Judges 3:15 - Printer Friendly

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.

NIV: Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer--Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

NASB: But when the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.

CSB: 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 with the tribute for King Eglon of Moab.

NLT: But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tribute money to King Eglon of Moab.

KJV: But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

NKJV: But when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

The people of Israel have served under the oppressive rule of Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years. They were defeated by the combined armies of Moab, Ammon, and the Amalekites, all empowered by the punishing hand of God (Judges 3:12–14).

At last, their misery reaches the point where the people cry out to God for help. The text does not suggest the Israelites repented of sin, or made promises to God. They simply ask for help, and God helps.

In this case, God raises up a new judge to deliver the people from their captivity to Moab. Ehud, son of Gera, is described vaguely as being of the tribe of Benjamin and left-handed. The writer may be pointing to some irony here. The name Benjamin means "son of the right hand," while Ehud is left-handed. Also noteworthy is that Ehud's infamous act against the Moabite king, described later, parallels Jacob's depiction of the tribe of Benjamin. Jacob referred to Benjamin as a "ravenous wolf" (Genesis 49:27).

In the ancient world, being fully left-handed—dominant with that side, rather than the right hand—was actively discouraged. Some cultures even saw it as a sign of evil: the Latin term sinister means both "unlucky" and "from the left side." For that reason, some scholars believe this reference implies Ehud was actually ambidextrous: able to use both of his hands with equal skill. Later in Judges, 700 men of Benjamin will be similarly described as left-handed, a point tied closely to extreme skill at slinging stones in combat (Judges 20:16). Another group of Benjaminites who served as David's mighty men were bowman described as being able to shoot arrows or sling stones with both hands equally well (1 Chronicles 12:1–2). It's possible that Ehud's "left-handedness" is being extolled as an addition to his "right-handedness."

The Bible does not explicitly indicate the Spirit of the Lord came on Ehud, as it does with other judges (Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29). Instead, he seems to have been a clever man who recognized an opportunity. He maneuvers to gain the advantage over Moab by attacking King Eglon directly. This opportunity came when the Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their required tribute to the king in Jericho (Judges 3:16–21).

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).