:1-8 Mark 9:2-8 Luke 9:29-36).

The Encyclopedia Britannica gives us a little more information about Mount Hermon:

Mount Hermon is a snowcapped mountain on the Lebanese-Syrian border. It is located west of Damascus and rising to 9,232 ft (2,814 m), the highest point on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and is sometimes considered the southernmost extension of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. A sacred landmark in Hittite, Palestinian, and Roman times, it represented the northwestern limit of Israelite conquest under Moses and Joshua. Since the Six-Day War (1967), about 40 sq mi (100 sq km) of its southern and western slopes have been part of the Israeli-administered Golan Heights.

Possibly the key to the confusion here is, there are 3 distinct summits; it is possible that Mount Baal-Hermon could be one summit where sacrifices were offered to Baal; and that Mount Hermon could refer to all 3 summits, or, on occasion, to one particular summit. That Baal-hermon could refer to both a mountain and to a city might also help to relieve some of the confusion in comparing these passages.

The first two sections are quoted from http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/mount_hermon.htm and the final one comes from http://www.answers.com/topic/hermon-1. I did a small amount of editing for the Encyclopedia Britannica. The picture of Mount Hermon is from Wikipedia, taken from the page: http://www.answers.com/topic/hermonsnow-jpg.

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And just so we can put this all together:

The Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

The Lebanon Mountains is a mountain range which runs north-south for about 100 miles (161 km) parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. It rises to about 10,130 ft (3090 m). On its western slopes are the remaining groves of the famous cedars of Lebanon. The snowy peaks may have given Lebanon its name in antiquity; laban is Aramaic for “white.”

The Anti-Lebanon Mountain Range runs along the border of Syrian and Lebanon parallel to the Lebanon Mountain Range, but in a northeast to southwest direction, with an average height of 6,500 ft (2,000 m).

Now, I realize that I have beat you to death with information; however, essentially, what we are looking at is those who are on Israel’s northern border (which is strangely prophetic of Israel’s struggles with Hizbollah in Lebanon which is occurring as I write this August 2, 2006).

This information was culled from The American Heritage Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica online at http://www.answers.com/topic/lebanon-mountains and http://www.answers.com/topic/anti-lebanon-mountains.

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V. 5 will list the population of degenerate heathen who lived in the land which Israel occupied (Israel did not really possess much of the land adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea).

Judges 3:3g
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
׳ad (דַע) [pronounced ģahd]	as far as, even to, up to, until	preposition	Strong’s #5704 BDB #723
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
bôw (א) [pronounced boh]	to come in, to come, to go in, to go, to enter	Qal infinitive construct	Strong’s #935 BDB #97
Hămâth (תָמֲח) [pronounced khuhm-AWTH]	fortress; sacred enclosure; transliterated Hamath	proper singular noun/location	Strong’s #2574 BDB #332

This is taken from a larger map: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/wae/ht04wae.htm .

Translation: ...[to] as far as the entrance of Hamath. Now that we know a little more about the geography, the entrance to Hamath is the valley which runs between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. We could be referring to the entire valley here or just to the entrance to the valley. If you examine the relief map to the right, you can see the two sets of mountains in Lebanon, as will as the valley; and beneath this valley is the Jordan River. That general area, the southern valley between the mountain ranges, would be the entrance of Hamath.

McGee: the five lords of the Philistines and the other tribes mentioned in this passage were enemies of the Israelites. As we proceed through the Old Testament, these enemies will appear time and time again. They were indeed a thorn in the flesh of the nation Israel. And may I add, to this day, their ancestors are thorns in the flesh of Israel.

It might be better to take these three verses together:

My Translation of Judges 3:1–3

And these the nations which left Y^ehowah to test by them Israel (all of whom did not know all of wars [of] Canaan; only to know, generations of sons of Israel, to teach them war; only which, before [their] faces, they have not known them): five warlords of Philistines and all the Canaanite and the Sidonian and the Hivite dwelling [in] mountain of the Lebanon from mountain of Baal-hermon as far as to an entrance of Hamath.

Judges

3:1–3

And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who have not known [war]): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanite, the Sidonian, and the Hivite, who is living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to as far as the entrance of Hamath.

The following is a list of all of the nations which Jehovah allowed to remain in the land of Canaan to test Israel (which generations had not fought in any of the wars of Canaan; because this generation of the sons of Israel might know war and that He might teach them war, as they had not faces the Canaanites in war previously): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who live in the region of Mount Lebanon, between Mount Baal-Hermon and the entrance to Hamath.

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This thought continues in v. 4:

And so they were to test by them Israel to know if they would listen [and obey] commandments of Y^ehowah which He commanded their fathers in a hand of Moses.

Judges

3:4

They were to test Israel to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah, which He commanded their fathers by Moses.

These people were there to test Israel, to determine whether or not they would listen to the commandments which Jehovah delivered to their fathers by Moses.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so they were to test by them Israel to know if they would listen [and obey] commandments of Yehowah which He commanded their fathers in a hand of Moses.

Septuagint 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.

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Moses had told the Israelites what the LORD had commanded them to do, and now the LORD was using these nations to find out if Israel would obey.

The Message They were there to test Israel and see whether they would obey GOD's commands that were given to their parents through Moses.

NLT These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out if they would obey the commands the LORD had given their ancestors through Moses.

HCSB The LORD left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the LORD's commands He had given their fathers through Moses.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

LTHB And they existed to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to the commands of Jehovah, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

Young's Updated LT And they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

What is the gist of this verse? God left these nations in and around Israel in order to test Israel, to observe whether or not they would obey the commandments of Jehovah given them by Moses.

Judges 3:4a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
hâyâh (ה ָי ָה) [pronounced haw-YAW]	to be, is, was, are; to become, to come into being; to come to pass	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #1961 BDB #224
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
nâçâh (ה ָסָנ) [pronounced naw-SAWH]	to test, to try, to attempt, to try to do a thing; to practice doing a thing	Piel infinitive construct	Strong’s #5254 BDB #650
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, upon, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #none BDB #88
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: They were to test Israel... The second verb is the Qal imperfect of nâçâh (ה ָס ָנ) [pronounced naw-SAWH], a word which means to test, to try. They refers back to the nations and peoples who also occupied the Land of Promise with Israel; they would be the ones used by God to test Israel. They would offer up religions which Israel may find to be more appealing; and they would attack and exploit Israel, to take from Israel all that they could. Israel had to resist their heathen religion and, at times, go to war against these people.

Judges 3:4b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
yâda׳ (עַדָי) [pronounced yaw-DAHĢ]	to know, to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to become acquainted with, to know by experience, to have a knowledge of something; to see	Qal infinitive construct	Strong’s #3045 BDB #393
hă ( ֲה) [pronounced heh]	interrogative particle which acts almost like a piece of punctuation, like the upside-down question mark which begins a Spanish sentence. The verb to be may be implied.		Strong’s #none BDB #209
shâma׳ (ע ַמ ָש) [pronounced shaw-MAHĢ]	to listen [intently], to hear, to listen and obey, [or, and act upon, give heed to, take note of], to hearken to, to be attentive to, to listen and be cognizant of	3^rd person plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #8085 BDB #1033
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
mits^evâh (ה-וצ ̣מ) [pronounced mits^e-VAH]	prohibition, commandment, precept, that which is forbidden, constraint, proscription, countermand	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #4687 BDB #846
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: ...to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah,... We have the verb to know for the fourth time in as many verses. God has given Israel an whole host of commandments, one of which is to exterminate the Canaanites.

God had given to Israel the perfect Law for their time, their nation and their culture. God’s Law defined what was right or wrong; it taught the gospel through its ceremonies; and it provided diet and other restrictions which were designed to keep Israel healthy. The more that they obeyed God’s laws, the more likely God would shower them with prosperity; and the more likely that God would use Israel in His plan.

Application: Let me clarify what I said about God using Israel in His plan: believers are used to varying degrees in the plan of God. For instance, Abraham was greatly used, to the point where His offering up of Isaac was a fantastic parallel to the offering up of Jesus Christ for our sins. God was not testing Abraham’s faith, but providing us with a clear picture as to what He would do on our behalf. On the other hand, in this chapter, we will briefly examine Shamgar, who was a believer, who was faithful; and he struck down 600 Philistines with an ox goad. On the other hand, Shamgar was not used as Abraham was to prophesy what God would do for us. We, as believers, will be used of God in varying degrees; the more mature that we are, the more He will use us.

Application: Just in case you thought of this, don’t try to fly under the radar with God. Don’t be just a mediocre Christian in order to get out of serving God. Service to God is not painful; it is not difficult; you will not hate it. God has, in eternity past, designed for you a spiritual gift which is commensurate with your personality, your likes and dislikes, and your environment. Functioning with that spiritual gift is not going to be some great burden. God is not going to take someone who has no interest and no business in being a missionary and send them off to some obscure, 3^rd world country to suffer. God’s plan is not for you to live a thoroughly crappy life and then die.

Judges 3:4c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
tsâvâh (ה ָו ָצ) [pronounced tsaw-VAW]	to commission, to mandate, to lay charge upon, to give charge to, charge, command, order	3^rd person masculine singular, Piel perfect	Strong's #6680 BDB #845
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
âb (ב ָא) [pronounced aw^bv]	father, both as the head of a household, clan or tribe	masculine plural noun with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #1 BDB #3
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular construct	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
This combination of the bêyth preposition and hand literally means in [the] hand of; and can be rendered in the power of; by the power of; with; through, by, by means of; before, in the sight of.
Mosheh (ה∵שֹמ) [pronounced moh-SHEH]	to draw out [of the water] and is transliterated Moses	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #4872 BDB #602

Translation: ...which He commanded their fathers by Moses. The people which were left in the land were there for several reasons, one of which included the testing of Israel. God had delivered commandments and rituals and laws for them to obey. God used the people of the land to deal with Israel when these things were not obeyed. In fact, this is much of what the book of Judges is all about. Israel will turn from God and this is tested and revealed by the other peoples in the land. You will recall Deut. 8:2: And you will remember all the way which Jehovah your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

We discussed the Doctrine of Testing in detail back in Deut. 8:2. However, we often misunderstand the reasons for testing because we are so egocentric. We always want to related everything back directly to ourselves. When I taught, I would have students put problems on the board and then I would go over their work in class and grade them on it. Most students focused in on how they were graded and there were only a few who actually knew what it was that I was doing. The problems on the board were 99% for the rest of the class—so that they could see, step-by-step, how a problem was done. In school, you have to grade everything, so the person who did it got a grade—however, that was never the focus or the reason for having students put their work on the board. However, the students invariably thought that the board problem pertained primarily to the person who did it. Furthermore, they were confused when I would take off points if they left out steps or if their reasoning was faulty. They would tell me over and over again—I got the right answer; but this was of absolutely no help to the person in their seat wondering how that problem was done in the first place. So it is with testing. We always want to throw the focus back on ourselves and we always think that testing is done for us or that God is sitting up there in heaven with a grade book taking notes and that this is the focus of our testing. This is only a part of it and, I dare say, the smaller part. Immediately after the chapter on faith and great heroes of faith, we have the verse: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Heb. 12:1). All of the angels around us is the focus of the testing. God has placed us where they can observe our every move. By the way, the setting aside of every encumbrance and sin is rebound: naming your sins to God.

We all suffer in this life and we all are tested in this life. It may be instructive to look at this from the perspective of R. B. Thieme Jr.
Testing as Taught by R. B. Thieme Jr.
Category	Points
Suffering for being out of fellowship.	1. All believers sin. All believers put themselves out of fellowship by sinning. 2. Many believers never get back into fellowship or get back into fellowship infrequently; almost accidentally. We regain fellowship with God by naming our sins to Him. 3. For those who sin, there is punishment; for those who remain out of fellowship for a long time, this discipline intensifies. 4. The pertinent passage here is Heb. 12:5–13: And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. The author of Hebrews is quoting Prov. 3:11–12 in his exposition. 5. In other words, because we are sons of God, we are disciplined of God. Obviously, we are disciplined for sinning, as the analogy here is to an earthly father who disciplines us for our benefit. 6. Unfortunately, I would suspect that 90% of Christendom falls into this category; they think they are facing test after test, but they are being disciplined by God.
Momentum Testing; general points	1. Part of spiritual growth includes momentum testing; that is, being tested as we grow spiritually. 2. We do not grow spiritually based upon our suffering, but upon our application of the doctrine which is in our souls to each situation we find ourselves in. 3. Christianity is not a religion of suffering, or a religion which glorifies suffering; but, as we grow spiritually, we learn to equate prosperity with adversity; and life with death. That is, we can enjoy equal contentment under all circumstances in spiritual maturity. Since we live in the devil’s world among 6 billion other sinners, it is inevitable that we will have some undeserved personal suffering. Any church which promises you continual material and/or personal blessings apart from suffering is a cult. Two great misapplications of human suffering by believers and those who associate themselves with Christianity are: a. Spiritual growth, giving, praying, singing, and/or some other activity or group of activities in the Christian life will eliminate suffering from your life. We will all face adversity from birth to death. b. The approach of the ascetic: Christianity is all about the suffering; the believer should practice self-denial and, in some cultic practices, self-mutilation, self-induced suffering or even self-imposed martyrdom. c. These are both great distortions of the Christian life. 4. In general, believers will enjoy periods of blessing and periods of human suffering in their lives. 5. In some cases, believers will be persecuted for their faith, and caused to suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ. 6. Momentum testing often is the acceleration which propels us to spiritual maturity. Again, bear in mind, that maturity is the result of applying the doctrine from our souls to what we experience; and maturity is not simply a result of suffering.
Momentum Testing; people testing	1. People testing is a result of both approbation is disapprobation. 2. We like certain people so much that we are willing to compromise doctrine on their behalf or because of them. a. When a person falls in love, they are often willing to compromise their doctrinal standards in order to please that other person. b. When you have great admiration for this or that person, you sometimes allow their norms and standards to supplant the norms and standards of Bible doctrine. 3. Just as there are people in this life for whom we have great fondness or respect, there will also be those that we dislike, look down upon or flat out hate. They either rub us the wrong way, they have some unidentifiable characteristic which irritates us, or they do things which we find completely reprehensible. 4. What we are not allowed in this life is to have mental attitude sins toward this person or that, which sins include hatred, jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, and implacability. When we allow ourselves to become irritated by or antagonistic towards any person, we are surrendering the control of our life to this person, if only temporarily. These sins put us out of fellowship, and our concentration is upon this person of disapprobation. 5. Quite obviously, we are not allowed to extrapolate from those sins, and to gossip or malign these people that we dislike; and we certainly are not allowed to act upon our hatred (or other mental attitude sins) in any other way. 6. We need to recognize that the people we love and the people that we hate, and all people in between are those for whom Christ died. In His eyes, we are all equal; we have all sinned; we all have old sin natures; and we all have Adam’s imputed sin. 7. The basic principle is, we cannot emphasize people and our relationship to people (either good or bad) over God and our relationship to Him. Even legitimate, sinless activity must take a backseat to Bible doctrine.
Momentum Testing; thought testing	1. The idea is, you must think divine viewpoint instead of human viewpoint. 2. One of man’s great problems is thinking with arrogance; thinking of himself as greater than he ought to think. 3. Our thinking should be true humility, rather than arrogance. 4. Humility excludes rationalization, anger, defense mechanisms, denail and sublimation from our thinking.
System Testing	1. We all have some involvement with a variety of organizations or institutions; such as, our family, the company we work for, the school we go to, the team we belong to, the country that we live in, etc. 2. We might even think of this as organizational testing. 3. Within any organization of one or more people, there are negative aspects. 4. Companies can have a variety of motivations, including motivations to produce, to oppress, to shift power or wealth, etc. 5. Our life’s work is not necessarily to fix the devil’s world. Our association with an organization might improve that organization (ideally, it should); however, it is not necessarily our life’s work to transform the organizations that we are in to some human viewpoint maxim, like the greatest good for the greatest number. 6. Most of the time, we remain within these organizations and exhibit personal integrity; there are times when we must separate from such organizations. 7. When you choose to separate from an organization, is should not be a decision made lightly. For instance, a public school is a breeding ground for an incredible amount of institutionalized human viewpoint; where almost all truth is suppressed; however, this does not mean that, if you are a public school teacher, that you must therefore leave the public school system. On the other hand, if you belong to some sort of criminal organization, like a gang; which requires you to break the law on occasion (or regularly), then you have good reason to leave that organization. 8. You will be tested in the organizations to which you belong; even if you have a company of one. Will you demonstrate personal integrity? Will you demonstrate impersonal love toward all mankind (including the jerks that you work with)? Will you not allow your thinking to be swayed by the human viewpoint aspects of these organizations? These are tests which we all face. 9. It should be clear that not all testing involves some sort of physical pain.
Disaster Testing; national	1. At any point in time, we can face a disaster which is bigger than us and bigger than the organizations to which we belong. This is known as natural, national or historical disaster. 2. This can be a natural disaster, including flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis. 3. This can be a man-made disaster, which includes war, terrorist acts, governmental encroachment on personal freedom (which can be subtle or severe); economic depression. 4. Lev. 26 covers the five cycles of discipline which the Jews would face, which included economic depression (in an agrarian society, this would be a lack of rain which would lead to famine) and war.
Disaster Testing; personal	1. At any point in time, we can face a personal disaster which changes our lives; this would be a change which others would view as the ruination of our lives. 2. Examples of this would be a severe injury, a severe illness, severe financial setbacks (the loss of one’s business, a considerable loss of one’s assets); the loss of loved ones, etc. 3. Even a physical handicap or genetic disorder qualifies as a personal disaster, which puts us in disaster testing.
Evidence Testing	1. For the bulk of this doctrine, I have concentrated on you and I; however, we are not the sum total of God’s creation; God also created angelic beings. 2. Although some want to confine our souls to simply a chemical reaction and an electrical reaction of various neutrons and processes of our bodies, we have an unseen reality to each one of us. Various forms of neuroimaging may give us limited information about the physical functions of the brain, none of the various types of brain scans actually show us the soul of the person whose brain is being scanned. Given that there is certainly a great unseen reality when it comes to our own souls, this also suggests that there may be more in the unseen world than just our souls. The Bible reveals to us that God created angels before He created us, and that what occurs in this life is related to the angelic conflict. 3. Scripture tells us the Satan was created as the greatest angel, and that by pride, he rebelled against God and took a third of the angels with him. God sentenced Satan to the Lake of Fire, however, it is clear that Satan is still a part of human history today. What this suggests is, there is an appeal and that Satan is going through an appeal process. 4. Satan would be objecting to the character of God; that God cannot be love, justice and righteousness; and yet, condemn His created creatures to the Lake of Fire. There are, no doubt, other appeals as well. How can we be blamed for our actions, as we have been created by God. Does this not imply that God did a substandard job in creating us? Is God’s character consistent? Aren’t there times and circumstances where God shows no love; or is unjust; or lacks the ability to see what may happen? We observe the courtroom of God and the objections of Satan in Job 1. 5. The creation of man and our lives throughout human history, along with the actions and choices of Satan and his minions throughout history, will answer all of Satan’s objections. 6. Part of the appeal process is, we, as believers, are observed by angels; our actions are observed; God’s involvement in our lives is observed; the function of God’s Word in our lives is observed; and God’s character is observed. 7. Part of the testing process involves angelic observation; both the observation of elect and fallen angels. Heb. 12:1–3: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 8. Our actions and decisions throughout this process of life when we are faced with various tests are often evidence tests, by which God’s character and plan are vindicated.
The Solution:	1. As it is for all problems, the first thing a believer needs to do is to make certain that he is in fellowship. This means, you name your sins to God. 2. Secondly, you continue to grow spiritually by any means necessary, which may include Bible class, tapes, mp3 files, internet access to spiritual material, rereading your notes, reading your Bible; whatever God has provided for you. 3. There are times when you go into a full application mode where conventional means of growth are not available and you must apply what you know. 4. In a disaster, application of doctrine is going to be the application of the various rationales: a. Doctrinal rationale. b. The plan of God rationale. c. The integrity of God rationale.
Biblical passages	1. The Bible is filled with passages which deal with believers who are being tested, many of which we have already named in Testing as Found in Scripture. Other passages follow: 2. 1Peter 1:6–9: In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials [or tests], so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revealing of Jesus Christ [in this case, the Judgment Seat of Christ]. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 3. 2Chron. 20:9: ”If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house [the Temple of God at this time]and before You––for Your name is in this house––and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save [us].” 4. Job 5:20: In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 5. Rom. 8:35–37: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Apart from the first category (suffering for being out of fellowship), this doctrine comes from R. B. Thieme, Jr., Christian Suffering; ©1987 by R. B. Thieme, Jr.; pp. 97–112. That book, available through R. B. Thieme, Jr. Ministries, contains essentially the same material in much greater detail. This book also gives several examples of the categories of tests above. My intention here was to simply scratch the surface of this doctrine, and not to replicate the book.

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Israel’s faithfulness or lack of it is revealed in their actions and decisions when faced with the gods of the heathen who surround them; and when faced with the persecution and exploitation by these heathen. God had given Israel a myriad of commandments to follow, which included ceremonial law, moral law, civil law, and religious observances; and now the ball is in their court—will they obey the commandments handed down to them by Moses?

This passage parallels the passage which immediately precedes it: So the anger of Jehovah was inflamed against Israel, and He said, "Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed My voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of Jehovah as their fathers did, or not." (Judges 2:20–22). In our passage, which is a continuation of this passage, these nations are named and God’s reason for leaving them is repeated. What God is looking for is obedience to His mandates.

And sons of Israel lived among the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

Judges

3:5

Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.

Therefore, the sons of Israel continued to live among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And sons of Israel lived among the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

Septuagint And the children of Israel dwelt among to the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

Significant differences: None (I had to fix Brenton’s text to agree with the LXX).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV But they refused. And it was because of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who lived all around them.

The Message But the People of Israel made themselves at home among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

HCSB But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Young's Updated LT And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,...

What is the gist of this verse? Israel then lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and the Jebusites.

You will notice in a precursory reading of this passage that there is some overlap between the people named in Judges 3:3 and those named here; and there are some additions and some exclusions. Let me suggest that, throughout the time period of the Judges, these are the people with whom Israel rubbed shoulders with; those listed here are people who might share a city with Israel; they might live in the city next to an Israelite city; and their relationship was one of tolerance and interaction. That is, the Jews sometimes married women (and men) from these groups; and these are people with whom Israel did not necessarily have a continued antagonistic relationship. On the other hand, those named in v. 3 were those with whom Israel warred more frequently. We find Canaanites on both lists, as there were a great many descendants from Canaan; and I assume the Hivites mentioned in v. 3 would not be those with whom Israel allied themselves.

Judges 3:5a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
yâshab (בַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAH^BV]	to remain, to stay; to dwell, to live, to inhabit; to sit	3^rd person plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #3427 BDB #442
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, upon, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity	Strong’s #none BDB #88
qereb (ב∵ר∵ק) [pronounced KEH-re^bv]	midst, inward part	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #7130 BDB #899
With the bêyth preposition, it means in the midst of, among, into the midst of (after a verb of motion).
K^ena׳ănîy (י.נֲע-נ) [pronounced k^e-nah-ģuh-NEE]	merchant, trader; and is transliterated Canaanite, Canaanites	adjective/nominative gentilic; with the definite article	Strong’s #3669 BDB #489

Translation: Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanites,... Notice the difference here in the vocabulary as compared to v. 3. Here, Israel is living among the Canaanites; in vv. 1–3, the author named the nations which God left in the Land of Promise. Here, the author will name people who are left within the present borders of Israel, with whom Israel had close contact. Canaanites are a large group of people, who are scattered throughout the land.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown comments: The two peoples [the Israelites and the Canaanites] by degrees came to be on habits of intercourse. Reciprocal alliances were formed by marriage till the Israelites, relaxing the austerity of their principles, showed a growing conformity to the manners and worship of their idolatrous neighbors. Instead, their instructions were: "When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces” (Ex. 23:23–24).

Judges 3:5b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
Chittîy (י. ̣ח) [pronounced khiht-TEE]	transliterated Hittite	gentilic adjective; with the definite article	Strong’s #2850 BDB #366

Translation: ...the Hittites,... The Hittites are the sons of Heth, once thought to be some made-up group of peoples from the Bible.

It might be helpful to include what the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia and Easton have to say about the Hittites:

Introduction to the Hittites from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

The “sons of Heth” are noticed 12 times and the Hittites 48 times in the Old Testament. In 21 cases the name Occurs in the enumeration of races, in Syria and Canaan, which are said (Gen. 10:6 f) to have been akin to the early inhabitants of Chaldea and Babylon. From at least 2000 b.c. this population is known, from monumental records, to have been partly Semitic and partly Mongolic; and the same mixed race is represented by the Hittite records recently discovered in Cappadocia and Pontus. Thus, while the Canaanites (“lowlanders”), Amorites (probably “highlanders”), Hivites (“tribesmen”) and Perizzites (“rustics”) bear Semitic titles, the Hittites, Jebusites and Girgashites appear to have non–Sem names. Ezekiel (Ezek. 16:3, 15) speaks of the Jebusites as a mixed Hittite–Amorite people.

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More Information about the Hittites from M. G. Easton

Palestine and Syria appear to have been originally inhabited by three different tribes.

(1.) The Semites, living on the east of the isthmus of Suez. They were nomadic and pastoral tribes.

(2.) The Phoenicians, who were merchants and traders; and

(3.) the Hittites, who were the warlike element of this confederation of tribes. They inhabited the whole region between the Euphrates and Damascus, their chief cities being Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Kadesh, now Tell Neby Mendeh, in the Orontes valley, about six miles south of the Lake of Homs. These Hittites seem to have risen to great power as a nation, as for a long time they were formidable rivals of the Egyptian and Assyrian empires. In the book of Joshua they always appear as the dominant race to the north of Galilee.

Somewhere about the twenty–third century b.c. the Syrian confederation, led probably by the Hittites, arched against Lower Egypt, which they took possession of, making Zoan their capital. Their rulers were the Hyksos, or shepherd kings. They were at length finally driven out of Egypt. Rameses II. sought vengeance against the “vile Kheta,” as he called them, and encountered and defeated them in the great battle of Kadesh, four centuries after Abraham.

They are first referred to in Scripture in the history of Abraham, who bought from Ephron the Hittite the field and the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 15:20 :23:3–18). They were then settled at Kirjath–arba. From this tribe Esau took his first two wives (Gen. 26:34; Gen. 36:2).

They are afterwards mentioned in the usual way among the inhabitants of the Promised Land (Ex. 23:28). They were closely allied to the Amorites, and are frequently mentioned along with them as inhabiting the mountains of Palestine. When the spies entered the land they seem to have occupied with the Amorites the mountain region of Judah (Num. 13:29). They took part with the other Canaanites against the Israelites (Joshua 9:1; Joshua 11:3).

After this there are few references to them in Scripture. Mention is made of “Ahimelech the Hittite” (1Sam. 26:6), and of “Uriah the Hittite,” one of David's chief officers (2Sam. 23:39; 1Chron. 11:41). In the days of Solomon they were a powerful confederation in the north of Syria, and were ruled by “kings.” They are met with after the Exile still a distinct people (Ezra 9:1; compare Neh. 13:23–28).

The Hebrew merchants exported horses from Egypt not only for the kings of Israel, but also for the Hittites (1Kings 10:28, 1Kings 10:29). From the Egyptian monuments we learn that “the Hittites were a people with yellow skins and 'Mongoloid' features, whose receding foreheads, oblique eyes, and protruding upper jaws are represented as faithfully on their own monuments as they are on those of Egypt, so that we cannot accuse the Egyptian artists of caricaturing their enemies. The Amorites, on the contrary, were a tall and handsome people. They are depicted with white skins, blue eyes, and reddish hair, all the characteristics, in fact, of the white race” (Sayce's The Hittites). The original seat of the Hittite tribes was the mountain ranges of Taurus. They belonged to Asia. Minor, and not to Syria.

I am sure that is way more than you wanted to know about the Hittites. For a century or so, their actual historicity was doubted. You must bear in mind that, simply because we do not have corroborating extra-Biblical evidence about this or that person, people or event found in Scripture, that does not indicate that Scripture has simply been made up at that point.

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Judges 3:5c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
Ĕmôrîy (י .רֹמ ֲא) [pronounced eh-moh-REE]	mountaineer (possibly); and is transliterated Amorite	gentilic adjective; with the definite article	Strong’s #567 BDB #57

Translation: ...the Amorites,...

It would not hurt to know a little about the Amorites.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on the Amorites

The word Amorite is always in the singular like the Babylonian Amurrû from which it is taken

The Varying Use of the Name Amorite: The name Amorite is used in the Old Testament to denote (1) The inhabitants of Palestine generally, (2) The population of the hills as opposed to the plain, and (3) a specific people under a king of their own. Thus (1) we hear of them on the west shore of the Dead Sea (Gen. 14:7), at Hebron (Gen. 14:13), and Shechem (Gen. 48:22), in Gilead and Bashan (Deut. 3:10) and under Hermon (Deut. 3:8; Deut. 4:48). They are named instead of the Canaanites as the inhabitants of Palestine whom the Israelites were required to exterminate (Gen. 15:16; Deut. 20:17; Judges 6:10; 1Sam. 7:14; 1Kings 21:26; 2Kings 21:11); the older population of Judah is called Amorite in Joshua 10:5, Joshua 10:6, in conformity with which Ezek (Joshua 16:3) states that Jerusalem had an Amorite father; and the Gibeonites are said to have been “of the remnant of the Amorites” (2Sam. 21:2). On the other hand (2), in Num. 13:29 the Amorites are described as dwelling in the mountains like the Hittites and Jebusites of Jerusalem, while the Amalekites or Bedouins lived in the south and the Canaanites on the seacoast and in the valley of the Jordan. Lastly (3) we hear of Sihon, “king of the Amorites,” who had conquered the northern half of Moab (Num. 21:21–31; Deut. 2:26–35).

Varying Use of the Name Explained: Assyriological discovery has explained the varying use of the name. The Hebrew form of it is a transliteration of the Babylonian Amurrû, which was both sing. and plural. In the age of Abraham the Amurru were the dominant people in western Asia; hence Syria and Palestine were called by the Babylonians “the land of the Amorites.” In the Assyrian period this was replaced by “land of the Hittites,” the Hittites in the Mosaic age having made themselves masters of Syria and Canaan. The use of the name “Amorite” in its general sense belongs to the Babylonian period of oriental history.

The Amorite Kingdom: The Amorite kingdom was of great antiquity. About 2500 b.c. it embraced the larger part of Mesopotamia and Syria, with its capital probably at Harran, and a few centuries later northern Babylonia was occupied by an “Amorite” dynasty of kings who traced theft descent from Samu or Sumu (the Biblical Shem), and made Babylon their capital. To this dynasty belonged Khammu-rabi, the Amraphel of Gen_14:1. In the astrological documents of the period frequent reference is made to “the king of the Amorites.” This king of the Amorites was subject to Babylonia in the age of the dynasty of Ur, two or three centuries before the birth of Abraham He claimed suzerainty over a number of “Amorite” kinglets, among whom those of Khana on the Euphrates, near the mouth of the Khabur, may be named, since in the Abrahamic age one of them was called Khammu-rapikh and another Isarlim or Israel. A payment of a cadastral survey made at this time by a Babylonian governor with the Canaanite name of Urimelech is now in the Louvre. Numerous Amorites were settled in Ur and other Babylonian cities, chiefly for the purpose of trade. They seem to have enjoyed the same rights and privileges as the native Babylonians. Some of them were commercial travelers, but we hear also of the heads of the great firms making journeys to the Mediterranean coast.

The Amorite kingdom continued to exist down to the time of the Israelite invasion of Palestine, and mention is made of it in the Egyptian records as well as in the cuneiform Tell el-Amarna Letters, and the Hittite archives recently discovered at Boghaz-keui, the site of the Hittite capital in Cappadocia. The Egyptian conquest of Canaan by the kings of the 18th Dynasty had put an end to the effective government of that country by the Amorite princes, but their rule still extended eastward to the borders of Babylonia, while its southern limits coincided approximately with what was afterward the northern frontier of Naphtali. The Amorite kings, however, became, at all events in name, the vassals of the Egyptian Pharaoh. When the Egyptian empire began to break up, under the “heretic king” Amenhotep IV, at the end of the 18th Dynasty (1400 bc), the Amorite princes naturally turned to their more powerful neighbors in the north. One of the letters in the Tell el-Amarna correspondence is from the Pharaoh to his Amorite vassal Aziru the son of Ebed-Asherah, accusing him of rebellion and threatening him with punishment. Eventually Aziru found it advisable to go over openly to the Hittites, and pay the Hittite government an annual tribute of 300 shekels of gold. From that time forward the Amorite kingdom was a dependency of the Hittite empire, which, on the strength of this, claimed dominion over Palestine as far as the Egyptian frontier.

The second successor of Aziru was Abi-Amurru (or Abi-Hadad), whose successor bore, in addition to a Semitic name, the Mitannian name of Bentesinas. Bente-sinas was dethroned by the Hittite King Muttallis and imprisoned in Cappadocia, where he seems to have met the Hittite prince Khattu-sil, who on the death of his brother Muttallis seized the crown and restored Bente-sinas to his kingdom. Bente-sinas married the daughter of Khattu-sil, while his own daughter was wedded to the son of his Hittite suzerain, and an agreement was made that the succession to the Amorite throne should be confined to her descendants. Two or three generations later the Hittite empire was destroyed by an invasion of “northern barbarians,” the Phrygians, probably, of Greek history, who marched southward, through Palestine, against Egypt, carrying with them “the king of the Amorites.” The invaders, however, were defeated and practically exterminated by Ramses III of the 20^th Egyptian Dynasty (1200 b.c.). The Amorite king, captured on this occasion by the Egyptians, was probably the immediate predecessor of the Sihon of the Old Testament.

Sihon's Conquest: Egyptian influence in Canaan had finally ceased with the invasion of Egypt by the Libyans and peoples of the Aegean in the fifth year of Meneptah, the successor of Ramses II, at the time of the Israelite Exodus. Though the invaders were repulsed, the Egyptian garrisons had to be withdrawn from the cities of southern Palestine, where their place was taken by the Philistines who thus blocked the way from Egypt to the north. The Amorites, in the name of their distant Hittite suzerains, were accordingly able to overrun the old Egyptian provinces on the east side of the Jordan; the Amorite chieftain Og possessed himself of Bashan (Deut. 3:8), and Sihon, “king of the Amorites,” conquered the northern part of Moab.

The conquest must have been recent at the time of the Israelite invasion, as the Amorite song of triumph is quoted in Num. 21:27–29, and adapted to the overthrow of Sihon himself by the Israelites. “Woe unto you,” it reads, “O Moab; you are undone, O people of Chemosh! (Chemosh) has given your sons who escaped (the battle) and your daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.” The flame that had thus consumed Heshbon, it is further declared, shall spread southward through Moab, while Heshbon itself is rebuilt and made the capital of the conqueror: “Come to Heshbon, that the city of Sihon (like the city of David, 2Sam. 5:9) may be rebuilt and restored. For the fire has spread from Heshbon, the flame from the capital of Sihon, devouring as far as Moab, and swallowing up the high places of Arnon.” The Israelite invasion, however, prevented the expected conquest of southern Moab from taking place.

Disappearance of the Amorite Kingdom: After the fall of Sihon the Amorite kingdom disappears. The Syrians of Zobah, of Hamath and of Damascus take its place, while with the rise of Assyria the “Amorites” cease to be the representatives in contemporary literature of the inhabitants of western Asia. At one time their power had extended to the Babylonian frontier, and Bente-sinas was summoned to Cappadocia by his Hittite overlord to answer a charge made by the Babylonian ambassadors of his having raided northern Babylonia. The Amorite king urged, however, that the raid was merely an attempt to recover a debt of 30 talents of silver.

Physical Characteristics of the Amorites: In Num. 13:29 the Amorites are described as mountaineers, and in harmony with thins, according to Professor Petrie's notes, the Egyptian artists represent them with fair complexions, blue eyes and light hair. It would, therefore, seem that they belonged to the Libyan race of northern Africa rather than to the Semitic stock. In western Asia, however, they were mixed with other racial elements derived from the subject populations, and as they spoke a Semitic language one of the most important of these elements would have been the Semites. In its general sense, moreover, the name “Amorite” included in the Babylonian period all the settled and civilized peoples west of the Euphrates to whatever race they might belong.

The use of Amorite here was probably to those who lived in the hill country of Palestine, as opposed to the plains.

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Judges 3:5d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
P^erizzîy (י. ̣ר) [pronounced p^er-ihz-ZEE]	which possibly means rural population, rustics; and is transliterated Perizzite	gentilic adjective with the definite article	Strong’s #6522 BDB #827

Translation: ...the Perizzites,...

There are certainly differing opinions on these ancient peoples.
Opinions as to Who the Perizzites Are
Scripture	Incident
Easton	Villagers; dwellers in the open country, the Canaanitish nation inhabiting the fertile regions south and south–west of Carmel. “They were the grazers, farmers, and peasants of the time.” They were to be driven out of the land by the descendants of Abraham (Gen. 15:20 Ex. 3:8, 17 23:23 33:2 34:11). They are afterwards named among the conquered tribes (Joshua 24:11). Still lingering in the land, however, they were reduced to servitude by Solomon (1Kings 9:20).
Fausset	[The Perizzites are] one of the ten doomed tribes of Canaan (Gen. 15:19–21). Six including Perizzite are enumerated Ex. 3:8, 17. The Canaanite and Perizzite are joined in Gen. 13:7. From Joshua 11:3; Joshua 17:15, they seem to have occupied the woods and mountains. Bochart (Phaleg. iv. 36) makes them an agrarian race living in villages only, the name signifying "rustics." Bezek was their stronghold, and Adoni–bezek their chief (Judges 1:4–5), in the S. of Palestine, also on the western sides of Mount Carmel (Joshua 17:15–18). Reduced to bond service by Solomon (1Kings 9:20 2Chron. 7:7). The Hebrew perezot, "unwalled country villages" or "towns," were inhabited by peasants engaged in agriculture like the Arab fellahs (Deut. 3:5 1Sam. 6:18 Ezek. 38:11 Zech. 2:4).
Smith’s Bible Dictionary	One of the nations inhabiting the land of promise before and at the time of its conquest by Israel. (1450 b.c.). They are continually mentioned in the formula so frequently occurring to express the Promised Land (Gen. 15:20 Ex. 3:8, 17 23:23 33:2 34:11). The notice in the book of Judges locates them in the southern part of the Holy Land. The signification of the name is not by any means clear. It possibly meant rustics, dwellers in open, unwalled villages, which are denoted by a similar word.

Again, it appears as though these are a people who continued to live within the Land of Promise after it was conquered by the Israelites.

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Judges 3:5e
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
Chivvîy (י..ח) [pronounced khihv-VEE]	villagers, transliterated Hivite	masculine singular, gentilic adjective; with the definite article	Strong’s #2340 BDB #295

Translation: ...the Hivites...

Next to cover would be...
The Varying Opinions of the Hivites
Scripture	Incident
Easton	The Hivites are one of the original tribes scattered over Palestine, from Hermon to Gibeon in the south. The name is interpreted as “midlanders” or “villagers” (Gen. 10:17 1Chron. 1:15). They were probably a branch of the Hittites. At the time of Jacob's return to Canaan, Hamor the Hivite was the “prince of the land” (Gen. 24:2–28). They are next mentioned during the Conquest (Joshua 9:7 11:19). They principally inhabited the northern confines of Western Palestine (Joshua 11:3 Judges 3:3). A remnant of them still existed in the time of Solomon (1Ki. 9:20).
Fausset	Hebrew always in the singular = "midlanders" (Ewald), "villagers" (Gesenius). Their abode was about Hermon and Lebanon (Joshua 11:3, "under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh"; Judges 3:3, "from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath"); toward Tyre (2Sam. 24:7), and Sichem or Shechem (Gen. 34:11), and Gibeon (Joshua 9:1, 7). Descended from Ham (Gen. 10:17). (See AVIM, with whom Septuagint identify them). A warm, impulsive, unsuspicious people, as their readiness to accept the cunning proposition of Simeon and Levi shows; peaceful and commercial, more keen to gain cattle and wealth than to wage war, as the same story shows; as also that of Abimelech (Judges 8:33–9:53). The Shechemite idol Baalberith, "Baal of the covenant," was a god of peace not war. Their not revenging themselves on Jacob's family, as he feared, is another proof of their quiet spirit. The Gibeonite Hivites showed the same unwarlike spirit, with the additional element of craft wherewith they in their turn deceived Israel, as Jacob's sons had deceived their forefathers.
Smith’s Bible Dictionary	The Hivites (or the villagers) are descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham (Gen. 10:17; 1Chron. 1:15). We first encounter the actual people of the Hivites, at the time of Jacob's return to Canaan (Gen. 34:2). We next meet with the Hivites, during the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 9:7 11:19). The main body of the Hivites were, at this time, living in the northern confines of western Palestine –– "under Hermon, in the land of Mizpeh" (Joshua 11:3), "in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon, to the entering in of Hamath" (Judges 3:3). Also see 2Sam. 24:7.

As you can see, the Hivites had several recorded encounters with the Hivites.

