Who is king eglon in the bible

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We hope you agree all this is worth preserving. Help us here. Leading the Cannabis revolution. Sterling hits a two week high. By Freya Robinson. Enjoy these Stateside vistas! After leaving the tribute, Ehud sent away the men who had carried it.

Then he left, but when he passed some pagan idols near Gilgal, he went back and said to the king, "Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you. Eglon sent his servants away. Ehud approached the throne. When the king stood, Ehud drew his dagger from its hiding place and thrust it into Eglon's belly. The king's fat closed in over the handle of the sword, and his bowels emptied in death. Ehud locked the door and escaped. The servants, thinking Eglon was relieving himself in a chamberpot, waited and waited, which let Ehud get away.

When Ehud got to the hill country of Ephraim, he blew a trumpet, rallying the Israelites to him. He led them down to the fords of the Jordan River, which they captured to prevent Moabite reinforcements.

In the battles that followed, the Israelites killed about 10, Moabites, allowing no one to escape. After that victory, Moab fell under Israel's control, and there was peace in the land of Israel for 80 years. Ehud killed a wicked tyrant, an enemy of God. He also led the Israelites in a military victory to destroy the Moabite domination. Ehud cleverly hid his sword in an unexpected place, regained entry to the king, and managed to get Eglon's guard to leave.

He killed the enemy of Israel while giving credit for the victory to God. Some commentators say Ehud had a weak or deformed right hand. Translated literally, v. The part "for him" could be used reflexively. However, this "for him" could also refer to Eglon. Interpreted in this way, the purpose for which Ehud had the sword made would immediately be clear to the reader.

It would namely be a weapon with which he would kill the Moabite king, thereby liberating Israel. The words therefore have a different meaning for the reader than they do for Eglon.

Ehud hides the sword under his clothes, affixing it to his right thigh. This is unusual, as a sword is usually worn on the left side to make it easier to draw out with the right hand. The text does not give any explicit indication of why Ehud wears his sword on the right side.

Presumably it has something to do with Ehud's right hand that is. One thing is certain. Ehud gives the impression of being harmless, as he carries no weapon on the customary left thigh. The thematic right-left therefore appears once again in the story. Ehud thus goes to Eglon to pay the tribute of the Israelites, armed in an invisible way. There are two more elements in the description of Ehud's preparation for his mission that a superficial reading can overlook.

Important things are communicated with respect to both Ehud's sword and King Eglon. The length of the sword is mentioned. It is one long. This term is problematic, as it is a hapax legomenon within the old-Hebrew literature. It goes without saying that to recover the meaning of a term used only once in the entire body of literature of a dead language is no cakewalk. On the one hand, the sword must be short enough to make it possible for Ehud to smuggle it into the palace, hidden under his clothes on the unlikely right thigh.

On the other hand, one supposes that the sword must have been long enough to kill the king. In his description of Eglon, the author makes wonderfully creative use of the Hebrew language. The Hebrew term used to describe Eglon as "meaty" is rarely used in OT literature to refer to humans. One finds this term, for example, in the description of Joseph's dream, where he sees seven fat cows being devoured by seven thin cows Gen The fact that the author chooses precisely this term to describe Eglon undoubtedly betrays his intention: he sees the king of Moab as a fat beast ready to be slaughtered.

In addition to the notion of the "fat bull," there are, indeed, other terms in this pericope with the connotation of a ritual offering. I mention here only the term "sacrifice" , which is used in Judg , 17, This term appears primarily in the context of ritual sacrifice in the OT. It may be clear by now that the story has a double bottom. Eglon perceives the events in a different way than the reader. From Eglon's perspective, Ehud brings a public "sacrifice" on behalf of Israel - he is a messenger of Israel.

But at the same time, the attentive reader has an eye for Ehud's underlying, secret mission - he must sacrifice Eglon the "fat bull. Precisely this mission stands central in the unfolding of the story. Once the tribute has been delivered to Eglon, Ehud heads home together with the Israelite bearers who carried the tribute.

For Eglon, it looks like the mission has been completed. He has received what he believes he is entitled to. Ehud, however, turns around at the "sculptured stones" and heads back to Eglon v.

The mention of the "sculptured stones" obviously has a structuring function in the pericope of Judg They do not appear only at the beginning of the pericope.

They also appear at its end. Their function in the story is therefore to enclose the episode about Ehud's secret mission. These central verses are clearly structured, as shown by the word use:. Why the author explicitly names precisely these at Gilgal is unclear. The term appears about 20 times in the OT, mostly with the negative meaning of "idols.

For the reader, they call to mind the stones that the Israelites had set up at Gilgal after crossing the Jordan Josh It therefore cannot be ruled out that the "sculptured stones" in Judg , 26 have a religious connotation as well. According to Josh , the stones had a double meaning. Through these stones, all nations would remember how mighty YHWH is, and Israel would continue to fear him. Precisely these two elements are also addressed in Judg Furthermore, the in Judg Between the moment when Ehud makes an about-face at the and the moment when he walks by again, something crucial happens, namely the death of Eglon.

When Ehud reaches the king again, he knows that he must immediately draw the king's attention. He says, "O King, I have a secret for you. The text literally says, "I have a secret for you" v.

This Hebrew term has a double meaning. The first is "word," and that is how Eglon also interprets it -as the announcement of a secret message. He immediately demands silence, an order interpreted by the others present as a command to leave and let Eglon and Ehud talk to each other in private. The fact that Ehud is no longer accompanied by the Israelite bearers makes it even more exciting for the king, but it also sets him at ease. Little threat can be expected of a solitary, seemingly unarmed man.

However, in addition to "word," also means "thing" or "object. According to the text, Ehud takes one more step closer to the king. He goes into the upper chamber - a place usually reserved for the king alone.

Having entered, Ehud says, "I have a for you from God. Ehud has indeed come because of God. Once again the ambiguous term is used, and interpreted by Eglon in a different way than the reader. It was narrated in the scriptures that there was a day when Ehud came to present a customary tribute. Then, he tricked Eglon and killed him using a sword.

In the Talmudic tradition, several rabbis believed that Eglon had a daughter named Ruth. He was rewarded by God when he showed respect after Ehud mentioned the name of the God of Israelites upon having David as one of the descendants. In a Midrash legend, Eglon had two daughters named Orpah and Ruth. He was also in Numbers 22 as the King of Moab.

In Judges , the people of Israel were under the rule of this king for a total of 18 years. There were only a few accounts of this king, yet there were some narrations presented in Judges where Eglon was described as a fat man.