Who was Ehud in the Bible?

Ehud was a left-handed judge from the tribe of Benjamin who delivered Israel from 18 years of Moabite oppression. He is most famous for assassinating the Moabite king, Eglon, and then leading Israel to military victory (Judges 3:15-30).

Why was Ehud being left-handed significant?

His left-handedness was a tactical advantage, as King Eglon's guards would have checked only his left side for a hidden weapon. This allowed Ehud to conceal a double-edged dagger on his right thigh and successfully carry out his mission (Judges 3:16, 21).

What was Ehud's role as a judge of Israel?

As a judge, Ehud was a military and political leader raised up by God to rescue Israel from foreign enemies. After his victory, the land had peace for eighty years, demonstrating God's deliverance through chosen leaders (Judges 3:30).

Ehud

Old TestamentMaleJudge

Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite, was a judge who delivered Israel from Moabite oppression by assassinating King Eglon and leading a victory over Moab. (Jdg.3; 4.1; 1Ch.8.6)

Ehud

Biography

Ehud son of Gera was the second major judge of Israel, raised up by God to deliver the nation from eighteen years of Moabite domination under King Eglon (Judges 3:12-30). A Benjamite notable for being left-handed, a trait the text presents as strategically significant, Ehud fashioned a short double-edged dagger and strapped it to his right thigh, concealing it from the standard left-thigh weapon check. Selected to bring tribute to Eglon, he gained a private audience with the king by claiming to have a secret message from God, then drove the blade so deeply into Eglon's obese abdomen that the hilt disappeared. Escaping undetected while servants mistakenly waited for the king, Ehud rallied Israel in the hill country of Ephraim, led a victory over ten thousand Moabite soldiers, and secured eighty years of peace (Judges 3:30).

Significance

Ehud's account in Judges 3 is one of the Bible's most vivid illustrations of divine deliverance through a human instrument whose very distinctiveness, his left-handedness, his tribe, his daring stratagem, confounds conventional expectations. The Deuteronomic narrative frames his emergence within Israel's repentance: when the people cried out to God, he heard and sent a deliverer. Ehud's boldness and cunning reflect the kind of Spirit-empowered courage that characterizes the judges. His eighty years of peace following Eglon's death (Judges 3:30) represent one of the longest periods of rest recorded in the book, underscoring the magnitude of his deliverance. He stands as a type of the unexpected deliverer who triumphs through divine enablement over seemingly insurmountable opposition.

Authority Records

Wikidata VIAF GND

FatherGeraChildAhijah

Verse Appearances (8)

Judg

Judg 3:15 Judg 3:16 Judg 3:20 Judg 3:21 Judg 3:23 Judg 3:26 Judg 4:1

1Chr

1Chr 8:6

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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