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Judges 3:5f
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
Y^ebûçîy (י ̣סֻב׃י) [pronounced y^evoo-SEE]	an inhabitant or descendant of Jebus; transliterated Jebusite	adjective gentilis with the definite article	Strong’s #2983 BDB #101
With a voluntative, cohortative or jussive, the wâw conjunction means that, so that. It expresses intention. The wâw conjunction can express informal inference or consequence (so, then, therefore); especially at the beginning of a speech. The wâw conjunction can connect alternative cases or contrasting ideas and be properly rendered or, but, yet. The wâw conjunction can also be rendered for.

Translation: ...and the Jebusites.

And we have one more people to cover:

Smith’s Bible Dictionary on the Jebusites

The Jebusites are the descendants of Jebus, who is the third son of Canaan (Gen. 10:16 1Chron. 1:14). The actual people first appear in the invaluable report of the spies (Num. 13:29). When Jabin organized his rising against Joshua, the Jebusites joined him (Joshua 11:3).

"Jebus, which is Jerusalem," lost its king, in the slaughter of Beth–horon (Joshua 10:1, 5, 26; compare with Joshua 12:10), was sacked and burned by the men of Judah (Judges 1:21), and its citadel finally scaled, and occupied by David (2Sam. 5:6).

After this, they emerge from the darkness, but once, in the person of Araunah, the Jebusite, "Araunah, the king," who appears before us in true kingly dignity, in his well–known transaction with David (2Sam. 24:23 1Chron. 21:24–25).

These people—the Canaanites, Amorites, Hivites, Perizzites, and the Jebusites represent the larger groups of people living within the land of Palestine after Joshua had conquered the land.

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Again, the first thing that you might be asking yourself is, what is the difference between this and v. 3? Maybe you lost track in the details. Why do we have a list of heathen in both of these verses? In v. 3, we have the heathen tribes who existed in the Land of Promise as city-nations. These were people who were independent of Israel and generally hostile toward Israel. In this verse, we have the peoples who lived with the Israelites, generally sharing the same cities. Although their relationships were often strained, there were times of peace when Israel intermarried with these groups mentioned in this verse. Obviously, there is some overlap—there are some groups of Canaanites and Hivites who operate completely separately from Israel, and there are some Canaanites and Hivites who live among the Israelites. At the time that I write this, we—meaning the United States—have an uneasy relationship with some Arab nations. Many of our movies depict Arabs as our enemies. On the other hand, Arabs live among us as loyal, United States citizens. There is no contradiction in this; just as, in World War II, we were at war with the Japanese, even though there were hundreds of thousands of loyal Japanese who lived within our nation’s borders (whose loyalty we betrayed, by the way).

It is for the reasons cited in this chapter and the previous one that God allowed the heathen nations to live in with the Israelites. They were used to test and to discipline the Israelites. In fact, throughout the book of Judges we will see nothing but failure on the part of the Israelites and discipline and testing being done by God via the other peoples of the land. This is a book where it will be difficult to find one completely right thing being done by any person in Israel.

It may help to sum up the general areas that these people occupied.
The Probable Locations of These Peoples
Scripture	Incident
Amorites	The Amorites are ethnically indistinguishable from the Canaanites and generally occupy the hill country.
Canaanites	The name Canaanite here becomes more specialized and refers to those indigenous peoples who lived in the low lands.
Hittites	Although the Hittites, at one time, appeared to occupy a huge region east and northeast of Israel (stretching from the Euphrates all the way to Damascus), we apparently have pockets of them living norther of Galilee and/or in the mountain regions of Palestine.
Hivites	They appear to be living in the northern confines of western Palestine.
Jebusites	The Jebusites occupied Jerusalem.
Perizzites	These appear to be an agrarian people who lived in villages in southern Canaan.

Their Locations are also Given in Scripture:

Joshua 11:1–3

When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah.

It should be obvious that we are dealing with a large group of peoples who are scattered throughout the Land of Promise.

Gill sums this up by saying: [These are people] who all had cities in the several parts of the land, with whom the children of Israel were mixed, and with whom they were permitted to dwell.

We have exactly these same 6 tribes named in Ex. 3:8, 17 23:23 33:2 34:11 Deut. 7:1 20:17 Joshua 3:10 9:1 11:3 12:8 24:11 (in the first passage Deuteronomy and from two passages in Joshua, the Girgashites are added to the mix) 1Kings 9:20 (the Canaanites are not named—2Chron. 8:7 is a parallel passage) Ezra 9:1 (the Moabites and Egyptians are added to this list, but the Hivites are left out).

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These other people who remained in the land—this was a joint decision by God and the people. God had originally commanded Israel to remove all of the people of the land and, although part of Israel began this process, most of them did not, preferring peace to war, and preferring to place their enemies into slavery, perhaps thinking that to be more profitable and humane as opposed to just killing them. Because they chose to not remove the other peoples from the land, God chose to let the enemy nations remain to test Israel and her faith to the God Who brought them out of Egypt. They did not destroy the peoples, as Jehovah commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their practices and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons and they shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and their daughters when they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan—and the land was polluted with the blood (Psalm 106:34–38).

Obviously, they failed the test. Now, what do we learn from this? (1) Israel did not have the entire Word of God, so Israel did not have a complete standard. (2) You may argue, but Israel had the Law, and that should have been enough—and you are partially correct—Israel did have enough of the Law to know what to do. However, the Word of God was not in their hands. It was difficult for Charlie Brown to open up his Bible to Deut. 8:2, even though Deut. 8:2 had already been written. (3) Israel did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Certain citizens of Israel and leaders had been given the Holy Spirit, but the population as a whole did not have access to the Holy Spirit, as we have today. For these reasons, they were failures.

Application: After reading these points, you should be asking: okay, we have the entire Bible and we all have easy access to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit today—so now what’s the problem? In each dispensation, God has a different array of circumstances and a different spiritual environment, if you will. What some religions teach is that, let’s say from this day forward, you decide to be righteous (through whatever deeds and thoughts get you called righteous by that religion). Shouldn’t an Almighty God, Who knows that you were born into sin, respect this and accept it as righteousness? The answer is no, and for two completely separate reasons: (1) God is a holy God Who cannot suffer sin (he cannot allow even the smallest sin in His realm); and, (2) no one, and I mean, NO ONE, ever, say one week or more prior to his death decides to turn their life around and to remove sin from their lives, and then successfully holds to that resolution for the rest of their lives. The choice that Adam made and the inheritance of the old sin nature run so deep in our nature, that even with full access to the Holy Spirit and even with full access to the Word of God, we cannot remain sinless. We might lead a relatively moral life; we might even be kind to most of the people we come into contact with; but, make no mistake, there are no Christians (or unbelievers) who have gone for a week or so without sin. The fall of Satan and then the fall of man was so effectual as to cause a completely unremovable blight from man’s existence. Only the most drastic measures can every restore us.

Application: Today, the less that you understand God’s plan and the Word of God, the more likely you are to question everything which happens around you—particularly the difficulties and the tragedies. In eternity future, you will fully understand every decision which God made that impacted you life, and you will see that decision as being a result of perfection and righteousness. In eternity future, you will understand the reasons and the importance of the events and the things which have occurred in your life, including what appeared to be at the time the most tragic events. In all of this, God character—His love and His righteousness—will be vindicated.

And so they took their daughters to themselves for wives and their daughters they gave to their sons and so they served their gods.

Judges

3:6

Consequently, they [the Israelites] took their daughters to themselves for wives and their own daughters they gave to their sons; therefore, they served their gods.

Consequently, their sons and daughters intermarried, resulting in worship and servitude to their heathen gods.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so they took their daughters to themselves for wives and their daughters they gave to their sons and so they served their gods.

Septuagint And they took their daughters to themselves to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Some of the Israelites married the people of these nations, and that's how they started worshiping foreign gods.

The Message They married their daughters and gave their own daughters to their sons in marriage. And they worshiped their gods.

NLT ...and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites worshiped their gods.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ The Israelites allowed their sons and daughters to marry these people. Israel also served their gods.

HCSB The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

Young's Updated LT And they take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods.

What is the gist of this verse? Instead of opposing the heathen in the land, the Jews interacted with them socially, to the point of intermarriage and attending their heathen religious rituals.

Judges 3:6a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
lâqach (חַקָל) [pronounced law-KAHKH]	to take, to take away, to take in marriage; to seize	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #3947 BDB #542
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
bath (ת ַ) [pronounced bahth]	daughter; village	feminine plural noun with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong's #1323 BDB #123
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition; with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	No Strong’s # BDB #510
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
nâshîym (םי.שָנ) [pronounced naw-SHEEM]	women, wives	feminine plural noun; irregular plural of Strong’s #802	Strong’s #802 BDB #61

Translation: Consequently, they [the Israelites] took their daughters to themselves for wives... Given that sons of Israel is the subject of the previous and the next verse; it is reasonable to apply the 3^rd person masculine plural to sons of Israel. They faced the strongest temptation a man can face—women—and took them as wives, despite God’s warning to them not to take heathen women to them as wives. Deu 7:1–4: "When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than yourselves, and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.”

Judges 3:6b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
bath (ת ַ) [pronounced bahth]	daughter; village	feminine plural noun with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong's #1323 BDB #123
nâthan (ן ַתָנ) [pronounced naw-THAHN]	to give, to grant, to place, to put, to set	3^rd person plural, Qal perfect	Strong's #5414 BDB #678
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119

Translation: ...and their own daughters they gave to their sons;... They allowed their own daughters to be married to heathen. This is actually a whole different thing, although we may not recognize it as such from our culture. The father, in many cases, could choose the husband for his daughter; or he could keep a marriage from occurring (see 1Cor. 7:36–38). The parent with a little knowledge could have prevented such marriages from taking place. However, apparently, for the most part, they did not do so.

Judges 3:6c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
׳âbad (ד ַב ָע) [pronounced ģaw^b-VAHD]	to work, to serve, to labor; to be a slave to	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #5647 BDB #712
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
ělôhîym (מי̣הֹלֱא) [pronounced el-o-HEEM]	gods, foreign gods, god; God; rulers, judges; superhuman ones, angels; transliterated Elohim	masculine plural noun	Strong's #430 BDB #43

Translation: ...therefore, they served their gods. This is exactly what God warned against—serving heathen gods. The intermarriage which took place was not the problem; being seduced by heathen religion is the problem. This was first broken down through social interaction so complete, that they freely married one another. King Solomon is given as a prime example of this in 1Kings 11:1–4: Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Application: There is a lot of racial stuff which is taken out of context here. Some ministers teach that intermarriage between races (a rather imprecise term) is forbidden by the Bible. That is not what is being taught here. In fact, there are times when a white Protestant would be better off marrying a Black Baptist as opposed to a Caucasian Catholic. The key is the religious persuasion of the people, and this is stated and restated in Scripture so that only the most blind miss it. Now, if you don’t want to marry outside your general ethnic background, there is nothing wrong with that. That is your choice. If you are attracted to those outside your general ethnic background, then marriage is not forbidden. However, what the Bible clearly forbids is intermarriage between those who believe in the True God and heathen who worship Satan in one of his many forms. Let me be as clear on this as I can: Buddha is a representative of Satan; the Mormon John Smith is a representative of Satan; Mohammed is a representative of Satan; almost every single Pope is a representative of Satan. We are not to intermarry with those who are heathen and worship Satan and that is what these people are doing. Now, don’t get all weird and think we need to do something about them. We are not in the dispensation of Israel where these kinds of heathen were to be removed from the land. We are not Israel, even though we are true Israel’s spiritual children. We are in a dispensation of live and let live when it comes to the various religions, but we are not to be unequally yoked.

Application: For the most part, this is a no-brainer—you do not persecute those of other faiths. It is a no-brainer because this is a part of our American culture at the time that I write. However, in the past, this was not the case. One of the reasons that people came to the United States was for religious freedom; not to be free from religion, but to be able to worship God in the way they believed to be true. The key is, it was a different dispensation. So, during this period of time that we are studying, it would have been legitimate for the Jews in the land to attack and destroy the heathen who lived among them—unless, of course, they agreed to worship Jehovah Elohim, the True God of the Universe. In the first incarnation, our Lord could walk into the Temple and throw out the money changers, as He was still a part of the Age of Israel; and, more importantly, He is the Lord of Glory of Whom the Temple spoke. However, we don’t get to beat up the usher’s taking up a collection in our own churches; we don’t get to walk into the church’s office and destroy the cards or letters which deal with offerings; and we don’t get to walk down the street to the local mosque and burn it down. We are in a completely different dispensation, the chief difference being, in relationship to these matters, that we are not living in a theocracy and there are no theocracies for the Church Age. During the Age of Israel, Israel was a theocracy—a nation ruled by God. In the Church Age, there are no nations ruled by God. Law enforcement personnel are representatives of God, as Paul tells us, because they enforce the laws of the land; but we do not worship them, nor are they our religious leaders.

In fact, since we live in a different dispensation, and because so many Christians have no clue as to how to interact with unbeliever, let me spend some time on this. Christians get so goofy on dealing with unbelievers, primarily because they cannot differentiate between dispensations.

How Should Christians Deal with Heathen Today?

1. You do not separate yourself from all the unbelievers in this world. You do not set up some kind of system to where the only people you allow yourself to come in contact with are other believers. 1Cor. 5:10

2. You do not marry an unbeliever and you do not enter into a close relationship with an unbeliever if that relationship would compromise your testimony. 2Cor. 6:14

3. If you marry an unbeliever, then you don’t get to divorce him or her on a whim, religious or otherwise. 1Cor. 7:12–15

Christians go totally weird on these points. Let me expand on these points below:

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Application: The Corinthians were all mixed up when it came to their relationships with unbelievers. Paul had to explain to them: I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not write you concerning the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters; for then you would have to go out of the world. What I wrote was that you were not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one (1Cor. 5:9–11). When a believer is involved in gross sin and immorality (and we are not talking rumors here, but overt displays of rebellion against God), we are not to associate with those believers. In fact, these are the ones who are supposed to be removed from the church just like the Israelites were to remove the Canaanites from the land. We are not called upon to do a witch hunt and to ferret out the believers who have quietly and inconspicuously entered into the realm of immorality—just those who parade this immorality as a part of their day-to-day life. Those we separate from. However, we don’t separate from unbelievers, as the only way we could do that is to actually leave this world. We are surrounded by unbelievers and their immorality. How on earth, if you have no contact with unbelievers, can you bring them the gospel? And what if, while you were an unbeliever, every believer in your periphery shunned you? How would you have ever heard the gospel? And so we don’t get totally weird—this does not mean that you can’t send your child to a private school. What it does mean is that you do not make a day-to-day concerted effort to make certain that you are not in contact with unbelievers. It is your life and your testimony before them which helps to point them in the right direction.

Application: When it comes to close relationships, such as marriage or a business partnership, you don’t engage in these with unbelievers. That is, you do not marry an unbeliever no matter how much in love you are and no matter how marvelous they seem to be. Even if you just cannot bear to live even a minute outside their light, you don’t get to marry an unbeliever. Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership does righteousness and lawlessness have; or what fellowship exists between light and darkness. Of what harmony has Christ with Belial; or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? (2Cor. 6:14–15). Although there would be times when a business partnership between and believer and an unbeliever would be allowed; you have to be careful. Your reputation as a believer is tied to that business. If the business practices are immoral, then you are associated immorality with Jesus Christ. If the business entertains prospective clients in ways which encourage immorality or drunkenness; if the business practices less than legitimate business strategy; this is all associated with you and you are associated with your Lord Jesus Christ. Now, to not go off on a completely other tangent, this does not mean you just keep praying about it until you have convinced yourself that it is okay to do. People, when they are uncertain about something, just keep praying until they are certain. This is goofy as well. Your guidance comes from God’s Word, not through prayer. In prayer, you are talking to God—He isn’t talking to you.

Application: Finally, you got married to an unbeliever, you became a believer, and now you see that you can get out of this marriage because he or she is an unbeliever. Wrong! If you are bound to a wife, do not seek to be released (1Cor. 7:27a). If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, let him not send her away. and a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, let her not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise, your children are unclean (1Cor. 7:12b–14a).

Application: Let me cover one more thing here: marrying outside your race. There are some groups of people who vehemently oppose intermarriage between races (even though the concept of a race is just about as imprecise as you can get). They often point to passages like this and some even go to passages which deal with the construction of the tabernacle to justify their weird ideas. First of all, getting married is an individual thing—if you find a particular race in general to be unattractive, then this doesn’t mean that you have to marry someone from that race because God allows marriage between different races. That is goofiest idea #1 to dispel. I mention this because some people hesitate becoming a believer or being willing to do what God has planned for them because they feel that God will choose for them what they do not want to do no matter what—like being a missionary and they don’t want to be a missionary no way no how. God does do things which are not our first choice. Had I known that the end result of my becoming a believer would be that I would move to Humble, TX, I might have balked, not wanting ever to move to anywhere, TX. However, after the fact, God has blessed me tremendously here—more than I could every fully grasp in this life. But I’ve strayed from my original point, intermarriage: Moses married an Ethiopian woman in Num. 12:1. Although God gives Moses hell over tapping the rock twice with his stick, God never deals with this marriage as though there is a problem. Rahab the prostitute of Jericho, who was a member of the people whom God specifically told Israel not to intermarry, married Salmon, of the house of Judah, and was in the line of our Lord (Matt. 1:4–5). Ruth, who was a Moabitess, married Boaz, and they were also in the line of Christ (and were only a couple of generations removed from the throne of David) (Matt. 1:5). My point is that there is intermarriage which is sanctified by the Word of God. Rahab was an exception to the specific prohibition of intermarriage between the sons of Israel and the Canaanites in the land. The key to the prohibition against intermarriage in the Bible is always corruption of the faith. When God’s Word is compromised, intermarriage is forbidden. With Rahab, we know there was no compromise; with Ruth, we know there was no compromise; with the Ethiopian woman, we can assume that there was no compromise, as her relationship with Moses never appears to become an issue with anyone but a couple of narrow-minded people (Miriam and then she fired up Aaron). For those who want more information, refer back to the Doctrine of Racial Intermarriage, found back in Ex. 34:16.

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Othniel Delivers Israel from Cushan-rishathaim, King of Mesopotamia

Although it will appear as though this verse merely expands upon the previous phrase and served their gods; this verse actually begins a case history; the first heathen ruler who exacts a tribute from Israel, and the first judge who delivers Israel.

And so did sons of Israel the evil in a sight of Y^ehowah and so they forgot Y^ehowah their God and so they served the Baalim and the Asheroth.

Judges

3:7

Soon thereafter [lit., and so] the sons of Israel committed [lit., did] the [first and greatest] evil in the sight of Y^ehowah: they forgot Y^ehowah their God and they served the Baalim and the Asheroth [possibly, Ashtaroth].

So then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, forgetting Jehovah their God and serving the Baals and the Asheroth—the gods of the Canaanites.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so did sons of Israel the evil in a sight of Y^ehowah and so they forgot Y^ehowah their God and so they served the Baalim and the Asheroth.

Septuagint And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves [which is the Greek translation of Asheroth].

Significant differences: None, apart from the final word being translated rather than transliterated in the LXX.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV The Israelites sinned against the LORD by forgetting him and worshiping idols of Baal and Astarte.

The Message The People of Israel did evil in GOD's sight. They forgot their GOD and worshiped the Baal gods and Asherah goddesses.

NLT The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. The forgot about the Lord their God, and they worshiped the images of Baal and the Asherah poles.

REB The Israelites did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord: forgetting the Lord their God, they served the baalim and the asheroth.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ The people of Israel did what the LORD considered evil. They forgot the LORD their God and served other gods and goddesses-the Baals and the Asherahs.

HCSB The Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight; they forgot the LORD their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.

JPS (Tanakh) The Israelites did what was offensive to the Lord; they ignored the Lord their God and worshiped the Baalim and the Asheroth.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

Young's Updated LT And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.

What is the gist of this verse? The end result of Israel intermarrying with the Canaanites was that they forget Jehovah Elohim, Who had brought their fathers to the Land of Promise, and they worshiped the heathen gods instead. This verse begins an specific historical event, rather than continues the generalization of the previous verses.

Judges 3:7a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
׳âsâh (הָָע) [pronounced ģaw-SAWH]	to do, to make, to construct, to fashion, to form, to prepare	3^rd person plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #6213 BDB #793
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
ra׳ (ע ַר) [pronounced rahģ]	evil, bad, wicked; evil in appearance, deformed; misery, distress, injury; that which is displeasing [disagreeable, unhappy, unfortunate, sad]	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #7451 BDB #948
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
׳êynayim (ם̣יַני̤ע) [pronounced ģay-nah-YIM]	eyes, two eyes, literal eye(s), spiritual eyes; face, appearance, form; surface	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #5869 (and #5871) BDB #744
Together, the bêyth preposition and ׳ayin literally mean in the eyes of; it can be understood to mean in the opinion of, in the thinking of, in the estimation of; as ____ sees things to be.
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: Soon thereafter [lit., and so] the sons of Israel committed [lit., did] the [first and greatest] evil in the sight of Y^ehowah:... After intermarrying with the heathen around them, the people of Israel began to do evil in the sight of God. God had warned them not to intermarry and not to chase after the gods of the heathen; and yet they did. With this verse, we begin a specific historical example of this.

Judges 3:7b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
shâkach (ח ַכ ָש) [pronounced shaw-KAHKH]	to forget; to forget and leave	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #7911 BDB #1013
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217
ělôhîym (מי̣הֹלֱא) [pronounced el-o-HEEM]	gods, foreign gods, god; God; rulers, judges; superhuman ones, angels; transliterated Elohim	masculine plural noun	Strong's #430 BDB #43

Translation: ...they forgot Y^ehowah their God... At the time, God had the Law written on stone for any Israelite to see (Deut. 27:2–3 Joshua 8:30–32). The Israelites were to gather at least thrice a year to observe sacrifices and to worship God (I would assume there were services wherein the Law was taught). Furthermore, we have the command of Moses: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you--with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant--and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you.” (Deut. 6:4–14). The Law of God was to be ingrained into their thinking by any means possible.

That Israel forgot their God means several things:

Israel Forgot Jehovah Their God

1. Israel had forgotten their heritage; they had forgotten that God had led their forefathers out of Egypt and into the Land of Promise with great signs and wonders.

2. In the United States, we have forgotten our own heritage. We have turned freedom of religion into freedom from religion; even though, through the clear references to God in our many historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence, we have sought to remove any mention of God from any governmental institution. Almost any student knows the phrase separation of church and state; although far fewer realize that this is not a part of our constitution; and that the guarantee was, our government would not establish a state or national religion (e.g., the Church of England; the Church of Rome).

3. Israel no longer attended their thrice yearly gatherings to worship and celebrate the God Who bought them; although opinions vary widely on this issue, it appears as though, at best, Israel gathered yearly to recognize God—and that only during the time of Samuel and Eli. When Israel turns back to God in the book of Judges, this appears to be for only a temporary period of time.

4. Israel had forgotten the Word of God; they no longer studied the Word and they no longer taught God’s Word to their children, as Moses had urged them.

5. Not only did they marry outside their religion, but they began to follow the heathen gods and the heathen faiths of the Canaanites who lived around them.

Although we are not a theocracy in the United States, as Israel was, we are a client nation—a nation which preserves and teaches the Word of God; and a nation which regularly sends out missionaries to teach Jesus to those who have not heard.

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Judges 3:7c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
׳âbad (ד ַב ָע) [pronounced ģaw^b-VAHD]	to work, to serve, to labor; to be a slave to	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #5647 BDB #712
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Ba׳al (ל ַע ַ) [pronounced BAH-ģahl]	owner, lord, husband; transliterated Baal when referencing the heathen god	masculine plural noun	Strong's #1167 BDB #127

Translation: ...and they served the Baalim... Exactly as God had predicted and exactly as Moses had predicted—if the Israelites allowed the Canaanites to live in the land, then they would fall into idolatry. “They sacrificed to demons who were not God, whom they have not known who are recent and whom your fathers did not dread. You neglected the Rock Who begot you and you forgot the God Who gave you birth.” (Deut. 32:17–18). This occurred again and again. In fact, one of the key phrases of the book of the Judges is: Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah and they served the Baals (Judges 2:11; see also Judges 3:12 4:1 6:1 10:6 13:1). And they forgot His deeds and His miracles that He had shown them...they did not remember His power, the day when He redeemed them from the adversary (Psalm 78:11, 42).

We studied the Doctrine of Baal in Num. 22:41 and this is the second time we have a reference to Baalim in Scripture (the first was in Judges 2:11). There is a debate as to whether this stands for the pantheon of gods of the heathen or whether this stands for the statues and images of same. So, let’s go to the Doctrine of Baalim.

I have found that it is helpful to abbreviate doctrines and place them within the exegesis.

The Abbreviated Doctrine of Baalim

1. There are 4 possible interpretations of the use of the word Baalim (translated Baals, lords, Baalim):

a. This can be the intensive plural usage, as Elohim is occasionally used; when the noun often takes a singular verb, even though it is a plural noun.

b. This word can be used to refer to a specific pantheon of gods worshiped by the heathen.

c. Baalim could be a simple plural noun, referring to the variety of gods worshiped by the surrounding heathen.

d. Baalim might refer to the idols, carved images, and statuettes so often found among the heathen and in heathen Baal worship.

2. In several passages, it is clear that this simply refers to the several gods worshiped by the heathen (Judges 3:5–7 10:6–8 Hosea 2:17).

3. There is at least one instance where this may be reasonably interpreted as referring to the images and idols of Baal worship (1Sam. 7:3–4).

4. There are a few instances where this word might be seen as an intensive plural or referring to a pantheon of gods; however, there is no passage which is so compelling as to demand that interpretation.

5. The plural use of the noun; and its occasional use to refer to the images and idols, is a consistent application of this plural noun, which does no damage that I can see to the interpretation of any of the passages wherein the word I found.

If you would like to confirm this for yourself, either go to the complete doctrine of Baalim or examine the passages for yourself: Judges 2:11 3:7 8:33 10:6, 10 1Sam. 7:4 12:10 1Kings 18:18 2Chron. 17:3 24:7 28:2 33:3 34:4 Jer. 2:23 9:14 Hosea 2:13, 17 11:2.

You may think, this is a lot of time to spend on this little word; or, if you went to the doctrine itself, which is 5 pages long, you might think, this is way too much time to spend on this little word; the idea is, I want it to be clear what the meaning of the word is; and that there are no questions or preconceived notions to be applied; whether you spend anytime learning the entire doctrine is a whole other question.

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Judges 3:7d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Ăshêrôwth (תרֵשֲא) [pronounced uh-shay-ROHTH]	happy; transliterated Asherahs, Asheroth; refers to the female goddesses, the figurines which represent the goddess; or groves or shrines where she is worshiped	feminine plural, proper noun	Strong’s #842 BDB #81

Translation: ...and the Asheroth [possibly, Ashtaroth]. Clarke tells us: Ashtaroth is read in this place by the Chaldee Targum, the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Vulgate, and by one of Dr. Kennicott’s manuscripts. You may wonder, is there really any actual difference here? Yes, there is. Asheroth generally refers to the idols which are worshiped or the groves or shrines where pagan gods and goddesses are worshiped (to confirm these meanings, see Ex. 34:13 Deut. 7:5 12:3 1Kings 14:15, 23 2Kings 17:10 18:4 23:14). Ashtaroth, however, refers to the goddesses which are worshiped. If Asheroth is the word here (which is what is found in the Masoretic text), then we are dealing with the images of the pagan female deities. This would indicate, through simple parallelism, that Baalim and Asheroth here together are the idols or images which represent the gods and goddesses of the pagan, who were simply demons which the heathen worshiped. If the other ancient manuscripts are correct, then this verse refers to the pagan deities, both male and female, which Israel served.

If this is a reference to the groves where this worship takes place, Gill makes several points:

Gill Explains the Groves

1. Jupiter was worshiped in a grove of oaks, called the oak of Dodoma.

2. Apollo was worshiped in a grove of laurels in Daphne.

3. There were usually groves where idol temples were built.

4. In Phœnicia, or Canaan, Dido the Sidonian queen built a temple for Juno in the midst of the city, where was a grove of an agreeable shade.¹

5. Barthius observes, that most of the ancient gods of the Heathens used to be worshipped in groves.²

6. Even the groves and trees themselves were worshipped, as Tacitus says of the Germans, that they consecrated groves and forests, and called them by the names of gods.³

7. Groves are here put in the place of Ashtaroth (Judges 2:13).

8. Perhaps the goddesses of that name were worshipped in groves; and if Diana is meant by Astarte, Servius says that every oak is sacred to Jupiter and every grove to Diana.⁴

9. Ovid speaks of a temple of Diana in a grove.⁵

10. But as they are joined with Baalim, the original of which were deified kings and heroes, the groves may be such as were consecrated to them; for, as the same writer observes the souls of heroes were supposed to have their abode in groves.⁶

11. It was in this time of defection that the idolatry of Micah, and of the Danites, and the war of Benjamin about the Levite's concubine, happened, though related at the end of the book; so Josephus places the account here.⁷

All of this was taken from Dr. John Gill, John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible; from e-Sword, Judges 3:7. The text was edited somewhat and put into points. The references which follow are his.

¹ "Lucus in urbe fuit media", &c. Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1.

² Animadv. ad Claudian. de raptu Proserp. l. 1. v. 205.

³ De mor. German. c. 9. Vid. Plin. l. 12. 1.

⁴ In Virgil. Georgic. l. 3. col. 295.

⁵ "Est nemus et piceis", &c. Ep. 12. v. 67. Vid. Metamorphous l. 11. Fab. 9. v. 560.

⁶ In Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1. col. 481. & in l. 3. col. 721.

⁷ Antiquities l. 5. c. 2. & 3.

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In my opinion, the early manuscripts are correct in this case, and the Hebrew is not. Serving the Baalim and the Ashtaroth makes more sense when these things are placed on equal footing as the male gods and female goddesses. It makes less sense for Baalim to refer to the male gods, and to have the word here for groves or shrines; and the verb fits better with gods and goddesses, rather than with the idols, carved images and figurines.

In any case, nowhere does the Bible teach that we all worship the same God, and just call Him by different names. Whether it is the Old Testament and the uniqueness of Jehovah, the God of Israel (see the 1^st commandment or Deut. 6:4); or whether we are in the New Testament studying the absolute perfection and uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the Bible is clear that there is but One God and One Mediator between God and man— the Man Christ Jesus (1Tim. 2:5).

With this verse, we begin a recognizable literary form found in the Judges: We begin with Israel becoming apostate, God sells them into oppression; in distress, they call out to God; God sends them a deliverer and temporarily delivers them. We will find this general scenario repeated in Judges 3:12–30 as well. Because this form is found several times throughout the Judges, I show a section break at v. 7 rather than v. 8.

And so burned an anger of Y^ehowah against Israel and so He sold them into a hand of Cushan-rishathaim, a king of Aram-Naharaim. And so served sons of Israel Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

Judges

3:8

So then the anger of Y^ehowah burned against Israel and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, the king of Aram-Naharaim [probably, Mesopotamia]. The sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

Therefore, the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia. Afterwards, the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so burned an anger of Y^ehowah against Israel and so He sold them into a hand of Cushan-rishathaim, a king of Aram-Naharaim. And so served sons of Israel Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

Septuagint 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.

Significant differences: Apart from the proper noun Mesopotamia, there are no significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV This made the LORD angry, so he let Israel be defeated by King Cushan Rishathaim of northern Syria, who ruled Israel eight years and made everyone pay taxes.

The Message GOD's hot anger blazed against Israel. He sold them off to Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. The People of Israel were in servitude to Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.

TEV So the Lord became angry with Israel and let King Cushan Rishathaim of Mesopotamia conquer them. They were subject to him for eight years.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ The LORD became angry with the people of Israel. He used King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim to defeat them. So Israel served Cushan Rishathaim for eight years.

HCSB The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram of the Two Rivers, and the Israelites served him eight years.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

MKJV And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. And the sons of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight year.

Young’s Updated LT And the anger of Jehovah burns against Israel, and He sells them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight years.

What is the gist of this verse? Because Israel had fallen into idolatry, God put them under the thumb of Chushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia, for a period of 8 years.

Judges 3:8a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
chârâh (חָר ָה) [pronounced khaw-RAWH]	to burn, to kindle, to become angry, to evoke great emotion	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #2734 BDB #354
aph (ף ַא) [pronounced ahf]	nose, nostril, but is also translated face, brow, anger	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #639 BDB #60
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	No Strong’s # BDB #88
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: So then the anger of Y^ehowah burned against Israel... What burned was the anger of Jehovah. It burned against Israel for their idolatry. Since God had redeemed (purchased) Israel, it was up to Him whether or not to sell Israel. Israel had completed a very successful conquest of the land. However, their success was due to God, and when they turned from Him, He would send them failure. “You neglected the Rock Who begot you and you forgot the God Who gave you birth. And Jehovah observed and spurned them, because of the provocation of His sons and daughters. Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, sons in whom is no faithfulness...I will heap misfortunes upon them; I will use My arrows on them.” (Deut. 32:18–20, 23). And the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel and He gave them into the hands of looters who looted them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies (Judges 2:14).

Judges 3:8b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
mâkar (ר-כ ָמ) [pronounced maw-KAHR]	to sell, to sell [betroth] [a daughter]; to sell [deliver over] [a people]	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect; with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #4376 BDB #569
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular construct	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
This combination of the bêyth preposition and hand literally means in [the] hand of; and can be rendered in the power of; by the power of; with; through, by, by means of; before, in the sight of.
Kûwshan Rish^e׳âthayim (ם.י-תָע ש .ר ן-ש) [pronounced koo-SHAHN-rish-ģaw-THAH-yim]	twice-wicked Cushan; and is transliterated Cushan-rishathaim	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #3573 BDB #469
This proper noun is apparently a combination of Strong’s #3572 and the dual of #7564. The latter word means malevolence, corrupt nature, reprehensiveness, wickedness. The former is simply the proper noun Cushan.

Translation: ...and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim,... According to the NIV Study Bible, Cushan-rishathaim is probably a caricature of the of the name of the ruler who was involved here. In the Hebrew, this means doubly evil Cushan.

Barnes: Nothing is known from history, or the cuneiform inscriptions, of the political condition of Mesopotamia at this time, though Thotmes I and III in the 18^th Egyptian dynasty are known to have invaded Mesopotamia. It is, however, in accordance with such an aggressive Aramean movement towards Palestine, that as early as the time of Abram we find the kings of Shinar and of Elam invading the south of Palestine. There is also distinct evidence in the names of the Edomitish kings (Gen. xxxvi. 32, 35, 37) of an Aramean dynasty in Edom about the time of the early Judges. Compare, too, Job I. 17.

It should be also noted that those who temporarily ruled over Israel were not more righteous than Israel in any way; they were simply used by God to discipline Israel. You have sold your people cheaply and You have not profited by their sale. You have made us a reproach to our neighbors—a scoffing and a derision to those around us. You have made us a byword among the nations and a laughingstock among the peoples. All day long my dishonor is before me and my humiliation has overwhelmed me, because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger (Psalm 44:12–16). At some point in time, we here in the United States may find ourselves under the domination of an Arab power, or the power of the Chinese communists; or subdued by a reorganized USSR. It is not that they have become more righteous, but that we deserted our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Judges 3:8c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572
Ăram (ם-רֲא) [pronounced uh-RAHM]	the highland; exalted; and is transliterated Aram	masculine singular construct, proper noun	Strong’s #758 BDB #74
The difference between this noun and Strong’s #758 is the vowel point, which was added much later (we have an a here instead of an â. This is simply the construct state of Ărâm.
nâhărayim (ם.י-רֲהָנ) [pronounced naw-huh-rah-YIM]	two rivers; two streams	masculine dual noun	Strong’s #5104 BDB #625
Together, these nouns are listed as Strong’s #763 BDB #74. We could reasonably render this as Aram of the two rivers, which is Mesopotamia.
The Septuagint and the Vulgate render this as Mesopotamia.

Translation: ...the king of Aram-Naharaim [probably, Mesopotamia]. The Hebrew here is transliterated Aram-Naharaim, which means high place between two rivers. We are speaking of Mesopotamia, which lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers (although it is possible that this could refer to the Euphrates and one of its tributaries). Throughout the book of Judges, we are not told what portion of Israel is taken into servitude. My impression is that this might involve one or more tribes, but not really all of Israel. Furthermore, it appears as though some of the events in the book of Judges ran concurrently (at least, at the very end).

Wesley tells us: 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 reveals so much the more of the hand of God in it.

By the way, we have a little play on words here, which is completely lost to those reading this in the English. We are speaking of the doubly-corrupt Cushan, king of Aram of the two rivers.

Matthew Henry gives us a good background here: Cushan-Rishathaim is the king of that Syria which lay between the two great rivers of Tigris and Euphrates, then called Mesopotamia, which signifies in the midst of rivers. It is probable that this was a warlike prince, and, aiming to enlarge his dominions, he invaded the two tribes first on the other side Jordan that lay next him, and afterwards, perhaps by degrees, penetrated into the heart of the country, and as far as he went put them under contribution, exacting it with rigour, and perhaps quartering soldiers upon them. Laban, who oppressed Jacob with a hard service, was of this country; but it lay at such a distance that one could not have thought Israel's trouble would come from such a far country, which shows so much the more of the hand of God in it.

Judges 3:8d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
׳âbad (ד ַב ָע) [pronounced ģaw^b-VAHD]	to work, to serve, to labor; to be a slave to	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #5647 BDB #712
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Kûwshan Rish^e׳âthayim (ם.י-תָע ש .ר ן-ש) [pronounced koo-SHAHN-rish-ģaw-THAH-yim]	twice-wicked Cushan; and is transliterated Cushan-rishathaim	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #3573 BDB #469
This proper noun is apparently a combination of Strong’s #3572 and the dual of #7564. The latter word means malevolence, corrupt nature, reprehensiveness, wickedness. The former is simply the proper noun Cushan.
sh^emôneh (ה∵נֹמ ש) [pronounced sh^emoh-NEH]	eight	masculine singular numeral	Strong’s #8083 BDB #1032
shânâh (הָנָש) [pronounced shaw-NAW]	year	feminine plural noun	Strong’s #8141 BDB #1040

Translation: The sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years. This particular king is not known to history, at least by the name Cushan-rishathaim; however, the ZPEB is quite informative on this point. Since Othniel will be the deliverer later alluded to, it is most likely that this incident occurred soon after the death of Joshua, since Othniel is mentioned in Joshua 15:17 and Judges 1:13 (recall that we had a tough time determining just exactly how he and Caleb were related). Aram-Naharaim (or Aram of the two rivers) is known both from Egyptian Manuscripts as well as from the Tell-el-amarna (the Amarna letters). ZPEB suggests that the people could have been the Mitanni and that Cushan-rishathaim was a Hittite ruler of that time period. This is further made reasonable by the fact that the Assyrian empire was on the rise in the 12^th century. ZPEB offers another theory which they describe as highly speculative. Given the location of Mesopotamia, it is likely that they had encroached on the land of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Edersheim claims that there are Persian traditions that the monarchs of Iran, who held dominion “by the streams,” waged war against Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor. Of their heroes, who are described as Cushan, or from the land of Chusitan (= Scythians, Parthians?), the most notable is Rustan or Rastam, a name evidently akin to Rishathaim. This suggests that this was either a real title or a play of words on the title.

It is also suggested that Cushan is an adjective based upon Cush, meaning that we may be dealing with a Cushite coalition; or that Ethiopia had ties with Mesopotamia. From the little information given, it is difficult to tell what the connection is, if any.

The Israelites sold themselves into slavery to the gods of the Canaanites, worshiping that which is not-God; God therefore gave them into slavery to those whose god is not Jehovah. God actually started out quite easy. They are not but a few decades away from the generation of men who brought them into the Land of Promise, and already, this younger generation has strayed so far from the truth as to worship the gods of the heathen around them. Eight years of subjection to Mesopotamia is not much more than a little nudge.

I want you to clearly recognize here that, if all nations and peoples worship the same God, yet refer to Him by different names, then the Bible is in strong disagreement with this idea. Here, the basic problem is that Israel intermarried with the heathen of the land; and these heathen led Israel astray to worship other gods. You cannot hold to the liberal notion that “We call God, God; but others call Him Buddha or Allah.” If this were the case, God’s discipline of Israel throughout the book of Judges would make little or not sense, because their transgression is worshiping the gods of the people still living in the land. If their gods are equally valid, then God would have no reason to discipline Israel.

Application: You are free to believe in whatever you want to believe in; however, you cannot hold to the Bible and, at the same time, think that all religions are equally valid; or that all religions simply worship the same God, but with a different name. This is in strong disagreement with the Bible.

And so cried sons of Israel unto Y^ehowah. And so raised up Y^ehowah a deliverer for sons of Israel. And so delivered them Othniel ben Kenaz, brother of Caleb, the younger [brother].

Judges

3:9

Then the sons of Israel cried to Y^ehowah, so Y^ehowah raised up a savior for the sons of Israel. Othniel ben Kenaz, [younger] brother of Caleb, delivered them.

