Judges 3:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes.

NIV: Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing.

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

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

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

KJV: But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

NKJV: Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.

God has raised up a new "judge," a national deliverer, to save His people Israel from their Moabite oppressors. Ehud has been selected to deliver Israel's tribute to the king of Moab, Eglon, at the king's palace in Jericho. He sees an opportunity to save Israel by assassinating the enemy king.

To prepare for the moment when he might be alone with the king, Ehud makes for himself a two-edged sword. This verse describes a weapon only one cubit long. This is typically measured as the distance from a man's elbow to the tip of his middle finger. This sword is therefore more of a dagger, and probably designed as a piercing weapon. Medieval warriors might have named Ehud's weapon a rondel; modern persons might describe it as an oversized ice pick.

The fact that Ehud made the weapon himself also suggests a compact, thin, stabbing weapon. The "shank" style of weapon is common in situations where resources or tools are limited; Ehud was not likely a metalworker. This blade is short enough to be strapped to Ehud's thigh under his clothes, without being noticed by anyone. Because Ehud is unusually capable with his left hand (Judges 3:15) he can secure the weapon in an unexpected place: his right thigh, deploying it with his left hand, making the attack all the more unexpected.

Judges 3:12–30 describes another phase of sin, judgment, and deliverance in Israel. The people again provoke God's anger, so He strengthens Eglon, the king of Moab, to defeat and enslave them. After eighteen years, He raises up Ehud as the deliverer. In an infamously graphic assassination, Ehud kills Eglon in his palace in Jericho, then leads an army of Ephraim fighters to take the fords of the Jordan River. Having cut off the Moabites' escape route, the Israelites wipe out the Moabite army, leading to eighty years of peace.

God leaves several Canaanite nations in and around the Promised Land to test Israel's reliance on Him. Some live among the people, others are part of unconquered territories. The Israelites immediately ignore God's commands and begin serving other gods. First, the Lord subjects them to Mesopotamia. After eight years, the first judge, Othniel, leads them to victory and peace. Israel again rebels and is conquered by Moab for 18 years. Ehud's brutal assassination of the Moabite king sparks another period of freedom and peace. In a single brief statement, the obscure Shamgar is celebrated for his victory.

After Israel's failure to complete their mission, as described in chapters 1 and 2, chapter 3 begins by describing the idolatrous nations God left intact to test Israel. In the first of many such cycles, the people sin, are conquered, then are rescued by a "judge." This chapter describes the victories of Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. Chapter 4 mentions the first of the truly famous names among the judges, describing the careers of Deborah and Barak. This is followed in chapter 6, which introduces Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).