Judges 3:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped.

NIV: At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped.

NASB: They struck and killed about ten thousand Moabites at that time, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped.

CSB: At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all stout and able-bodied men. Not one of them escaped.

NLT: They attacked the Moabites and killed about 10,000 of their strongest and most able-bodied warriors. Not one of them escaped.

KJV: And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

NKJV: And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped.

Soon after the assassination of the Moabite king (Judges 3:19–23), Ehud and the army of Ephraimite fighters secured tactical locations long the Jordan River (Judges 3:28). By controlling the crossing point between Israel and Moab, they were positioned to keep the Moabites from escaping and any reinforcements from crossing over to help them. This not only gave Israel's fighters a tactical advantage, but it also allowed for an immediate follow-up strike against their enemy. This would have been crucial to prevent Moab from being able to regroup and launch revenge assaults against Israel.

It's possible that the number of those reported as killed uses a literary device common to ancient literature. Much as the number "a million" is often used figuratively in English, so too was "ten thousand" sometimes used in a non-literal way. Along the same lines, the term for "thousand," 'eleph, can also refer to divisions or groups.

As Ehud emphasized in the previous verse, the Lord gave Israel success. Regardless of the exact number of men defeated, Israel achieves more than a mere victory. They completely wiped out the Moabite army, with special note being made of the fact that not a single Moabite soldier escaped. Despite what's seen in movies and television, most battles in the ancient world rarely resulted in a large percentage of the losing side killed. It would have been abnormal for most, let alone all enemy combatants to die. That Israel kills every soldier is not simply a victory, it is an obliteration of the Moabite army.

This is another decisive victory in Israel's history. Along with other such events, these moments should have made it clear to the people that when the Lord fights for them, they cannot lose.

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).