As these eight years dragged on, the sons of Israel cried in desperation to Jehovah; therefore, Jehovah raised up a savior on their behalf: Othniel, the son of Kenaz, who was the younger brother of Caleb.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so cried sons of Israel unto Y^ehowah. And so raised up Y^ehowah a deliverer for sons of Israel. And so delivered them Othniel ben Kenaz, brother of Caleb, the younger [brother].

Septuagint And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, and the LORD raised up a deliverer [or, savior] to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV The Israelites begged the LORD for help, and he chose Othniel to rescue them. Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.

The Message The People of Israel cried out to GOD and GOD raised up a savior who rescued them: Caleb's nephew Othniel, son of his younger brother Kenaz.

NLT But when Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord raised up a man to rescue them. His name was Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help. The LORD sent a savior to rescue them. It was Othniel, son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.

HCSB The Israelites cried out to the LORD. So the LORD raised up Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's youngest brother as a deliverer to save the Israelites.

JPS (Tanakh) The Israelites cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised a champion for the Israelites to deliver them: Othniel the Kenizzite, a younger kinsman of Caleb.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

WEB When the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a savior to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

Young’s Updated LT And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raises a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saves them—Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

What is the gist of this verse? Othniel, Caleb’s nephew, is raised up by God to deliver Israel.

Judges 3:9a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
zâ׳aq (ק ַע ָז) [pronounced zaw-ĢAHK]	to cry out, to call, to cry	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #2199 BDB #277
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
el (ל∵א) [pronounced el]	unto; into, among, in; toward, to; against; concerning, regarding; besides, together with; as to	directional preposition (respect or deference may be implied)	Strong's #413 BDB #39
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: Then the sons of Israel cried to Y^ehowah,... This was somewhat of a shock to the children of Israel; God gave them the land (which they had forgotten the details of); and, suddenly, they were under the control of this heathen king who, apparently, was collecting tribute from them. This caused them to re-discover the God they had forgotten, and they cried out to Jehovah for help.

I want you to realize that Israel here was not simply whining because their taxes were too high. The tribute which they were expected to pay was apparently extraordinary; to the point where they were barely able to pay what was expected of them. I would be hard-pressed to come up with a percentage at this point, but perhaps they were paying in the 60–90% range, so that they were left with bare sustenance. Very few of us have any sort of grasp as to how hard farmers work. In fact, most of us would be unable to handle what they do. Most of Israelis farmed; and most of what they produced was being taken from them by the king of Mesopotamia. Very likely, on a regular basis, the army of Cushan-rishathaim would come into Israel and demand payment—probably during the harvest times (which would be twice a year). Whereas, Israel was supposed to leave 10% of their fields unharvested for the poor, that may have been all that was left for them as a nation. A huge army would show up, say twice yearly, demanding tribute; and a town-ful of farmers had no recourse but to pay them what they desired. At some point, it got so bad, that Israel knew not where to turn, so they cried out to their God, Jehovah.

There are details which are, obviously, left out. Were these prayers offered before the Tabernacle of God, when they gathered at the Tabernacle? Were these individuals praying to God? We don’t know, and reasonable arguments might be made for both approaches; however, what is clear is, even though Israel had forgotten the God Who bought them, they had the means with which to recall Him, and then to go to Him. That is, somehow, some way, God’s truth is revealed to them; and they call out to Jehovah, the God Who bought them. Maybe their parents had told them of Jehovah God, and they had forgotten, in their pursuit of heathen women and in the pursuit of their gods. Perhaps they rediscovered the Tabernacle of God and perhaps a priest spoke from God’s Word there.

In any case, these Israelites are helpless and in a hopeless situation. They seem to lack the organization to respond to Cushan-rishathaim, whose army is probably extensive. They are completely undeserving, and still they call out to the God of their fathers.

Matthew Henry paints an interesting, hypothetical picture at this point: At first the Jews made light of their trouble, and thought they could easily shake off the yoke of a prince at such a distance; but, when it continued eight years, they began to feel the smart of it, and then those cried under it who before had laughed at it. Those who in the day of their mirth had cried to Baalim and Ashtaroth now that they are in trouble cry to the Lord from whom they had revolted, whose justice brought them into this trouble, and whose power and favour could alone help them out of it. Affliction makes those cry to God with importunity who before would scarcely speak to him.

Judges 3:9b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
qûwm (םק) [pronounced koom]	to cause to raise up, to cause to stand, to establish, to fulfill; to uphold, to perform [a testimony, a vow, a commandment, a promise]	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect	Strong’s #6965 BDB #877
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217
yâsha׳ (עַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAHĢ]	deliverer, savior, saving; less literally, redeemer, rescuer, lifesaver, liberator	masculine singular, Hiphil participle	Strong’s #3467 BDB #446
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: ...so Y^ehowah raised up a savior for the sons of Israel. The word deliverer is the Hiphil participle of yâsha׳ (ע ַש ָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAHĢ], which means to deliver, to save. Joshua’s name was in part built upon this word. Yâsha׳, in the participle, should be translated deliverer, savior; and less literally, redeemer, rescuer, lifesaver, liberator.

Note that Israel is completely undeserving; all they have done is cried out to God—they have not removed the altars of the false gods, they have not repudiated the pagan gods—but they have called out to Jehovah God instead of these heathen gods.

Also note, in this dark time, when Israel is completely undeserving, Jehovah raises up a savior for the sons of Israel. Obviously, that savior comes from the sons of Israel. Even in a time when we have so few people functioning as God requires, still, even in His Word, there is foreshadowing of Jesus Christ to come—a Savior raised up from the sons of Israel, for the very undeserving sons of Israel.

Judges 3:9c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
yâsha׳ (עַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAHĢ]	to deliver, to save; to set free, to preserve; to aid, to give relief	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil perfect; with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #3467 BDB #446
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
׳Âth^enîyêl (ל̤אי.נ תָע) [pronounced ģoth-nee-ALE]	possibly lion of God; God is might; and is transliterated Othniel	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #6274 BDB #801
bên (ן ֵ) [pronounced bane]	son, descendant	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Q^enaz (ז-נ ק) [pronounced k^eNAHZ],	possibly side, flank; is transliterated Kenaz	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #7073 BDB #889
âch (ח ָא) [pronounced awhk]	brother, kinsman or close relative	masculine singular construct	Strong's #251 BDB #26
Keleb (ב∵ל∵) [pronounced KEH-le^bv]	dog; transliterated Caleb	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3612 BDB #477
qâţôn (ןטָק or ןֹט ָק) [pronounced kaw-TOHN]	small, insignificant; a word particularly used for youth, younger	masculine singular adjective with the definite article	Strong’s #6995 & #6996 BDB #882

Translation: Othniel ben Kenaz, [younger] brother of Caleb, delivered them. You will recall that Caleb had been given an area of Judah which required some additional conquering. The city of Kiriath-sepher was captured by Othniel, who won the hand of Caleb’s daughter as a part of his victory. However, we will get to know very little about Othniel. Edersheim suggests that his name means lion of God or my lion of God.

There is a question here whether it is Othniel or Kenaz who is the brother of Caleb. Furthermore, brother is not an exact term in the Hebrew; it can mean kinsman or close relative. We discussed Othniel’s relationship to Caleb in Joshua 15:16 and in Judges 1:13, concluding that determining the exact relationship is quite difficult. One possibility is that Othniel is Caleb’s much younger brother, born to Caleb’s father. This causes us problems, as they are named Othniel ben Kenaz and Caleb ben Jephunneh, the Kennizite. Usually, if they are brothers, then they have the same father and they are so named. The easiest explanation is, Kenaz is Caleb’s brother, and Othniel is his son, making Othniel Caleb’s nephew. In either case, we are not too far removed from the time of Caleb, Joshua’s contemporary. This suggests that we are in the generation which was first born in the Land of Promise, and the next couple of generations born after them. This is based upon Othniel being a much younger brother to Caleb, or, more likely Caleb’s nephew. Also, he became Caleb’s son-in-law as well, through marriage to Caleb’s daughter (whom I assume is born late in Caleb’s life—see Joshua 15:16–17 Judges 1:12).

Now, despite there being some confusion as to their exact relationship, I think Othniel is mentioned here in relation tro Caleb so that we know that we are very close to the generation who took the Land of Promise. This is not something which took place 100 or 200 years later, when Israel eventually forgot the God Who bought them; this is probably the first generation of those born in the Land of Promise. Time-wise this makes sense; and context gives this sense as well.

Since Othniel had already distinguished himself back in Joshua 15:16–17, he would be one of the older, but well-respected men; someone with a good reputation. If you go back and examine the history closely, you will see that Moses was older than most of the generation that he led to the Land of Promise (gen X died out in the desert). Joshua also appears to be older than most of the men whom he led in the desert (his generation, gen X), had died out before the Jews marched up the roads in what would become eastern Israel, in order to enter Israel from the east. I would reasonably surmise that Othniel is a throwback himself; a retired general who comes out of retirement to lead Israel during this crisis. He has the right stuff; he has the true leadership capabilities; he knows Jehovah, God of Israel.

Clarke on Othniel: 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 was already well-known for his valor in taking Kirjath-sepher, which appears to have been a very hazardous exploit. By his natural valor, 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.

Matthew Henry waxes poetically about Othniel: Othniel is Israel’s deliverer, the one who married Caleb's daughter, one of the old stock that had seen the works of the Lord, and had himself, no question, kept his integrity, and secretly lamented the apostasy of his people, but waited for a divine call to appear publicly for the redress of their grievances. He was now, we may suppose, far advanced in years, when God raised him up to this honour, but the decays of age were no hindrance to his usefulness when God had work for him to do.

This cycle of Israel turning from God, being oppressed, crying out to God (Judges 3:15 4:3 6:7 10:10), and then being delivered by God is repeated throughout the book of the Judges, as was pointed out in the introduction to this book. However, this is an essential part of the history of Israel (see, for example, 1Sam. 12:10 Psalm 106:34–43). Just as God sent a deliverer to rescue Israel, God would also send a deliverer to save all of mankind.

And so was upon him a Spirit of Y^ehowah; and so he judged Israel and so he went out to war and so gave Y^ehowah into his hand Cushan-rishathaim, a king of Aram. And so prevailed his hand over Cushan-rishathaim.

Judges

3:10

The Spirit of Y^ehowah was upon him and he judged Israel. He went out to war and Y^ehowah gave Cushan-rishathaim, the king of Aram, into his hand, and his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.

The Spirit of Jehovah was upon him and he judged Israel. When he went to war against Cushan-rishathaim, the king of Aram, Jehovah gave Cushan-rishathaim into his hand and he prevailed over him.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so was upon him a Spirit of Y^ehowah; and so he judged Israel and so he went out to war and so gave Y^ehowah into his hand Cushan-rishathaim, a king of Aram. And so prevailed his hand over Cushan-rishathaim.

Septuagint And the Spirit of the LORD came [Hebrew reads was] 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.

Significant differences:

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV The Spirit of the LORD took control of Othniel, and he led Israel in a war against Cushan Rishathaim. The LORD gave Othniel victory,...

The Message The Spirit of GOD came on him and he rallied Israel. He went out to war and GOD gave him Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. Othniel made short work of him.

TEV The spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he became Israel’s leader. Othniel went to war, and the Lord gave him the victory over the eking of Mesopotamia.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ When the LORD'S Spirit came over him, he became the judge of Israel. He went out to war. The LORD handed King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim over to him, and Othniel overpowered him.

HCSB The Spirit of the LORD was on him, and he judged Israel. Othniel went out to battle, and the LORD handed over Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram to him, so that Othniel overpowered him.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

LTHB And the Spirit of Jehovah was put on him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to war, and Jehovah gave Chushan-rishathaim the king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand had power over Chushan-rishathaim.

Young’s Updated LT And the Spirit of Jehovah is upon him, and he judges Israel, and goes out to battle, and Jehovah gives unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against Chushan-Rishathaim.

What is the gist of this verse? The Spirit of Jehovah is upon Othniel, and he has a position of authority in Israel and he goes out to battle against Cushan-rishathaim, and God gives this king (and apparently his army) into the hand of Othniel (i.e., Othniel defeats the army of this much-feared king).

Judges 3:10a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
hâyâh (ה ָי ָה) [pronounced haw-YAW]	to be, is, was, are; to become, to come into being; to come to pass	3^rd person feminine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #1961 BDB #224
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #5921 BDB #752
rûwach (ַחר) [pronounced ROO-ahkh]	wind, breath, spirit, apparition	feminine singular construct	Strong’s #7307 BDB #924
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: The Spirit of Y^ehowah was upon him... Notice that the Holy Spirit was upon Othniel during the time that he judged, as well as the time that he went into battle. We will see this same phrase again and again in this book spoken those who deliver Israel (Judges 6:34 11:29 13:25 14:6, 19).

One of the primary differences between the dispensation of Israel and the dispensation of the church is that everyone in the Church Age is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and therefore has the option of being filled or not by the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 12:12–17 Gal. 5:16 Eph. 5:18). This means we all play a major part in the plan of God (1Cor. 12:13–17); in the Old Testament, there were just a select few people who were filled with the Spirit, or, anointed by the Holy Spirit; and therefore, only a few select people guided the destiny of Israel (Num. 11:25–29 24:2 27:18 Judges 6:34 11:29 1Sam. 11:6 16:13 2Chron. 15:1). Now some commentaries go crazy at the mention of the Holy Spirit and indicate that He was given for extraordinary projects and those with the Holy Spirit did incredible things. This is perhaps a bit too enthusiastic. Given what is recounted about Othniel and Ehud in this chapter, their deeds, albeit heroic, were not extraordinary in any sort of supernatural sense. I am not downgrading their part in God’s plan, but some people are mistaken to think that the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit automatically implies that they will perform supernatural acts. It is the Spirit of God which, in both the Old and New Testaments, allows us to be a part of God’s plan and to participate in God’s plan. Apart from the Holy Spirit, our actions are meaningless with regards to eternity. There is nothing in this context which indicates that anything spectacular happened, from our standards. It is possible that it did, but the historian did not record it.

Gill tells us that the Spirit of Jehovah was upon him, and He moved him to engage in this work of delivering Israel, inspired him with courage, and filled him with every needful gift, qualifying him for it; the Targum interprets it the spirit of prophecy; it seems father to be the spirit of counsel and courage, of strength and fortitude of body and mind. Gill recognizes that Othniel will need more than the ability to oversee Israel during a military engagement.

We actually do not see what Israel does by way of the putting away of idols. We may reasonably assume that they did so, both before and after this engagement; and because we are told that Israel cries out to God. We are not given any idea as to how much of the Mosaic Law of reinstated.

Judges 3:10b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
shâphaţ (טַפָש) [pronounced shaw-FAHT]	to judge, to condemn, to punish; to defend [especially the poor and oppressed], to defend [one’s cause] and deliver him from his enemies; to rule, to govern	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #8199 BDB #1047
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: ...and he judged Israel. The office that Othniel possessed is simply described by the Qal imperfect of shâphaţ (ט ַפ ָש) [pronounced shaw-FAHT], which means to judge, to condemn, to punish; to defend [especially the poor and oppressed], to defend [one’s cause] and deliver him from his enemies; to rule, to govern. Zodhiates offers the possibility that this means to vindicate, which, although a quite interesting interpretation, does not fit with its first few usages (Ex. 18:16, 22, 26 Num. 35:24). In fact, this is an interpretation which I would love to run with at this juncture, but one which does not really fit. Since the entirety of this verse appears to deal with Othniel defeating Cushan in battle, this word is not used here in any sort of judicial capacity, but more in a leadership-ruler capacity. Othniel is functioning as the defender of Israel; as the ruler of Israel.

Matthew Henry suggests the following: Othniel’s first steps are: he first judges Israel, reproves them, calls them to account for their sins, and reforms them, and then he goes out to war. This was the right method. Let sin at home be conquered, that worst of enemies, and then enemies abroad will be the more easily dealt with. Thus let Christ be our Judge and Law–giver, and then he will save us, and on no other terms (Isa. 33:22). Although we do not really have any details in Scripture, Henry does make an excellent point here. This would also give us good reason why we even have this short phrase ...and Othniel judged Israel. We could have seen, ...and Othniel led Israel in battle or ...and Othniel fought against Cushan; but we have instead that he judged/defended/ruled/governed Israel. I think what Henry suggests here is very likely.

Judges 3:10c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yâtsâ (אָצָי) [pronounced yaw-TZAWH]	to go out, to come out, to come forth; to rise; to flow, to gush up [out]	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #3318 BDB #422
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
mil^echâmâh (הָמָח׃ל ̣מ) [pronounced mil-khaw-MAW]	battle, war	feminine singular noun; with the definite article	Strong’s #4421 BDB #536

Translation: He went out to war... What we often find when Israel goes out to war is that the focus is upon their lead general. In many cases, it sounds almost as if the general is the only person at war here, which is obviously not the case. From human viewpoint and from a literary standpoint, we could consider this a metonymy; Othniel is the subject, but he stands for the entire Israeli army. Metonymies are used all of the time. On occasion, a newscaster will speak of Israel’s position or Israel’s advancement against their enemy, Hezbollah (which is the current news story as I write this). The nation Israel has not taken a different position; the people of Israel have not advanced; the army of Israel has advanced against Hezbollah; the army of Israel has take a position against Hezbollah. Israel is a metonymy for the army of Israel. Here, Othniel is a metonymy for the army of Israel.

However, from divine viewpoint, all of this comes to pass because the Spirit of God is upon Othniel; the Spirit of God is empowering Othniel. Without Othniel, there is no army of Israel. One of the things which I have only heard taught from Bob Thieme Jr., is the concept of a spiritual Atlas; one man who, through his great spiritual strength, holds up his generation. We have seen that with Moses and with Joshua; and we will see this throughout the book of the Judges, where each judge functions like a spiritual Atlas, holding up and defending and protecting his generation of Israelites. If the history of Israel is to be believed, than almost throughout the history of Israel and even before Israel, we find again and again, a handful of men whose spiritual life is the key to the survival of those around them. Without Othniel, Israel remains under Cushan’s thumb; without the half-dozen or more judges who follow in this history, Israel remains under the power and control of some heathen nation.

There are some differences today—in our world, all believers are given the Holy Spirit. Every believer can access God the Holy Spirit through the simple process of naming one’s sins to God. However, what remains the same is the concept of the spiritual Atlas—one man upon whose shoulders many are carried. One of the greatest men of the 20^th century, and upon whose shoulders I believe the United States rested, was Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871–1952), the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary. There are a lot of people who think what R. B. Thieme Jr. taught was almost revolutionary, but most of what he taught actually came from L. S. Chafer and Thieme’s training at Dallas Theological Seminary.

This doctrine was shortened down to a page to fit reasonably in exegetical studies.

The Abbreviated Doctrine of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

1. The Holy Spirit is presented as an independent, sovereign entity in the Old Testament. Isa 40:13–14 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows Him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made Him understand? Who taught Him the path of justice. Isa. 48:16 [The revealed God of the Old Testament is speaking]: “Draw near to Me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there." And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

2. The Holy Spirit was involved in the restoration of the earth so that life could survive on it. It appears as if the Holy Spirit provided the energy to warm planet earth, which was encased in ice. Gen. 1:2 Psalm 104:30

3. God the Holy Spirit gives all men life and sustains that life. Gen. Gen. 2:7 Job 27:3 33:4 Eccles. 12:7 ...and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Isa. 42:5

4. The Holy Spirit interacted with mankind—even with corrupted mankind—presumably to give them the gospel. Gen. 6:3

5. The Holy Spirit and the truth in the Old Testament:

1) The Holy Spirit makes spiritual information understandable to Old Testament saints. Job 32:8

2) The Holy Spirit empowered those who wrote the Old Testament. Psalm 23:1–3 Matt. 22:43 Mark 12:36 2Peter 1:21

3) God the Holy Spirit empowered those prophets in the Old Testament to speak the truth. Neh. 9:30 Ezek. 2:1–3 And He said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And He said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.” This is both prophetical, speaking of Jesus Christ; and for the time it was given, speaking of Ezekiel. See also Ezek. 3:12 Luke 1:67 2:25

6. The Holy Spirit and prophecy in the Old Testament:

1) The people of Israel were to look to fulfilled prophecy in order to realize that this is the Spirit of God telling them of these things. Isa. 34:16

2) Isaiah prophesied the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to the Messiah. Isa. 11:2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. See also Isa. 42:1 Isa. 61:1–2

3) Isaiah, Ezekiel and Joel prophesied that the Spirit would be poured out upon mankind during the Millennium. Isa. 32:15 Ezek. 36:26–28 37:14 39:29 Joel 2:28–29

7. The Holy Spirit and empowerment in the Old Testament:

1) The key to empowerment, even in the Old Testament, was the Holy Spirit. Zech. 4:6

2) Some of the artisans involved in the building of the Tabernacle of God were empowered by God the Holy Spirit. Ex. 31:3 35:31

3) God allowed Moses to delegate his authority, and God would give these men the Holy Spirit. Num. 11:16–17, 24–25

4) God gave the Holy Spirit to some early prophets when Moses and the people of God were in the desert. Num. 11:26–29

5) Specific people in the Old Testament had been given the Holy Spirit in order to empower them. Num. 27:18 Judges 3:10 6:34 11:29 14:6, 19 15:14 1Sam. 10:6, 10 11:6 16:13 2Chron. 20:14 24:20 Daniel 4:18 Micah 3:8

6) One could ask for empowerment by the Holy Spirit. 2Kings 2:9 Luke 11:13

7) Jesus Christ, in His humanity, in the Age of the Hypostatic Union (which was, in many respects, a continuation of the Age of Israel) was empowered by the Holy Spirit. Isa. 61:1 Luke 4:1 4:14, 18

8. The Holy Spirit and Israel:

1) God’s Spirit remained with Israel from the exodus. Haggai 2:5

2) God promises an eternal relationship with the Jews; a relationship which is based upon truth. Isa. 59:20–21 "And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression," declares the LORD. "And as for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit that is upon you, and My words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring," says the LORD, "from this time forth and forevermore."

3) The Holy Spirit was given to Israel as a nation. Isa. 63:11–13a Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and His people. Where is He Who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is He Who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the depths?

4) Israel continued to be in opposition to the Holy Spirit. For this reason, God subjected them to the 5^th stage of national discipline (the fifth cycle of discipline). Zech. 7:12–14

9. The Holy Spirit could be taken from a person previously endowed with the Holy Spirit. 1Sam. 16:14 Psalm 51:11

The entire Doctrine of the Ministry of God the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament (HTML) (PDF)

Chapter Outline

Charts, Maps and Short Doctrines

Judges 3:10d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
nâthan (ן ַתָנ) [pronounced naw-THAHN]	to give, to grant, to place, to put, to set	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #5414 BDB #678
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
This combination of the bêyth preposition and hand means with him; through him, by me, by means of him; at his hand [i.e., before him, in his sight].
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Kûwshan Rish^e׳âthayim (ם.י-תָע ש .ר ן-ש) [pronounced koo-SHAHN-rish-ģaw-THAH-yim]	twice-wicked Cushan; and is transliterated Cushan-rishathaim	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #3573 BDB #469
This proper noun is apparently a combination of Strong’s #3572 and the dual of #7564. The latter word means malevolence, corrupt nature, reprehensiveness, wickedness. The former is simply the proper noun Cushan.

Translation: ...and Y^ehowah gave Cushan-rishathaim into his hand,... As we know, Othniel was strengthened by God the Holy Spirit; his history indicates that he was a great man of faith. He trusted God and was willing to put his life on the line based upon his faith. God vindicated his faith and God gave Cushan, the king of Mesopotamia, into his hand. If ever there was a David versus Goliath story, this is it. Israel is barely a country; the territory of Mesopotamia is huge. We do not know any of the actual details of the battle or battles. We don’t know if a force came in as usual to collect payment, and Israel met them with an army and defeated them; and if later Cushan brought in his personal army and Israel defeated them. This seems likely; but we really don’t know. We may reasonably suppose that Cushan was a part of the battle; but there are no real specifics given. Another possibility is that Cushan brought a small force into Israel to collect payment, expecting no problems as usual, and they suddenly find themselves faced with a strong army from Israel, which summarily defeats them. It is possible that, when no army returns to Mesopotamia, and that their king is (apparently) dead, that the inner conflicts of Mesopotamia override any interest in returning to Israel. Again, there are no details, so we can, at best, speculate as to what happened.

It is possible that what took place verged on being supernatural (as we will see with Deborah and Barak in Judges 4–5). Now, you may think that, if something spectacular took place, that the historian would make note of it (as Moses did time and time again). However, everyone has a different personality; and you may think that since you would be unable to stop talking about a semi-miraculous event, that everyone is like you. However, that is not necessarily the case. When a very unusual event occurs, not every person is going to call all their friends and neighbors and tell them all about it. We are told everything which is important here: Jehovah gave Cushan into Othniel’s hand. That is what is key here. We do not know how; we do not know how many died; we do not know how many battles were fought; we do not know if some supernatural or spectacular event was involved; we simply know that God gave Cushan into Othniel’s hand.

Judges 3:10e
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572
Ărâm (םָרֲא) [pronounced uh-RAWM]	the highland; exalted; and is transliterated Aram; sometimes rendered Mesopotamia	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #758 BDB #74

Translation: ...the king of Aram,... Again, what is spectacular here is, Cushan is the king of Mesopotamia, which is a huge country; and Israel is just a postage stamp-sized country. In my generation, I have witnessed Israel face and beat down much larger and more powerful countries; God is still in His throne!

The nation Aram was named after a son of Shem from Gen. 10:22.

Judges 3:10f
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
׳âzaz (זַזָע) [pronounced ģaw-ZAHZ]	to strengthen, to make strong; to make secure; to become strong, to be made strong; to be strong, robust, powerful	3^rd person feminine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #5810 BDB #738
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #5921 BDB #752
Kûwshan Rish^e׳âthayim (ם.י-תָע ש .ר ן-ש) [pronounced koo-SHAHN-rish-ģaw-THAH-yim]	twice-wicked Cushan; and is transliterated Cushan-rishathaim	masculine singular, proper noun; pausal form	Strong’s #3573 BDB #469
This proper noun is apparently a combination of Strong’s #3572 and the dual of #7564. The latter word means malevolence, corrupt nature, reprehensiveness, wickedness. The former is simply the proper noun Cushan.

Translation: ...and his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. The last verb is the feminine singular, Qal imperfect of to be strong, to prevail. Othniel and his army prevailed over Cushan and his army. Again, we know nothing about the actual battle or battles which took place; we know nothing about whether there were extra-natural occurrences or whether the actual battle did not appear out of the ordinary. We have seen several wars between modern Israel and enemy combatants—combatants who had little fear of dying, and, most recently, no hesitation to take others with them. Yet, in the wars of the past 60 or so years, Israel has prevailed, and there has been no appearance of extraordinary circumstances (apart from this postage stamp of a country standing up to much larger nations).

Throughout the book of Judges, the people will be closely tied to a leader. With a great leader, they remained faithful under God and without a leader, they went to pieces. Again, this is the concept of the spiritual Atlas. This concept, by the way, is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who would bear the sins of the world on His shoulders for the whole world.

John MacDuff (someone I know nothing about) wrote either a poem or a song or an essay about this; and I will quote a couple of stanza’s below:

John MacDuff’s “The True Spiritual Atlas”

The wrath of God; the terrible manifestation

of His displeasure at iniquity; was upon Jesus.

He was the true spiritual Atlas, bearing on

His shoulders the sins of a guilty world!

Jesus' sufferings were not calamities; they

were punishment judicially inflicted. There was

an eternity of woe was condensed into them!

Christ was the Sin Bearer, bearing not merely

the punishment of sin, but sin itself.

The entire text can be found at http://www.gracegems.org/03/atlas.html ; I have not read it all, but the little I have read appears to be accurate.

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Clarke sums this up: 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 fulfill 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. Clarke appears to be one of the few who sees Othniel’s role in Israel’s history as being more than just a general.

And so undisturbed was the land forty years and so died Othniel ben Kenaz.

Judges

3:11

Then the land remained undisturbed for forty years until [lit., and] Othniel ben Kenaz died.

Then the land had peace for forty years until Othniel ben Kenaz died.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so undisturbed was the land forty years and so died Othniel ben Kenaz.

Septuagint And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV ...and Israel was at peace until Othniel died about forty years later.

The Message The land was quiet for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ So there was finally peace in the land for 40 years. Then Othniel, son of Kenaz, died.

HCSB Then the land was peaceful 40 years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died.

JPS (Tanakh) ...and the land had peace for forty years.

When Othniel the Kenizzite died,...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Young’s Updated LT And the land rests forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz died.

What is the gist of this verse? There was peace in the land of Israel for 40 years. At some unspecified point in time, Othniel died.

Judges 3:11a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
shâqaţ (טַקָש) [pronounced shaw-KAHT]	to be quiet, to be undisturbed, to be inactive; to rest	3^rd person feminine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #8252 BDB #1052
It means to rest, to lie down, to have quiet. It is used of one who is never troubled, harassed, or infested by others, Judges 3:11 5:31 8:28; and of one who has no fear or dread, Psalm lxxvi 9. The meaning is, that he would not only have lain down, but would have been perfectly tranquil.
erets (ץ ∵ר ∵א) [pronounced EH-rets]	earth (all or a portion thereof), land, ground, soil	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong's #776 BDB #75
ar^ebâ׳îym (םי.עָר-א) [pronounced ar^e-BAW-ĢEEM]	forty	undeclined plural noun	Strong’s #705 BDB #917
shânâh (הָנָש) [pronounced shaw-NAW]	year	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #8141 BDB #1040

Translation: Then the land remained undisturbed for forty years... This simply means that there was no aggressive activity exhibited toward Israel by other nations. Israel enjoyed a time of peace. Had Israel followed the Law of Moses and continued to reject the gods of the people living among them, this peace would probably have continued for a much longer period of time.

Judges 3:11b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
mûwth (תמ) [pronounced mooth]	to die; to perish, to be destroyed	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #4191 BDB #559
׳Âth^enîyêl (ל̤אי.נ תָע) [pronounced ģoth-nee-ALE]	possibly lion of God; God is might; and is transliterated Othniel	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #6274 BDB #801
bên (ן ֵ) [pronounced bane]	son, descendant	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Q^enaz (ז-נ ק) [pronounced k^eNAHZ],	possibly side, flank; is transliterated Kenaz	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #7073 BDB #889

Translation: ...until [lit., and] Othniel ben Kenaz died. With regards to Othniel we are given precious little information. He judged over the land for forty years, but we know nothing about this, other than it followed a high successful campaign against the king of Mesopotamia, who had enslaved the Israelites for eight years. We know that he attacked and subdued Kiriath-sepher and gained the hand of Achsah, the daughter of Caleb through this victory. However, we still know very little about Othniel personally and there seem to be a dearth of situations peculiar to him found in the Bible. This lack of detail could reasonably mean that the writer of this portion of Judges was looking back into time and Othniel had become a footnote by the time of writing. This verse marks the end of a cycle for Israel. Actually, to be more accurate, this is the end of a cycle for whichever portion of Israel is being dealt with here. Barnes suggests that this is primarily the tribe of Judah. As you may recall from the book of Joshua, this is where Othniel lived. Where he lives does not limit his rulership to only Judah; furthermore, Cushan, if attacking, would probably have subdued eastern Israel first, and then central Israel. So it is possible that Othniel’s rule was limited; but it appears more likely to be widespread.

Also, this is a round number, meaning closer to forty than to fifty or to thirty, as we find throughout this book. Barnes suggests that forty years is roughly equivalent to a generation. Wesley suggests that this could even include a period of time in which Israel was enslaved, and that could be called a reasonable peace, but that is incorrect. This period of peace could not have included the previous slavery alluded to in Judges 3:8, as Israel cried out to God—that certainly does not suggest peace. If there is some period of servitude which follows this, that Wesley supposes is peace, bear in mind that some military action would have to precede that. Therefore, we may reasonably assume that this peace here, while not necessarily lasting exactly 40 years, was without invasion and without enslavement. Now, whether or not Israel gradually fell into idolatry during the last few years is a completely other subject, and a very likely scenario.

McGee writes of Othniel: the biography of Othniel was that he was the son of Kenaz, who was Caleb’s brother. The Spirit of God came upon him and he delivered the children of Israel from oppression. He died. In a very few verses we have the left and death of this man. He had a lot going for him, but there was no glamour or anything spectacular connected with his life. Most biographies are much like this. I met a man on the streets of Los Angeles, California, years ago who had written several fine biographies of Christian leaders of the past. He was working on a book about a present-day Christian leader, and I asked him how the work was coming along. He told me that he was having difficulty keeping the front page from rubbing against the back page. Apart from the birth and death of the man, there was little to say about him. Engraved on the tombstone of a dentist were the words: “Dr. John Smith filling his last cavity.” That no only applies to dentists but to the rest of us as well.

Matthew Henry makes some good points here:

Matthew Henry’s 5 Points on Othniel and the Deliverance of Israel

1. The deliverer: Othnield is the deliverer of Israel. Othniel, who married Caleb's daughter, was one of the old stock that had seen the works of the Lord; furthermore, had himself, no question, kept his integrity, and secretly lamented the apostasy of his people, but waited for a divine call to appear publicly for the redress of their grievances. He was now, we may suppose, far advanced in years, when God raised him up to this honour, but the decays of age were no hindrance to his usefulness when God had work for him to do.

2. His commission: Othniel receives his commission, not of man, nor by man; but the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him (Judges 3:10)—the spirit of wisdom and courage to qualify him for the service, and a spirit of power to excite him to it, so as to give him and others full satisfaction that it was the will of God he should engage in it.

3. His method: Othniel’s first steps are: he first judges Israel, reproves them, calls them to account for their sins, and reforms them, and then he goes out to war. This was the right method. Let sin at home be conquered, that worst of enemies, and then enemies abroad will be the more easily dealt with. Thus let Christ be our Judge and Law–giver, and then he will save us, and on no other terms (Isa. 33:22).

4. Othniel’s success: What good success he had. He prevailed to break the yoke of the oppression, and, as it should seem, to break the neck of the oppressor; for it is said, The Lord delivered Chushan-rishathaim into his hand. Now was Judah, of which tribe Othniel was, as a lion's whelp gone up from the prey.

5. The end result: The happy consequence of Othniel's good services. The land, though not getting ground, yet had rest, and some fruits of the reformation, forty years; and the benefit would have been perpetual if they had kept close to God and their duty.

I took many liberties with the text; this came from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible; from e-Sword, Judges 3:8–11.

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As Keil and Delitzsch rightfully point out, Othniel did not live exactly forty more years and die—coterminously with the peace and prosperity of Israel. Israel had forty years of rest and also Othniel died. It would not be unreasonable to suppose that those things did occur close in time to one another, but this is not something you could hang a time frame on. Furthermore, Othniel is probably an old man when all of this takes place.

Interestingly enough, Eusebius says that Othniel ruled Israel for 50 years. If this is the case, then it is more likely that he had this position of power while Cushan oppressed Israel.

Application: There are some people who wonder why their lives are so filled with pain and stress—for many of them, during the quiet portions of their lives, they do not pursue God. For the period of time when they could study God’s Word and pray for others and give and remain in fellowship—they don’t; they become way too busy with the things of this world. But then they act surprised when God puts some pressure on them. Your first priority every single day should be God’s Word—Bible doctrine. Then you fit everything else in. I can look back on my life and see a lot of wasted time and avenues which I pursued which lacked any real value—however, I do not regret one moment which I spend studying God’s Word while in fellowship. If you want to destroy the youth of your children, then neglect doctrine and do not teach them God’s Word. In this way, you will set your children up for war and, for many of them, an early death (those who survive will have unhappy marriages with adolescent children who rule over them).

Application: I personally know a Christian couple right now who just bought their new house, and they had to lie, cheat and steal to get it. They completely ignored a contract which they had signed. This is there time of peace; this is the time during which they could have been learning God’s Word; this could have been a time when they grew in grace and knowledge. I mentioned the Bible twice to the wife and she cut me off both times. Now, I have no idea what will happen, nor do I know for a fact that they are believers in Jesus Christ, although the wife says that they are. I do know that they have a Father in heaven, one who will discipline them (and possibly has been all along—Heb. 12:5–7).

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This gives us the pattern of this middle section of the book of the Judges Judges 3:7–16:31).
The Cycles of Israel’s Discipline and Deliverance
Action	Scripture 1^st Incident	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th	6^th
Israel falls into apostasy, in marrying with heathen men and women, and following after their gods (Judges 2:10–13 3:6).	Judges 3:7	3:12a	4:1	6:1a	10:6	13:1a
God’s anger becomes heated towards Israel and He sends an oppressor (or oppressors) into Israel, who takes tribute and causes great distress among the people (Judges 2:14–15, 20).	Judges 3:8	3:12b–14	4:2, 3b	6:1b–6	10:7–9	13:1b
Israel cries out to God (Judges 2:18).	Judges 3:9a	3:15a	4:3a	6:7	10:10
God hears Israel and sends them a savior (Judges 2:16).	Judges 3:9b	3:15b	4:4–9	6:8–24	11:1–6	13:2–25
The Spirit of the Lord comes upon God’s man to deliver Israel.	Judges 3:10a			6:34	11:29	13:25 14:6, 19
God delivers Israel, primarily through this savior who delivers Israel (Judges 2:16).	Judges 3:10b	3:15c–30a	4:10– 24 5:1–30	6:25–7:21	11:6–12:7	14–16
This savior often then rules over Israel, providing many years of peace to them.	Judges 3:11	3:30b	5:31b	7:22– 28		16:31
Israel falls back into apostasy (Judges 2:17, 19).	Judges 3:12a	4:1	6:1a	10:6	13:1

I skipped over the minor judges, e.g. Shamgar, Tola and Jair, where only a verse or so is given as history.

I should also point out that, although this is a general continuing pattern, each incident does not precisely fit that pattern. For instance, several of the judges are listed with only minimal history given (e.g., the years of oppression followed by the years of peace, with little else by way of information); and some do not fit the profile at all. Gideon, for instance, is offered the kingship over Israel; Gideon refuses, but one of his sons, Abimelech, seizes this power in a bloody coupe (he kills all of his brothers and half-brothers). Samson also barely fits the mold as well.

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Israel Falls into Discipline under Eglon, King of Moab

And so added sons of Israel to do the evil in a sight of Y^ehowah and strengthened Yehowah Eglon, a king of Moab over Israel because they had done the evil in a sight of Y^ehowah.

Judges

3:12

So the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of Y^ehowah so that Y^ehowah strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, over Israel because they had done evil in the sight of Y^ehowah.

However, the sons of Israel continued to do evil before Jehovah; therefore, Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab, over Israel as they committed evil in His sight.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so added sons of Israel to do the evil in a sight of Y^ehowah and strengthened Yehowah Eglon, a king of Moab over Israel because they had done the evil in a sight of Y^ehowah.

Septuagint 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.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Once more the Israelites started disobeying the LORD. So he let them be defeated by King Eglon of Moab,...

The Message But the People of Israel went back to doing evil in GOD's sight. So GOD made Eglon king of Moab a power against Israel because they did evil in GOD's sight.

REB Once again the Israelites did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord, and because of this he roused King Egon of Moab against Israel.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Once again, the people of Israel did what the LORD considered evil. So the LORD made King Eglon of Moab stronger than Israel, because Israel did what the LORD considered evil.

HCSB The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done what was evil in the LORD's sight.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

WEB The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: and Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh.

Young’s Updated LT And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengthens Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah.

What is the gist of this verse? Because Israel does evil in the sight of Jehovah God, He strengthens Eglon the King of Moab against Israel.

Judges 3:12a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yâçaph (ף ַס ָי) [pronounced yaw-SAHPH]	to add, to augment, to increase, to multiply; to add to do = to do again; to continue to	3^rd person masculine plural, Hiphil imperfect	Strong's #3254 BDB #414
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
׳âsâh (הָָע) [pronounced ģaw-SAWH]	to do, to make, to construct, to fashion, to form, to prepare	Qal infinitive construct	Strong's #6213 BDB #793
ra׳ (ע ַר) [pronounced rahģ]	evil, bad, wicked; evil in appearance, deformed; misery, distress, injury; that which is displeasing [disagreeable, unhappy, unfortunate, sad]	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #7451 BDB #948
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
׳êynayim (ם̣יַני̤ע) [pronounced ģay-nah-YIM]	eyes, two eyes, literal eye(s), spiritual eyes; face, appearance, form; surface	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #5869 (and #5871) BDB #744
Together, the bêyth preposition and ׳ayin literally mean in the eyes of; it can be understood to mean in the opinion of, in the thinking of, in the estimation of; as ____ sees things to be.
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: So the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of Y^ehowah... It is interesting that we are not given the nature of the evil which Israel does in the sight of Jehovah; however, we may reasonably assume that they again pursued the gods of the heathen around them. In fact, there may be no reason for this to be stated, as the expanded explanation is given back in Judges 3:7: And the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah: they forgot Jehovah their God and they served the Baals and the Ashteroth. Furthermore, we have a verb used here which indicates that this is a repeated action; they did this before, and now they are doing it again. Given the context, there is no other reasonable interpretation other than Israel went after other gods.

