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Gera

Old TestamentEgypt & WildernessMaleJudge

Gera was a descendant of Benjamin and an ancestor of Ehud, a left-handed judge who delivered Israel from Moabite oppression.

Gera illustration
Gera

Biography

This Gera was a Benjaminite ancestor of Ehud, one of Israel's judges, as recorded in Judges 3:15. Ehud son of Gera was raised up by God to deliver Israel from eighteen years of oppression under Eglon, king of Moab. Left-handed, an unusual trait that would prove strategically decisive, Ehud crafted a double-edged sword and concealed it on his right thigh, where a weapons check would not typically search. He presented tribute to King Eglon in Moab, then requested a private audience, claiming to have a secret message from God. In the king's private chamber, he drew his concealed weapon and killed Eglon, then escaped and rallied the Israelites to defeat the Moabites decisively at the Jordan fords. Though Gera himself left no personal narrative, his son Ehud's courageous and unconventional deliverance of Israel stands as one of the Judges period's most dramatic accounts.

Significance

Gera's significance is inseparable from his son Ehud, Israel's judge and deliverer (Judges 3:15). As Ehud's father, Gera stands at the origin of one of the most striking acts of liberation in the period of the Judges, a story celebrated for its theological depth alongside its narrative vividness. Ehud's left-handedness, often a mark of disadvantage in ancient cultures, became the instrument of Israel's salvation, illustrating God's consistent pattern of working through what the world considers weak or unlikely. Gera's Benjaminite heritage gave Ehud his tribal context and, ultimately, his role as representative deliverer for his people, a foreshadowing of God's ultimate provision of a savior from an unexpected source.

Verse Appearances (3)

References

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

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