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Texts -- Judges 3:25-31 (NET)

Context
3:25 They waited so long they were embarrassed , but he still did not open the doors of the upper room . Finally they took the key and opened the doors. Right before their eyes was their master , sprawled out dead on the floor ! 3:26 Now Ehud had escaped while they were delaying . When he passed the carved images , he escaped to Seirah . 3:27 When he reached Seirah, he blew a trumpet in the Ephraimite hill country . The Israelites went down with him from the hill country , with Ehud in the lead . 3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies , the Moabites !” They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Moab , and did not let anyone cross . 3:29 That day they killed about ten thousand Moabites – all strong, capable warriors ; not one escaped . 3:30 Israel humiliated Moab that day , and the land had rest for eighty years . 3:31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath ; he killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad and, like Ehud, delivered Israel .

Pericope

NET
  • Jdg 3:12-31 -- Deceit, Assassination, and Deliverance

Bible Dictionary

  • EHUD

    [ebd] union. (1.) A descendant of Benjamin (1 Chr. 7:10), his great-grandson. (2.) The son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 3:15). After the death of Othniel the people again fell into idolatry, and Eglon, the king of Moab...
    [isbe] EHUD - e'-hud (ehudh, "united," "strong"): A Benjamite, son of Gera, deliverer of Israel from oppression by Moab (Jdg 3:15-30). Gaining access alone to the presence of King Eglon under pretense of a secret errand connected w...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Judge

    [nave] JUDGE Appointed by Persians, Ezra 7:25. Kings and other rulers as, 2 Sam. 8:15; 15:2; 1 Kin. 3:16-28; 10:9; 2 Kin. 8:1-6; Psa. 72:1-4; Matt. 27:11-26; Acts 23:34, 35; 24; 25:11, 12. Priests and Levites as, Deut. 17:9; 2 Ch...

  • MOAB

    [ebd] the seed of the father, or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest son of Lot (Gen. 19:37), of incestuous birth. (2.) Used to denote the people of Moab (Num. 22:3-14; Judg. 3:30; 2 Sam. 8:2; Jer. 48:11, 13). (3....
    [smith] (of his father), Mo?abites. Moab was the son of the Lot?s eldest daughter, the progenitor of the Moabites. Zoar was the cradle of the race of Lot. From this centre the brother tribes spread themselves. The Moabites first inha...

  • JUDGES, PERIOD OF

    [isbe] JUDGES, PERIOD OF - || I. SOURCES II. CHRONOLOGY III. GENERAL POLITICAL SITUATION 1. The Canaanites 2. Foes Without IV. MAIN EVENTS 1. Struggles of Individual Tribes 2. Civil Strife 3. The Six Invasions 4. Need of Central Go...

  • Deception

    [nave] DECEPTION. Instances of By Satan, Gen. 3:4. Abraham, in stating that Sarah was his sister, Gen. 12:13; 20:2. Isaac, in stating that his wife was his sister, Gen. 26:7. Jacob and Rebekah, in imposing Jacob on his father,...

  • Eglon

    [nave] EGLON 1. King of Moab. Assassinated by Ehud, Judg. 3:12-30. 2. An ancient city of Canaan. Taken by Joshua, Josh. 10:23, 35. Allotted to Judah, Josh. 15:39.

  • Moabite

    [ebd] the designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37). From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on the east of Jordan. Rame...

  • Seirath

    [ebd] woody district; shaggy, a place among the mountains of Ephraim, bordering on Benjamin, to which Ehud fled after he had assassinated Eglon at Jericho (Judg. 3:26, 27).
    [smith] (the shaggy), the place to which Ehud fled after his murder of Eglon. (Judges 3:26,27) It was in "Mount Ephraim," ver. 27, a continuation, perhaps, of the same wooded, shaggy hills which stretched even so far south as to ente...
    [nave] SEIRATH, a city of unknown location, Judg. 3:26.