Judges 3:12b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
châzaq (ק ַז ָח) [pronounced khaw-ZAHK]	to bind someone with a girdle; to make strong, to strengthen; to fortify [a city]; to heal; to harden, to make obstinate	3^rd person masculine singular, Piel imperfect	Strong’s #2388 BDB #304
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
׳Eg^elôwn (ןלג∵ע) [pronounced ehg-LOHN]	calf-like; little calf; transliterated Eglon	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #5700 BDB #722
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572
Môwâb (בָאמ) [pronounced moh-AW^BV]	of his father; transliterated Moab	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #4124 BDB #555
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity	Strong’s #5921 BDB #752
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Cropped from http://www.anova.org/sev/atlas/htm/039.htm.

Translation: ...so that Y^ehowah strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, over Israel... All we know about Eglon, the king of Moab, will be found in this passage. There is a city or territory named Eglon in Joshua 10, which does not appear to be related to this Eglon or to the country of Moab.

We do not know exactly the mechanics of God strengthening Eglon; perhaps God put it into the head of Eglon to invade Israel; perhaps God even gave them confidence, strength and abilities—enough to challenge Israel. Perhaps his army had hit its stride. In any case, God strengthened Egon, and enough so, that Eglon will invade Israel and prevail against Israel.

Lot’s two daughters, back in Gen. 19, seduced their own father with liquor, in order to have children. One child was Moab and the other was Ammon. Ammon settled the territory east of Gad (Gad has the Jordan River as their western border); and Moab is immediately south of Reuben (who is immediately south of Gad). The Dead Sea separates Moab from Judah. Quite obviously, a map makes all of this easier to see.

Although Moab could have come around south of the Dead Sea, and entered into Judah from the south, my guess is they moved through Reuben and Gad first, and then across the Jordan River into center Israel. The next verse will confirm that.

Judges 3:12c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity	Strong’s #5921 BDB #752
kîy (י̣) [pronounced kee]	when, that, for, because	explanatory conjunction; preposition	Strong's #3588 BDB #471
I cannot find a proper meaning for the combination of these two particles; however, they are rendered but for (NASB); surely, for (Young); yea, for (KJV); yet, for (NKJV); because (ESV, HCSB, LTHB, KJV, MKJV, NASB, NRSV, WEB); because that (Young). Translations taken from Judges 3:12 Psalm 44:22.
׳âsâh (הָָע) [pronounced ģaw-SAWH]	to do, to make, to construct, to fashion, to form, to prepare	3^rd person plural, Qal perfect	Strong's #6213 BDB #793
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
ra׳ (ע ַר) [pronounced rahģ]	evil, bad, wicked; evil in appearance, deformed; misery, distress, injury; that which is displeasing [disagreeable, unhappy, unfortunate, sad]	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #7451 BDB #948
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
׳êynayim (ם̣יַני̤ע) [pronounced ģay-nah-YIM]	eyes, two eyes, literal eye(s), spiritual eyes; face, appearance, form; surface	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #5869 (and #5871) BDB #744
Together, the bêyth preposition and ׳ayin literally mean in the eyes of; it can be understood to mean in the opinion of, in the thinking of, in the estimation of; as ____ sees things to be.
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: ...because they had done evil in the sight of Y^ehowah. We already know what the Scripture means when it tells us that Israel does evil in the sight of Jehovah—Israel is involved in idolatry (at least in the context of the book of the Judges). What is more interesting is that we are given this phrase twice in v. 12. Just in case you did not get it, the reason that God strengthens Eglon against Israel is because of Israel’s idolatry. This is the emphasis of this verse.

Application: So, perhaps you have never had the desire to worship some idol; however, the key here is the focus and emphasis of the believer in Jesus Christ. Your idol may be the material things which you purchase; your idol may be your job; your idol may be the concept of love. If there is anything which is more important to you than Jesus Christ; if there is anything more important to you than the doctrine of God’s Word; then you have an idol; you are in idolatry.

Application: What you do has consequences; the actions which you are involved in have consequences. If you have any sort of relationship to the God of the Bible, the book of Judges makes it clear that you have certain responsibilities toward Him and that He will hold you to honorable behavior.

As mentioned before, God does not choose a righteous nation to discipline a righteous nation which has gone bad. He often prepares an evil nation. Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hands is My indignation. I will send it against a godless nation and commission it against the people of My fury—to loot and the seize their wealth and to trample them down like mud in the streets (Isa. 10:5–6; see also Isa. 45:1–6).

And so He gathered to Himself sons of Ammon and Amalek. And so He went out and so He struck down Israel and so they dispossessed the city of palms.

Judges

3:13

He gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek. He then went out and struck down Israel so that they dispossessed the city of palms.

Therefore, he gathered together the sons of Ammon and the Amalekites and then he allowed them to strike down Israel and to dispossess the city of palms.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so He gathered to Himself sons of Ammon and Amalek. And so He went out and so He struck down Israel and so they dispossessed the city of palms.

Septuagint And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV ...who had joined forces with the Ammonites and the Amalekites to attack Israel. Eglon and his army captured Jericho.

The Message He recruited the Ammonites and Amalekites and went out and struck Israel. They took the City of Palms.

NJB Egon in conjunction with the sons of Ammon and Amalek marched on Israel, beat them and captured the City of Palm Trees [Jericho, well within the territory of Benjamin].

NLT Together with the Ammonites and Amalekites, Eglon attacked Israel and took possession of Jericho.

REB Eglon mustered the Ammonites and the Amalekites, attacked Israel, and took possession of the city of palm trees.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Eglon got the Ammonites and the Amalekites to help him, and they defeated the Israelites and occupied the City of Palms.

HCSB After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms.

JPS (Tanakh) [Eglon] brought the Ammonites and the Amalekites together under his command, and went and defeated Israel and occupied the City of Palms.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible And [Egon] gathered to him the men of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and they possessed the city of palm trees [Jericho].

ESV He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms.

Young’s Updated LT And he gathers unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goes and strikes Israel, and they possess the city of palms.

What is the gist of this verse? Egon allied Moab with Ammon and Amalek and went into Israel and took possession of Jericho.

Judges 3:13a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
âçaph (ף ַס ָא) [pronounced aw-SAHF]	relocate, transfer, transport, gather, to gather and remove, to remove	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #622 BDB #62
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
׳Ammôwn (ן-ע) [pronounced ģahm-MOHN]	transliterated Ammon	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #5983 BDB #769
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
׳Amâlêq (ק̤לָמ-ע) [pronounced ģah-maw-LAYK]	transliterated Amalek	masculine proper noun; used infrequently as an gentilic adjective	Strong’s #6002 BDB #766

Translation: He gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek. He, in this verse, refers back to Egon, king of Moab. The Amalekites are descendants of Esau (the other son of Abraham) who lived primarily in the Negev and south of the Dead Sea. However, the Amalekites appear to be nomadic, so they could even be found due south of Moab. Furthermore, many Amalekites are apparently associated with the mountains of Ephraim (see Judges 12:15), which could be a result of this campaign. My point is, the Amalekites could be found in several different areas. The following may help with our understanding of the Amalekites:

And just in case you don’t look to the Doctrine of the Amalekites, let’s look at...

A Brief Summary of the Amalekites

1. The origins of the Amalekites are unknown. They seem to appear suddenly in Gen. 14:7, although there is also a mention of an Amalek being born to the family of Esau (Gen. 36:12, 16).

From http://www.anova.org/sev/atlas/htm/029.htm

2. They primarily occupied the area south of Judah, although they also made inroads to Ephraim. Gen. 14:7 Ex. 17:8 Judges 12:15 1Sam. 30:1–3

3. The Amalekites were the first nation to attack Israel when they came out of Egypt. They attacked Israel from the rear, where there were the tired, weak and sickly Israelites. It is possible that this attack was based on water rights, even though the water provided for the Israelites was from God. Ex. 17:8–16 Deut. 25:17–18

4. Because of this merciless and vicious attack, and because of the negative volition and anti-Semitism which this people exhibited over the years, God ordered their complete and total destruction (Deut. 25:19 1Sam. 15:2–3). Saul disobeyed God about completely destroying the Amalekites, which was the act of disobedience which marked the end of his dynasty. 1Sam. 15

5. David was troubled by the Amalekites when he was an expat in the territory of the Philistines. They raided his camp when he was gone and took his women and the things which he had accumulated over the past year or so. 1Sam. 30

6. The Amalekites were among the people which David struck down. 2Sam. 8:11–14 1Chron. 18:11

7. The Amalekites are not mentioned again until the time of Hezekiah (circa 700 a.d.), when the tribe of Simeon defeat them. 1Chron. 4:24

8. The last Amalekite that we here about is Haman, who is said to be descended from Agag (an unspecified Amalekite king). Haman, in the book of Esther, launches a plan to destroy all the Jews in Persia (a scheme thwarted by Esther and her uncle, Mordecai). Esther 3:1, 10 8:3, 5 9:24.

9. There is one historical theory which equates the Amalekites with the Hyksos dynasty in Egypt, but I personally do not buy into that, primarily because every time we run into the Amalekites in Scripture, they are over 100 miles away from Egypt and function more like Bedouins than like a people who have conquered a great nation.

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Ammon was northeast of Moab, as you can see on the map above. Being allied with Ammon suggests that Moab and Ammon went through Reuben and Gad and then crossed over the Jordan, which would bring them right to the site of Jericho, just as Israel had crossed over the Jordan and moved against the city of Jericho (Joshua 2–6).

The Moabites and the Ammonites were a result of Lot’s incestuous relationship with his daughters. The Doctrines of Moab and Ammon were covered back in Gen. 19:38. This doctrine may be found here: The Doctrine of Moab and Ammon (HTML) (PDF).

Here are a few points from the Doctrine of Moab and Ammon:

The Abbreviated Doctrine of Moab and Ammon

1. Lot was Abraham’s nephew. Although they went to the Land of Promise together, they eventually split up. Lot ended up in Sodom and Gomorrah. He was rescued from there by Abraham before God rained down fire and brimstone, destroying this degenerate people. He moved to a cave with his two daughters (his wife turned to a pillar of salt when she looked back upon this city), and these women decided that their prospects for husbands were poor. They moved from a vibrant and degenerate pair of cities off to no man’s land, and they were concerned that they would never have children. Today, they would have gone to a fertility clinic. However, what they did was, on two consecutive nights, they got their father drunk and had sex with him, and each bore a son, one’s name was Moab and the other was Benammi (son of Ammi). These two became the progenitors of the nations of Moab and Ammon. Gen. 19:30–38

1) It is important to recognize what is going on here. These women have either rejected the doctrine of right man/right woman or they do not know enough basic doctrine to even know this.

2) What these women did here was not only a degenerate mistake, but a complete rejection of what God is able to provide.

3) They looked at their situation—they used to live in this great and wonderful city with lots of men (this is from their viewpoint) and now they live in a cave with their father.

4) God is able to provide.

5) The focus of these women needs to be upon their own souls, not upon their immediate circumstances.

6) And example of such faith will be Ruth, a Moabite, whom we will study in this doctrine.

2. Fausset contrasts the people of Moab with the people of Ammon: Moab was probably the more civilized half of Lot's descendants; whence we read of the plentiful fields, hay, summer fruits, vineyards, presses, songs of those who tread grapes, of Moab (Isaiah 15 16 Jeremiah 48): Ammon the more fierce, plundering, predatory Bedouin–like half; whence we read of their threat of thrusting out the right eye of all in Jabesh Gilead (1Sam. 11:2), ripping up pregnant women in Gilead (Amos 1:13), treacherously murdering, as Ishmael, Baalis' agent, did (Jer. 40:14 41:5–7), suspecting and insulting their ally David to their own ruin (2Sam. 10:1–5 12:31).¹

3. Although Moab and Ammon had been kept from easily intermixing with the Jews for 10 generations (because of their treatment of the Jews when the Jews were going through the desert), this did not mean that a Moabite or an Ammonite could not come into Israel as a convert to worshiping Jesus Christ, the God of Israel. Deut. 23:2, 46 Neh. 13:2

4. After the Israelites had spend nearly 40 years in the desert wilderness, the began to move north along the King’s Highway east of the Dead Sea. Part of this involved going through the territories of Moab and Ammon. Num. 21:11–24

1) The King of the Moabites, Balak, became quite concerned about the Israelites moving through his territory (particularly since they had just conquered the Amorites), and he hired Balaam, who apparently was a believer in Jesus Christ and a prophet, to curse the Israelites. Balaam ended up blessing the Israelites instead. Num. 22–24 Joshua 24:8–10

2) God said that the people of Moab and Ammon should have met Israel with bread and water instead of with hostility. For this reason, Moab and Ammon would not enjoy a spiritual relationship with God side-by-side with the Jews. Deut. 23:2–5

3) When the Jews marched northward along the east side of the Dead Sea, they fought against the enemies of Moab and Ammon, and this should have engendered some good will from Moab and Ammon. However, overall, it did not.

4) However, the real problem was when the Israelite men became interested in the daughters (women) of Moab, and got involved in idolatry because of their desire for these women. Num. 25:1–9

5) Although there were wars with Moab and Ammon, God did not want Israel to take from them their land. Deut. 2:9, 19, 37

6) Because they are first cousins, Moab and Ammon should have been natural allies of the Jews. Furthermore, since God gave them plots of land and forbade Israel to take it, there should have been mutual respect between Israel, Moab and Ammon, if not an alliance. However, from the very beginning, Moab and Ammon treated Israel with contempt.

5. Because of Moses’ sin in the desert wilderness, he was not allowed to go into the land. However, God took him to a high mountain in Moab to see the land that God would give to Israel. He died there and was buried in a valley in Moab. Deut. 32:49–50 34:1, 5–6

6. There were hostilities between Israel and Moab and Ammon during the time of the Judges. The greatest problem of Israel was chasing after their gods. Judges 3 10–11

7. During the time of the Judges, an Israelite named Elimelech moved his family to Moab because of a famine in Israel. His two sons took for themselves Moabite women as wives. The father and his two sons died, and one of the wives, Ruth, went to Israel with her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth the Moabite eventually married a relative of Naomi’s, which paints a picture of Jesus Christ as our kinsman-redeemer (and, in this case, redeeming a Gentile). The Book of Ruth.

1) Ruth may have seen herself as in a hopeless situation.

2) She could have written off her mother-in-law, Naomi, as just some woman, because Ruth’s husband was dead.

3) However, Ruth believed in the God of Naomi, the God of the Jews, Jesus Christ.

4) She had faith to come with Naomi back to the Land of Promise.

5) Even though Ruth came to the Land of Promise as a foreigner (in the eyes of some) and as poor, God looked out for her.

6) God saw to it that she met and married her right man, a man that she probably loved more than Naomi’s son.

7) Ruth made man correct choices in her life, and these choices led her to a wonderful marriage with a noble man. Two of the choices were (1) she worshiped the God of Naomi and (2) she looked after her mother-in-law.

8) Ruth stands in stark contrast to the daughter of Lot, who believed that she needed to shortcut God’s plan. Lot’s eldest daughter rejected the God of Abraham, she rejected the doctrine of right man/right woman, and she had sex with her father in order to have a child. This is a woman out of control, without authority over her, and without a clear value system. Ruth, on the other hand, trusted in the God of Naomi, the God of Abraham, and God took care of her.

9) In the end, we do not even know the name of Lot’s daughter. However, we know who Ruth is and that she is in the line of Jesus Christ.

8. Saul developed a life-long fan club in Jabesh- Gilead by defeating Nahash the Ammonite, who threatened to not only enslave these people, but to gouge out their right eyes. 1Sam. 11

9. Saul faced many enemies early on, including wars with Ammon and Edom. He was a very successful warrior. 1Sam. 14:47–49

10. David and the Moabites and the Ammonites:

1) David, when being pursued by Saul, took his parents to the King of Moab for safekeeping. It is possible that the King of Moab did this because he was enemies with Saul; however, it is just as reasonable that, because he had been defeated by Saul, that he was more open to normalized relations with Israel. 1Sam. 22:3–4

2) David had to go to war against Moab and soundly defeated them. He killed some of their soldiers and made the others pay tribute. 2Sam. 8:2 1Chron. 18:2

3) David had an early run-in with the new King of Ammon, a son of Nahash, whose nobles turned him against David. Ammon brought in Syria as an ally so that Israel would have to fight on two fronts. David sent his two top generals to fight against Ammon and Syria and Israel was victorious. 2Sam. 10 1Chron. 19

4) While being disciplined for the Bathsheba incident (the wife of the soldier mentioned above), David’s army was still victorious over Ammon. The Ammonites were made slaves of David’s. 2Sam. 12:26–31 1Chron. 20:1–3

5) Interestingly enough, when David was on the run from Absalom (his son, as a part of the discipline for his affair with Bathsheba), Shobi, the son of Nahash the Ammonite (see 1Sam. 11), brought food and supplies to David and his army. 2Sam. 17:26–29

11. Some of the women who Solomon married or kept as mistresses were Moabite and Ammonite women. Such foreign women turned his heart away from God toward their heathen gods. Solomon build sanctuaries to Chemosh, a god of Moab and to Molech, a god of Ammon. Worship of these gods included human and even child sacrifice (although it is unclear whether it went that far with Solomon’s wives). 1Kings 11:1–3, 5–7

12. Solomon’s son Rehoboam, who reigned over the southern kingdom circa 931–913 b.c., was half-Ammonite. 1Kings 14:21, 31 2Chron. 12:13

13. There continued to be conflicts between Kings of Judah [Jehoshaphat (870–848 b.c.), King Joash (835–796 b.c.), King Uzziah (circa 767–740 b.c.), Josiah (640–608 b.c.), Jehoiakim (608–697 b.c.)] and Moab and Ammon. 2Chron. 20 24:23–27 26:8 27:5 2Kings 23:3–15 24:1–3

14. After Zedekiah (597–586 b.c.) rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar put Gedeliah in charge as governor of the few people who remained in the land. Several Jews who ran for their lives began to return from places like Moab and Ammon. The King of the Ammonites successfully plotted against Gedeliah. Jer. 40–41

15. The Prophets and Moab and Ammon:

1) Amos prophesies against Moab and Ammon. Amos 1:13–15 2:1–2

2) Isaiah prophesies about the destruction of Moab. This apparently would be fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar. Isa. 11:10–14 15–16 25:10

3) Zephaniah prophesies against Moab and Ammon, promising that they will be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Zeph. 2:8–9

4) Jeremiah prophesies against nations which have been against Israel, which includes Moab and Ammon. This appears to refer to the coming of Nebuchadnezzar as well as to the final judgment against Moab and Ammon in the end times (not to those nations in particular, but to nations which occupy those areas today and which nations display unrelenting hatred for Israel). Jer. 9:25–26 25:17–38 27:1–9 48 49:1–6

5) Ezekiel prophesies about the sword of Babylon coming into Jerusalem and Ammon. Ezek. 21:19–32 25:1–12

6) Daniel predicts the destruction of Moab and parts of Ammon. Dan. 11:41

16. A partial history of one Moabite King, Mesha, is found on what is called the Moabite Stone, which dates back to approximately 900 b.c.

The complete doctrine can be found at www.kukis.org/Doctrines/Moab_ammon.htm

¹ Andrew Robert Fausset, Fausset’s Bible Dictionary; from e-Sword, topic: Ammon (some slight editing).

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Judges 3:13b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
hâlak^e ( ַל ָה) [pronounced haw-LAHK^e]	to go, to come, to depart, to walk; to advance	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #1980 (and #3212) BDB #229
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
nâkâh (ה ָכ ָנ) [pronounced naw-KAWH]	to smite, to assault, to hit, to strike, to strike [something or someone] down, to defeat, to conquer, to subjugate	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect	Strong #5221 BDB #645
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: He then went out and struck down Israel... Notice that even though God uses the people of Edom, Ammon and Amalek, many of the verbs are in the masculine singular, meaning that Ehud went out to strike down Israel. With a strong leader, this is very common in the Hebrew.

Judges 3:13c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yârash (שַרָי) [pronounced yaw-RASH]	to possess, to take possession of, to occupy a geographical area [by driving out the previous occupants], to take possession of anyone [or their goods]; to inherit, to possess; to expel, to drive out	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #3423 BDB #439
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
׳îyr (רי ̣ע) [pronounced ģeer]	encampment, city, town	feminine singular construct	Strong's #5892 BDB #746
tâmâr (ר ָמ ָ) [pronounced taw-MAWR]	palm-tree, date-palm, Phoenix dactylifera; palms, palm trees	masculine plural noun	Strong’s #8558 BDB #1071

Translation: ...so that they dispossessed the city of palms. The city of palms here is probably Jericho (Deut. 34:3 2Chron. 28:15) or an adjacent site; and the Aramaic Targum so lists it as Jericho. Since Jericho had been fully dedicated to God, the city of Jericho no longer exists and the area was not given that name (see Joshua 6:24–26). Jericho was not fully rebuilt until the time of Ahab, but it possibly did exist as an unwalled village (1Kings 16:34). Or, again, it could have been an adjacent area which made use of the natural resources available to the original Jericho. Israel would not have fortified the city of Jericho because of the curse that Joshua had placed upon it. “Cursed before Jehovah is the man who rises up and build this city Jericho; with his first-born he will lay its foundation and with his youngest son, he will set up its gates.” (Joshua 6:26b). Since it was not fortified, it would be easy for Moab to take control of that area. Its occupation probably had more to do with the amount of area which was taken in by Edom, Ammon and Amalek and the extent of the inroads that they had made into Israel. We will find that central Israel was often struck by hostile countries.

Josephus suggests that Eglon here, in Jericho, had his royal palace; it is probable he built a fort or garrison here, to secure the fords of Jordan, and his own retreat; as well as to keep up a communication with his own people, and prevent the tribes of the other side giving any assistance to their brethren, if able and disposed to do it. Matthew Henry also suggests that the Moabites established a garrison here. This would give them control of the fords of the Jordan and provide an ideal intermediary place for collected tribute.

This is apparently a penetration of central Israel—that is, the territory of Benjamin and possibly Ephraim. Ammon bordered Manasseh, Gad and Reuben (the latter two on the east) and the Amalekites generally lived in the area south of Judah. These are not exactly neighboring tribes, but the Amalekites were nomadic, which could account for them being closer at this time. If the area of Jericho is the area which was taken, Egon’s army had to move between the lands of Gad and Reuben. Moab is immediately south of Gad and more or less between Ammon and the Amalekites (Edom is also in there). Since the previous portion of this chapter dealt with the fords of Jordan, we are talking probably the same exact area. Apparently the Ammonites and the Amalekites were either under Eglon’s rule or they were allied with him. We will see various other combinations of peoples in the chapters which follow.

And so served sons of Israel Eglon, king of Moab eighteen years.

Judges

3:14

And so the sons of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, for eighteen years.

So Israel served the king of Moab, Eglon, for a period of eighteen years.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so served sons of Israel Eglon, king of Moab eighteen years.

Septuagint So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Then he ruled Israel for eighteen years and forced the Israelites to pay heavy taxes.

The Message The People of Israel were in servitude to Eglon fourteen years.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ The Israelites served King Eglon of Moab for 18 years.

HCSB The Israelites served Eglon king of Moab 18 years.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Young's Updated LT And the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

What is the gist of this verse? The people of Israel (at least central Israel) are under the control of Eglon and therefore pay him tribute for 18 years.

Judges 3:14
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
׳âbad (ד ַב ָע) [pronounced ģaw^b-VAHD]	to work, to serve, to labor; to be a slave to	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #5647 BDB #712
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572
Môwâb (בָאמ) [pronounced moh-AW^BV]	of his father; transliterated Moab	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #4124 BDB #555
sh^emôneh (ה∵נֹמ ש) [pronounced sh^emoh-NEH]	eight	masculine singular numeral	Strong’s #8083 BDB #1032
׳âsâr (רָָע) [pronounced ģaw-SAWR]	ten; –teen [resulting in numbers 11–19]	masculine/feminine singular noun	Strong’s #6240 BDB #797
shânâh (הָנָש) [pronounced shaw-NAW]	year	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #8141 BDB #1040

Translation: And so the sons of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, for eighteen years. So we have a new generation of Israelites, many of whom had not known the subjection to Mesopotamia. However, they repeat the evil that their fathers did and they themselves are put under the thumb of another heathen nation.

Apparently, and some of this is conjecture, there were troops of Moab, Ammon and Amalekite that both occupied a portion of Israel and who stood guard at the fords of Jordan. Tribute was paid directly to the king of Moab. A trusted Israelite would bring the tribute to the Eglon. It is interesting that this was not done by his own men, but it is possible that they pilfered a portion of the tribute and that an Israelite would be less likely to do such a thing, as he could face immediate death under Eglon and the same from his fellow Israelites if they thought that he was pilfering from their tax monies.

It is not completely clear where Eglon is, in relationt to all of this. Did he remain in Moab after Israel had been defeated? Did he occupy the Moabite garrison near the Jordan River? Did they have another outpost set up on the other side of the Jordan? What I would postulate is, the country of Moab actually included a significant area directly across the Jordan from Jericho. Even though Moab is generally seen as being significantly south of where the Jordan feeds into the Dead Sea (see the Moab map); some of the verses which follow (Judges 3:28 specifically), makes it sound as though Moab is directly across the river from this garrison in the Jericho area. If we place Eglon across the river from Jericho or in Jericho, the narrative which follows makes more sense. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown also believe that Eglon resided in that area, in the fortifications established west of the Jordan.

The tribes herein involved were probably Benjamin and Ephraim; and possibly Judah. Recall the warning of Moses: “Because you did not serve Jehovah your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore, you will serve your enemies whom Jehovah will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.” (Deut. 28:47–48). Also, God gave a very similar warning to Israel: “And if by this discipline you are not turned to me but walk contrary to me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.” (Lev. 26:23–25). For those who knew the Word of God, none of these events should have caught them by surprise.

Application: We live during a time of historical trends; and, since the United States is a client nation to God, we face some of the same warnings and the same discipline which Israel faced. This is what you need to do: you need to get under a good, doctrinal teacher, and grow in grace and knowledge of the Word of God. Your political and moral views, and your proselytizing in these areas means very little; your faith in Jesus Christ, your knowledge of doctrine, and your obedience to the truth means everything.

Wesley comments about the time period that Israel was under Eglon’s rule: The former servitude lasted but eight years; this eighteen: for if smaller troubles do not the work, God will send greater. To some degree, I agree with this statement; however, the time of servitude will both increase and decrease in this book.

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Ehud Assassinates Eglon

And so cried sons of Israel unto Y^ehowah; and so cause to stand Y^ehowah for them a deliverer Ehud ben Gera a Benjamite [or, a son of the Jaminite = right hand], a man restricted a hand of his right. And so sent sons of Israel by his hand tribute to Eglon, king of Moab.

Judges

3:15

And then the sons of Israel cried out to Y^ehowah so that Y^ehowah caused a deliverer to take a stand for them: Ehud ben Gera, a son of Benjamin, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, by his hand.

Then the sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah so that Jehovah raised up another deliverer for them: Ehud, the son of Gera, a Benjamite who was left-handed. During their servitude, the people of Israel sent their tribute to Eglon, the king of Moab, by Ehud’s hand.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so cried sons of Israel unto Y^ehowah; and so cause to stand Y^ehowah for them a deliverer Ehud ben Gera a Benjamite [or, a son of the Jaminite = right hand], a man restricted a hand of his right. And so sent sons of Israel by his hand tribute to Eglon, king of Moab.

Septuagint But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite [or, the son of Jemini], a man left-handed [or possibly, ambidextrous] [Hebrew: shut of his right hand]: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

Significant differences: No significant differences. Because we are not completely positive of the meaning of one word in the Greek, the Greek either tells us that Ehud is ambidextrous or left-handed. The Hebrew, on the other hand, appears to be very clear that Ehud is restricted in the use of his right hand (which is probably an example of literary irony, rather than an indication that Ehud was partially lame or weak or simply could not use his right hand).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV The Israelites begged the LORD for help, and the LORD chose Ehud from the Benjamin tribe to rescue them. They put Ehud in charge of taking the taxes to King Eglon, but before Ehud went, he made a double-edged dagger. Ehud was left-handed, so he strapped the dagger to his right thigh, where it would be hidden under his robes. [vv. 15–16].

The Message The People of Israel cried out to GOD and GOD raised up for them a savior, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite. He was left-handed. The People of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon king of Moab.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help. The LORD sent a savior to rescue them. It was Ehud, a left-handed man from the tribe of Benjamin. (Ehud was the son of Gera.) The people sent him with their tax payment to King Eglon of Moab.

HCSB Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjaminite, as a deliverer for them. The Israelites sent him to Eglon king of Moab with tribute money.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Emphasized Bible And the sons of Israel made outcry unto Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up unto them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man left-handed,—and sons of Israel sent by his hand a present unto Eglon king of Moab.

ESV Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.

NASB But when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him [lit., his hand] to Eglon the king of Moab.

Owen's Translation But when cried the people of Israel to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up for them a deliverer—Ehud the son of Gera the Benjaminite a man bound (i.e., left-handed) (his right hand). Sent the people of Israel by him tribute to Eglon the king of Moab.

Young’s Updated LT And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raises to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite (a man—shut of his right hand). And the sons of Israel send by his hand a present to Eglon king of Moab.

What is the gist of this verse? After God raised up a man to oppress Israel, Israel cried out to God because of this oppression. God raises up for them Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite, to deliver them. He will personally carry the tribute to Eglon.

Judges 3:15a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
zâ׳aq (ק ַע ָז) [pronounced zaw-ĢAHK]	to cry out, to call, to cry	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #2199 BDB #277
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
el (ל∵א) [pronounced el]	unto; into, among, in; toward, to; against; concerning, regarding; besides, together with; as to	directional preposition (respect or deference may be implied)	Strong's #413 BDB #39
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: And then the sons of Israel cried out to Y^ehowah... As before, Israel, under great oppression, turns again to God, crying out to Him. Over and over again, it is clear in Scripture that, given our old sin natures, we often will not turn to God unless we are under pressure. We like to think that God ought to bless us and give us lots of stuff; however, when our lives are going well, we often turn away from God, as the Israelites did.

Judges 3:15b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
qûwm (םק) [pronounced koom]	to cause to raise up, to cause to stand, to establish, to fulfill; to uphold, to perform [a testimony, a vow, a commandment, a promise]	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect	Strong’s #6965 BDB #877
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217
yâsha׳ (עַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAHĢ]	deliverer, savior, saving; less literally, redeemer, rescuer, lifesaver, liberator	masculine singular, Hiphil participle	Strong’s #3467 BDB #446
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Êchûwd (דח̤א) [pronounced ay-HOOD]	united; transliterated Ehud	masculine singular, proper noun:	Strong's #261 BDB #26
bên (ן ֵ) [pronounced bane]	son, descendant	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Gêrâ (אָר̤) [pronounced gay-RAW]	a grain; transliterated Gera	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #1617 BDB #173
bên (ן ֵ) [pronounced bane]	son, descendant	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
y^emîynîy (י.ני.מי) [pronounced y^emee-NEE]	[my] right hand and is transliterated Jamite, Jamin, Yamin	gentilic adjective	Strong’s #3228 BDB #412
These two nouns taken together are sometimes rendered a Benjamite. Strong's #1145 BDB #122.

Translation: ...so that Y^ehowah caused a deliverer to take a stand for them: Ehud ben Gera, a son of Benjamin,... Gera was a descendant of Gera who was a descendant of Benjamin (1Chron. 8:3). Although he could be the grandson of Benjamin, he may have been further removed. However, Gera probably became the designation of a particular family or household because (1) Ehud cannot be the great grandson of Benjamin (who was alive approximately 530 years previous); and, (2) Shimei, a Benjamite and a contemporary of David, who lived about 400 years after Ehud, is also called a son of Gera in 2Sam. 16:5 19:17. Of course, these could be different Gera’s, but the usage suggests that it is a family name. Probably, Gera is a son of Bela, Benjamin’s firstborn; and that he represents a family or clan in the Benjamites (see Gen. 46:21 1Chron. 8:3, 6).

That Ehud is a Benjamite, is not some arbitrary thing; but most reasonable here, as Eglon is encroaching on Benjamite territory. He would be stirred up because Eglon is on his land specifically.

What God did is the Hiphil imperfect of to establish, to fulfill, to cause to stand, to perform a testimony, a vow, a commandment, a promise (Gen. 6:18 17:7 26:3 Num. 30:14). In the Hiphil, it is translated variously as support and give assent (The Amplified Bible), confirm (KJV, NASB, Owen), uphold (RSV, NIV), establish (The Emphasized Bible, Young). In Psalm 78:5, we find it rendered established (Owen), raiseth up (Young) and set up (The Emphasized Bible). What Jehovah causes to stand up on their behalf is the Hiphil participle of deliverer, savior. I was expecting to see this word a great deal in the book of Judges, but it only occurs four times in the Hiphil participle.

Ehud is pronounced ā-HOODI have in my notes that it means red hair, but I cannot confirm that. Gesenius suggests joining together (what a great name for a kid), and BDB and Strong both suggest that it means united.

You will note two things in this narrative: first, we are beginning to look at the Hebrew again more carefully than before. That means that the vocabulary and sentence structure has changed somewhat and has some nuances that will cause us to look more carefully. Secondly, we are getting a rather detailed explanation of what transpired—much more detailed than any narrative up to this point. That would indicate that our original author was Ehud and that his narrative was pretty much kept intact.

Judges 3:15b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
îysh (שי ̣א) [pronounced eesh]	a man, a husband; anyone; a certain one; each, each one, everyone	masculine singular noun (sometimes found where we would use a plural)	Strong's #376 BDB #35
iţţêr (ר̤.א) [pronounced iht-TARE]	bound, impeded (on the right, i.e., left-handed); shut, shut up	masculine singular adjective	Strong’s #334 BDB #32
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular construct	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
yâmîyn (ןי ̣מָי) [pronounced yaw-MEEN]	the right hand, the right side, on the right, at the right; the south	feminine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #3225 BDB #411

Translation: ...a left-handed man. The difficult word here is the adjective found only twice in the Bible (this passage and Judges 20:16), and it means bounded, restricted; it means, with the words that follow, restricted as to his right hand (in other words, he’s left-handed). This does not mean or imply that Ehud is crippled in any way, as the same designation is used of 700 Benjamite slingers in Judges 20:16. What follows is the feminine construct of hand and the feminine singular noun his right hand, his right side. I don’t know whether being left-handed was an oddity or whether this somehow figures into the story here (he will conceal a dagger on his right side). That some soldiers were left-handed is mentioned also in Judges 20:15, where approximately 1 out of 37 Benjamite soldiers were left-handed. I am thinking that this was pointed out more in literary irony, as Benjamin means son of my right hand. This is something which is lost in my nearly literal translation (as well as in any other English translation); however, my very literal translation reveals this irony.

Judges 3:15c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
shâlach (ח ַל ָש) [pronounced shaw-LAKH]	to send, to send for [forth, away], to dismiss, to deploy, to put forth, to stretch out	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #7971 BDB #1018
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
This combination of the bêyth preposition and hand means with him; through him, by me, by means of him; at his hand [i.e., before him, in his sight].
minchâh (הָח׃נ ̣מ) [pronounced min-HAWH]	tribute offering, gift, present; sacrifice, bloodless offering; [a general term for] offering	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #4503 BDB #585
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
׳Eg^elôwn (ןלג∵ע) [pronounced ehg-LOHN]	calf-like; transliterated Eglon	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #5700 BDB #722
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572
Môwâb (בָאמ) [pronounced moh-AW^BV]	of his father; transliterated Moab	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #4124 BDB #555

Translation: And the sons of Israel sent tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, by his hand. What Ehud brought to Eglon was a tribute offering, a gift, a present. The tribute was the annual (or semi-annual) payment to Moab—you might want to think of it as mob protection money, as that is the gist of it. That portion of Israel was under the dominance of Moab, and therefore had to pay them tribute, taxes or protection money. To be fair, when Israel dominated a particular country or area, that country would bring Israel tribute as well (2Sam. 8:2, 6 deals with Moab bringing tribute to King David; see also 1Kings 4:21 2Kings 17:3).

The words his hand (actually one word and a suffix) are preceded by the bêyth preposition, which can be be translated in, among, into, against, with, at, through, by. Although bêyth usually indicates proximity, here it refers to instrumentality, therefore we render it by.

Again, this is also somewhat of a play on words. Ehud, a son of my right hand, is restricted in his right hand, and carries Eglon’s tribute in his hand (his left hand?). Despite what is to come, the language found here is almost playful.

Now, an interesting question is where did all of this take place? Moab itself is south of Reuben and east of the Dead Sea. As you read further, I will give you an argument as to why Eglon did not live in the midst of Israel, but it might bear examining the possibility that he did live within the borders of Israel and quite possibly in a palace which he had built in Jericho (or directly across the river from the Jericho garrison). He may have been a king of Moab, or a leader of Moab, although not necessarily the king of Moab. Israel’s only contact would be with him. He had troops stationed at the fords of the Jericho and in the general area of Jericho up to Gilgal. Tribute would be brought directly to him in Jericho from the Israelites and overseen by his own troops. Under these circumstances, Eglon would have split the land by his very occupation, the north from the south and the east from the west. It was a very strategic position, as long as all of Israel did not rise up against him as one man.

And so made for himself Ehud a sword and to her two [or pair] of mouths, a half-cubit of her length. And so he girded her under his clothes upon his right thigh.

Judges

3:16

So Ehud constructed for himself a sword with two edges, a half-cubit in length. Then he strapped it onto his right thigh under his clothes.

Now Ehud had constructed a double-edged nine-inch sword, which he strapped to his right thigh under his tailored clothing.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so made for himself Ehud a sword and to her two [or pair] of mouths, a half-cubit of her length. And so he girded her under his clothes upon his right thigh.

Septuagint But Ehud made him a two-edged dagger of a cubit length; and he fastened it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

Significant differences: The translation here was not word-for-word, but all of the essential elements of each sentence is there. The Greek did the same as almost every English translation—instead of having lengthy and to her [the dagger] a pair of edges; they simply used the adjective two-edged. So, although there are some differences with the individual words, there does not appear to be any difference in the meaning of the two manuscripts.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

The Message Ehud made himself a short two-edged sword and strapped it on his right thigh under his clothes.

NLT So Ehud made himself a double-edged dagger that was eighteen inches long, and he strapped it to his right thigh, keeping it hidden under his clothing.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Ehud made a two-edged dagger for himself. He fastened it to his right side under his clothes.

HCSB Ehud made himself a double-edged sword 18 inches long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes ...

JPS (Tanakh) So Ehud made for himself a two-edged dagger, a gomed in length, which he girded on his right side under his cloak.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Emphasized Bible So Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length,—and girded it under his rainment, upon his right thigh.

NASB And Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak.

LTHB And Ehud made a sword for himself, and it had two edges, a cubit in length. And he girded it under his long robe, on his right thigh.

Young’s Updated LT And Ehud makes for himself a sword, and it has two mouths (a cubit is its length), and he girds it under his long robe on his right thigh.

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud manufactures himself a two-edged dagger which he hides under his clothes, strapping it to his thigh.

Judges 3:16a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
׳âsâh (הָָע) [pronounced ģaw-SAWH]	to do, to make, to construct, to fashion, to form, to prepare	3^rd person plural, Qal perfect	Strong's #6213 BDB #793
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	No Strong’s # BDB #510
Êhûwd (דה̤א) [pronounced ay-HOOD]	I will give thanks; I will be praised; undivided, united; transliterated Ehud	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong's #164 BDB #13
chereb (ב∵ר∵ח) [pronounced khe-RE^BV]	sword, knife, dagger; any sharp tool	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #2719 BDB #352

Translation: So Ehud constructed for himself a sword... The Jews did not seem to have much to do with weapon making. Now, at some point in their history, the Philistines kept them from being able to manufacture iron weapons (1Sam. 13:19). At this point in time, it is unlikely that the Israelites had iron weapons as a whole. This was possibly made out of brass.

Judges 3:16b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition; with the 3^rd person feminine singular suffix	No Strong’s # BDB #510
sh^enêy (י̤נ ש) [pronounced sh^en-Ā]	two, two of, a pair of, a duo of	dual numeral construct	Strong’s #8147 BDB #1040
peh (ה∵) [pronounced peh]	mouth [of man, animal; as an organ of speech]; opening, orifice [of a river, well, etc.]; edge; extremity, end	masculine plural noun	Strong’s #6310 BDB #804
gômed (ד ∵מֹ) [pronounced GO-mehd]	a half-cubit, a short cubit; 9–15 inches	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #1574 BDB #167
This is the Hebrew word gômed (ד ∵מֹ) [pronounced GO-Med], which should be translated short cubit. 13–15 inches long is the estimation of some translations (e.g., The New English Bible); some estimate even as short as half a cubit (which seems likely, as measures are often done as nice, even fractions of other measures). Strong’s #1574 BDB #167. This is the only place where we find this particular word. The word usually translated cubit is ammâh (ה ָ ַא) [pronounced ahm-MAW], and it means cubit (18 inches). Strong’s #520 BDB #52.
ôrek^e (∵רֹא) [pronounced OH-reck]	length; forbearance, self-restraint	masculine singular noun; with the 3^rd person feminine singular suffix	Strong’s #753 BDB #73

Translation: ...with two edges, a half-cubit in length. Let’s first of all look at the length of this sword. You read that it is a cubit, and like me, you immediately thought 18 inches, which is not altogether correct. One of the very helpful features of The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament is an index in back which gives us the English word and then tells us which Hebrew words are translated with that same English word. The word here is gômed (ד ∵מֹ) [pronounced GO-Med], which should be translated half-cubit or short cubit. 13–15 inches long is the estimation of some translations (e.g., The New English Bible); some estimate even as short as half a cubit (which seems likely, as measures are often done as nice, even fractions of other measures). Strong’s #1574 BDB #167. This is the only place where we find this particular word. The word usually translated cubit is ammâh (ה ָ ַא) [pronounced ahm-MAW], and it means cubit (18 inches). Strong’s #520 BDB #52.

