Illustration created for this project.
Ehud
A left-handed judge who slew the Moabite king Eglon and freed Israel.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1
Tribe & people
ScholarlyThe narrative turns on a deliberate wordplay: Ehud is a Benjaminite — literally a 'son of the right hand' (ben-yemini) — yet is described as bound or restricted in his right hand, i.e. left-handed, an irony that lets him conceal his sword and reach Eglon undetected. The same tribe is later noted for its left-handed slingers.
Textual/philological observation on Benjamin ('son of the right hand') versus the phrase ʾiṭṭer yad-yemino ('restricted in his right hand'); cf. Judges 20:16.
Life, role & deeds
BibleA left-handed Benjamite who delivered Israel by killing Eglon of Moab with a hidden dagger.
Judges 3:15–30
↳
Eglon
Where in scripture
JudgesIn their own words — 2 recorded sayings
“But he himself, turning back from the stone images at Gilgal, said, I have something to say to you in secret, O king. And he said, Let there be quiet. Then all those who were waiting before him went out. Then Ehud came in to him while he was seated by himself in his summer-house. And Ehud said, I have a word from God for you. And he got up from his seat.” — Judges 3:19-20
“And he said to them, Come after me; for the Lord has given the Moabites, your haters, into your hands. So they went down after him and took the crossing-places of Jordan against Moab, and let no one go across.” — Judges 3:28
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
In art