  • Shamgar

    [ebd] The Philistines from the maritime plain had made incursions into the Hebrew upland for the purposes of plunder, when one of this name, the son of Anath, otherwise unknown, headed a rising for the purpose of freeing the land ...
    [isbe] SHAMGAR - sham'-gar (shamgar): 1. Biblical Account: One of the judges, son of Anath (`anath), in whose days, which preceded the time of Deborah (Jdg 5:6,7) and followed those of Ehud, Israel's subjugation was so complete tha...
    [smith] (sword), son of Anath, judge of Israel. When Israel was in a most depressed condition, Shamgar was raised up to be a deliverer. With no arms in his hand but an ox-goad, (Judges 3:31) comp. 1Sam 13:21 He made a desperate assau...
    [nave] SHAMGAR, a deliverer of Israel, Judg. 3:31; 5:6.

  • Anath

    [ebd] an answer; i.e., to "prayer", the father of Shamgar, who was one of the judges of Israel (Judg. 3:31).
    [isbe] ANATH - a'-nath (`anath): Father of Shamgar (Jdg 3:31; 5:6). This name is connected with the Phoenician and Canaanite goddess `Anat, which was also worshipped in Egypt. She is mentioned in monuments of the 18th Dynasty, coup...
    [smith] (answer), father of Shamgar. (Judges 3:31; 5:6)
    [nave] ANATH, father of Shamgar, Judg. 3:31.

  • GOAD

    [ebd] (Heb. malmad, only in Judg. 3: 31), an instrument used by ploughmen for guiding their oxen. Shamgar slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. "The goad is a formidable weapon. It is sometimes ten feet long, and has a sha...
    [isbe] GOAD - god (dorebhan, malmadh; kentron): The goad used by the Syrian farmer is usually a straight branch of oak or other strong wood from which the bark has been stripped, and which has at one end a pointed spike and at the ...
    [smith] (Judges 3:31; 1 Samuel 13:21) The Hebrew word in the latter passage probably means the point of the plough-share . The former word does probably refer to the goad, the long handle of which might be used as a formidable wea...

  • Key

    [ebd] frequently mentioned in Scripture. It is called in Hebrew maphteah, i.e., the opener (Judg. 3:25); and in the Greek New Testament kleis, from its use in shutting (Matt. 16:19; Luke 11:52; Rev. 1:18, etc.). Figures of ancient...
    [isbe] KEY - ke (maphteach, an "opener"; compare kleis, "that which shuts"): Made of wood, usually with nails which fitted into corresponding holes in the lock, or rather bolt (Jdg 3:25). Same is rendered "opening" in 1 Ch 9:27. Se...
    [nave] KEY, Judg. 3:25. A symbol of authority, Isa. 22:22; Matt. 16:19; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; 9:1; 20:1. Figurative Luke 11:52.

  • PARLOR

    [isbe] PARLOR - par'-ler: This word in the King James Version, occurring in Jdg 3:20-25; 1 Sam 9:22; 1 Ch 28:11, is in every instance changed in the Revised Version: in Judges into "upper room," in 1 Samuel into "guest-chamber," in...
    [smith] a word in English usage meaning the common room of the family, and hence probably in Authorized Version denoting the king?s audience-chamber, so used in reference to Eglon. (Judges 3:20-25)

  • Quarries

    [isbe] QUARRIES - kwor'-iz (pecilim (Jdg 3:19,26, "graven images"), shebharim (Josh 7:5, "Shebarim," the Revised Version margin "the quarries")): Pesilim is elsewhere translated "graven images" (Dt 7:5; Ps 78:58; Isa 10:10; Mic 5:1...
    [nave] QUARRIES, Judg. 3:19, 26.

  • AGRICULTURE

    [ebd] Tilling the ground (Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the possession of the Promised Land, the...
    [smith] This was little cared for by the patriarchs. The pastoral life, however, was the means of keeping the sacred race, whilst yet a family, distinct from mixture and locally unattached, especially whilst in Egypt. When grown into...

  • Gilgal

    [nave] GILGAL 1. Place of the first encampment of the Israelites W. of the Jordan, Josh. 4:19; 9:6; 10:6, 43; 14:6. Monument erected in, to commemorate the passage of the Jordan by the children of Israel, Josh. 4:19-24. Circumcis...