I want you to think about the history of Israel at this point. They marched into the Land of Promise and took it by warfare (for the most part), although we are not really given much information about the weapons which they used. However, it should be clear that swords and spears are going to be reasonably long, and that Israel probably has some of these weapons remaining. What Israel would not have would be short daggers; there is just no call for a weapon which has such a limited or specified use on the battlefield. In the wild west, this would be like having a derringer; once in a great while, you’d use one, as they were easy to hide; but the average person certainly would not own one.

Ehud is fashioning such a dagger. This is a special, one-use dagger. It needs to be small enough to hide on his person. When people have swords, it will be obvious. A sword is not something which a person can easily hide. Therefore, Ehud needs to make a dagger small enough to hide, a long enough to kill. What he constructs here is possibly a unique weapon in Israel, designed for a more covert operation.

What this sword or dagger has two of is the masculine plural of peh (ה∵) [pronounced peh], which means mouth. Bullinger, although he is usually sensible and straight on what he covers, says that a sword with two mouths refers to a sword which has killed a lot of people. This simply refers to a sword with two blades or two edges, and accounts for the fact that many translators do not translate the word as mouth but as edge.

Judges 3:16c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
châgar (רַג ָח) [pronounced khaw-GAHR]	to belt, to cinch, to gird, to encircle, to bind, to tie, to rope, to fasten around [onself]	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #2296 BDB #291
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	sign of the direct object with a 3^rd person feminine singular suffix	Strong's #853 BDB #84
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, away from, out from, out of from, off, on account of, since, above, than, so that not, above, beyond, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
tachath (ת ַח ַ) [pronounced TAH-khahth]	underneath, below, under, beneath; instead of, in lieu of; in the place [in which one stands]; in exchange for; on the basis of	preposition	Strong’s #8478 BDB #1065
Min + tachath together mean below, beneath, from under, from beneath and it is used of those that were under anything and came out from there.
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
maddîym (םי. ַמ) [pronounced mahd-DEEM]	measure, cloth garment, outer garments; armored coat; carefully tailored clothing; a thick piece of cloth; a leather garment, a carpet	masculine plural noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #4055 BDB #551
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity	Strong’s #5921 BDB #752
yârek^e (∵רָי) [pronounced yaw-REK^e]	thigh, inner thigh; loin, side, base; shaft; uterus, reproductive system	feminine singular construct	Strong's #3409 BDB #437
yâmîyn (ןי ̣מָי) [pronounced yaw-MEEN]	the right hand, the right side, on the right, at the right; the south	feminine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #3225 BDB #411

Translation: Then he strapped it onto his right thigh under his clothes. Next thing we ought to wonder is what the hell is all this girding crap? The Bible often uses the imagery of the sword devouring a people, so its edges are spoken of as mouths, but I was never a big fan of the King James’ term girding. This is the Qal imperfect of châgar (ר ַג ָח) [pronounced khaw-GAHR], and BDB gives the meanings to gird, to gird on, to gird onself; and the imperfect means that the action is incomplete or on-going—i.e., we still got girding going on. This is used of the action of a verb in conjunction with putting on a belt or the rope of a robe, so, rather than fall into a total gird-fest, we could also render this belt, cinch, encircle, bind, tie, rope, strapped. In other words, insofar as the English language goes, the best rendering of this word is gird.

What Ehud was wearing was masculine plural of measure, cloth garment, outer garment. I am thinking that because this is so close to the verb measure and since this is sometimes rendered as measure, that this is more like tailored clothing rather than what they would buy off the rack at Target. Sometimes the clothing worn out to war was called by this name; but it had to be specially tailored so that it did not get in the way and provided the protection that it need to provide. It is possible the some special tailoring was done in this case in order to hide the weapon Ehud would be carrying.

The NIV Study Bible suggests that being left-handed, Ehud was able to conceal this dagger on his right thigh where no one we think to check for it. I don’t think that I buy that, as, if it were important, then that would have been mentioned in this narrative. Barnes suggests that right leg would be the proper place for a sword for a lefty (it was probably on the inside of his right thigh). Barnes also suggests that this would give him the appearance of being unarmed; however, with the sword being on the inside thigh, that alone would hide the sword. I think the reason that this dagger is mentioned as being on his right thigh is simply a detail, so that we better get the picture of what is going on.

For some reason, the odd weapons used throughout the book of the Judges appear to be improvised for the situation at hand.
The Odd Weapons Used in the Book of Judges
Judge/Weapon-User	Weapon	Details	Scripture
Ehud	A personally crafted, two-edged dagger	Ehud needed something that he could surreptitiously carry.	Judges 3:16, 21–22
Shamgar	Oxgoad	He killed 600 Philistines with this oxgoad.	Judges 3:31
Jael	Tent peg	Her victim would be asleep—she would kill the commander of the Canaanite army.	Judges 4:21–22
Gideon	Jars and torches	These items were used to make it seem as if Gideon were leading a large army.	Judges 7:19–20
Some woman	A millstone	Abimelech was a son of Gideon who viciously took power in Israel essentially as Israel’s first king. This heartless murderer was taken down by a woman who push a millstone down on him from a top a tower.	Judges 9:52–54
Samson	The Jawbone of a donkey	This is what Samson had quick access to in a crisis situation.	Judges 15:14–16
Samson	A Philistine outdoor theater	Samson was blinded and used as sport by the Philistines. His last act was to disturb the pillars which held up a portion of the building, and this came crashing down on thousands of Philistines.	Judges 16:28–30

Application: What God the Holy Spirit is explaining to us is, God can use anyone at anytime and He can use whatever they have at their disposal. It does not matter what the national or the world situation is; it does not matter how degenerate or how moral your society is; it does not matter who you are, how important or how relatively unimportant you are; God is able to use you and He is able to use me, despite our failings.

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And so he brought near the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, and Eglon a man fat very.

Judges

3:17

Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon (now Eglon was a very fat man).

Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon, who was a very fat man.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so he brought near the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, and Eglon a man fat very.

Peshitta And he brought the present to Eglon king of Moab; and King Eglon was a simple-minded man.

Septuagint And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very attractive man.

Significant differences: The adjective used to describe Eglon in the LXX means of the city; of polished manners; attractive, comely. In the Hebrew, the corresponding word means fat, well-fed, overly-fed. The Latin agrees with the Hebrew; the Syriac uses the descriptor simple-minded. The context of this verse suggests that fat is the correct understanding of this adjective.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Ehud and some other Israelites took the taxes to Eglon, who was a very fat man.

The Message He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Eglon was grossly fat.

NLT He brought the tax money to Egon, who was very fat.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Then he brought the tax payment to King Eglon. (Eglon was a very fat man.)

HCSB ...and brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was an extremely fat ma.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

WEB He offered the tribute to Eglon king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat man.

Young's Updated LT And he bringeth near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon is a very fat man.

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud personally brings the tribute to Eglon. It is not clear how much he had or what it was, but Ehud does not simply drop it off at the front door. The text also tells us that Eglon is a very fat person.

Judges 3:17a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
qârab (ב ַר ָק) [pronounced kaw-RA^BV]	to cause to approach, to bring [draw] near, to bring, to offer; to bring together; to cause to withdraw, to remove	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect	Strong #7126 BDB #897
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
minchâh (הָח׃נ ̣מ) [pronounced min-HAWH]	tribute offering, gift, present; sacrifice, bloodless offering; [a general term for] offering	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #4503 BDB #585
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
׳Eg^elôwn (ןלג∵ע) [pronounced ehg-LOHN]	calf-like; transliterated Eglon	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #5700 BDB #722
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572
Môwâb (בָאמ) [pronounced moh-AW^BV]	of his father; transliterated Moab	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #4124 BDB #555

Translation: Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon... We don’t really know how often the tribute was brought nor do we know what its form was. I would think that some of the tribute would be cattle, sheep, and part of their harvest; and that another portion would be something which Eglon has specified—such as gold or silver, which would have been gotten through the sale of their cattle or produce.

Just as one man might be a metonym for an entire army, so Ehud here might be an metonym for himself and those who helped bring all of the tribute to Eglon. Although Josephus tells us that Ehud had two servants with him, I would guess that any amount of stuff brought on a monthly basis (or less often) is going to require more than three men to handle it.

This particular verb, when used between men, generally involves contact or being within sight of one another. The very context suggests that Ehud was in the same room with Eglon.

Judges 3:17b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
׳Eg^elôwn (ןלג∵ע) [pronounced ehg-LOHN]	calf-like; transliterated Eglon	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #5700 BDB #722
îysh (שי ̣א) [pronounced eesh]	a man, a husband; anyone; a certain one; each, each one, everyone	masculine singular noun (sometimes found where we would use a plural)	Strong's #376 BDB #35
bârîy (אי .רָ) [pronounced baw-REE]	fat, healthy, well-fed; firm; plenteous	masculine singular adjective	Strong’s #1277 (& #1274) BDB #135
The Peshitta tells us that Eglon here is a simple-minded man; the LXX calls him very attractive. The Masoretic text is correct, given the context (see v. 22).
m^eôd (דֹא ׃מ) [pronounced m^e-ODE]	exceedingly, extremely, greatly, very	adverb	Strong’s #3966 BDB #547

Translation:...(now Eglon was a very fat man). I don’t recall anyone else in the Bible being spoken of as being fat other than Eglon here. Since there was no photography, no newspapers per se, this would be something observed by an eyewitness. This verse, along with several which will follow, indicate that this is an eyewitness account.

And so he was as which he finished to bring near the tribute and so he sent away the people carrying the tribute.

Judges

3:18

And it was, when he completed bringing near the tribute, that he sent away the people carrying the tribute.

After he finished bringing in the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

As usual, the concept is simple, but the vocabulary and sentence structure are not quite as simple. Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic text And so he was as which he finished to bring near the tribute and so he sent away the people carrying the tribute.

Septuagint And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV As soon as they gave the taxes to Eglon, Ehud said it was time to go home.

The Message After Ehud finished presenting the tribute, he went a little way with the men who had carried it.

NLT After delivering the payment, Ehud sent home those who had carried the tax money.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ When Ehud had finished delivering the payment, he sent back the men who had carried it.

HCSB When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried it.

JPS (Tanakh) When [Ehud] had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had conveyed the tribute.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Emphasized Bible And so it was when he had made an end of offering the present that the sent away the people who had been bearing the present;...

MKJV And when he had finished offering the present, he sent away the people who carried the present.

NASB And it came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

Young’s Updated LT And it comes to pass, when he has finished to bring near the present, that he sends away the people bearing the present.

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud dismisses those who brought the present to him.

Judges 3:18a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
hâyâh (ה ָי ָה) [pronounced haw-YAW]	to be, is, was, are; to become, to come into being; to come to pass	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #1961 BDB #224
kaph or k^e ( ׃) [pronounced k^e]	like, as, according to; about, approximately	preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #453
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
Together, kaăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא ַ) [pronounced kah-uh-SHER] means as which, as one who, as, like as, just as; because; according to what manner. Back in 1Sam. 12:8, I rendered this for example.
kâlâh (ה ָל ָ) [pronounced kaw-LAWH]	to complete, to finish; to prepare; to come to an end; to consume, to waste, to destroy, to annihilate; to make pine away	3^rd person masculine singular, Piel perfect	Strong's #3615 BDB #477
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
qârab (ב ַר ָק) [pronounced kaw-RA^BV]	to cause to approach, to bring [draw] near, to bring, to offer; to bring together; to cause to withdraw, to remove	Hiphil infinitive construct	Strong #7126 BDB #897
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
minchâh (הָח׃נ ̣מ) [pronounced min-HAWH]	tribute offering, gift, present; sacrifice, bloodless offering; [a general term for] offering	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #4503 BDB #585

Translation: And it was, when he completed bringing near the tribute,... The first verbs is the 3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect of to be. Without a specific subject and object, it often means and it will come to be, and it will come to pass, then it came to pass (with the wâw consecutive). Most translators, because we have a main verb here, understand this verb to be used in a temporal sense: it is rendered when (KJV, NASB, NRSV, Owen, Rotherham, Young—in fact, the verb to be is ignored by the KJV and Owen); and after (NAB, NIV, REB, all of which also ignore the verb).

The impression given is that this was quite a ritual. That is, the Israelites did not come with this crappy attitude and throw the stuff down at the feet of Eglon, and say, “Yeah, we got your tribute—right here.” This would be brought as one would bring a series of wedding gifts. These things would be presented to the king directly, as they were primarily for him and his army, and only indirectly for the country over which he ruled.

Bear in mind that the king does not have tax collectors (as we find in Roman times); so whatever is brought to the king must please him. Those bringing this tribute to the king must also ingratiate themselves to the king. No one should demonstrate a sorry attitude toward those who determine whether they will live or die. Furthermore, Ehud needs to have Eglon comfortable with him. He must sell Eglon on this offering; that they brought enough.

Clarke tells us: Presents, tribute, etc., 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.

We may expect that outside the palace walls are flocks and herds as well as produce which had also been brought and inventoried. Given Ehud’s corpulent body, he was probably satisfied to hear a report of what was outside, and he focused on whatever items were brought into the palace for him personally.

Judges 3:18b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
shâlach (ח ַל ָש) [pronounced shaw-LAKH]	to send, to send off, to send away, to dismiss, to give over, to cast out, to let go, to set free, to shoot forth [branches], to shoot [an arrow]	3^rd person masculine singular, Piel imperfect	Strong’s #7971 BDB #1018
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
׳am (ם ַע) [pronounced ģahm]	people; race, tribe; family, relatives; citizens, common people; companions, servants; entire human race; herd [of animals]	masculine singular collective noun with the definite article	Strong’s #5971 BDB #766
nâsâ (אָָנ) [pronounced naw-SAW]	those lifting up, bearers, those carrying; the ones exalting; those taking away	masculine plural, Qal active participle	Strong’s #5375 (and #4984) BDB #669
minchâh (הָח׃נ ̣מ) [pronounced min-HAWH]	tribute offering, gift, present; sacrifice, bloodless offering; [a general term for] offering	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #4503 BDB #585

Translation: ...that he sent away the people carrying the tribute. Before and after this verse, he refers to Ehud; and, in the English, we would require this pronoun to also refer to Ehud. It is possible that Eglon dismissed the servants who went into the palace with him, but it appears as though he will be outside the palace walls himself in the next verse.

And he himself turned back from the sculptured idols which [was] near the Gilgal and so he said, “A word secret for me unto you, O king.” And so he said, “Silence.” And so went from by him all those attending to him.

Judges

3:19

And he himself turned back from the carved images which [were] near Gilgal. [After reentering the palace], he said, “A private word from [lit., by] me unto you, O king.” Therefore, he [the king] said, “Silence!” Then all those attending to him went out from him.

As he passed the idols from Gilgal, Ehud turned around and said to the king, “I have a private message for you, O king.” The king said, “Hush.” Then he dismissed those who attended to him.

Although this Hebrew is not nearly as complex as that found in the book of Job, it is not altogether as simple as Joshua’s either. Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And he himself turned back from the sculptured idols which [was] near the Gilgal and so he said, “A word secret for me unto you, O king.” And so he said, “Silence.” And so went from by him all those attending to him.

Peshitta But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message to impart to you, O king.” And the king said to those who were present, “Get away from here.” And all that stood by him went out.

Septuagint But he himself turned again from the graven images that were by Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret word to you, O king.” And Eglon spoke to all among them, and all that stood by him went out from him.

Significant differences: Brenton really gives us a rendering of the MT rather than the LXX, so I had to fix this in the translation. The Peshitta is a little more wordy, and those around him are told to get away (in the Hebrew, they are told to be silent). In the Greek, there does not appear to be a quotation for what is said by Eglon.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Ehud went with the other Israelites as far as the statues at Gilgal. Then he turned back and went upstairs to the cool room where Eglon had his throne. Ehud said, "Your Majesty, I need to talk with you in private." Eglon replied, "Don't say anything yet!" His officials left the room, and Eglon stood up as Ehud came closer. "Yes," Ehud said, "I have a message for you from God!" [vv. 19–20).

The Message But when he got as far as the stone images near Gilgal, he went back and said, "I have a private message for you, O king." The king told his servants, "Leave." They all left.

NEB ...and he himself turned back from the Caved Stones at Gilgal. ‘My lord king,’ he said, ‘I have a word for you in private.’ Eglon called for silence and dismissed all his attendants.

NJB ...but he himself, on reaching the Idols which are near Gilgal, went back and said, ‘I have a secret message for you, O king.’ The king commanded silence, and all his attendants withdrew.

NLT But when Ehud reached the stone carvings near Gilgal, he turned back. He came to Eglon and said, “I have a secret message for you.” so the king commanded his servants to be silent and sent them all out of the room.

REB ...while he himself turned back from the Carved Stones at Gilgal. ‘My lord king,’ he said, ‘I have a message for you in private.’ Egon called for silence and dismissed all his attendants.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ However, Ehud turned around at the stone idols near Gilgal and returned to Eglon. He said, "Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you." The king replied, "Keep quiet!" Then all his advisers left the room.

HCSB At the carved images near Gilgal he returned and said, "King Eglon, I have a secret message for you." The king called for silence, and all his attendants left him.

JPS (Tanakh) But he himself returned from Pesilim, near Gilgal, and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.” [Eglon] thereupon commanded, “Silence!” So all those in attendance left his presence;...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Emphasized Bible ...but he himself turned back from the images that were by Gilgal and said, A secret word have I unto thee, O king! And he said—Silence! Thereupon went out from his presence all who had been standing near him.

NASB But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him.

ESV But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." And he commanded, "Silence." And all his attendants went out from his presence.

LTHB And he himself turned back from the carved images at Gilgal, and said, I have a secret word for you, O king. And he said, Be silent! And all those standing beside him went out from him.

WEB But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand to you, king. He said, Keep silence. All who stood by him went out from him.

Young’s Updated LT And he himself has turned back from the graven images which are at Gilgal, and says, “A secret word I have unto you, O king;” and he says, “Hush!” and go out from him do all those standing by him.

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud turned back once they got to the graven images which were in Gilgal. He returned to the king, gains audience, and tells the king, “I have a private thing to say to you.” The king tells those around him to be quiet, and he sends them out of the room.

To read the English of The Emphasized Bible or the NASB, you might wonder what is the big deal? However, when you read Young’s, you begin to see that there are some difficulties hidden in the Hebrew.

Judges 3:19a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
hûw (אה) [pronounced hoo]	he, it; himself as a demonstrative pronoun: that, this	3^rd person masculine singular, personal pronoun	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
shûwb (בש) [pronounced shoo^bv]	to return, to turn, to turn back, to reminisce, to restore something, to bring back something, to revive, to recover something, to make restitution	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect	Strong's #7725 BDB #996
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, off, out from, out of, away from, on account of, since, than, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
p^eçîylîym (םי ̣לי ̣ס׃) [pronounced p^esee-LEEM]	carved images, graven images, idols; sculpted stones; stone quarries; carved stones	masculine plural noun with the definite article	Strong’s #6456 BDB #820
I do not think that this word necessarily needs to refer to stone anything, as Moses tells the Israelites to burn the p^eçîylîym back in Deut. 7:5.
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	with, at, near, by, among, directly from	preposition (which is identical to the sign of the direct object); with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #854 BDB #85
Together, ăsher êth literally mean which [is] with. I’m not sure if there is a more specialized meaning. Other translations give the meanings that [was] beside [it]; beside [it]; in [it]; along with [it].
Gil^egâl (לָ ׃ל̣) [pronounced gil^e-GAWL]	sacred circle of stones and is transliterated Gilgal	proper noun, location with the definite article	Strong’s #1537 BDB #166

This is a picture I took in Thailand, June 2004.

Translation: And he himself turned back from the carved images which [were] near Gilgal. This is Ehud, who, after leaving the palace (probably situated just the other side of the Jordan), turns back. It is reasonable that he and his men receive a small guard which belongs to the king to go with them. Possibly at the point at which the Moabite guard are going to return, Ehud himself turns back to return to Eglon.

This occurs in Gilgal by the masculine plural noun carved images, graven images, idols. Gesenius suggest that these might be stone quarries; Owen renders this sculptured stones as does the NRSV; the REB translates this word carved stones. Its verb cognate means to carve, to cut, to hew into a shape. I would tend to disagree, as Moses tells the Israelites to burn the p^eçîylîym (the Hebrew word) back in Deut. 7:5. What we have here are probably graven images, made of stone and/or wood; and they were likely placed sort of like guards. These were probably placed by the Moabite government to indicate that the residence of the king was near. When I was in Thailand, one of the things which I noticed were the carved, demonic images; in armor and with weapons; these come to mind when I read this verse.

I should point out that this word is interpreted by some to mean quarries; which is how the KJV render this word. Therefore, there are several commentaries which go off on this, explaining the quarries, where they were and how they are used. However, in the KJV, this is the only passage where this term is rendered quarries; it is rendered graven images (or words to that effect) everywhere else (for instance, Deut. 7:5, 25 12:3 2Kings 17:41 2Chron. 33:19 34:7 Psalm 78:58). The translation quarries apparently comes from the Aramaic targums, and even the NKJV renders this word here as images. For that reason, I will not go into any of the commentary about quarries at this point. .

At this point, we have several possible options as to what is going on exactly.

Options to Consider in Judges 3:19

1. The location of Eglon’s residence: this is either in Gilgal (which seems to be the most likely) or we are directly across the Jordan River in what would be Moabite country at that time (given v. 28, this is less likely). Judges 3:28 sounds as if Eglon and his soldiers are cut off from crossing back over the Jordan, placing them west of the Jordan in Gilgal.

2. The images mentioned here are probably demonic images set out by the Moabites near to the king’s residence. However, these could be images which were produced in Israel and brought to Eglon as part of the tribute. One might even suppose that these are images brought in from Gilgal, but the Hebrew does not support this interpretation.

3. It is possible that King Eglon accompanies Ehud to the exterior of his palace, and walks him to these images which surround his palace in Gilgal. However, I think that Eglon, given his girth, probably remained in his palace. What Ehud will say will be said to Eglon after Ehud reenters the palace.

Sometimes, we make false assumptions as we read through a passage. Personally, when I first exegeted this passage, I saw Eglon as living in the capital city of Moab, where Moab is generally found on a map—cross the Dead Sea from Judah. I also had assumed that Ehud turns back and, that same instant, said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Making these assumptions confused the narrative. It made it sound as if Ehud traveled 20 miles, and then turned his head and yelled back to the king, “Hey, one more thing I need to visit with you about.” When you read a passage, you must read it critically, and avoid making assumptions.

Return to Chapter Outline

Return to Charts, Maps and Short Doctrines

From the remainder of the chapter, it appears as though all of this takes place in the palace of the king, Eglon. The presentation would no doubt be done in the palace, with all those attending the king looking on. At this point, it is unclear as to whether the palace of the king is at Gilgal or across from Gilgal. I believe the former to be true, as Ehud’s soldiers, in v. 28, will cut them off from the fords of the Jordan River, trapping their enemies on the west bank.

Judges 3:19b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
The chief function of the wâw consecutive is to mark the continuation of a piece of narrative or discourse over at least one but more often several stages. The sequence they establish is essentially chronological, though not necessarily one of strict succession. This sequence of frequently logical as well.
âmar (ר ַמ ָא) [pronounced aw-MAHR]	to say, to speak, to utter; to say [to oneself], to think	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #559 BDB #55
dâbâr (רָבָ) [pronounced daw^b-VAWR]	word, saying, doctrine, thing, matter, command	masculine singular construct	Strong's #1697 BDB #182
çêther (ר ∵ת ֵס) [pronounced SAY-ther]	a covering, a hiding place, secrecy, privately	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #5643 BDB #712
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to, with reference to, as to, with regards to; belonging to; by	directional/relational preposition with the 1^st person singular suffix	No Strong’s # BDB #510
el (ל∵א) [pronounced el]	unto; into, among, in; toward, to; against; concerning, regarding; besides, together with; as to	directional preposition (respect or deference may be implied); with the 2^nd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #413 BDB #39
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572

Translation: [After reentering the palace], he said, “A private word from [lit., by] me unto you, O king.” The connective here is the wâw consecutive, which generally means and this happened next when found in a narrative. It does not mean that Ehud said this 30 seconds after turning around. In other words, it is not necessary for Eglon to be with him, walking him out, as it were, for this to all fit together. It is just as reasonable that Ehud turns around, and returns with the Moabite guard (or, by himself if there are no Moabite soldiers accompanying him), gains legitimate entrance into the palace, and then speaks out to the king.

It is easy to misread some narrative portions of Scripture. The first time I read this, in my mind, I saw Ehud turning around, and speaking to Eglon, saying, “I have a private word to speak with you;” which makes little sense, if Egon is inside his palace and Ehud is standing next to the carved images in Gilgal.

The construct of word is modified by the masculine noun the masculine substantive of a covering, a hiding place, secrecy, privacy. After this, we have the lâmed preposition and the 1^st person singular suffix. Lâmed generally means to, for, with reference to; but here it means belonging to. Mîn would not be used here, as the message was not from Ehud. Then we have unto you, the king, indicating that Ehud is speaking directly to Eglon. So far, we have: And he himself turned back from the sculptured idols which [were] in Gilgal. [Upon reentering the palace, he said, “A word secret for me unto you, O king.”

I would think that Ehud has ingratiated himself to Eglon, and that there is a reasonable trust built up. Eglon is probably not fooled into thinking that he has a friend for life, but some people like to gravitate toward others who are powerful or who are winners. This can supercede family and national ties, and Eglon probably assumed that is what was going on here—that is, he has probably assumed the Ehud is impressed by, or attracted to his power and position. Eglon might have guessed that this had to do with a revolution fomenting in Israel, which Ehud would reveal to him; or perhaps Ehud knew something about the personal servants of Eglon, which Eglon needed to know. The Israelites also had a peculiar relationship with Jehovah God, which could be related to what Ehud was going to tell Eglon. Whatever the reason, Eglon was intrigued.

So that you get the picture here, what we could reasonably assume is: Eglon has built himself a palace in Gilgal (probably), and there are fords across the Jordan from this palace in order to go back and forth between his newly conquered kingdom and Gilgal. There are some statues or carved images outside the Gilgal palace; possibly on the periphery of the estate. Either these are images which the Israelites brought to Eglon, or these are images which Eglon had set up at the perimeter of his palace, thinking that they would act as guards of the gods to protect his palace. Given that Israel has likely turned away from idolatry, my assumption here would be that these images had not been delivered by Ehud, but had been brought from Moab to Gilgal by Ehud himself (or they were images brought by Israel in previous tributes).

Judges 3:19c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
âmar (ר ַמ ָא) [pronounced aw-MAHR]	to say, to speak, to utter; to say [to oneself], to think	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #559 BDB #55
hâç (סָה) [pronounced haws]	hush, keep silence, silence	interjection; possibly the Piel imperative of a verb; pausal form	Strong’s #2013 BDB #245
BDB rightfully suggests that it is onomatopoetic (it is not too different from our shhh).

Translation: Therefore, he [the king] said, “Silence!” Get the picture in your mind. This is like Christmas. The Jews are looking to appease the Moabites; and, in this case, throw them off guard. Therefore, they are going to bring a large tribute—not so large as to cause suspicion, but large enough to distract Eglon and his palace guard. So, after all of the stuff has been delivered, and Eglon has made it clear which stuff is his, there would have been quite a commotion of the palace guard as to who gets what and what gets shipped back to their families and friends; so there is going to be a lot of noise in the palace. Bear this in mind when Eglon takes Ehud to his private room, apart from all of this. There is stuff all over the place; there are guards discussing and arguing as to who gets what; and King Eglon is going to decide, “let’s just take this meeting in my study” (v. 20).

There is another way to look at this: the king tells Ehud to be silent, and they will speak of this in a more private place. In any case, they are going to speak in a private room, perhaps upstairs and even outside on the roof. The king apparently had a private area where, if the door was closed, then no one was to enter. There appears to be a toilet of sorts there as well, possibly indicating some kind of a sewage system.

Matthew Henry comments about this private audience which Ehud will have with the king: Whether he expected to receive some private instructions from an oracle, or some private information concerning the present state of Israel, as if Ehud would betray his country, it was a very unwise thing for him to be all alone with a stronger and one whom he had reason to look upon as an enemy; but those that are marked for ruin are infatuated, and their hearts hid from understanding; God deprives them of discretion.

Judges 3:19d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yâtsâ (אָצָי) [pronounced yaw-TZAWH]	to go out, to come out, to come forth; to rise; to flow, to gush up [out]	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #3318 BDB #422
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, away from, out from, out of from, off, on account of, since, above, than, so that not, above, beyond, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #5920, #5921 BDB #752
Together, they mean from upon, from over, from by, from beside, from attachment to, from companionship with, from accompanying [in a protective manner], from adhesion to
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all of, the entirety of, all; can also be rendered any of	masculine singular construct followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
׳âmad (ד ַמ ָע) [pronounced ģaw-MAHD]	those taking a stand, the ones standing [nearby], remaining ones; attendants	masculine plural, Qal active participle	Strong's #5975 BDB #763
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #5920, #5921 BDB #752

Translation: Then all those attending to him went out from him. Ehud has just asked for a private audience with Eglon and Eglon orders his attendants to leave the room. Because all of this tribute has just been brought in, this will not necessarily eliminate all of the noise and discussion taking place.

We’ve discussed several options for where Eglon’s palace actually is; let’s deal with them one at a time:
Where is Eglon’s Palace?
Location	Pros	Cons
Ar (or some other major city in Moab proper)	This is where we would expect the king of Moab to live.	This is too far from where all this action seems to be taking place. Ehud would have spent more than a day traveling and turning around at the statues of Gilgal (if they were from Gilgal, that would be a different matter—but the text does not support that).
A city east of the Jordan, established by Eglon	Undoubtedly, Moab increased her borders and took in some of the area along the coast of the Dead Sea. This would be an ideal place for a palace, as it would be between the two kingdoms.	Ehud would have crossed the Jordan River first, and then decided he needed to go back and speak to Eglon. Judges 3:28 sounds as though the Moabite army is trapped on the west side of the Jordan.
Gilgal (or near Gilgal)	A garrison set up in Gilgal, just on the west bank of the Jordan, would be as an ideal as directly on the other side. In fact, it would be even more imposing to Israel. For Ehud to turn around at the statues of Gilgal would make the most sense, as these were probably set around the palace as a guard of sorts.
Jericho	Establishing a garrison in Jericho would have not been a problem for Eglon, as he would not worry about what Jehovah God had warned the Jews. Josephus suggests that this is where Eglon’s residence is.	For Ehud to go past the statues of Gilgal (vv. 19, 26), he would be traveling east, toward the Jordan, which makes little sense for a Benjamite, whose territory is in the opposite direction.

A royal garrison established in (or around) Gilgal seems to make the most sense here.

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Perhaps Ehud put on some sort of an act, as though he saw a vision of sorts and had to share it immediately with Eglon. However, there is nothing in the passage to suggest that Ehud turned around at the statues and then spoke directly to Eglon. Ehud speaking to Eglon could have followed sometime later.

The NIV Study Bible suggests that these could have been statues of Eglon, which were used at times to demarcate the boundary of a country. This means that these statues could have been set up in Gilgal to demarcate the land which belonged to Eglon.

So, what we have is Ehud leaves the palace, goes for some distance, and then returns. The king, oblivious to danger or threat (Ehud probably made him feel quite at ease when he delivered the tribute to him), allows Ehud into his private chamber.

Let me also propose that perhaps Ehud did not strap the knife on until the second visit to the palace of Eglon. He may have been thoroughly checked the first time but not the second. The text does not demand this; however, this would help to explain why Ehud leaves and then returns. On the other hand, this may have been the easiest way for Ehud to return alone, and, therefore, seem to be even less of a threat. Ehud has already engraciated himself to the king; he has already made the king feel comfortable in his presence. Although we are given no details in this regard, Ehud may have turned on the charm and made Eglon feel comfortable and at ease with him.

Eglon sends away those who are around him, attending to him. Eglon is so full of himself, besides being full of McDonald’s hamburgers, that he does not suspect a thing. In fact, he convenes with Ehud in an even more private area. The final sentence in the Hebrew, where his servants go out, is not found in the Septuagint (note the NEB translation).

Barnes suggests a more circuitous scenario. Eglon, being the king and a fat man, is certainly not going to walk with Ehud beyond the royal chambers. Barnes suggests that, on being escorted by the servants of Eglon to the statues near Gilgal, that Eglon turns around and speaks to one of the servants of Eglon, who secures another audience with Eglon. He is admitted to Eglon’s private quarters, which is probably an open air summer room on top of the palace. Barnes also suggests that the ruse about getting the king to rise would be to insure that the thrust of the sword might be sure to kill Eglon. What does make some sense is, in a sitting position, it would be more difficult for Ehud to fatally stab Eglon. At least, death would not occur quickly. However, if Eglon is standing, it will be easier for Ehud to penetrate his stomach with a deadly blow. I don’t know if I completely I agree with Barnes or not, but I present his take as another point of view which could be correct.

And Ehud came to him and he was sitting in a roof chamber of coolness which to him for alone his. And so said Ehud, “A word from God for me unto you.” And so he arose from upon the seat.

Judges

3:20

Ehud came to him and he was sitting in a cool, roof chamber which [was] for him for himself alone. Then Ehud said, “A word from God through me unto you.” Then he arose from upon the chair.

When Ehud came to him, he was sitting in the cool, roof chamber, which was for the king alone. Then Ehud said, “I have a word from God for you.” Then Ehud arose from his chair.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And Ehud came to him and he was sitting in a roof chamber of coolness which to him for alone his. And so said Ehud, “A word from God for me unto you.” And so he arose from upon the seat.

Septuagint And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlor [Hebrew: a parlor of cooling], which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, “I have a word from God unto you.” And he arose out of his seat.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

The Message Ehud approached him—the king was now quite alone in his cool rooftop room—and said, "I have a word of God for you." Eglon stood up from his throne.

NLT Ehud walked over to Egon as he was sitting alone in a cool upstairs room and said, “I have a message for you from God!” As King Eglon rose from his seat,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Ehud came up to him as he sat alone in his room on the roof. He said to the king, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his throne,...

HCSB Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his room upstairs where it was cool. Ehud said, "I have a word from God for you," and the king stood up from his throne.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." And he arose from his seat.

Young’s Updated LT And Ehud has come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he has for himself, and Ehud says, “A word of God I have unto you;” and he rises from off the throne.

What is the gist of this verse? They both retired to Eglon’s private chamber, which was for Eglon alone. Ehud tells Eglon that he has a word from God for him, and Eglon rises up from his throne to hear it.

There are several words found in the next few verses for various rooms and words which describe these rooms; it may be good for us to get a grasp of what these words means first, and then move into the text.
The Various Rooms of Eglon’s Palace
Hebrew Word	BDB	Gesenius	Strong’s	Additional Commentary
׳ălîyâh (הָ.לֲע) [pronounced ģuh-lee-YAW]; a feminine singular noun	roof-room, roof chamber BDB #751	upper chamber, loft on the roof of a house; a ladder, ascent by steps	something lofty, that is, a stair way; also a second story room (or even one on the roof); figuratively the sky: - ascent, (upper) chamber, going up, loft, parlour Strong’s #5944	This is a fairly common word found throughout the Old Testament. What is clear is, this definitely describes something which is upstairs or upon a roof.
cheder (ר ∵ד ∵ח) [pronounced KHEH-dehr]; a masculine singular noun	chamber, room, parlour, innermost or inward part, within BDB #293	a chamber, an inner apartment (of a house or a tent); a bed chamber, a bridal chamber, a store room; used metaphorically as in chambers of the south, chambers of the heart, chambers of death	From H2314; an apartment (usually literally): - ([bed] inner) chamber, innermost (-ward) part, parlour, + south, X within Strong’s #2315 (and #2316)	This is a very common word in the Hebrew, and seems to be used primarily for a private room, e.g., a bedroom.
m^eqêrâh (הָרֵק ׃מ) [pronounced m^ekay-RAW]; a feminine singular noun	coolness, cooling BDB #903	refreshing, cooling	From the root Strong’s #7119 (an adjective); a cooling off: - X summer Strong’s #4747	This word is only found twice in this passage (vv. 20, 24) and used to modify the two words above.
mîç^ed^erôwn (ןר ׃ ׃ס ̣מ) [pronounced mis^ed^e-ROHN]; a masculine singular noun	porch, colonnade (meaning dubious) BDB #690	a portico; so called from the columns standing in rows; from the root meaning order, row	From the root Strong’s #5468; a colonnade or internal portico (from its rows of pillars): - porch Strong’s #4528	Found only in Judges 3:23

Ehud and Eglon will meet in his roof room; in his upper chamber; once modified by the word for cool, cooling. Ehud will kill Eglon there and lock the doors to this room.

Ehud will leave this upper room and lock the doors behind him, and enter into the porch; the meaning of this word is dubious, as it is found only here. What appears to be the case is, wherever Ehud leaves from, it involves walking by some pillars, or in a room with pillars, or perhaps a room or area supported by pillars. This could mean that he leaves by the upper porch; that he leaves by a separate entrance perhaps designed only for exit; or he leaves through a room where there are pillars holding up the room where he kills Eglon. Of all the words here, this gets the most discussion, as it is the most difficult to pin down.

Eglon’s servants will not go into Eglon’s study, assuming that he is defecating in his private room of cooling, which indicates that there is a bathroom of sorts as a part of his upstairs study. The word used here can be used for any sort of private room and has metaphorical uses as well.

Since two of these words are rarely found, it is possible that the root of these words is found in the Moabite language; or that they describe rooms peculiar to Moabite construction and not found in Jewish homes or palaces.

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Judges 3:20a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
Êhûwd (דה̤א) [pronounced ay-HOOD]	I will give thanks; I will be praised; undivided, united; transliterated Ehud	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong's #164 BDB #13
bôw (א) [pronounced boh]	to come in, to come, to go in, to go, to enter	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect	Strong’s #935 BDB #97
el (ל∵א) [pronounced el]	unto; into, among, in; toward, to; against; concerning, regarding; besides, together with; as to	directional preposition (respect or deference may be implied); with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #413 BDB #39

Translation: Ehud came to him... Eglon leads him into his private chamber, which today might be a study; at that time, it was probably more of a summer room.

Judges 3:20b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
hûw (אה) [pronounced hoo]	he, it; himself as a demonstrative pronoun: that, this	3^rd person masculine singular, personal pronoun	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
yâshab (בַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAH^BV]	inhabiting, staying, remaining, dwelling, sitting	Qal active participle	Strong's #3427 BDB #442
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
׳ălîyâh (הָ.לֲע) [pronounced ģuh-lee-YAW]	roof-chamber, upper room; cool and secluded roof chamber; a ladder, a way of ascent	feminine singular construct	Strong’s #5944 BDB #751
m^eqêrâh (הָרֵק ׃מ) [pronounced m^ekay-RAW]	coolness, refreshing	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #4747 BDB #903
This passage in Judges is the only place where it is found, but there are several cognates from which we can derive its meaning.
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	No Strong’s # BDB #510
bad (דַ) [pronounced bah	separation, by itself, alone	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #905 BDB #94
Together, the lâmed preposition and bad (ד-ב) mean in a state of separation, by itself, alone, apart.

Translation: ...and he was sitting in a cool, roof chamber which [was] for him for himself alone. Where he was sitting is described by the feminine construct roof-chamber, cool and secluded roof chamber.

The NIV: Rooms were built on the flat roofs of houses (2Ki 4:10–11) and palaces (Jer 22:13–14), and had latticed windows (2Ki 1:2) that provided comfort in the heat of summer .

This is followed by the definite article and the feminine singular coolness. This is the only passage where it is found, but there are several cognates from which we can derive its meaning. This is followed by which to him to and then we have the masculine noun separation, by itself, alone. This gives us: And Ehud came to him and he was sitting in a roof chamber of coolness which to him for himself for his alone. So they were apparently in the midst of Eglon’s palace. His servants have been temporarily dismissed, and then they took the stairway to the roof for the king’s private chamber. Apparently it was much more comfortable up there with respect to temperature, and more private.

Interestingly enough, it does not sound as if they enter this place together; it sounds as if Eglon goes up, takes a seat, and then summons Ehud (who might be led in my a servant, who would then exit, closing the door). I think the idea here is, this is a very cool room, and Eglon, with a throne in this room as well, wants to give Ehud the full visual effect of seeing him in this cool room on the throne. I am just speculating here, but that does seem to be the gist of the text.

