Judges 3:10-15

Context
3:10 The Lord’s spirit empowered him¹ and he led Israel. When he went to do battle, the Lord handed over to him King Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram and he overpowered him.² 3:11 The land had rest for forty years; then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Deceit, Assassination, and Deliverance

3:12 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight.³ The Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel⁴ because they had done evil in the Lord’s sight. 3:13 Eglon formed alliances with⁵ the Ammonites and Amalekites. He came and defeated Israel, and they seized the City of Date Palm Trees. 3:14 The Israelites were subject to⁶ King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he⁷ raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man.⁸ The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment.⁹

[3:10] ¹tn Heb “was on him.”

[3:10] ²tn Heb “his hand was strong against Cushan-Rishathaim.”

[3:12] ³tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord” (also later in this verse).

[3:12] ⁴tn Heb “strengthened Eglon…against Israel.”

[3:13] ⁵tn Heb “and he gathered to him.”

[3:14] ⁷tn Or “the Israelites served Eglon.”

[3:15] ⁹tn Heb “the Lord.” This has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:15] ¹⁰tn The phrase, which refers to Ehud, literally reads “bound/restricted in the right hand,” apparently a Hebrew idiom for a left-handed person. See Judg 20:16, where 700 Benjaminites are described in this way. Perhaps the Benjaminites purposely trained several of their young men to be left-handed warriors by restricting the use of the right hand from an early age so the left hand would become dominant. Left-handed men would have a distinct military advantage, especially when attacking city gates. See B. Halpern, “The Assassination of Eglon: The First Locked-Room Murder Mystery,” BRev 4 (1988): 35.

[3:15] ¹¹tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”