  • Philistines

    [smith] (immigrants), The origin of the Philistines is nowhere expressly stated in the Bible; but as the prophets describe them as "the Philistines-from Caphtor," (Amos 9:7) and "the remnant of the maritime district of Caphtor" (Jere...
    [nave] PHILISTINES Descendants of Mizraim, Gen. 10:14; 1 Chr. 1:12; Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7. Called Cherethites, 1 Sam. 30:14-16; Ezek. 25:16; Zeph. 2:5; Casluhim, Gen. 10:14; 1 Chr. 1:12; Caphtorim, Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7. Territory of...

  • FORD

    [ebd] Mention is frequently made of the fords of the Jordan (Josh. 2:7; Judg. 3:28; 12:5, 6), which must have been very numerous; about fifty perhaps. The most notable was that of Bethabara. Mention is also made of the ford of the...
    [isbe] FORD - ford (ma`abhar (Gen 32:22; "pass" (of Michmash), 1 Sam 13:23; "stroke" (the Revised Version, margin "passing"), Isa 30:32); ma`barah (Josh 2:7; Jdg 3:28; 12:5,6; Isa 16:2; "pass" (of Michmash), 1 Sam 14:4; "passages" ...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • I. The reason for Israel's apostasy 1:1-3:6A. Hostilities between the Israelites and the Canaanites after Joshua's death 1:1-2:51. Initial successes and failures ch. 12. The announcement of God's discipline 2:1-5B. Israel's c...
  • The first major section in the book (1:1-3:6) explains very clearly why the period of the judges was a dark chapter in Israel's history. God revealed the reasons for Israel's apostasy and consequent national problems in terms...
  • Israel's JudgesJudgeScriptureIsrael's OppressorsLength in YearsNation(s)King(s)OppressionJudgeshipPeaceOthniel3:7-11MesopotamiaCushan-rishathaim8(ca. 1358-1350 B.C.)40(ca. 1350-1310 B.C.)Ehud3:12-30Moab (with Ammon & Amal...
  • The Moabites and Ammonites were not only neighbors who both lived to the southeast of Canaan, but they were also descendants of the same ancestor, Lot. The Amalekites lived on Israel's southern border and were descendants of ...
  • Several factors suggest that Shamgar's victory took place sometime during the 98 years described in the previous section (vv. 12-30). First, 4:1 refers to Ehud, not Shamgar. Second, there is no reference to Israel doing evil ...
  • The writer of Judges structured this book so the story of Gideon would be its focal center."Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between th...
  • The Israelites felt the main influence of the Ammonites on the east side of the Jordan River that bordered Ammon (v. 8). However the Ammonites also attacked the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim west of the Jordan (v. 9)...
  • The translation "again did"in verse 1 implies that the Philistine oppression followed the Ammonite oppression chronologically. However the Hebrew idiom these words translate does not necessarily mean that. It can also mean, a...
  • Note again that the Spirit of God gave Samson his supernatural strength (v. 14). He slew 1,000 of the enemy (or one unit) on this occasion (v. 15). The unlikely instrument Samson used, a dead donkey's dentures, proved more th...
  • The following two extended incidents (ch. 17-21) differ from the records of the judges just completed (chs. 3-16). They are not accounts of the activities of any of Israel's judges. They are the record of events that took pla...
  • The Danites' defeat of the inhabitants of Laish appears cruel and unjustified (cf. 9:45-49). The town that seemed so desirable to the spies was really vulnerable and isolated. Its advantages proved to be weaknesses. Since God...
  • The Book of Joshua recorded Israel's victory over her enemies through trust in and obedience to God. The Book of Judges shows the defeat of the nation by its enemies from without and within due to refusal to trust and obey Go...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. Land of the Bible. Phildelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The...
  • Mizpah (lit. watchtower, signifying an elevated site) was about two miles northwest of Samuel's hometown, Ramah, on the central Benjamin plateau. Pouring out water symbolized the people's feeling of total inability to make an...
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