There are a variety of opinions of what this room happens to be, so let me list them below:
Various Opinions Concerning this Room of Cooling
Commentator	Description
Clarke	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 [rooms] the Arabs call oleah, which exactly answers to the Hebrew word 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 Egon. 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.
Gill	Somewhat nearer him than he was before; it seems probable that Eglon retired from the presence chamber, where he received company, into his summer parlour; which was smaller and more private, and in which he had used to be alone, as follows, and where Ehud went in unto him, as he directed him: This summer parlour [is a room] which he had for himself alone; into which he was wont to go and sit alone, for the sake of coolness and refreshment in the hot season of the year, which it seems it now was. In this room, as Kimchi and others observe, were many windows to let in air to cool and refresh; or it was in such a part of the palace that was cool, and sheltered from the heat of the sun.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown	[The Hebrew here reads a] "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.
Keil and Delitzsch	The “room of cooling” (Luther, Sommerlaube, summer-arbour) was a room placed upon the flat roof of a house, which was open to the currents of air, and so afforded a cool retreat, such as are still met with in the East (vid., Shaw, pp. 188-9).
Kukis	I personally see this as a roof retreat, or a room on the highest floor with great open windows so as to allow great, natural air flow. This is a private room, its entrance being a door which can be closed. Also, it appears as though Eglon has a toilet up there.
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge	[The Hebrew reads:] a parlour of cooling. The aleeyah, or upper chamber, seems to have been of the same description as the oleah of the Arabs, but properly ventilated, described by Dr. Shaw, who says, that to most of their houses there is a smaller one annexed, which sometimes rises one story higher than the house; at other times, it consists of one or two rooms only, and a terrace; while others that are built, as they frequently are, over the porch or gateway, have, if we except the ground floor, which they want, all the conveniences that belong to the house itself. There is a door of communication from them into the gallery of the house; besides another, which opens immediately from a private staircase, down into the porch or street, without giving the least disturbance to the house. In these back houses strangers are usually lodged and entertained; and to them likewise the men are wont to retire from the noise and hurry of their families, to be more at leisure for mediation or diversions. See Amos 3:15.

Although this is certainly more information than you need, I think we can agree on several things: (1) The room was private, behind a door, which was not to be opened simply out of curiosity or matters of little urgency. (2) This room is cooler than the rooms in the main palace. (3) This room possesses a toilet of sorts which was used by Eglon.

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Judges 3:20c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
âmar (ר ַמ ָא) [pronounced aw-MAHR]	to say, to speak, to utter; to say [to oneself], to think	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #559 BDB #55
Êhûwd (דה̤א) [pronounced ay-HOOD]	I will give thanks; I will be praised; undivided, united; transliterated Ehud	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong's #164 BDB #13
dâbâr (רָבָ) [pronounced daw^b-VAWR]	word, saying, doctrine, thing, matter, command	masculine singular construct	Strong's #1697 BDB #182
ělôhîym (מי̣הֹלֱא) [pronounced el-o-HEEM]	gods, foreign gods, god; God; rulers, judges; superhuman ones, angels; transliterated Elohim	masculine plural noun	Strong's #430 BDB #43
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition; with the 1^st person singular suffix	No Strong’s # BDB #510
el (ל∵א) [pronounced el]	unto; into, among, in; toward, to; against; concerning, regarding; besides, together with; as to	directional preposition (respect or deference may be implied); with the 2^nd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #413 BDB #39

Translation: Then Ehud said, “A word from God through me unto you.” Ehud had not been as specific before. He simply had said that he had a private message for the king, which could have been anything—even an intelligence report on the state of Israel and any possible activities that they might be up to. However, Ehud tells him that it is a message (or, word) from God.

Although Josephus tells us that Ehud said he had a dream to share with Eglon, there is no real Scriptural or contextual justification for that view.

Judges 3:20d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
qûwm (םק) [pronounced koom]	to stand, to rise up, to get up; to establish, to establish a vow, to cause a vow to stand, to confirm or to fulfill a vow	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #6965 BDB #877
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, away from, out from, out of from, off, on account of, since, above, than, so that not, above, beyond, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity	Strong’s #5920, #5921 BDB #752
Together, they mean from upon, from over, from by, from beside, from attachment to, from companionship with, from accompanying [in a protective manner], from adhesion to
kiççê (א ֵ̣) [pronounced kis-SAY]	throne, seat of honor; seat of judgment	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #3678 BDB #490

Translation: Then he arose from upon the chair. It is uncertain as to who gets up and walks over to whom. The seat which is gotten out of is the masculine singular of kîççê (א ֵ ̣) [pronounced kis-SAY], which can mean throne, seat of honor; but it can also mean a seat of judgment. In other words, we do not know who is getting up here. At first, I thought that it is Ehud who gets up and walks over to Eglon. However, I think we might better understand this as Eglon standing up from the throne where he was sitting. Since the text first tells us that Ehud comes into this cool room and Ehud is sitting, it would make more sense for Eglon to be the one who rises up. Israel is known for its contact with a powerful God, One Who has done great signs. So, this gets Egon’s attention and interest, so much so as to cause him to stand up to listen. We have also previous discussed that this actually makes Eglon an easier target for a death blow.

A reasonable question is, why is Egon, an idolater, so interested as to get up out of his chair? After all, Eglon, with the help of his gods, defeated Israel and, presumably, Israel’s God. The God of Israel was fascinating to ancient men, as their God seemed to take part in historical events. Eglon may have been superstitious and placed some faith in the carved images scattered around his palace, but he was not aware of his gods ever having an historical impact like the God of Israel. Throughout the ancient world, they knew of the God of the Jews and what had occurred in Egypt only a century or so earlier. No local god had this kind of influence or impact. No local god seemed to take such an active part in any nation. And, more importantly, now the God of the Jews has a message for Eglon himself. So Eglon’s interest is piqued.

Matthew Henry comments: Eglon pays respect to a message from God. Though a king, though a heathen king, though rich and powerful, though now tyrannizing over the people of God, though a fat unwieldy man that could not easily rise nor stand long, though in private and what he did was not under observation, yet, when he expected to receive orders form heaven, he rose out of his seat; whether it was low and easy, or whether it was high and stately, he quitted it, and stood up when God was about to speak to him, thereby owning God his superior. This shames the irreverence of many who are called Christians, and yet, when a message from God is delivered to them, study to show, by all the marks of carelessness, how little they regard it. Ehud, in calling what he had to do a message from God, plainly avouches a divine commission for it; and God's inclining Eglon to stand up to it did both confirm the commission and facilitate the execution.

A minor point: the king did not arise to defend himself, as Bertheau supposes, as no part of this text suggests such a thing.

And so reached Ehud with a hand of his left and so he took the sword from by his thigh of his right and so he thrust her into his belly.

Judges

3:21

Then Ehud reached with his left hand and took the sword from by his right thigh and thrust it into his belly.

Then, suddenly, Ehud reached with his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh and he stuck it into the belly of Eglon.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so reached Ehud with a hand of his left and so he took the sword from by his thigh of his right and so he thrust her into his belly.

Septuagint And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Ehud pulled out the dagger with his left hand and shoved it so far into Eglon's stomach...

The Message Ehud reached with his left hand and took his sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's big belly.

NLT ...Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled out the dagger strapped to his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right side, and plunged it into Eglon's belly.

HCSB Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon's belly.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.

Young’s Updated LT And Ehud puts forth his left hand, and takes the sword from off his right thigh, and strikes it into his belly.

What is the gist of this verse? Obviously, Ehud and Eglon are close, and Eglon has just stood up; and Ehud takes the dagger from his right thigh and plunges it into Eglon’s belly. .

Judges 3:21a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
shâlach (ח ַל ָש) [pronounced shaw-LAKH]	to send, to send for [forth, away], to dismiss, to deploy, to put forth, to stretch out	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #7971 BDB #1018
Êhûwd (דה̤א) [pronounced ay-HOOD]	I will give thanks; I will be praised; undivided, united; transliterated Ehud	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong's #164 BDB #13
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	with, at, near, by, among, directly from	preposition (which is identical to the sign of the direct object)	Strong's #854 BDB #85
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular construct	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
s^emôl (לאֹמ ׃ש) [pronounced s^eMOHL]	the left, the left hand, the left side; north [when facing east]	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #8040 BDB #969

Translation: Then Ehud reached with his left hand... The first verb here, when found in association with hands in the Qal stem, means to reach forth, to reach out, to put out. From the context of this passage (this and the next verse), it is clear that Ehud is very close to Eglon. It is as if Ehud is going to whisper the message from God into Eglon’s ear. He is not announcing something from across the room, and they are so close, and Eglon is so engrossed in what Ehud will say, that Eglon is not prepared for Ehud’s lightening fast movement. Eglon might not even see it.

Judges 3:21b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
lâqach (חַקָל) [pronounced law-KAHKH]	to take, to take away, to take in marriage; to seize	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #3947 BDB #542
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
chereb (ב∵ר∵ח) [pronounced khe-RE^BV]	sword, knife, dagger; any sharp tool	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #2719 BDB #352
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, away from, out from, out of from, off, on account of, since, above, than, so that not, above, beyond, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
׳al (ל ַע) [pronounced ģahl ]	upon, beyond, on, against, above, over, by, beside	preposition of proximity	Strong’s #5920, #5921 BDB #752
Together, they mean from upon, from over, from by, from beside, from attachment to, from companionship with, from accompanying [in a protective manner], from adhesion to
yârek^e (∵רָי) [pronounced yaw-REK^e]	thigh, inner thigh; loin, side, base; shaft; uterus, reproductive system	feminine singular construct	Strong's #3409 BDB #437
yâmîyn (ןי ̣מָי) [pronounced yaw-MEEN]	the right hand, the right side, on the right, at the right; the south	feminine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #3225 BDB #411

Translation: ...and took the sword from by his right thigh... Bear in mind, this is a two-edged dagger which is probably 9 inches in length. Ehud as this knife strapped to his right thigh, and hidden from Eglon’s sight under his clothing. In a move which Ehud may have practiced many times, he surreptitiously reaches under his robe. I picture him with his right hand near the ear of Eglon, as if to whisper God’s Word to him.

Ehud Kills Eglon—Artwork

As I examined this passage, I thought surely, this would be a wonderful subject for an artist; however, as you can see by these pictures, neither artist saw Eglon as the one who rises up to hear the Word of God.
Although I am disappointed as to the stance (or lack of stance) in this pictures of Eglon, I do like the background in the first picture, giving what looks to be a very interesting interpretation of this room where they meet.

The first picture is taken from www.wcg.org/images/b3/b3h%20(16).jpg

The second picture is from http://www.wcg.org/lit/bible/hist/judges3.htm

Judges 3:21c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
tâqa׳ (ע ַק ָ) [pronounced taw-KAHĢ]	to fasten, to thrust, to clap, to give a blow, to give a blast	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect; with the 3^rd person feminine singular suffix	Strong’s #8628 BDB #1075
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
beţen (ן∵ט∵) [pronounced BEH-ten]	womb; belly, stomach [in reference to a man]; inside; appetite, craving	feminine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #990 BDB #105

Translation: ...and thrust it into his belly. The third verb has a feminine suffix, referring back to the sword. This verb means to thrust, to clap, to give a blow, to give a blast. It is used a number of different ways in the Bible. The key to the verb is its direct object. I picture this as Ehud leans in to speak to Eglon, who stands up to hear. Ehud simultaneously takes the dagger out and thrusts it into the king. Now, you might object to Ehud using God as a front to speak to Eglon, and I don’t argue that point. In terms of purity of soul in this book, we find very little of that. We find fallen men who do a little on behalf of Israel, but we will find no great heroes along the magnitude of David, Moses, Isaiah or Abraham in this book.

If Ehud said something doctrinal, that would have been good to record—e.g., “This is from the God of the Jews, whom you have oppressed and treated with contempt.” Unfortunately, we do not find such a quote here, which indicates to me that Ehud did not make any doctrinal points when killing Eglon.

Application: God will, on occasion, judge and discipline His own people (which includes those of the Jewish race and believers in Jesus Christ). However, God does not allow the believer (or the unbeliever) to do so with impunity. You do not get to double-cross a believer, cheat a Jew, or malign either without an eventual response from God.

Application: Let me go off on a tangent here, because I referred to both believers and Jews in the previous application. In the Jewish Age, God worked through the Jewish people. They preserved the Word of God and they taught God’s Word for many centuries. However, because they, as a whole, rejected the Lord of Glory, the Lord of Glory rejected them for a time. However, this does not mean that anyone can commit any anti-Semitic act and think that God will ignore it. God does not ignore antisemitism; the Jews, although they do not play an active part in God’s plan today as a people (they do as individuals when they believe in Jesus Christ), God has not discarded the Jew, but He has set him aside. Don’t forget that, after Rev. 1–3, where Jesus Christ addresses the seven churches, after which, we enter into the Tribulation, that the church is not mentioned again—but Israel is. So, no matter what your politics is, do not ever make the mistake of being antisemitic or anti-Israel. God will use the Jews again; they will play a big part in the Tribulation. Now you may counter, the Jews today are mostly unbelievers; therefore, they cannot be God’s people. Some of the Jews today are unbelievers; some have believed. Some have believed and returned to a nonsecular life. No matter what the case, it is a family matter, and God handles the discipline and guidance. We can, of course, witness to Jews, when there is an opening. In matters of national and world politics, the Jewish people are often our greatest allies.

Application: Finally, do not for one second think that their tiny, postage stamp of a nation in the Middle East is the cause for all of the woes of the Middle East. The Middle East, where some countries have the highest capita per person because of oil, has the problem of religion which is against God; and a deep-seated hatred for the Jews and Christians; and this is the cause of their woes. Whereas, almost any Middle Eastern country should boast a general lifestyle equal to that of the United States, they are, instead, nations with great poverty and hardship. In fact, in which middle eastern countries do we find the best lifestyles for the common man? Israel and Lebanon, neither of which is famous for its oil reserves; however, both countries are known for their tolerance of Jews, Christians and Arabs.

Application: As I have seen in my own life, when believers treat me dishonestly or dishonorably, God will deal with these people. I don’t have to do a thing. Now, once and awhile, I am so pissed off that, I first rebound being pissed off, and then pray for their destruction (which is a legitimate prayer, by the way); and in the instances where I have been able to observe the results, these people receive their just recompense.

Application: Now, you are not called upon to go out and personally kill those you suspect of being Islamic fascists (unless you are associated with our government in an official capacity). However, what you must recognize here is that we do live in a world of violence and murder; and no amount of marching, fasting, or inspirational singing is going to change that. We should not think that we have some kind of a mandate from Scripture to kill those who are enemies of God, even though their position is clear. However, our government does have a responsibility toward its own people to maintain safety and freedom, and that does involve, in some cases, killing the enemy.

And so went in also the handle after the flame and so closed the fat round about the flame because he did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And so came out the feces.

Judges

3:22

The handle also went in after the [glistening] blade and the fat closed around the [glistening] blade for he did not withdraw the sword from his belly. Also, [his] feces came out [or, and it (the blade) came out the anus].

The handle went into his fat, right after the blade, and the fat closed in around the blade, as Ehud did not withdraw the dagger from Eglon’s belly. Feces came out of Eglon.

The general structure of this verse at first seemed to be fairly simple, but there are several prepositions that we don’t see everyday. Therefore, we should examine the difference in the translations:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate With such force that the haft went in after the blade into the wound, and was closed up with the abundance of fat. So that he did not draw out the dagger, but left it in the body as he had struck it in: and forthwith, by the secret parts of nature, the excrements of the belly came out.

Masoretic Text And so went in also the handle after the flame and so closed the fat round about the flame because he did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And so came out the feces.

Peshitta And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, because he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and he went out hastily. The Arabic is in agreement with the Syriac here.

Septuagint 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 sword came out of his belly.

Significant differences: What came out seems to be the issue here. In the Latin and Hebrew, it is waste which comes out; in the Greek, the sword comes out his back; and, in the Syriac, it is apparently Ehud who goes out hastily. This is the only real difference in the text, and possibly can be attributed to translators who either did not want to give a literal translation to this verse (something which we can see in many English translations), or the Hebrew word used here is so obscure as to cause them to make educated guesses as to its meaning.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV ...that even the handle was buried in his fat. Ehud left the dagger there. Then after closing and locking the doors to the room, he climbed through a window onto the porch. [vv. 22–23].

The Message Not only the blade but the hilt went in. The fat closed in over it so he couldn't pull it out.

NLT The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king’s fat. So Ehud left the dagger in, and the king’s bowels emptied.

TEV The whole sword went in, handle and all, and the fat covered it up. Ehud did not pull it out of the king’s belly, and it stuck out behind, between his legs. (TEV footnotes that the Hebrew text is unclear here).

TEV The whole sword went in, handle and all, and the aft covered it up. Ehud did not pull it out of the king’s belly, and it stuck out behind, between his legs. [Probable text: it stuck...legs; Hebrew unclear].

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Even the handle went in after the blade. Eglon's fat covered the blade because Ehud didn't pull the dagger out. The blade stuck out in back.

HCSB Even the handle went in after the blade, and Eglon's fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon's insides came out.

NIV Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Emphasized Bible ...and the handle also went in after the blade and the flesh closed upon the blade, for he withdrew not the sword out of his body,—and he came out into the ante-chamber.

ESV And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out.

NASB The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out.

Owen's Translation And went in also the hilt after the blade and closed the fat over the blade for he did not draw out the sword out of his belly. And came out the dirt (feces).

Young’s Updated LT And the handle also goes in after the blade, and the fat shuts on the blade, that he has not drawn the sword out of his belly, and it goes out at the fundament.

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud pierced Eglon with such force that the knife went in as well as a portion of the handle. Eglon’s fat closed over the blade and some of his bowels and waste came out.

Judges 3:22a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
bôw (א) [pronounced boh]	to come in, to come, to go in, to go, to enter	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #935 BDB #97
gam (ם ַ) [pronounced gahm]	also, furthermore, in addition to, even, moreover	adverb	Strong’s #1571 BDB #168
nitstsâb (בָ.נ) [pronounced nihts-TSAW^BV]	the haft, hilt, handle [of a sword]	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #5325 BDB #662
achar (ר ַח ַא) [pronounced ah-KHAHR]	after, following, behind	preposition	Strong’s #310 BDB #29
lahab (בַהַל) [pronounced LAH-hah^bv]	flame; glistening steel; blade; point [of spear, sword]	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #3851 BDB #529

Translation: The handle also went in after the [glistening] blade... The subject is the masculine singular noun for the haft, hilt or, as we know it, the handle of the sword. It is only found in this verse. You have possibly heard the phrase to the hilt; it means to the maximum amount or extent. Then we have the preposition after and the masculine singular noun blade, flame; the latter being used most everywhere else but in this verse. Ehud knew he had one chance, and he had to make good. He struck Eglon with such force that a portion of the handle of the knife went in after the blade.

Judges 3:22b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
çâgar (רַג ָס) [pronounced saw-GAHR]	to shut up, to close up	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #5462 BDB #688
chêleb (ב∵ל ֵח) [pronounced KHAY-le^bv]	fat	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #2459 BDB #316
ba׳ad (ד ַע ַ) [pronounced BAH-ģad]	by, near; because of; behind, after; about, round about; between [two things], through; into, among; pro, for; away from, behind; on behalf of	generally a preposition of separation or nearness	Strong's #1157 BDB #126
Even though ba׳ad is covered in roughly half a page in both BDB and Gesenius, it still has a great many meanings (and only some of their material overlapped). With verbs of falling, letting down, leaning forward so as to look out, it means through, out through (lit., away from) a window, etc. With verbs of shutting, it means to shut behind, after, up or upon. It can be used as follows: to seal up; to hedge about; to fence round about. It has metaphorical uses: on behalf of, for the sake of, on account of. This preposition can denote nearness, as in by, near; between [two things]; into, among; pro, for (in the sense of exchanging).
lahab (בַהַל) [pronounced LAH-hah^bv]	flame; glistening steel; blade; point [of spear, sword]	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #3851 BDB #529

Translation: ...and the fat closed around the [glistening] blade... Eglon is standing when Ehud knifes him. It is possibly that Ehud’s hand even followed the dagger into Eglon’s stomach. Eglon will double over as Ehud pulls back his hand, and the fat of his stomach will envelop the blade.

Matthew Henry comments: Eglon signifies a calf, and he fell like a fatted calf, by the knife, an acceptable sacrifice to divine justice. Although this does sound somewhat poetic, I have reservations on whether this is an apt observation or not.

Judges 3:22c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
kîy (י̣) [pronounced kee]	when, that, for, because	explanatory conjunction; preposition	Strong's #3588 BDB #471
lô (אֹל or אל) [pronounced low]	not, no	negates the word or action that follows; the absolute negation	Strong’s #3808 BDB #518
shâlaph (ף -ל ָש) [pronounced shaw-LAHF]	to draw out, to draw off, to take out	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect	Strong’s #8025 BDB #1025
chereb (ב∵ר∵ח) [pronounced khe-RE^BV]	sword, knife, dagger; any sharp tool	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #2719 BDB #352
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, off, out from, out of, away from, on account of, since, than, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
beţen (ן∵ט∵) [pronounced BEH-ten]	womb; belly, stomach [in reference to a man]; inside; appetite, craving	feminine singular noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #990 BDB #105

Translation: ...for he did not withdraw the sword from his belly. In war, a sword is plunged into one’s enemy and then withdrawn so that it can be used again. This dagger, however, is a one-use knife; it has the sole purpose of killing Egon. Obviously, Ehud does not want to exit this room carrying a bloody dagger.

Judges 3:22d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yâtsâ (אָצָי) [pronounced yaw-TZAWH]	to go out, to come out, to come forth; to rise; to flow, to gush up [out]	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #3318 BDB #422
par^esh^edôn (נֹד ׃ש ׃רַ) [pronounced par-sh^e-DOHN]	excrement, feces; waste from the intestines; possibly anus	masculine singular noun with the hê locale	Strong’s #6574 BDB #832
This is called the directive hê or the he locale, which often indicates direction and puts somewhat of an adverbial spin on the noun. Essentially, it answers the question where? The pronunciation of the word does not change. The directional hê indicates the direction in which something moves. It is often used with the noun heaven and the most literal rendering in the English would be heavenward. We can also indicate the existence of the hê directional by supplying the prepositions to or toward. However, this is not generally found in association with a subject but with an object.
Another possibility is that this is a feminine noun, which can end with the hê. However, that does not match the verb, which is a masculine singular.
This could be the object of the verb; the masculine singular refers back to blade; so it is the blade which comes out the par^esh^edôn, which has affixed to it the hê locale, to indicate where the blade came out.
In the Arabic and Syriac versions, it is Ehud who exits suddenly.

Translation: Also, [his] feces came out [or, and it (the blade) came out the anus]. As you can see, the last sentence will be the most fun do work with. The subject verb is a masculine singular noun which possibly means feces. It is found only here and the word for feces appears to be peresh (ש ∵ר ∵) [pronounced PER-resh], a cognate.

There are two problems here: (1) although this is given as a masculine noun and the verb is in the masculine singular, the ah ending often refers to a feminine noun; and, (2) Gesenius believes that the h ending requires this to refer to a place where something came out; the something, Gesenius explains, is the blade (which is in the masculine singular and nearby); and Gesenius delicately renders this between his legs, although I am thinking that Gesenius is thinking anus, but he just doesn’t want to say that. However, his statement that the verb is far from the noun is patently false.

If peresh does means feces, then it would not be a long leap to say that this word meant anus. There is no preposition and there is no sign of the direct object; but we do have the directional hê. The next mostly likely subject is sword, which is a feminine noun (which does not match the verb); and the next mostly likely subject is therefore blade, which is in the masculine singular, but is not used as the subject anywhere else in this verse. Therefore, this is more likely the subject of the verb (which does bring us back to the problem of whether this is really a feminine noun. One reading is: And so came out the feces. This could occur where the wound is created, and it could occur naturally, as often occurs at the end of our life.

I would not have a problem with one who understood this as the dagger goes in one way and its blade comes out on the other end. Furthermore, this is actually a very precise understanding that the blade come through, but not necessarily with entire dagger. This should help to clarify where these various translations come from, besides providing no-end spiritual edification.

Now, you must understand that the Bible accurately records what we find here. Because something is found in the Bible does not automatically vindicate or pardon the action. God raised up Eglon and Moab to discipline the people of Israel; this does not mean that their control over the Israelites or their means of doing so was right. We have back in v. 10 the Holy Spirit coming over Othniel, but we do not find the same phraseology here. Ehud used God to get close to Eglon and then assassinated him. We don’t know this trivial use of God’s name was necessary and we don’t know that an assassination can be condoned, even in those times, even for a nation which is a theocracy. We do not have an explicit direction by God to assassinate this king; Ehud is not listed even in the abbreviated hall of fame list of Heb. 11:32, nor will we hear of him again after Judges 4:1. Like all of the characters in the book of the Judges, he was a flawed man, without a lot to recommend him. His most heroic act will be found at the end of this book where he leads Israel against the Moabites and from there he will fade into history. Don’t misunderstand me—I am not knocking Ehud nor am I saying that what he did here was wrong; I honestly do not know.

Keil and Delitzsch: Ehud proved himself to have been raised up by the Lord as the deliverer of Israel, simply by the fact that he actually delivered his people from the bondage of the Moabites, and it by no means follows that the means which he selected were either commanded or approved by Jehovah.

I don’t want you to misunderstand here: I am not saying that what Ehud did was wrong; nor am I even saying that assassination, in some rare instances, is wrong. What he did took great nerve. His follow-up will also require bravery.

A rather confusing spiritual issue for some is that just because God uses a believer or an unbeliever to further His plan does not mean that their every action is done with the tacit approval of God. God is able to bring about the good completion of His plan allowing for and often using the volition of man, even though our choices are often wrong and even evil. One of the things which we will observe time and time again in this book is that God uses men whose actions and motives are not divinely inspired. Perhaps this will help to explain the two seemingly contradictory statements: The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:20). For the wrath of man will praise You; with a remnant of wrath, You will become ready (Psalm 76:10). For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose, I raised you up to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” (Rom. 9:17 Ex. 9:16).

There is always the kook out there who wants to use Scripture to justify what they do. They find Ehud assassinating Eglon and they feel that this gives them the right to assassinate some world leader (you can go to any regime and find something which that regime has done wrong). So, what can we say about assassination?

What Does the Bible say about Assassination?

1. First off, just because you read about this or that believer doing this or that, that does not mean that you are to copy this believer.

a. Paul, in order to appease the Judaizers, will offer up a sacrifice, after the Lord of Glory has died for us and ascended to heaven. This act is wrong.

b. David committed a number of sins in Scripture—this does not mean that the Bible teaches us to commit adultery and then to murder the husband if he is on the verge of finding out.

c. Ehud assassinates Eglon in our context; we do not have any indication that God directed him to do this; and, furthermore, this was in a different time and place, during a different dispensation.

d. We have believers speaking in tongues when the Holy Spirit is given in the book of Acts; this does not mean that we are suppose to ask for the Holy Spirit, nor does it mean that we should loosen up our mouths and tongues just in case some gibberish might shoot out.

2. Never, never, never read some passage and then copy the actions of the people in the passage; God has given us hundreds of specific mandates—obey those mandates!

3. Furthermore, you must separate in your mind what God required of Israel from what is required of us in the Church Age, as Israel was a theocracy, whose actions were mandated by God (which mandates they sometimes followed and sometimes did not).

4. Therefore, in the Age of Israel, it was legitimate for the governmental authorities to seize anyone in idol worship and to execute them; however, it is not legitimate for our government (or any other government) to seize those who are engaged in idolatrous worship and apply capital punishment. I have known people who are Muslims, who are practicing Buddhists, who have a statue of Mary in their car—and it would be wrong for me or the government of the United States to restrict their worship. However, when they cross the line into illegal activity (plotting the deaths of innocents to make a political statement; killing abortion doctors), then they must answer to the laws of the land.

5. The point is simple: there are some things which are true despite the dispensation we are in (You will not murder goes back to the time of Adam all the way down to today); and there are things which are not directly applicable (the execution of idolaters).

6. Therefore, even if Ehud’s successful assassination of Eglon is legitimate, this does not give us the mandate to assassinate anyone.

7. During the time of great Roman persecution, Paul urged believers to obey the laws of the land and Jesus told His followers to “...render unto Cæsar what is Cæsar’s.” Even though the Roman government persecuted believers; and even though the Jewish authorities persecuted believers, neither Paul nor Jesus ever advocated any action to kill those who were in the highest positions of authority.

8. The Bible never advocates revolution, even though the New Testament was composed during a time and in a place where Christians were routinely persecuted and unjustly killed. If assassination is a part of God’s directive will, one would think that Paul would have mandated the execution of several government leaders during his life. However, God urged believers to obey the law.

9. Bear in mind that Jesus Christ died for every single person despite the vileness of his character. Jesus Christ died for the sins of Stalin and for the sins of Hitler and for the sins of Sadam Hussein. There is no man whose character is so repulsive to God that Jesus did not pay the penalty for his sins. Therefore, if we are persecuted by the government and find ourselves thrown into prison and threatened with execution, do you know what our response should be? We need to give these people the gospel. We need to tell them about Jesus Christ. You do not need to make some daring mistake, killing, if need be, anyone in your path. If you are unjustly treated, that is not your go ahead to get some sweet revenge; this is your opportunity, in many cases, to give the gospel.

10. It is not our job to make the devil’s world a better place to live; it is not our job to clean up the devil’s world. I certainly have some political views and some controversial issues seem so clear to me, that I am amazed that there is any sort of opposition. However, it is not my place to clean up the devil’s world; it is not place to try to make this world better for the next generation (nor should I be actively involved in making it worse either).

11. During a time of clearly declared war, part of our objective is to kill the enemy; and often to kill as many of them as we can. Killing in war is difficult and distasteful; but war is a part of our world which will never change. However, apart from the declaration of war, I do not find any authorization for the assassination of any world leader, despite the viciousness of his actions. Whereas, the trial of someone like Sadam Hussein is legitimate; assassinating him is not legitimate.

12. No matter how vicious or dictatorial the ruler, we do not have any Church Age authorization for us, as believers, to take him out.

The key in a doctrine like this, which the Bible does not directly address, is to examine it within the realm of the dispensation that we are in; and to carefully consider the mandates (or lack of mandates) given us for this dispensation.

There are a lot of people that I don’t like; if I could come up with some way to justify assassination of certain horrible individuals, I’d attempt to give you the go-ahead here; however, there is nothing in Scripture to justify this.

Interestingly enough, I only found two commentaries which dealt with the idea of assasination (among the dozen or so which I refer to). Keil and Delitzsch write: Ehud's conduct must be judged according to the spirit of those times, when it was thought allowable to adopt any means of destroying the enemy of one's nation. The treacherous assassination of a hostile king is not to be regarded as an act of the Spirit of God, and therefore is not set before us as an example to be imitated. Although Jehovah raised up Ehud as a deliverer to His people when oppressed by Eglon, it is not stated (and this ought particularly to be observed) that the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Ehud, and still less that Ehud assassinated the hostile king under the impulse of that Spirit.

Matthew Henry justifies Ehud’s actions, writing: 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’s service.

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When it comes to specifically Ehud assassinating Eglon, we really don’t know whether this is God’s mandate. We are not told. Israel is a theocracy, and Eglon has imposed his rule over Israel, which is not acceptable. God did not place Israel in the land with with intention that Israel be ruled by some heathen king. God allows this to bring Israel back to Him; but this is not acceptable for the heathen king to do this. Since we are dealing with Israel the theocracy, the rules are somewhat different. It is acceptable for Israel to wage a war for her independence. The matter of the assassination is still questionable.

And so went out Ehud the vestibule and so he closed doors of the roof chamber behind him and he locked.

Judges

3:23

Then Ehud went out of the vestibule and he closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked [them].

Then Ehud exited the vestibule, closing and locking the doors to the roof chamber as he exited.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so went out Ehud the vestibule and so he closed doors of the roof chamber behind him and he locked.

Septuagint Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

Significant differences: No significant difference; however, it is unclear as to Ehud’s exact escape route.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

The Message Ehud slipped out by way of the porch and shut and locked the doors of the rooftop room behind him.

NAB Then Ehud went out into the hall, shutting the doors of the upper room on him and locking them.

NLT Then Ehud closed and locked the doors and climbed down the latrine and escaped through the sewage access.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Ehud left the room. (He had closed and locked the doors of the room before he left.)

HCSB Ehud escaped by way of the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upstairs room behind him.

JPS (Tanakh) Stepping out into the vestibule, Ehud shut the doors of the upper chamber on him and locked them.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.

Young’s Updated LT And Ehud goes out at the porch, and shuts the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and has bolted them.

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud leaves via the porch, and closes and locks the doors to Eglon’s study as he leaves.

Judges 3:23a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yâtsâ (אָצָי) [pronounced yaw-TZAWH]	to go out, to come out, to come forth; to rise; to flow, to gush up [out]	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #3318 BDB #422
Êhûwd (דה̤א) [pronounced ay-HOOD]	I will give thanks; I will be praised; undivided, united; transliterated Ehud	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong's #164 BDB #13
mîç^ed^erôwn (ןר ׃ ׃ס ̣מ) [pronounced ^misere-ROHN]	porch, colonnade, vestibule, portico	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #4528 BDB #690

Translation: Then Ehud went out of the vestibule... This passage is filled with words that we find here and only here in the Hebrew. What Ehud exited is the masculine singular of porch, colonnade, vestibule. Although some translations throw in the word in or into, that is not found here, so this appears to be what Ehud exits from rather than exits into. The surrounding words in BDB mean round, row, arrangement; but none of the Hebrew words are actually close enough to make a connection here.

A few attempt to determine exactly the nature of this room. The targum and Kimchi see this as an area where there were several chairs, either for those who waited to see the king, or for guards to sit upon (i.e., a guard room of sorts).

My thinking here is, Ehud did not exit the same way that he came in. He came in the normal entrance to the palace and was shown to the throne room, and Eglon further took him to his personal study. From the context, since this same noun is not used elsewhere, we may reasonably assume that this is a different means of escape. As I have pointed out, I view this as an upstairs room, possibly with open windows and possibly with a general open air environment. There is, it appears to be, another exit from this room, which might involve coming down from a balcony or a porch or from the roof itself. But, apparently, this is not the way that Ehud entered originally.

Judges 3:23b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
çâgar (רַג ָס) [pronounced saw-GAHR]	to shut up, to close up	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #5462 BDB #688
deleth (ת∵ל∵) [pronounced DEH-leth]	doors, gates of a city	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #1817 BDB #195
׳ălîyâh (הָ.לֲע) [pronounced ģuh-lee-YAW]	roof-chamber, upper room; cool and secluded roof chamber; a ladder, a way of ascent	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #5944 BDB #751
ba׳ad (ד ַע ַ) [pronounced BAH-ģad]	by, near; because of; behind, after; about, round about; between [two things], through; into, among; pro, for; away from, behind; on behalf of	generally a preposition of separation or nearness; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #1157 BDB #126
Even though ba׳ad is covered in roughly half a page in both BDB and Gesenius, it still has a great many meanings (and only some of their material overlapped). With verbs of falling, letting down, leaning forward so as to look out, it means through, out through (lit., away from) a window, etc. With verbs of shutting, it means to shut behind, after, up or upon. It can be used as follows: to seal up; to hedge about; to fence round about. It has metaphorical uses: on behalf of, for the sake of, on account of. This preposition can denote nearness, as in by, near; between [two things]; into, among; pro, for (in the sense of exchanging).

Translation: ...and he closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him... What Ehud closed was the feminine plural construct of doors, gates of a city. Here, obviously, they are doors. What he closes the doors of the feminine singular noun roof-chambers, upstairs study, upstairs abode (probably, the enclosed area built upon a roof). This is simply a guy’s study, or pool room or trophy room, except it is on top of the house. Our minds tend to think chronologically, so we see him first escaping via the porch, and then locking the doors. However, we do not have to view this chronologically, as Hebrew narrative is not always completely chronological. He originally entered the room, with the king before him sitting on a throne; he tells the king that he has a message from God for him, and the king arises as he moves toward the king. The doors are behind him the entire time. So, after killing Eglon, Ehud then closes and locks the doors which are behind him (he would not have closed locked the doors while the king was alive, as that would have caused the king to become suspicious). Then he escapes through a different way.

Another option is, through these doors which Ehud came in are two possible ways that he can exit from the door that he came through. He exits through the porch or vestibule. The details are firm in Ehud’s mind as he writes this, and we will be content to know that, when Eglon’s servants periodically observed the doors to his private chamber, they remained closed and locked.

Gill agrees with me when it comes to the order of things: This must be understood as done before he went through the porch, and therefore should be rendered, "when" or "after he had shut the doors", etc. In the Vulgate Latin version, this clause is put first.

Keil and Delitzsch offer up a different explanation, that the doors are behind Eglon, and Ehud goes around him in order to lock these doors. My problem with this understanding is, it just not seem to make sense that the doors would be behind the king.

Judges 3:23c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
nâ׳al (לַעָנ) [pronounced naw-ĢAHL]	to bar, bolt or lock	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect; pausal form	Strong’s #5274 BDB #653
This is a homonym; the other verb means to furnish with sandals, to give shoes [to a person].

Translation: ...and locked [them]. Once he exits and closes the doors, Ehud locks them. I am picturing that this is like a door that you can lock behind you as we have today. That is, a bolt or a lock which would lock others out but not lock the person in. Or it may have been a door with a double-bolt where a key would work for both sides. This would mean that Ehud could have taken the key from the dead Eglon and locked the door in that way as well. V. 25 seems to confirm that somehow Ehud locked the doors behind him.

Whether there is a key involved, or whether Ehud simply closed the doors and locked them from the outside (or was able to do so on the inside so that they locked when he closed them), is unknown. We simply know that he exited these doors, closed them and locked them, and, if observed, he did so in such a manner as not to arouse suspicion. The end result is, Eglon’s servants will not go through the locked for a prolonged period of time, which allows Ehud to easily make his escape.

Many of you are first concerned about the technology here. You are thinking that these are ancient peoples and they could not have had that sort of technology as a lock and key or a door which you could lock from the inside as you were exiting. Insofar as the Old Testament is concerned, we have the locking of doors in this passage and 2Sam. 13:18.

Freeman not only knows that there are locks from that time period, but he can give us some specifics on the kinds of locks which were found in those days: The early Oriental lock consisted merely of a wooden slide drawn into its place by a string, and fastened there by teeth or catches. The lock commonly used in Egypt and Palestine is a long hollow piece of wood fixed in the door and sliding back and forth. A hole is made for it in the door post, and when it is pushed into this hole, small bolts of iron wire fall into holes which are made for them in the top of the lock. The lock is placed on the inside of the door, and a whole is made in the door near the lock, through which the hand can be passed, and the key inserted. This will explain Solomon’s Song v, 4, “My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door.” Some of these locks are very large and heavy.

Below is a partial listing of the technological advances of ancient man, most of which were in use before the 2^nd millennium b.c.
A Partial List of Ancient Technological Accomplishments
Category	Specifics
Mechanical Principals and Applications	Gears Chain drives Domes and arches Pulleys Fire pistons Lock gates and lifts Lathes Gimbal suspension Steam engine principle Windlass Suspension bridges Clockwork mechanism
Materials	Copper Bellows systems of all types Bronze Glass (including possibly a malleable glass) Iron Pottery (china and porcelain) Cast Iron Charcoal and carbon black Steel Blues and preservatives Cement Shellacs, varnishes and enamels Dyes and inks Casting methods (including hollow casting) Rubber Lenses of several types Gold and silver work (including beading, repousse, sheet, wire and plating of metals)
Building Techniques, Tools and Materials	Nails Window materials, including glass Saws Door hinges and locks Hammers Protective coatings Brace and bit Street drainage systems Sandpaper Sewage disposal on a wide scale Rope saws Running water in a piped system Carborundum Drills (including diamond drills) Stoves Building of all types (including genuine skyscrapers Plans and maps and earthquake construction) Surveying Instruments Central heating systems
Fabrics and Weaving	Cotton Mechanical looms Ikat or tie-dyeing Silk Invisible mending Feather and fur garments Wool Flying shuttles Double-faced cloth Linen Tapestry Knitted and crocheted materials Voile Batik All types of thread Felt Thimbles Silk screen methods of decoration Lace parchment Ropes up to 12 inches in diameter Netting Tailored clothing Dyes of all kinds Paper of all kinds (including coated stock) Needles
Food Gathering Methods	Use of fish poisons and animal intoxicants Use of tamed animals (dogs, cats, and birds) to catch game Elephants for labor and land clearance Traps and nets of all kinds Use of multi-culture, fertilizers, and mechanical seeders and other equipment in agriculture
Writing, Painting, etc.	Inks Moveable type Libraries and cataloguing systems Chalks Textbooks Literary forms Pencils Encyclopedias Block printing Crayons Envelopes and postal systems Scripts (Sumerian, Cuneiform, Egyptian, Hittite, Minoan, Chinese, Easter Island, Indues Valley, Maya)
Medical and Surgical Practices and Instruments	Gargle Quinine Adhesive tapes Snuffs Poultices Surgical stitching Inhalators Decoctions Trephination Enemas Infusions Caesarian operations Fumigators Pills Cascara and other emetics Suppositories Troches Animal stupefying drugs Insecticides Lotions Vaccine for small pox Truth serums Ointments Tranquillizing drugs Cocaine Plasters Tourniquet Anesthetics Bandages Splints Soaps Curare Surgical instruments (knives, forceps, tweezers) Identification and treatment of hundreds common diseases and injuries, including brain and eye operations and surgery

This is just a partial listing of their accomplishments; a more complete list is found in the doctrine, A List of the Technological Accomplishments of the Hamitic People Following the Flood.

