Ehud

The Biblical Account

The story of Ehud appears in Judges 3:12–30. Judges 3:15 introduces him as the son of Gera, a Benjamite, and a left-handed man. When Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, Eglon king of Moab allied himself with Ammon and Amalek, attacked Israel, and took possession of the city of palm trees, which is commonly identified with Jericho. Israel served Eglon for eighteen years, and when the people cried out, the LORD raised up Ehud as a deliverer.

When Ehud went to deliver the tribute (a payment rendered to a conquering power), he made a short, two-edged dagger and strapped it to his right thigh under his clothing. After presenting the tribute, he set out for home but then turned back to the king, saying that he had a secret message for him. Once the servants had been sent out, he approached the king, declaring that he had "a message from God," and stabbed him. The text records that Eglon was so very fat that even the hilt went in after the blade. Ehud locked the doors and escaped. The servants waited a long time, supposing that the king was relieving himself. Meanwhile, Ehud blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim to rally the people, seized the fords of the Jordan River leading to Moab, and struck down about ten thousand Moabites. Afterward the land had rest for eighty years (Judges 3:30). Judges 4:1 records that Israel again did evil "when Ehud was dead."

The same name also appears in the Benjamite genealogies of 1 Chronicles 7:10 and 8:6. Whether these passages refer to the judge Ehud is unclear.

Significance Within the Bible

Ehud is the second judge, following Othniel. His story likewise follows the recurring cycle of the book of Judges: sin → oppression → crying out → deliverer → rest. The New Testament does not mention Ehud directly. Hebrews 11:32 lists judges such as Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah among the heroes of faith, but Ehud is not named.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• Left-handedness: The Hebrew expression, rendered literally, is closer to "bound (or restricted) in the right hand." Some interpret this as a disability, while others take it to indicate training to use both hands. Judges 20:16 also mentions left-handed Benjamite warriors. Because the name Benjamin is understood to mean "son of the right hand," some scholars read this contrast as deliberate irony in the text.
• The ethics of deception and assassination: The text offers no explicit evaluation of Ehud's ruse. Unlike the account of Othniel, it does not say that "the Spirit of the LORD" came upon him. Readers therefore divide between those who emphasize the statement that God raised up the deliverer and those who do not regard the judges' actions as models to be imitated uncritically. This difference often reflects interpretive method rather than denominational affiliation.
• Satirical humor: A widely known interpretation reads details such as Eglon's obesity and the servants' assumption that he was relieving himself as narration that mocks the oppressor.

In the Korean Church

The phrase "left-handed Ehud" from the New Korean Revised Version is well known. In preaching, Ehud is sometimes presented as an example of God using human weakness or ordinariness. In Sunday school, his story is taught in lessons that cover the judges in sequence.