This list was taken directly from Charles A. Clough, Dawn of the Kingdom, ©1974, pp. 11–12, who credits Arthur C. Custance and his Doorway Papers, a series of over 50 papers by an Anglican creative thinker. Available from the author, Box 291, Brockville, Ontario, Canada, K6V5V5.

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In short, there were locks in the ancient world. Ehud is able to close and lock the doors to Eglon’s study, and to leave in such a way as to not arouse suspicion. Given that the servants of Eglon enter a room and then observe the closed and locked doors to Eglon’s study, Ehud apparently is able to lock the doors without being observed; and do so in some sort of room which might be a waiting room of sorts.

And he went out and his servants came in; and so they looked and lo, doors of the roof chamber locked. And so they said, “Surely is covering he his feet in a room of the coolness.”

Judges

3:24

After [lit., and so] he [Ehud] went out, his [Eglon’s] servants went in; and they looked, and lo, the doors of the roof chamber were locked. Therefore, [lit., and so] they decided [lit., said], “Surely, he is defecating [lit., covering his feet] in the room of the coolness.”

After Ehud exited, Eglon’s servants went into the inner chambers and observed that the doors to the roof chambers were locked. They therefore concluded, “He must be taking a dump.”

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And he went out and his servants came in; and so they looked and lo, doors of the roof chamber locked. And so they said, “Surely is covering he his feet in a room of the coolness.”

Septuagint 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 covers his feet [or, does his easement] in his summer chamber.”

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV ...and left. When the king's officials came back and saw that the doors were locked, they said, "The king is probably inside relieving himself.".

The Message Then he was gone. When the servants came, they saw with surprise that the doors to the rooftop room were locked. They said, "He's probably relieving himself in the restroom.".

NLT After Ehud was gone, the eking’s servants returned and found the doors to the upstairs room locked. They thought he might be using the latrine,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ After Ehud went out, Eglon's advisers came in. They were surprised that the doors were locked. "He must be using the toilet," they said.

HCSB Ehud was gone when Eglon's servants came in. They looked and found the doors of the upstairs room locked and thought he was relieving himself in the cool room.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Updated Emphasized Bible When he had come out his servants went in, and looked and lo! the doors of the parlor were bolted,—so they said, Surely he covers his feet in the summer chamber.

ESV When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, "Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.".

LTHB And when he had gone out, his servants came. And they looked, and, behold, the doors of the roof room were locked. And they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the cool roof room.

NASB When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “He is only relieving himself [lit., covering his feet] in the cool room”

Young’s Updated LT And he has gone out, and his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and they say, “He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the wall.”

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud leaves and Eglon’s servants enter in. They observe that the doors are locked and they assume that Eglon is either sleeping or defecating.

Judges 3:24a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
hûw (אה) [pronounced hoo]	he, it; himself as a demonstrative pronoun: that, this	3^rd person masculine singular, personal pronoun	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
yâtsâ (אָצָי) [pronounced yaw-TZAWH]	to go out, to come out, to come forth; to rise; to flow, to gush up [out]	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect	Strong's #3318 BDB #422

Translation: So he [Ehud] went out... This is Ehud going out, after killing Eglon. From all that follows, the way the Ehud leaves the palace does not arouse suspicion. He has to get out of there before Eglon’s body is discovered; however, he also must not do anything which causes Eglon’s servants to enter into Eglon’s private chamber.

Judges 3:24b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
We do not need to translate each and every wâw conjunction or wâw consecutive from the Hebrew.
׳ebed (ד ∵ב ∵ע) [pronounced ĢE^B-ved]	slave, servant	masculine plural noun, with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #5650 BDB #713
bôw (א) [pronounced boh]	to come in, to come, to go in, to go, to enter	3^rd person plural, Qal perfect	Strong’s #935 BDB #97

Translation: ...his [Egon’s] servants went in;... These are Eglon’s servants, whom Eglon had asked to leave, in order to receive the message from Ehud; and now that Ehud leaves, they come back in. That indicates that there is some sort of an intermediate room where one goes through first in order to get to the king’s private study. From this room, it is obvious that the doors to Eglon’s private room are closed.

Another option which occurs to me is, Eglon’s room is upstairs and, there is an entrance to this room at the top of the stairs—perhpas a hallway to the stairs. The servants of Eglon will have to go in this entrance in order to get to the locked doors.

Judges 3:24c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
rââh (ה ָאָר) [pronounced raw-AWH]	to see, to look, to look at, to view, to behold; to perceive, to understand, to learn, to know	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #7200 BDB #906
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
hinnêh (הֵ ̣ה) [pronounced hin-NAY]	lo, behold, or more freely, observe, look here, look, listen, note, take note; pay attention, get this, check this out	interjection, demonstrative particle	Strong’s #2009 (and #518, 2006) BDB #243
deleth (ת∵ל∵) [pronounced DEH-leth]	doors, gates of a city	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #1817 BDB #195
׳ălîyâh (הָ.לֲע) [pronounced ģuh-lee-YAW]	roof-chamber, upper room; cool and secluded roof chamber; a ladder, a way of ascent	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #5944 BDB #751
nâ׳al (לַעָנ) [pronounced naw-AH	to bar, bolt or lock	Qal passive participle	Strong’s #5274 DB #653

Translation: ...and they looked, and lo, the doors of the roof chamber were locked. From this intermediate room, the servants of Eglon could see the doors to his private room and see that they are closed and locked. If it is not obvious that these doors are locked, then apparently one of the servants checked the doors and confirmed that they were indeed locked.

Judges 3:24d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
âmar (ר ַמ ָא) [pronounced aw-MAHR]	to say, to speak, to utter; to say [to oneself], to think	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #559 BDB #55
ak^e ( ַא) [pronounced ahk^e]	surely, certainly, no doubt, only, but; only now, just now, only this once; nothing but	adverb of restriction, contrast, time, limitation, and exception. Also used as an affirmative particle	Strong’s #389 BDB #36
çâkak^e (ַכָס) [pronounced saw-KAHK]	to fence, to fence around; to cover, to protect	Hiphil participle	Strong’s #5526 BDB #696
Covering one’s feet is thought to mean to defecate; to urinate [from a squatting position]; to sleep. Although the second meaning seems least reasonable, the third also makes little sense, as there are a variety of other ways, none very euphemistic, for a person laying down to rest. Only the first meaning seems to make sense, as it is common in many countries to (1) squat in order to defecate and (2) to have a euphemism for this activity. We have a number of euphemisms in the English for this: going #2; taking a dump; or, as Colin Quinn once put it, dropping the kids off at the pool. The few words which follow complete the euphemistic phrase.
hûw (אה) [pronounced hoo]	he, it; himself as a demonstrative pronoun: that, this	3^rd person masculine singular, personal pronoun	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
regel (ל ∵ג ∵ר) [pronounced REH-gel]	foot, feet	feminine plural noun with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #7272 BDB #919
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
cheder (ר ∵ד ∵ח) [pronounced KHEH-dehr]	chamber, room, private room; private office; innermost part; inward parts	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #2315 (and #2316) BDB #293
m^eqêrâh (הָרֵק ׃מ) [pronounced m^ekay-RAW]	coolness, refreshing	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #4747 BDB #903

Translation: Therefore, [lit., and so] they decided [lit., said], “Surely, he is defecating [lit., covering his feet] in the room of the coolness.” As you can see from above, this reads, “Certainly he is covering his feet.” This is euphemistic for taking a dump. This would be more likely than taking a whiz, as the latter would not require any amount of time and possibly not as much privacy. We find the same phrase in 1Sam. 24:3. I did enjoyed Keil and Delitzsch’s explanation: “surely...he covers his feet” [is] a euphemism for performing the necessities of nature. There is nothing better than replacing one euphemism with another. When a man stooped, his robe would cover his feet, which is why it is given this euphemism.

Some suggest that this is a euphemism for sleeping (where one covers his feet with something to sleep), however, there is no reason to have a euphemism for sleeping (and there are Hebrew verbs for sleeping); and, when one sleeps, particularly midday, it is less likely that they are going to actually cover their feet in order to do so. Furthermore, this is probably a summer day (or, at least, a warm day), which is one reason Eglon would take Ehud upstairs to his roof-top study; again, making the covering of the feet less likely.

Where they believe Eglon to be is the masculine singular construct of cheder (ר ∵ד ∵ח) [pronounced KHEH-dehr] affixed to the and the feminine singular noun m^eqêrâh (ה ָר ֵק ׃מ) [pronounced m^ekay-RAW]. This is not the study or upstairs room that they are speaking of here, but a private room of coolness. It appears as though Eglon has installed his very own commode affixed to his upstairs room. Ehud did not drag Egon anywhere; remember, Eglon is a very fat man; so, where Eglon dropped, that is where his body is. That is the room which Ehud locked. However, Eglon’s servants do not go through the door which Ehud locked because Ehud is probably on the toilet, which is a different room, but apparently one which is affixed to his upstairs office.

Although the word room occurs throughout Scripture (it is a very commonly used word), the word for upstairs-room and coolness are only found in this passage. Perhaps the reason that we find so many words here and nowhere else is that this is taking place on Moab soil (previously Israeli soil) and possibly these words are derived from the Moabite language.

The rumor in our school district was that a high-ranking district official had a special soundless toilet installed in his office. Whether this was true or not is one thing; but this indicates even in the ancient world, a desire for some sort of privacy and the understanding of same.

And so they waited until anxious [and apprehensive]; and lo, not his opening doors of the roof chamber. And so they took the opener and opened and, lo, their lord laying [or, fallen] [on the] earth, dying.

Judges

3:25

They waited until they became anxious [and apprehensive]; and lo, his doors of the roof chamber were still closed and locked [lit., not opening]. Then they took the key and opened [them], and, lo, their lord was laying on the floor [lit., ground], dying.

The servants waited until they became anxious and apprehensive. After the doors to his roof chamber remained closed for a long time, they took a key and opened them. There they observed their lord laying on the floor, dead.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so they waited until anxious [and apprehensive]; and lo, not his opening doors of the roof chamber. And so they took the opener and opened and, lo, their lord laying [or, fallen] [on the] earth, dying.

Septuagint 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.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV They stood there waiting until they felt foolish, but Eglon never opened the doors. Finally, they unlocked the doors and found King Eglon lying dead on the floor.

The Message They waited. And then they worried--no one was coming out of those locked doors. Finally, they got a key and unlocked them. There was their master, fallen on the floor, dead!

NLT ...so they waited. But when the king didn’t come out after a long delay, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the door, they found their master dead on the floor.

REB So they waited until they were embarrassed. When he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them. There was their lord lying dead on the floor.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ They waited and waited, but Eglon didn't open the doors. So they took the key and opened the door. They were shocked to see their ruler lying on the floor, dead.

HCSB The servants waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upstairs room. So they took the key and opened the doors--and there was their lord lying dead on the floor!

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

LTHB And they waited until they were ashamed. And, behold! He did not open the doors of the room. So they took the key and opened them. And, behold, their master had fallen down to the earth dead.

Young’s Updated LT And they stay till confounded, and lo, he is not opening the doors of the upper chamber, and they take the key, and open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth—dead.

What is the gist of this verse? Eglon’s servants wait for a very long time, and finally, use their own key to enter into Eglon’s private upstairs room, finding him dead on the floor.

Judges 3:25a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
chûwl (לח) [pronounced khool]	to turn, to turn around, to be twisted	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #2342 BDB #296
More specifically, it means ➊ to dance [in a circle]; ➋ to be twisted, to be hurled [on or against something; ➌ to twist oneself, to writhe, to writhe in pain (used of giving birth); ➍ to bring forth [in birth]; ➎ to tremble (probably from the palpitation of the heart); ➏ to be strong, to be firm; ➐ to wait, to stay, to delay.
׳ad (דַע) [pronounced ģahd]	as far as, even to, up to, until	preposition	Strong’s #5704 BDB #723
bôwsh (ש) [pronounced bôsh]	anxious, ashamed, disconcerted, discouraged; and maybe apprehensive, disappointed	Qal infinitive absolute	Strong’s #954 BDB #101
The infinitive absolute has four uses: ➊ when found alone, it sometimes acts as an English gerund, so that we may add ing to the end of the verb; ➋ When found directly before its verbal cognate, it serves to intensify or strengthen the action or the meaning of the verb which follows; ➌ When it follows its cognate verb, it emphasizes the duration or the continuation of the verbal idea; and, ➍ it is sometimes used as a substitute for a finite verb form.

Translation: They waited until they became anxious [and apprehensive];... This is a long and tortured wait. The door to the room is locked. It is apparent that Eglon, in the past, had told his servants never to disturb him when this door is locked, which easily explains why they had waited for such a long time.

Their response is interesting, as it is recorded in the Word of God. Recall that this is not something which Ehud could have observed. Therefore, in his account of this incident, Ehud may be speculating; however, because this is in the Word of God, we know that it is accurate.

Eglon’s servants are confused because, they do not know whether they should disturb him—something he has no doubt warned them never to do—or do they feel guilty of neglect, as he has apparently been up in this room for hours with the door locked, which is apparently much longer than the amount of time that he normally spends up in this room. His servants are apprehensive, as either choice—unlocking the door and going in as opposed to not unlocking the door—has negative repercussions.

Judges 3:25b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
hinnêh (הֵ ̣ה) [pronounced hin-NAY]	lo, behold, or more freely, observe, look here, look, listen, note, take note; pay attention, get this, check this out	interjection, demonstrative particle	Strong’s #2009 (and #518, 2006) BDB #243
êyn (ןי̤א) [pronounced ān]	nothing, not, [is] not; not present, not ready; expresses non-existence, absence or non-possession; there is no [none, no one, not]	particle of negation; substantive of negation; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #369 BDB #34
pâthach (ח ַתָ) [pronounced paw-THAHKH]	to open, to open up; to let loose [as in, to draw (a sword]; to begin, to lead in	Qal active participle	Strong’s #6605 BDB #834
deleth (ת∵ל∵) [pronounced DEH-leth]	doors, gates of a city	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #1817 BDB #195
׳ălîyâh (הָ.לֲע) [pronounced ģuh-lee-YAW]	roof-chamber, upper room; cool and secluded roof chamber; a ladder, a way of ascent	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #5944 BDB #751

Translation: ...and lo, his doors of the roof chamber were still closed and locked [lit., not opening]. As has been discussed, Ehud left, locking these doors. They could certainly be locked and unlocked from the inside, as this was Eglon’s room, not his prison; and they could be unlocked from the outside, as the servants will do so in this verse. The doors being closed and locked were obviously Eglon’s do not disturb sign.

Judges 3:25c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
lâqach (חַקָל) [pronounced law-KAHKH]	to take, to take away, to take in marriage; to seize	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #3947 BDB #542
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
maph^etêach ( ַח ֵ ׃פַמ) [pronounced mahf-TAY-ahkh]	literally, opener, as its verb cognate means to open	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #4668 BDB #836

Translation: Then they took the key... What they took to open the door was the masculine singular opener, as its verb cognate means to open. We may render this word key. Barnes describes this as being a wooden instrument that could be used to lift up the latch within or to draw back the wooden bar or bolt, as they would certainly have a second key.

It is kind of interesting, really, to see that this Moabite king had set up so many personal conveniences: he had a private room designed to maximize the coolness of the wind; this room had an additional bathroom affixed to it, indicating, I would assume, indoor plumbing (being the king, why would he defecate in the room where he hung out if there were not some means of disposal?). The door to all of this had a lock, which could be locked and unlocked from the outside and inside. Furthermore, we have an additional room whose exact nature is dubious, but through which Ehud escaped. This was a nice set up.

Judges 3:25d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
pâthach (ח ַתָ) [pronounced paw-THAHKH]	to open, to open up; to let loose [as in, to draw (a sword]; to begin, to lead in	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect; pausal form	Strong’s #6605 BDB #834

Translation: ...and opened [them],... They unlocked the doors, opened them, went upstairs, and then found the kind.

Freeman again helps to explain the key: The key was usually of wood, though some have been found in Egypt of iron and bronze. The ordinary wooden key is from six inches to two feet in length, often having a handle of brass or silver, ornamented with filagree work. At the end there are wire pins, which are designed to loosen the fastenings of the lock. The key was anciently borne on the shoulder.

Gill writes: This is the first time we read of a key, which only signifies something to open with; and the keys of the ancients were different from those of ours; they were somewhat like a crooked sickle (i), which they put in through a hole in the door, and with it could draw on or draw back a bolt, and so could lock or unlock with inside, and at this day the keys in the eastern countries are unlike ours. Chardin (k) says, that a lock among the eastern people is like a little harrow, which enters half way into a wooden staple, and the key is a wooden handle with points at the end of it, which are pushed into the staple, and so raise this little harrow. Understanding these keys makes SOS 5:4 easier to make sense of: My Beloved put in His hand by the hole (of the door), and my heart was moved for Him. Have you ever heard of a man who has the key to a woman’s heart? This is the Biblical origin of that ancient saying.

Judges 3:25e
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
hinnêh (הֵ ̣ה) [pronounced hin-NAY]	lo, behold, or more freely, observe, look here, look, listen, note, take note; pay attention, get this, check this out	interjection, demonstrative particle	Strong’s #2009 (and #518, 2006) BDB #243
ădônây (יָנֹדֱא) [pronounced uh-doh-NAY]	lord, master, owner, superior, sovereign; can refer to the trinity or to an intensification of the noun; transliterated Adonai	masculine plural noun with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #113 BDB #10
nâphal (לַפָנ) [pronounced naw-FAHL]	to fall, to lie, to die a violent death, to be brought down, to settle, to sleep deeply; to desert	Qal active participle	Strong's #5307 BDB #656
erets (ץ ∵ר ∵א) [pronounced EH-rets]	earth (all or a portion thereof), land, ground, soil	feminine singular noun with the directional hê	Strong's #776 BDB #75
mûwth (תמ) [pronounced mooth]	to die; to perish, to be destroyed	Qal active participle	Strong's #4191 BDB #559

Translation: ...and, lo, their lord was laying on the ground, dying. Interestingly enough, Eglon was not dead, but he was dying when they found him—the Qal active participle is used (which suggest a continual action) rather than the perfect tense, which would have indicated a completed action.

One interesting area of speculation is, just how much of this did Ehud plan in advance? Did he know about Eglon’s room? Did he think that he could get a private audience with Eglon? Did he have an escape route planned? Did he believe that, once he killed Eglon, that he would have enough time to escape. What Ehud will do in the next few verses is much more important than this assassination; and what he does here is more daring as well as fraught with potential failure. You see, only killing Eglon will not have the achieved result of securing Israel’s freedom and independence. Ehud’s failure here would mean that he would not be able to lead Israel to victory over the Moabites. Therefore, this is a very chancy proposition, and one which probably involved a lot of preplanning. Ehud would get the layout of the palace as well as an understanding of Eglon’s general demeanor from those who have delivered their due to Eglon before. Securing a private audience with Eglon is key (remember, Ehud returns to the palace alone), and suggests that other Israelites have enjoyed such an audience in the past. Apart from a private audience, Ehud is on a suicide mission at best, leaving Israel without a strong leader and a very pissed off Moabite people. Therefore, in my opinion, Ehud had most of the details of this plan worked out.

Application: Whether Ehud is acting here under God’s will or not is arguable; however, what is not is, there is no place in God’s plan for people to run off half-cocked. You do not get fired up with emotion and then charge like the veritable bull in the China shop. Your emotion will get you nowhere. Unfortunately, many of the churches today—even those which are not charismatic—attempt to get their people fired up based upon their emotions rather than based upon the Word of God.

And Ehud escaped until their delaying and he himself passed beyond the sculptured idols and then he escaped [to] the Seirah.

Judges

3:26

Ehud escaped while they delayed and he himself passed by the sculptured idols, and then he escaped [to] the Seirah.

Ehud was able to escape while they delayed; he passed by the sculptured idols and then escaped to Seirah.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate But Aod, while they were in confusion, escaped, and passed by the place of the idols from where he had returned. And he came to Seirah.

Masoretic Text And Ehud escaped until their delaying and he himself passed beyond the sculptured idols and then he escaped [to] the Seirah.

Septuagint And Ehud escaped while they were troubled and he is not perceiving [or, perceived], and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath. I had to retranslate this, as Brenton ignored one of the phrases found in the Greek.

Significant differences: The additional Greek participle phrase is active and not passive. According to a website where I go to check out Attic verbs or Greek verbs which are not in the New Testament, the verb found in this additional phase here is only found in one place, where it means to perceive besides. The meaning I have given here is questionable. Perhaps the Greeks tells us that he [Eglon] was not responding. Apart from this phrase, these texts have no significant differences.

As is often the case, the Latin and Syriac are in close agreement with the Hebrew text.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV But by that time, Ehud had already escaped past the statues. Ehud went to the town of Seirah...

The Message While they were standing around wondering what to do, Ehud was long gone. He got past the stone images and escaped to Seirah.

NJB Meanwhile, Ehud had got away, passed the Idols and made good his escape to safety in Seirah.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ While they had been waiting, Ehud escaped. He went past the stone idols and escaped to Seirah.

HCSB Ehud escaped while the servants waited. He crossed over the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah.

JPS (Tanakh) But Ehud had made good his escape while they delayed; he had passed Pesilim and escaped to Seirah.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah.

LTHB And Ehud escaped while they waited. And he had passed by the images, and had slipped away to Seirath.

Young's Updated LT And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and has passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath.

What is the gist of this verse? While Eglon’s servants stand about wondering what to do, Ehud escapes, going past the peripheral idols and ending up in Seirath.

Judges 3:26a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
Êhûwd (דה̤א) [pronounced ay-HOOD]	I will give thanks; I will be praised; undivided, united; transliterated Ehud	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong's #164 BDB #13
mâlaţ (ט ַל ָמ) [pronounced maw-LAHT]	to be delivered; to deliver oneself, to escape, to slip away, to slip through [or past]; to go away in haste	3^rd person masculine singular, [often a reflexive meaning in the] Niphal perfect	Strong’s #4422 BDB #572
׳ad (דַע) [pronounced ģahd]	as far as, even to, up to, until	preposition	Strong’s #5704 BDB #723
mâhahh (-הָמ) [pronounced maw-HAH]	to delay, to linger, to tarry, to wait	Hithpalpel participle; with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #4102 BDB #554
This is the first time I can recall dealing with the Hithpalpel, but it is so called in Owen and BDB (in fact, this verb is only found in the Hithpalpel). Mansoor mentions it twice, but says not to bother worrying about this form, since it is too advanced. Neither Kelly nor Davison mention it. Since this verb only occurs in this form, the stem of the verb does not affect its meaning.

Translation: Ehud escaped while they delayed... It is not clear whether Ehud walked past the servants of Eglon or not. It appears as though he did not; and it is possible that security was relatively lax—that is, under the circumstances of Eglon taking someone into his upper room, perhaps that was an indication of trust on his part.

Regardless of whether Eglon’s servants saw Ehud leave or not, they waited for a long time before entering into Eglon’s private chamber. While they waited, Ehud was able to get a safe distance away from the palace.

Gill makes an interesting suggestion as to this delay. He offers two scenarios, the one which I described and then this: even when they had opened the doors, and found the king dead, while they were in confusion at it, not knowing what to ascribe it to, the dagger being enclosed in the wound, and perhaps but little blood, if any, issued out, being closed up with fat, and so had no suspicion of his being killed by Ehud; but rather supposing it to be an accidental fall from his seat, and might call in the physicians to examine him, and use their skill, if there were any hopes of recovery; all which prolonged time, and facilitated the escape of Ehud. Eglon’s size would have made him difficult to roll over or move about to examine him carefully as well.

Judges 3:26b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
hûw (אה) [pronounced hoo]	he, it; himself as a demonstrative pronoun: that, this	3^rd person masculine singular, personal pronoun	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
׳âbar (ר ַב ָע) [pronounced ģaw^b-VAHR]	to pass over, to pass through, to pass on, to pass, to go over, to cross, to cross over	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect	Strong’s #5674 BDB #716
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
p^eçîylîym (םי ̣לי ̣ס׃) [pronounced p^esee-LEEM]	carved images, graven images, idols; sculpted stones; stone quarries; carved stones	masculine plural noun with the definite article	Strong’s #6456 BDB #820
I do not think that this word necessarily needs to refer to stone anything, as Moses tells the Israelites to burn the p^eçîylîym back in Deut. 7:5.

Translation: ...and he himself passed by the sculptured idols,... It is interesting that these idols or sculptures are mentioned twice. It tends to back up my theory that Eglon has a palace between Gilgal and Jericho, that he is on Israeli soil, and that these statues are places around his residence either as a protection or a demarcation of his royal area.

When this verse mentions that he passes by the sculptured stones, my thinking is that this is at a point where he is on his way to being home free. Recall that these were mentioned before, but we could not place them exactly. Where they at the entrance of the palace, either immediately inside or outside? Could they be at the border of New Moab (the area occupied by Eglon in Israel)? The king would possibly walk his guests to the door, they having just given him a great treasure; and at that point, Ehud would have said to Eglon that he had a private message for him. They then returned to the inner portion of the house and go up the stairs to the roof for privacy. Ehud’s first point at which he would feel safer is outside of the palace and the second would be outside the borders of New Moab.

We’ve discussed where Eglon’s palace was located; Gill makes one more comment about this: he [Ehud] got beyond the quarries, which were by Gilgal, which shows that it could not be at Jericho where the king of Moab was, as Josephus thinks, but either in his own country beyond Jordan, though no mention is made of Ehud's crossing the Jordan, or however some place nearer the fords of Jordan; since Gilgal, from whence he returned, and whither he came again after he had killed the king of Moab, lay on that side of Jericho which was towards Jordan.

Judges 3:26c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
mâlaţ (ט ַל ָמ) [pronounced maw-LAHT]	to be delivered; to deliver oneself, to escape, to slip away, to slip through [or past]; to go away in haste	3^rd person masculine singular, [often a reflexive meaning in the] Niphal imperfect	Strong’s #4422 BDB #572
Sh^e׳îyrâh (הָרי.ע ש) [pronounced s^e-ģee-RAW]	she-goat; rough; transliterated Seirath	proper singular noun/location; with the definite article and the directional hê	Strong’s #8167 BDB #972

Translation: ...and then he escaped [to] the Seirah. The place mentioned is Seirah, which means shaggy, hairy, wooded, she-goat. ZPEB suggests that this could be one of the heavily forested areas of Ephraim mentioned back in Joshua 17:15, 18 along the eastern border of Ephraim. In fact, it is suggested that this might not have been a city, but a name for that particular area, which was heavily forested (Ehud would naturally move quickly to an area where he would not be easily found). Probably in this area the troops of Israel were lying in wait to hear that the assassination had gone successfully. This assassination could have been a small part of a bigger plan to oust Moab. The idea could have been to kill the king, and then out flank his disorganized army (disorganized because he is dead). On the other hand, I personally wonder how often Eglon jointed the troops, given his great weight.

Although Barnes suggests that Ehud now collects a strong force of Ephraimites and Benjamites, I would think that this has already been done; that they are lying in wait. Gathering an army from scratch strikes me as something which would take some time to do.

One of the things that I would like you to take note of is the attention to detail throughout this narrative. Ehud is carrying an 9 inch sword attached to his inner right thigh (v. 16). What he says to the king of Moab is given, as well as what the king says to him (vv. 19–20). The way that he stabbed the king as well as the loss of the sword in the king’s belly (vv. 21–22). The mention of the idols that Ehud goes by (vv. 19, 26). All of these things suggest a first-hand observer. Had that observer been Ehud, which is the most likely, then vv. 24–25 were either conveyed by a Moabite prior to being killed, or a supposed logical result of what Ehud told the men as he left.

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Ehud Leads Israel Against Moab

And so he was in his arrival and so he gave a blast in the trumpet in a hill country of Ephraim and so went down with him sons of Israel from the hill country and he their faces.

Judges

3:27

Then it was when he arrived that he gave a blast with the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. The sons of Israel then went down with him from the hill country, he [at] their front.

As soon as Ehud arrived, he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. This was a signal which brought the sons of Israel down out of the hill country with Ehud as their leader.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so he was in his arrival and so he gave a blast in the trumpet in a hill country of Ephraim and so went down with him sons of Israel from the hill country and he their faces.

Septuagint And it came to pass when Aod came into the land of Israel, that he blew the horn in mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came down with him from the mountain, and he was before them.

Significant differences: Ehud is specifically named in the LXX; but not in the Hebrew, Latin or Syriac (it is common for these three to agree). Furthermore, that he comes into in the land of Israel appears to be an addition of the Greek translator in the LXX (or this may have been a comment in the manuscript which they used). No other significant differences are found.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV ...in the hill country of Ephraim and started blowing a signal on a trumpet. The Israelites came together, and he shouted, "Follow me! The LORD will help us defeat the Moabites." The Israelites followed Ehud down to the Jordan valley, and they captured the places where people cross the river on the way to Moab. They would not let anyone go across,... [vv, 27–28].

NJB Once there, he sounded the horn in the highlands of Ephraim, and the Israelites came down from the hills with him at their head.

NLT When he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Ehud sounded a call to arms. Then he led a band of Israelites down from the hills.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ When he arrived there, he blew a ram's horn in the mountains of Ephraim to summon the troops. So the troops of Israel came down from the mountains with him, and he led them.

HCSB After he arrived, he sounded the ram's horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hill country, and he became their leader.

JPS (Tanakh) When he got there, he had the ram’s horn sounded through the hill country of Ephraim, and all the Israelites descended with him from the hill country; and he took the lead.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader.

Young’s Updated LT And it comes to pass, in his coming in, that he blows with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and go down with him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before them.

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud blows his trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelite army comes to him, and he leads them.

Judges 3:27a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
hâyâh (ה ָי ָה) [pronounced haw-YAW]	to be, is, was, are; to become, to come into being; to come to pass	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong's #1961 BDB #224
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
bôw (א) [pronounced boh]	to come in, to come, to go in, to go, to enter	Qal infinitive construct with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #935 BDB #97
When combined with a bêyth preposition, the infinitive construct often takes on a temporal meaning and may be rendered when [such and such happens]. With the bêyth preposition, the Qal infinitive construct serve as a temporal marker which denotes an event which occurs simultaneously with the action of the main verb.

Translation: Then it was when he arrived... The idea is, Ehud has left the palace of Eglon and he has arrived or come to a predetermined place. He did not simply make a run for it, but he went to a specific place (Seirah) at which point, he blew his trumpet.

Judges 3:27b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
tâqa׳ (ע ַק ָ) [pronounced taw-KAHĢ]	to fasten, to thrust, to clap, to give a blow, to give a blast	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect	Strong’s #8628 BDB #1075
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
shôwphâr (רָפש; also רָפֹש) [pronounced shoh-FAWR]	horn, trumpet; transliterated shophar	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #7782 BDB #1051
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
har (ר ַה) [pronounced har]	hill; mountain, mount; hill-country	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #2042 (and #2022) BDB #249
Eph^erayim (ם̣י -רפ ∵א) [pronounced ef-RAH-yim]	to bear fruit, to be fruitful; transliterated Ephraim	masculine proper noun; pausal form	Strong’s #669 BDB #68

Translation: ...that he gave a blast with the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Ehud did not go out and gather together an army from scratch, as at least one other commentator has suggested, but went to a predetermined place and blew the trumpet. This was premeditated, and hidden in the hill country were the forces of Israel who were going to attack Moab once Ehud had killed their king. The blast from the trumpet was the signal for them to move out. The phrasing here could just as easily be mountain of Ephraim; however, here it refers to the mountainous area or the hill country in Ephraim. In my mind, I see Ehud just barely entering into the hill country, and giving this trumpet blast; Gill sees him as going to a high mountain and blowing the trumpet, so that it could be heard from all around. However, Gill sees this army as I do—pre-assembled and waiting to hear this trumpet blast from Ehud.

Judges 3:27c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yârad (ד ַר ָי) [pronounced yaw-RAHD]	to descend, to go down	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #3381 BDB #432
׳îm (ם̣ע) [pronounced ģeem]	with, at, by, near	preposition of nearness and vicinity; with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #5973 BDB #767
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, off, out from, out of, away from, on account of, since, than, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
har (ר ַה) [pronounced har]	hill; mountain, mount; hill-country	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #2042 (and #2022) BDB #249

Translation: The sons of Israel then went down with him from the hill country,... The name where Ehud went is called Seirah, which means hairy. The implication is, that he went to a specific place which was overgrown, in the hill country of Ephraim, where an army could be stashed and remain undetected. Once this army hears Ehud’s trumpet blast (he does not need to go find them), they travel down the hill country to face Eglon’s occupying army.

Judges 3:27d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
hûw (אה) [pronounced hoo]	he, it; himself as a demonstrative pronoun: that, this	3^rd person masculine singular, personal pronoun	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
pânîym (םי̣נָ) [pronounced paw-NEEM]	face, faces countenance; presence	masculine plural noun (plural acts like English singular); with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #6440 BDB #815
Together, they mean before them, before their faces, in their presence, in their sight, in front of them.

Translation: ...he [at] their front. Ehud, giving a trumpet blast which no doubt indicates a successful mission, now leads this army of Israelites against the occupying forces of Eglon.

One of the things which we have found is the psychological affect that leaders have upon people. Remove a leader from a people and you removed from them a great deal of organization and focus. If there is not an immediately leader or some form of government to guide a people, then they are helpless. Some wonder how could so many Jews be so intimidated by so few Germans. There was no leader; no deliverer. Whether the Germans eliminated these people immediately or whether there was no one with the charisma necessary, I don’t know—but in either case, the Jews had no one to organize and guide them.

Here, the man of the hour was Ehud. We are not talking about a man of greatness, but a man who was capable of bravery and leadership. He was said to have been raised up by God in v. 15, but we do not read of him appealing to God for guidance or direction. He will attack in the name of God, knowing that God will deliver the Israelites.

And so he said unto them, “Follow after me for has given Y^ehowah your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” And so they went down after him and so they seized fords of the Jordan for the Moab and did not allow a man to cross over.

Judges

3:28

Then he then said to them, “Follow after me for Y^ehowah has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” Therefore, they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan belonging to the Moab and they did not allow a man to cross over.

He called out to them, “Follow after me for Jehovah has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand.” They then followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan which had belonged to Moab and did not allow a single man to cross over.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so he said unto them, “Follow after me for has given Y^ehowah your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” And so they went down after him and so they seized fords of the Jordan for the Moab and did not allow a man to cross over.

Septuagint And he said to them, Come down after me, for the Lord God has delivered our enemies, Moab, into your hand; and they went down after him, and seized on the fords of Jordan before Moab, and he did not suffer a man to pass over. I had to change Brenton’s text again to match up with the actual Greek. Interestingly enough, there appear to be more differences between Brenton’s translation of the LXX and the Hebrew text than there is between the Greek text and the Hebrew text.

Significant differences: The LXX adds God to Lord; it is not found this way in the Hebrew, Latin or Syriac.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

NLT “Follow me,” he said, “for the Lord has given you victory over Moab your enemy.” So they followed him. And the Israelites took control of the shallows of the Jordan River across from Moab, preventing anyone from crossing.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ He told them, "Follow me! The LORD will hand your enemy Moab over to you." They followed him and captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River that led to Moab and refused to let anyone cross.

HCSB He told them, "Follow me, because the LORD has handed over your enemies, the Moabites, to you." So they followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.

JPS (Tanakh) “Follow me closely,” he said, “for the Lord had delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands.” They followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites; they let no one cross.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And he said to them, "Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over.

Young’s Updated LT And he says unto them, “Pursue after me, for Jehovah has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand.” And they go down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan towards Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over.

What is the gist of this verse? Ehud tells this army of Israelites to follow him, as God has given the Moabites into their hand. Their first tactical move is, they seize the places in the Jordan where the Moabites might cross back over into a safer area (I think that Moab’s boundaries, at the time, included the shoreline of the Dead Sea and a portion of the Jordan).

Judges 3:28a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
âmar (ר ַמ ָא) [pronounced aw-MAHR]	to say, to speak, to utter; to say [to oneself], to think	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #559 BDB #55
el (ל∵א) [pronounced el]	unto; into, among, in; toward, to; against; concerning, regarding; besides, together with; as to	directional preposition (respect or deference may be implied); with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong's #413 BDB #39
râdaph (ףַדָר) [pronounced raw-DAHF]	to pursue, to follow after; to chase with hostile intent, to persecute	2^nd person masculine plural, Qal imperative	Strong’s #7291 BDB #922
achar (ר ַח ַא) [pronounced ah-KHAHR]	after, following, behind	preposition with the 1^st person singular suffix	Strong’s #310 BDB #29

Translation: Then he then said to them, “Follow after me... Again, the principle of leadership; we see this over and over again in the Bible. When Israel acts as a whole, then there is some great spiritual leader in front of them. Over and over again in the Old Testament, we find Israel being led by spiritual and/or political leaders, for good and for evil.

Application: For the church to function properly, there must be true leadership in the church. I have seen various arguments for this and that form of church government, and have come to the conclusion that there is no carefully prescribed form of church government in Scripture. Now and again, we get a glimpse of this or that church hierarchy, but bear in mind, we are called upon to follow God’s mandates for us, not to find something in the Bible and copy it. However, what we see again and again, in both Old and New Testaments, is the principle of leadership; the principle of authority (Heb. 13:13, 17).

Before we leave this portion of v. 28, notice where Ehud is—he leads the charge. Not only does he not subject his own men to more than he himself is willing to endure, but he puts himself out in front, leading the charge, willing to take the first bullet, as it were. That is a very brave man willing to do this; who behind him could not be inspired?

Judges 3:28b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
kîy (י̣) [pronounced kee]	when, that, for, because	explanatory conjunction; preposition	Strong's #3588 BDB #471
nâthan (ן ַתָנ) [pronounced naw-THAHN]	to give, to grant, to place, to put, to set	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect	Strong's #5414 BDB #678
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
âyab (בַי ָא) [pronounced aw-YA^BV]	enemy, the one being at enmity with you; enmity, hostility	masculine plural, Qal active participle; with the 2^nd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #340 BDB #33
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Môwâb (בָאמ) [pronounced moh-AW^BV]	of his father; transliterated Moab	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #4124 BDB #555
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular noun with the 2^nd person masculine singular suffix	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
This combination of the bêyth preposition and hand means with you; through you, by you, by means of you; at your hand [i.e., before your, in your sight].

Translation: ...for Y^ehowah has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” Notice that what is required is a leader to guide the Israelites in battle, a position which Ehud takes. Ehud had the faith that, since God had allowed him to assassinate the king, that God would follow through, giving Moab into the hand of Israel (a euphemism meaning that God would allow Israel to defeat Moab in battle—Joshua 2:24 Judges 7:9, 15 1Sam. 17:47).

Judges 3:28c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yârad (ד ַר ָי) [pronounced yaw-RAHD]	to descend, to go down	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #3381 BDB #432
achar (ר ַח ַא) [pronounced ah-KHAHR]	after, following, behind	preposition with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #310 BDB #29

Translation: Therefore, they went down after him... A country (or group) cannot function entirely on the power and steam of one man—they must actually follow him.

Application: A church is going to be filled with people of all different levels of spiritual growth—some will demonstrate personal integrity in their lives, and others will act worse than most unbelievers. However, the idea is, they are to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that they are to respond to the teaching of the leadership of their church. Our illustration here is the army of Israel—they had to gather, to wait and then follow. This is an excellent parallel to our spiritual life today—we gather ourselves together as a group; we abide under the teaching of a pastor-teacher; and then we are led. Now, in the final instance, I am not talking about the pastor-teacher getting us to march on Washington for some cause, nor are we to gather in some compound and stand up to our government—we are to be led to have an exemplary life, a life marked by personal integrity and and awareness of the place in which we find ourselves. We are to have a spiritual impact, not a cultural, social or political impact.

Judges 3:28d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
lâkad (ד ַכ ָל) [pronounced law-KAHD]	to capture, to seize, to take, to choose [by lot]	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #3920 BDB #539
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
ma׳^ebârâh (ה ָר ָ ׃ע ַמ) [pronounced mahģ-baw-RAW]	ford, pass, crossing pass, passage	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #4569 BDB #721
Yâr^edên (ן̤רָי) [pronounced yar^e-DAYN]	transliterated Jordan	proper noun with the definite article	Strong’s #3383 BDB #434
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to, with reference to, as to, with regards to; belonging to; by	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
Môwâb (בָאמ) [pronounced moh-AW^BV]	of his father; transliterated Moab	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #4124 BDB #555

Translation: ...and seized the fords of the Jordan belonging to the Moab... You will notice that most of these verses are packed with verbs. Like Joshua, the writer of this portion of Judges is a man of action, or reflects a time of action. What they seized was the feminine plural construct of ford, crossing pass, passage. Here, it refers to the few places of the Jordan that one could cross over. This had been under the control of the Moabites. As I see it, the Moabites have established a garrison run by Eglon west of the Jordan near Gilgal. They were the taxing authority and the military control station. From here, the taxes would be transferred across the Jordan into Moab proper. In order to do this, they had to cross the Jordan River, which means, they had to be near areas where the Jordan could be crossed. If these are cut off, there is no place where these Moabites can retreat or go to for reinforcements. There was obviously a well-thought out plan in place.

Judges 3:28e
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
lô (אֹל or אל) [pronounced low]	not, no	negates the word or action that follows; the absolute negation	Strong’s #3808 BDB #518
nâthan (ן ַתָנ) [pronounced naw-THAHN]	to give, to grant, to place, to put, to set	3^rd person plural, Qal perfect	Strong's #5414 BDB #678
îysh (שי ̣א) [pronounced eesh]	a man, a husband; anyone; a certain one; each, each one, everyone	masculine singular noun (sometimes found where we would use a plural)	Strong's #376 BDB #35
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
׳âbar (ר ַב ָע) [pronounced ģaw^b-VAHR]	to pass over, to pass through, to pass on, to pass, to go over, to cross, to cross over	Qal infinitive construct	Strong’s #5674 BDB #716

Translation: ...and they did not allow a man to cross over. The strategy was as follows. Israel did not attack Moab directly; just those who were in Israel. When they took control of the fords of the Jordan, they prevented the other soldiers from Moab from crossing back over to Israel’s side and they kept the Moabites who were stationed in what remained of Jericho. This effectively split the forces of Moab, who would be in political turmoil to begin with, and guarding the fords would have required a relatively small force. One of the teachers at the high school where I taught illustrated a similar situation to his students. They had asked how could a small force contain a larger force in some particular battle (this occurred between some mountains at a valley pass). So, Eric Linnes (the teacher), posted 2 or 3 students at the door and told them to keep the other 20 or so students inside the room. They were successful and this proved his point. This is the situation here. Even with a strong force of Edomites on the other side of the Jordan, the passage ways across the Jordan were limited and restrictive. What Israel would do next is to attack the isolated force of Moabites who were in the Jericho area and slaughter them.

As the NIV Study Bible so succinctly put it: This move prevented the Moabites from sending reinforcements and also enabled the Israelites to cut off the Moabites fleeing Jericho.

And so they struck down Moab in the time the that as ten thousand a man, all robust and all men of strength and did not escape a man.

Judges

3:29

Then they struck down Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust and all men of strength. Furthermore, not a [single] man escaped.

Then they struck down Moab, killing roughly 10,000 of her toughest soldiers. They did not allow a single Moabite to escape to the other side of the Jordan.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so they struck down Moab in the time the that as ten thousand a man, all robust and all men of strength and did not escape a man.

Septuagint And they smote Moab at [or, in] that time about ten thousand men, every lusty person and every mighty man; and not a man escaped.

Significant differences: No significant differences. Again, I had to adjust Brenton’s translation of the Greek text to better reflect what is found in the Greek.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV ...and before the fighting was over, they killed about ten thousand Moabite warriors--not one escaped alive.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ At that time they killed about ten thousand of Moab's best fighting men. Not one of them escaped.

HCSB At that time they struck down about 10,000 Moabites, all strong and able-bodied men. Not one of them escaped.

JPS (Tanakh) On that occasion they slew about 10,000 Moabites; they were all robust and brave men, yet not one of them escaped.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped.

Young’s Updated LT And they strike Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust, and every one a man of valour, and not a man has escaped.

What is the gist of this verse? The Israelites killed about 10,000 Moabite soldiers; and the Bible makes it clear that this is a force of strong and vicious men; this was not a lot of soldiers placed west of the Jordan for show. None of the Moabite soldiers escaped Ehud’s attack.

Judges 3:29a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
nâkâh (ה ָכ ָנ) [pronounced naw-KAWH]	to smite, to assault, to hit, to strike, to strike [something or someone] down, to defeat, to conquer, to subjugate	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect	Strong #5221 BDB #645
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Môwâb (בָאמ) [pronounced moh-AW^BV]	of his father; transliterated Moab	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #4124 BDB #555
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
׳êth (ת ֵע) [pronounced ģayth]	time, the right time, the proper time; opportunity	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #6256 BDB #773
hîy (אי.ה) [pronounced hee]	she, it; also used as a demonstrative pronoun: that, this	3^rd person feminine singular, personal pronoun	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
kaph or k^e ( ׃) [pronounced k^e]	like, as, according to; about, approximately	preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #453
׳asârâh (הָרָ-ע) [pronounced ģah-saw-RAW]	ten	feminine numeral	Strong’s #6235 BDB #796
ălâphîym (מי.פָלֲא) pronounced uh-law-FEEM]	thousands, families, [military] units	masculine plural noun	Strong’s #505 (and #504) BDB #48
îysh (שי ̣א) [pronounced eesh]	a man, a husband; anyone; a certain one; each, each one, everyone	masculine singular noun (sometimes found where we would use a plural)	Strong's #376 BDB #35

Translation: Then they struck down Moab at that time, about ten thousand men,... Interestingly enough, we don not have in that day, but, instead, at that time.

The kaph preposition can be used to approximate a number. The Israelite army killed about 10,000 Moabites.

Clarke describes the tactics: 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 endeavored 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.

Judges 3:29b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	every, each, all of, all; any of, any	masculine singular construct not followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
shâmên (ן ֵמ ָש) [pronounced shaw-MAYN]	fat; fertile, plentiful, opulent, bountiful; stout, robust	masculine singular adjective used as a noun; pausal form	Strong’s #8082 BDB #1032
This word is used primarily to describe land as being fertile; however, the verb cognate means to be fat, to make fat. I don’t think that we can apply this to men to mean brave, ferocious or anything like that; but well-fed, stout, big. This is not an insult, not does this mean that these men are slow and weak (give what follows). Given how this word is used to describe the land (Num. 13:20 1Chron. 4:40 Neh. 9:25, 35 Ezek. 34:14), we must take this as a complimentary term. These are big men who had become prosperous on the backs of the Israelis.
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	every, each, all of, all; any of, any	masculine singular construct not followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
îysh (שי ̣א) [pronounced eesh]	a man, a husband; anyone; a certain one; each, each one, everyone	masculine singular construct (sometimes found where we would use a plural)	Strong's #376 BDB #35
chayil (ל̣יַח) [pronounced CHAH-yil]	army, force; strength, courage, power, might; efficiency; and that which is gotten through strength—wealth, substance	masculine singular noun; pausal form	Strong’s #2428 BDB #298

Translation: ...all robust and all men of strength. This is followed by a description of the men. They are all considered to be big men: stout, robust. The idea is not that they are necessarily overweight, lazy and weak; but in good health and strong, if not big as well. They are also described by the masculine noun army, force; strength, courage, power, might; efficiency valour. These are big, powerful men. It is very likely that these men are a third larger than the average Israeli soldier.

Judges 3:29c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
lô (אֹל or אל) [pronounced low]	not, no	negates the word or action that follows; the absolute negation	Strong’s #3808 BDB #518
mâlaţ (ט ַל ָמ) [pronounced maw-LAHT]	to be delivered; to deliver oneself, to escape, to slip away, to slip through [or past]; to go away in haste	3^rd person masculine singular, [often a reflexive meaning in the] Niphal perfect	Strong’s #4422 BDB #572
îysh (שי ̣א) [pronounced eesh]	a man, a husband; anyone; a certain one; each, each one, everyone	masculine singular noun (sometimes found where we would use a plural)	Strong's #376 BDB #35

Translation: Furthermore, not a [single] man escaped. God was with Israel in this attack and none of the men escaped. We use the same verb which was used of Ehud back in v. 26.

Although we have 10,000 enemy casualties, this does not mean that this many fell in one battle. There was probably a time period during which Israel took control of the fords of the Jordan and also destroyed the troops which occupied Israel (who probably primarily lived in the Gilgal and Jericho area)—during these several battles did this number of deaths take place. Whether this was a battle which took most of a day or two; or whether it was a war which went on for a week or more, we don’t know. The Scripture reads as though this is a battle which takes place over a short period of time; however, there is nothing which specifically means this (apart from the fact that none of the Moabites escaped, which would be more likely in a short, intense battle, as opposed to several battles taking place over a few weeks). The vocabulary in this verse does not require this to occur within a 24 hour period of time; and the words in that day will occur in v. 30; but, recall that day can refer to a longer period of time. My own opinion is that this represents one long battle (over a period of a day or so); however, the text does not demand this position.

With regards to the actual numbers, we have the kaph preposition, which can be used to indicate approximately when used with numbers. This is followed by the feminine numeral ten. This is followed by the masculine plural noun thousands, families (see Ex. 18:21 Judges 6:15). It is because of this double meaning, that some question the numbers which are found in the English translations of Scripture. Then we have the word man. ZPEB suggests that this could refer to ten smaller Moabite military forces, as 10,000 is a rather large force to be occupying a portion of land on the other side of the Jordan. However, since the Moabites ruled over the Israelites for 18 years, such a large force does not appear to be unlikely to me.

There was only one way of escape for the Moabites, and the was by crossing over the Jordan to the other side where they probably also had a large presence. However, the Israelite army cut them off immediately from the other side of the Jordan—no one would escape the Israeli army to the west side; and on one could come over to the east side to support them.

The Moabites were not a people who lived in the land. They simply occupied a portion of Israel (the site of Gilgal and/or Jericho) and for awhile, they controlled the fords. God had given Israel no orders to remove them from their own land. Nor was Israel to completely wipe them out. They were used by God to discipline Israel. In the next book, Ruth, the Moabitess, will be in the line of Christ. All that happened in this verse is that the men who occupied Israel were taken out.

And so subdued was Moab in the day the that under a hand of Israel and so undisturbed was the land eighty years [and Ehud judged them until his death].

Judges

3:30

So Moab was subdued in that day under the hand of Israel so that the land was undisturbed [for] eighty years [and Ehud judged them until his death].

Therefore, Israel subdued Moab in that day and the land of Israel had peace for eighty years; and Ehud judged the people until his death.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate And Moab was humbled that day under the hand of Israel: and the land rested eighty years.

Masoretic Text And so subdued was Moab in the day the that under a hand of Israel and so undisturbed was the land eighty years [and Ehud judged them until his death].

Septuagint So Moab was put to shame in that day under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest eighty years; and Aod judged them till he died.

Significant differences: The first verb is somewhat different in the Greek; the Latin, Hebrew and Syriac are in agreement on this verb. The Greek adds that Ehud judged Israel until his death. This is not found in the Hebrew, Latin or Syriac.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Moab was so badly defeated that it was a long time before they were strong enough to attack Israel again. And Israel was at peace for eighty years.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ The power of Moab was crushed by Israel that day. So there was finally peace in the land for 80 years.

HCSB Moab became subject to Israel that day, and the land was peaceful 80 years.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

Young's Updated LT And Moab is humbled in that day under the hand of Israel; and the land rests eighty years.

What is the gist of this verse? This verse summarizes the end result; that Moab was beat down at that time, and that the land of Israel had no more similar incursions for another 80 years.

Judges 3:30a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
kâna׳ (עַנ ָ) [pronounced kaw-NAHĢ]	to be subdued, to be brought low; to submit oneself, to behave submissively	3^rd person feminine singular, Niphal imperfect	Strong’s #3665 BDB #488
This verb makes me think that Moab is a feminine singular noun; however, it is listed as a masculine noun and has a masculine noun form. I have confirmed by a different source that this is, indeed, the 3^rd person feminine singular, Niphal imperfect form.
Môwâb (בָאמ) [pronounced moh-AW^BV]	of his father; transliterated Moab	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #4124 BDB #555
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
yôwm (םי) [pronounced yohm]	day; time; today (with a definite article)	masculine singular noun with the definite article	Strong’s #3117 BDB #398
hûw (אה) [pronounced hoo]	that, this	masculine singular, demonstrative pronoun (with the definite article)	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
The bêyth preposition, yôwm and hûw (with definite articles) mean in that day, on that day, in [on] the same day.
tachath (תַח ַ) [pronounced TAH-khahth]	underneath, below, under, beneath; instead of, in lieu of; in the place [in which one stands]; in exchange for; on the basis of	preposition of location or foundation	Strong’s #8478 BDB #1065
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular construct	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: So Moab was subdued in that day under the hand of Israel... The first verb means to be humbled, to be subdued. For a full two generations, this victory held and Israel lived in relative peace.

Judges 3:30b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
shâqaţ (טַקָש) [pronounced shaw-KAHT]	to be quiet, to be undisturbed, to be inactive; to rest	3^rd person feminine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #8252 BDB #1052
It means to rest, to lie down, to have quiet. It is used of one who is never troubled, harassed, or infested by others, Judges 3:11 5:31 8:28; and of one who has no fear or dread, Psalm lxxvi 9. The meaning is, that he would not only have lain down, but would have been perfectly tranquil.
erets (ץ ∵ר ∵א) [pronounced EH-rets]	earth (all or a portion thereof), land, ground, soil	feminine singular noun with the definite article	Strong's #776 BDB #75
sh^emônîym (םי.נֹמש) [pronounced sh^e-moh-NEEM]	eighty	indeclinable plural numeral; adjective	Strong’s #8084 BDB #1033
shânâh (הָנָש) [pronounced shaw-NAW]	year	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #8141 BDB #1040

Translation: ...so that the land was undisturbed [for] eighty years [and Ehud judged them until his death]. In the Hebrew, the last words of this verse are eighty years. However, in the Septuagint, they add that Ehud judged the people of Israel until he died. Rotherham believes that the addition is accurate and I will go along with him on this.

We would hope that a large portion of this 80 years was without idolatry; however, I would suspect that Israel slowly fell back into it.

There are a number of differing opinions about the time frame of the various judges in Israel. The years of the judges appear to be given consecutively; for instance, Judges 4:1 will begin a new chapter, a new judge, but it references back to Ehud dying. Others view this as a peace given in this verse as holding only for central and eastern Israel, but is not the state of affairs throughout Israel. Wesley points out that the southwestern portions of Israel are filled with Philistines. It is abundantly clear that the judges are found all over Israel, and it is reasonable to suppose that their reigns overlapped. However, there is only one group of chapters here where we clearly have an overlap (where Israel is plagued by the Philistines and the Ammonites—Judges 10–16). These issues were discussed more fully in the Introduction to the Book of the Judges.

You will notice that round numbers are used throughout the book of Judges. The reason for this is that much of this book was written after the fact by a person or people who were not there and who used and pieced together ancient documents. We look at everything as smushed together in time when we go back that far, but the indication is that most of this book was written a century or even two centuries later (but often based upon first-hand documents). Now, even in our modern world, let’s say you had to write some history based upon documents which were at least 100 years old, you would be hard put to do that. That is, it would not be easy for you to rummage around your house and find any documents which were 100 years old. This appears to be the case here. Furthermore, we are dealing with centuries old documents in a land which is politically unstable throughout that time period. Since Ehud originally wrote this passage, he would not be aware of how long he would judge over Israel or how long they enjoyed peace. This would be information pieced together from other documents, which would therefore require the author to use round numbers to reasonably approximate the time.

This might be a good place for...

A Summary of Ehud’s Acts

The attack upon Eglon and his troops was well-planned. Ehud brought the tribute to Eglon just as expected, and did the customary fawning and possibly gained the confidence of Eglon. Just because one country dominates another does not mean that everyone from the latter country absolutely despises the former. Some people are opportunists and some people like to only go with a winner, regardless of how that win is ascertained, and this is possibly how Eglon read Ehud. It probably appeared as though Ehud ingratiated himself to Eglon in order to further his own personal career as a go-between the two nations. Thus gaining his confidence, when he left, and then suddenly returned with a message from God (which action could have very well been a message to the troops who were hiding afar off). Eglon seemed to have no problem with letting him have a private audience. When they retired to Eglon’s private chamber, Ehud struck, quickly left, and then returned to the minions of Israelites who were in the woods of Ephraim. At the time of their attack, the local leader of the Moabites would not be able to lead his troops, throwing them into some confusion. Israel then was able to easily take out all of the occupying troops. One of the evidences supporting that Eglon lived locally is that there is no apparent continuation of the war between Israel and Moab at that time. Eglon may have been an enterprising military man who organized a mercenary division, marched into Israel and conquered that area of Israel and then occupied it with his men. He supported his own troops with the tribute from Israel and likely, in turn, paid tribute to his own king. What he did was not unlike a hostile takeover between two competing companies.

I personally very much enjoy the prose of Edersheim, and will share them with you: The narrative here is exceedingly graphic. The king is no longer in the palace where the deputation had been received, but in his “upper chamber of cooling,” a delicious summer-retreat built out upon the end of the flat roof. Ehud professes to have “a secret errand,” which had brought him back when his companions were gone. All the more that he does not ask for the withdrawal of the king’s attendants does Eglon bid him be “Silent!” in their presence, which, of course, is the signal for their retirement. Alone with the king, Ehud saith, in a manner not uncommon inn the East: “I have a message from God unto thee,” on which Eglon, in token of reverence, rises from his seat. This is the favourable moment, and, in an instant, Ehud has plunged his dagger up to the hilt into the lower part of his body, with such force that the blade came out behind. Not pausing for a moment, Ehud retires, closes and locks the doors upon the murdered king, and escapes beyond the boundary. Meanwhile the king’s attendants, finding the room locked, have waited, till, at least, they deem it necessary to break open the doors. The horror and confusion consequent upon the discovery of the murder have given Ehud still further time. And now the preconcerted signal is heard. The shrill blast of the trumpet in Seirath (perhaps the “hairy” or “wooded”) wakes the echoes of Mount Ephraim. All around from their hiding troop the men of Israel. The first object is to haste back towards Jericho and take the fords of Jordan, so as to allow neither help to come, nor fugitives to escape; the next to destroy the garrison of Moab. In both, Israel are successful, and, “at that time”—of course, not on that precise day—10,000 of Moab are slain, all of them, as we should say, fine men and brave soldiers. “And the land had rest fourscore years.”

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Barnes comments on Ehud: In judging of the nature of Ehud’s act there are many considerations which must greatly modify our judgment. Acts of violence or cunning, done in an age when human society applauded such acts, when the best men of the age thought them right, and when men were obliged to take the law into their own hands in self-defense, are very different from the same acts done in an age when the enlightened consciences of men generally condemn them, and when the law of the land and the law of nations give individuals adequate security. We can allow faith and courage and patriotism to Ehud, without being blind to those defective views of moral right which made him and his countrymen glory in an act which in the light of Christianity is a crime. It is remarkable that neither Ehud nor Jael are included in Paul’s list in Heb. 11:32.

We should deal with Ehud’s act of assassination here. The Bible does not teach that there is any preferred form of government—not a democracy (which is never dealt with in the Bible, apart from Acts 1 where it is a foolish mistake) and not any other form of government. We live in a time when God’s Word can be taught under a variety of political rulers and ideologies. In Romans, Paul teaches rather emphatically, to obey those who are in power. There is no implication that we should ever assassinate any ruler, no matter how nutty or power-crazed he might be. Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God and those which exist have been established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority opposes the ordinance of God and those who oppose will receive condemnation upon themselves (Rom. 13:1–2). Paul never retracted this statement, even though for part of his ministry, Rome was ruled my a madman (Nero) and Paul was unjustly imprisoned. Paul never blamed Nero and never called for revolution, even though he was put in prison without any legitimate charges against him, apart from being a Christian and teaching and evangelizing. During his imprisonment, when he wrote to Philemon, Paul began his letter: Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, Timothy, our brother, to Philemon, our beloved brother and fellow worker (Philemon 1).

The reason that there is no preferred form of government today is that we are no longer in the Age of Israel where Israel began as a theocracy. God had clearly given the land over to Israel and, although He tested Israel continually with the peoples in the land and without, the land was still theirs throughout all the Age of Israel—therefore, one might argue that an assassination was allowed and was not an attack upon established authority. However, as has been pointed out, we find no authorization by the Holy Spirit to do so and no guiding by the Holy Spirit to do so. And just because God raised up Ehud to deliver Israel, this does not mean that everything that Ehud did was right in God’s eyes. Throughout Scripture, we have recorded incidents of great men doing the wrong thing—Abraham lying (Gen. 20); David’s adultery with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of Uriah the Hittite (2Sam. 11); the voting of the disciples (Acts 1); and Paul’s going to Jerusalem (Acts 21). These are just a few examples of the many failures of great men. Scripture, interestingly enough, does not always make judgment calls for us. For instance, where David’s act of adultery and murder and clearly dealt with as terrible sins; it is less clear about Abraham’s lying, King Solomon’s polygamy, and the voting for a replacement Apostle in Acts 1.

For any one of us to assassinate a leader today is confusion and apostasy. Now, if the moral uncertainty of Ehud’s actions are bothersome, then you won’t care much for the rest of this book. There is no one in the book of the Judges who is a clear-cut hero who always makes the right choice (at least while in fellowship).

Now, what we cannot object to in Ehud’s act is the simple act of killing as a part of war as being somehow wrong. Nor can we relegate that act of killing as part of a war to the past as fitting in with the standards back then but would not fit in with the standards today. War is going to be a part of our lives. In the United States, I have lived through a relatively peaceful era, yet during my lifetime we have had the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, Operation Desert Storm, troops of Kosovo, and several military actions which I have left out. Our Lord promised us: “There will be wars and rumors of wars till I come.” (Matt. 24:6a). All of these involved the killing of the enemy. When we dropped the Atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this killed thousands of men, women and children; but this act prevented additional killing in the war. My point in all of this is that, although we are different from Israel of the Old Testament insofar as we are not a theocracy, we certainly have not progressed to some spiritual plane which makes war outmoded. We will never, in and of ourselves, come to a point where war will no longer be a part of this life.

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Shamgar, Another Deliverer

And after him was Shamgar ben Anath and so he struck down [the] Philistines six hundred men with a bone of the ass and so he delivered also, he, Israel.

Judges

3:31

After him was Shamgar ben Anath and he struck down the Philistines—six hundred men—with an ox goad; he, [even] he, also delivered Israel.

Ehud was later followed by Shamgar ben Anath, who struck down 600 Philistines with the bone of an ass; he also was a deliverer of Israel.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And after him was Shamgar ben Anath and so he struck down [the] Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad of the ox and so he delivered also, he, Israel.

Peshitta And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down 600 of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.

Septuagint And after him rose up Samegar the son of Dinach, and he struck down the Philistines to the number of six hundred men with a ploughshare such as is drawn by oxen; and he too delivered Israel.

Significant differences: The weapon which Shamgar uses is in question: whether an ox goad (Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic and Syriac) or a ploughshare (Greek and Latin). Apart from that, there are no significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Shamgar the son of Anath was the next to rescue Israel. In one battle, he used a sharp wooden pole to kill six hundred Philistines.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ After Ehud came Shamgar, son of Anath. He killed 600 Philistines with a sharp stick used for herding oxen. So he, too, rescued Israel.

HCSB After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath became judge. He delivered Israel by striking down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.

Young’s Updated LT And after him has been Shamgar son of Anath, and he strikes the Philistines—six hundred men—with an ox-goad, and he saveth—he also—Israel.

What is the gist of this verse? The second judge is named here: Shamgar. He killed 600 Philistines with an ox-goad and so delivered Israel.

Judges 3:31a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
achar (ר ַח ַא) [pronounced ah-KHAHR]	after, following, behind	preposition with the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix	Strong’s #310 BDB #29
hâyâh (ה ָי ָה) [pronounced haw-YAW]	to be, is, was, are; to become, to come into being; to come to pass	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect	Strong's #1961 BDB #224
Shamgar (ר-מ-ש) [pronounced shahm^e-GAHR]	sword; transliterated Shamgar	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #8044 BDB #1029
bên (ן ֵ) [pronounced bane]	son, descendant	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
׳Ânâth (תָנָע) [pronounced ģawn-AWTH]	answer; answer to prayer; indemnity, fine; transliterated Anath	masculine singular, proper noun	Strong’s #6067 BDB #779

Translation: After him was Shamgar ben Anath... I just left off talking about the time frame of the judges. We do not find the simply wâw consecutive here, where we read about one judge and then we read about another judge; this tells us that Shamgar came after him; so Shamgar, even though he is probably located more toward the southwest (where the Philistines are), he does not appear to be contemporary with Ehud, but a judge who follows Ehud. Given that Ehud’s death is mentioned in Judges 4:1, my thinking would be that he retired, Shamgar took over (Judges 3:31), and later, Ehud passed away (Judges 4:1).

Edersheim suggests that his name possibly means the name of a stranger. However, the most I can confirm is that it means name of. It could mean the name of someone thrown; and if the r at the end is actually a d, then it could mean the name of someone excellent. Obviously, in order to come up with information about him, we really have to stretch.

The NIV Study Bible on Shamgar: His name is foreign, so he was probably not an Israelite. “Son of Anath” indicates either that Shamgar came from the town of The-Anath (see Judges 1:33) or that his family worshiped the goddess Anath. Since Anath, Baal’s sister, was a goddess of war who fought for Baal, the expression “son of Anath” may have been a military title, meaning “a warrior.” ZPEB also says that his name is foreign—possibly Hittite or Hurrian. Keil and Delitzsch suggest that perhaps he played a large part in a putting down an invasion by Philistines. Obviously, we are given no details.

Why the NIV Study Bible does not offer the option that Shamgar’s father has the name Anath (the most likely possibility), I don’t know.

Some of the Greek manuscripts place the story of Shamgar after Samson; however, Shamgar’s mention in Judges 5:6 confirms the chronology implied by the Hebrew.

Judges 3:31b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
nâkâh (ה ָכ ָנ) [pronounced naw-KAWH]	to smite, to assault, to hit, to strike, to strike [something or someone] down, to defeat, to conquer, to subjugate	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect	Strong #5221 BDB #645
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
P^elish^etîy (י. ש ̣ל) [pronounced p^e-lish-TEE]	transliterated Philistines	masculine plural gentilic adjective (acts like a proper noun)	Strong’s #6430 BDB #814
shêsh (ש̤ש) [pronounced shaysh]	six	masculine form of numeral	Strong’s #8337 BDB #995
mêôwth (תא ֵמ) [pronounced may-AW]	hundreds	feminine plural absolute; numeral	Strong’s #3967 BDB #547
îysh (שי ̣א) [pronounced eesh]	a man, a husband; anyone; a certain one; each, each one, everyone	masculine singular noun (sometimes found where we would use a plural)	Strong's #376 BDB #35
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, through; at, by, near, on, upon; with, before, against; by means of; among; within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
mal^emâd (ד ָמל-מ) [pronounced mahl^e-MAWD]	ox-goad; from root verb which means to chastise, to correct	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #4451 BDB #541
bâqâr (ר ָק ָ) [pronounced baw-KAWR]	ox, herd, cattle	masculine singular collective noun	Strong’s #1241 BDB #133

Translation: ...and he struck down the Philistines—six hundred men—with an ox goad;... What he used to deliver Israel is the masculine singular construct of a noun which occurs only here and means ox-goad. The root of this word means to chastise, to correct. This is followed by a definite article and the masculine singular noun ox, herd, cattle. So the deal is, that this is some sort of an instrument used to guide and correct cattle.

Gill describes the Philistines of that time period as 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 robbers, who posted themselves in the highways, and robbed travelers as they passed, so that they were obliged to leave off traveling, or go through bypaths, and not in the public road; and this man, who seems to have been called from the plough to be a judge of Israel, as some among the Romans were called from thence to be dictators and deliverers of them from the Gauls.


Various Descriptions of the Oxgoad
Commentator	Description
Barnes	Barnes describes the Oxgoad as 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 plough, and with an iron scraper at the other end with which to detach the earth from the ploughshare when it became encumbered with it. The fact of their deliverer having no better weapon enhances his faith, and the power of his Divine helper. At the same time it shows how low the men of Judah were brought at this time, being disarmed by their oppressors (Judges v:8...1Sam. xiii. 19, 22).
Carwhile	A long wooden pole that has been tipped with a sharpened iron point at one end and capped with a flattened chisel-like blade at the other end. The sharp end was used to poke the tough hide of the oxen to keep them motivated for pulling the plow; the flattened chisel-like blade was used to scrape the plowshare free of roots, thorns, and accumulated clay.
Clarke	That the ox-goad, still used in Palestine, is a sufficiently destructive weapon if used by a strong and skillful 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.”
Freeman	Freeman probably gives the clearest description of an oxgoad: This must have been a formidable weapon if, as is doubtless the case, the goad of that day was similar to the one now used in Palestine. It si a strong pole about eight beet long and two inches in diameter. At one end is a sharp point for pricking the oxen when their movements become intolerably slow, and at the other end is a broad chisel-like blade, which is used to clear the plowshare of the roots and thorns which impede it or of the stiff clay which adheres to it. The pointed end of this instrument is alluded to in Acts ix, 5; xxvi, 14.
NIV Study Bible	The NIV Study Bible calls it a long, wooden rod, sometimes having a metal tip, used for driving draft animals (see 1Sam. 13:21).

What surprised me is, with all these great descriptions, I did not find any decent pictures of oxgoads online.

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Now, Shamgar did not look at a spear and shield and then look at his oxgoad and decide to go with the oxgoad. He used the oxgoad because Israel was in a state of disarmament. They had no weapons, so Shamgar used what he could. We have a similar situation in 1Sam. 13:19–22: Now no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe. And the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the hoes. So it came to pass on the day of battle that neither sword nor speak was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan.

Clarke has a different opinion, that an oxgoad is an excellent weapon: In the hands of a strong, skillful 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. I still hold that this is a weapon of opportunity, rather than a weapon of choice.

Judges 3:31c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore; because	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
yâsha׳ (עַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAHĢ]	to deliver, to save; to set free, to preserve; to aid, to give relief	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect	Strong’s #3467 BDB #446
Owen lists this as a Qal imperfect. However, there is no listing for a meaning for this verb in the Qal. The New Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament lists this as a Hiphil imperfect.
gam (ם ַ) [pronounced gahm]	also, furthermore, in addition to, even, moreover	adverb	Strong’s #1571 BDB #168
hûw (אה) [pronounced hoo]	he, it; himself as a demonstrative pronoun: that, this	3^rd person masculine singular, personal pronoun	Strong’s #1931 BDB #214
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: ...he, [even] he, also delivered Israel. Moab had threatened Israel from the east; here the Philistines threaten Israel from the west. Shamgar is called one of the minor judges (there will be six)—not because what he did was unimportant compared to the other judges, but simply because we just have less information about him. He is mentioned here and as an aside in the song of Deborah and Barak (Judges 5:6), and that’s it. From that verse, we can hypothesize that Shamgar and Jael were both contemporaries, and that their appearance preceded that of Deborah. Shamgar lived roughly during the time of Ehud—he may have been, say, 40 years younger than Ehud. The 80 years of peace spoken of in the previous verse could have been a result of Ehud’s rule followed by Shamgar’s rule. Although he would have been a judge in a different part of Israel, perhaps in Dan and Judah, this does not mean that his authority did not extend further throughout Israel.

1Cor. 1:27 reads: But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to discredit the wise and God has chosen the weak things of the world to discredit things which are strong. In this book, God will use an oxgoad (Judges 3:31); a nail (Judges 4:21); trumpets; pitchers; lamps; a millstone (Judges 9:53); and the jawbone of an ass (Judges 15:15) to defeat the enemies of Israel; and eventually a sling and a stone (1Sam. 17:50). “So that all in this assembly may know that Jehovah does not deliver by sword or by speak; for the battle is Jehovah’s and He will give you into our hands.” (1Sam. 17:47).

In this book, we have some very ordinary men used of God; and some unusual men who are used of God. None of them are great heroes as we think of David or Moses. However, David and Moses are the exceptions, not the rule. God uses a lot of ordinary men. That means, you and I have some chance to do good in this life.

McGee: Do you remember William Carey? He was a humble cobbler. Dwight L. Moody had little formal education. Some folk gave me a cassette take of Dwight L. Moody’s voice, taken from a record. I had never realized what a wonderful voice he had—I would not have associated such a voice with the pictures I have seen of him. Although he did not have much of an education, he certainly sounded as though he did. Also I am reminded of G. Campbell Morgan. When he preached his first sermon in a particular church, he was turned down by the pulpit committee. They told him they did not think he could ever become a preacher. I certainly would have hated to have been responsible for that judgment because Dr. Morgan became one of the truly great Bible expositors of his time. All three of these men—Carey, Moody, Morgan—unpromising though they seemed, were mightily used by God.

Application: Personally, I have been poor and reasonably well-off. In terms of personal happiness, there is really not a lot of difference. From our experiences, God teaches us things, or puts us through certain trials or testings, either for our benefit or the benefit of others (the beneficiaries could even be angels). In this life, there are difficulties associated with being poor, and there are difficulties associated with having money (poor people often have no concept of this). Knowing this, you might tell God, “Okay, if they are both the same, then I want money.” And you may even help God out by spending $50/month on lottery tickets, so God will have an avenue by which He can dump money into your hands. However, with this attitude, you are essentially telling God that one state is better than the other; and that you would be better off with money. Do you understand that you were bought with a price? Do you know that Jesus Christ paid a greater price for you than you could even imagine? God is not going to dump a few million dollars in your lap so that you can waste it on your own lusts. James 4:3: You ask, and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order that you may spend on your lusts. There are a number of you who have been financially irresponsible with the money which God has given you already. There are a number of you, if God dropped a few hundred thousand into your lap, who would not even settle up your previous debts. You cannot operate without any sense of financial integrity and think that God will bless you with material wealth. It just is not going to happen that way (okay, to be accurate—God sometimes does dump money into the laps of those who lack integrity and they will be just as miserable with money as they were without).

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A Complete Translation of Judges 3
A Reasonably Literal Translation	A Reasonably Literal Paraphrase
God Leaves Some of Israel’s Enemies in the Land of Canaan
And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who formerly have not known [war]): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites, who are living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to as far as the entrance of Hamath.	The following is a list of all of the nations which Jehovah allowed to remain in the land of Canaan to test Israel (which generations of Israel had not fought in any of the wars of Canaan; so that this generation of the sons of Israel might know war and that He might teach them war, as they had not faced the Canaanites in war previously): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who live in the region of Mount Lebanon, between Mount Baal-Hermon and the entrance to Hamath.
How Israel Failed God’s Testing
They were to test Israel to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah, which He commanded their fathers by Moses. Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. Consequently, they [the Israelites] took their daughters to themselves for wives and their own daughters they gave to their sons; therefore, they served their gods.	These people were there to test Israel, to determine whether or not they would listen to the commandments which Jehovah delivered to their fathers by Moses. Therefore, the sons of Israel continued to live among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. Consequently, their sons and daughters intermarried, resulting in worship and servitude to their heathen gods.
God Disciplines Israel with Cushan-rishathaim
Soon thereafter [lit., and so] the sons of Israel committed [lit., did] the [first and greatest] evil in the sight of Y^ehowah: they forgot Y^ehowah their God and they served the Baalim and the Asheroth [possibly, Ashtaroth]. So then the anger of Y^ehowah burned against Israel and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, the king of Aram-Naharaim [probably, Mesopotamia]. The sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.	So then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, forgetting Jehovah their God and serving the Baals and the Asheroth—the gods of the Canaanites. Therefore, the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia. Afterwards, the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.
Then the sons of Israel cried to Y^ehowah, so Y^ehowah raised up a savior for the sons of Israel. Othniel ben Kenaz, [younger] brother of Caleb, delivered them. The Spirit of Y^ehowah was upon him and he judged Israel. He went out to war and Y^ehowah gave Cushan-rishathaim, the king of Aram, into his hand, and his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. Then the land remained undisturbed for forty years until [lit., and] Othniel ben Kenaz died.	As these eight years dragged on, then the sons of Israel cried in desperation to Jehovah; therefore, Jehovah raised up a savior on their behalf: Othniel, the son of Kenaz, who was the younger brother of Caleb. The Spirit of Jehovah was upon him and he judged Israel. When he went to war against Cushan-rishathaim, the king of Aram, Jehovah gave Cushan-rishathaim into his hand and he prevailed over him. Then the land had peace for forty years until Othniel ben Kenaz died.
God Disciplines Israel with Egon, King of Moab
So the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of Y^ehowah so that Y^ehowah strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, over Israel because they had done evil in the sight of Y^ehowah. He gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek. He then went out and struck down Israel so that they dispossessed the city of palms. And so the sons of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, for eighteen years.	However, the sons of Israel continued to do evil before Jehovah; therefore, Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab, over Israel as they committed evil in His sight. Therefore, he gathered together the sons of Ammon and the Amalekites and then he allowed them to strike down Israel and to dispossess the city of palms. So Israel served the king of Moab, Eglon, for a period of eighteen years.
God Sends Ehud to Deliver Israel
And then the sons of Israel cried out to Y^ehowah so that Y^ehowah caused a deliverer to take a stand for them: Ehud ben Gera, a son of Benjamin, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, by his hand. So Ehud constructed for himself a sword with two edges, a half-cubit in length. Then he strapped it onto his right thigh under his clothes. Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon (now Eglon was a very fat man). And it was, when he completed bringing near the tribute, that he sent away the people carrying the tribute. And he himself turned back from the carved images which [were] near Gilgal. [After reentering the palace], he said, “A private word from [lit., by] me unto you, O king.” Therefore, he [the king] said, “Silence!” Then all those attending to him went out from him.	Then the sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah so that Jehovah raised up another deliverer for them: Ehud, the son of Gera, a Benjamite who was left-handed. During their servitude, the people of Israel sent their tribute to Eglon, the king of Moab, by Ehud’s hand. Now Ehud had constructed a double-edged eighteen-inch sword, which he strapped to his right thigh under his tailored clothing. Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon, who was a very fat man. After he finished bringing in the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. As he passed the idols from Gilgal, Ehud turned around and said to the king, “I have a private message for you, O king.” The king said, “Hush.” Then he dismissed those who attended to him.
Ehud came to him and he was sitting in a cool, roof chamber which [was] for him for himself alone. Then Ehud said, “A word from God through me unto you.” Then he arose from upon the chair. Then Ehud reached with his left hand and took the sword from by his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. The handle also went in after the [glistening] blade and the fat closed around the [glistening] blade for he did not withdraw the sword from his belly. Also, [his] feces came out [or, and it (the blade) came out the anus]. Then Ehud went out of the vestibule and he closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked [them]. After [lit., and so] he [Ehud] went out his [Eglon’s] servants went in; and they looked, and lo, the doors of the roof chamber were locked. Therefore [lit., and so] they decided [lit., said], “Surely, he is defecating [lit., covering his feet] in the room of the coolness.” They waited until they became anxious [and apprehensive]; and lo, his doors of the roof chamber were still closed and locked [lit., not opening]. Then they took the key and opened [them], and, lo, their lord was laying on the floor [lit., ground], dying.	When Ehud came to him, he was sitting in the cool, roof chamber, which was for the king alone. Then Ehud said, “I have a word from God for you.” Then Ehud arose from his chair. Then, suddenly, Ehud reached with his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh and he stuck it into the belly of Eglon. The handle went into his fat, right after the blade, and the fat closed in around the blade, as Ehud did not withdraw the dagger from Eglon’s belly. Feces came out of Eglon. Then Ehud exited the vestibule, closing and locking the doors to the roof chamber as he exited. After Ehud exited, Eglon’s servants went into the inner chambers and observed that the doors to the roof chambers were locked. They therefore concluded, “He must be taking a dump.” The servants waited until they became anxious and apprehensive. After the doors to his roof chamber remained closed for a long time, they took a key and opened them. There they observed their lord laying on the floor, dead.
Ehud escaped while they delayed and he himself passed by the sculptured idols, and then he escaped [to] the Seirah. Then it was when he arrived that he gave a blast with the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. The sons of Israel then went down with him from the hill country, he [at] their front. Then he then said to them, “Follow after me for Y^ehowah has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” Therefore, they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan belonging to the Moab and they did not allow a man to cross over. Then they struck down Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust and all men of strength. Furthermore, not a [single] man escaped. So Moab was subdued in that day under the hand of Israel so that the land was undisturbed [for] eighty years [and Ehud judged them until his death].	Ehud was able to escape while they delayed; he passed by the sculptured idols and then escaped to Seirah. As soon as Ehud arrived, he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. This was a signal which brought the sons of Israel down out of the hill country with Ehud as their leader. He called out to them, “Follow after me for Jehovah has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand.” They then followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan which had belonged to Moab and did not allow a single man to cross over. Then they struck down Moab, killing roughly 10,000 of her toughest soldiers. They did not allow a single Moabite to escape to the other side of the Jordan. Therefore, Israel subdued Moab in that day and the land of Israel had peace for eighty years; and Ehud judged the people until his death.
The Judge Shamgar ben Anath
After him was Shamgar ben Anath and he struck down the Philistines—six hundred men—with an oxgoad; he, [even] he, also delivered Israel.	Ehud was later followed by Shamgar ben Anath, who struck down 600 Philistines with the bone of an ass; he also was a deliverer of Israel.

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