Chapter 3
The Nations YHWH Left to Test the People of Israel
3:1 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.
Before listing the nations that God allowed the previous pagan-worshiping people to remain in the land, He reiterates that this is a test. But adds that this scenario was for those in Israel who had not experienced the series of battles that previously purged the residents, so they can know war. This is not a training program or a way to ‘mature’ the next generation by exposing them to bloodshed, it was for them to see the contrast. There was a difference between fighting with God (easy success with little to no injury or loss on Israel’s side) versus fighting without God (harder with limited success, greater injuries, and loss). To teach war means to teach the benefits of being on God’s side.
3:3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.
We are given a list of nations and people groups that remained in the land: The five lords of the Philistines (now fortified cities of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, see Joshua 13:3). All of the Canaanites, Sidonians (people from the city of Sidon on the Mediterranean Sea), and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon (the ridge along the Valley of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon (may be Baal-gad near Mount Hermon) northward to Lebo-hamath (the entrance to Hamath, the royal city of the Hittites, on the Orontes River between Aleppo and Damascus, not to be confused with Lebonah). The people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Jebusites, “and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods.” (Judges 3:6, NLT)
Othniel
3:7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
We see the phrase, “evil in the sight of the LORD,” seven times in the book of Judges (see also Judges 2:11; 3:12; 4:1; 6:1: 10:6; 13:1). What is evil? Technically that is anything that distracts you from God, but these references are more than a distraction. Worshiping anything (or anyone) other than God is a very serious issue, that means in their minds the benefits of worshiping a false god is greater than the benefits of worshiping the true and real God. But Baal and Asherah are not real, what could they possibly offer as a benefit? Likely it’s the appeal of their sexual rituals, which tells us that humanity hasn’t changed much.
3:8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
The name Cushan-rishathaim essentially means that Cushan is doubly wicked, a name probably given to him by the Israelites (or some other oppressed group). There were two groups of Cushites, one through Cush in Ethiopia, and the other through the Kassites whose kings were called Kashtiliash in Mesopotamia, this king is undoubtedly from the latter group. It is interesting to see that it took eight years of oppression before the people remembered YHWH.
3:9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.
Upon hearing the Israelites crying out to Him, YHWH raised up someone to deliver them from the hands of Cushan-rishathaim. The deliverer and first judge was Othniel (see Judges 1:11-15) which states here that he was Caleb’s younger brother, he was his cousin (click here to see commentary on Joshua 15:13-19 or here to read commentary for Judges 1:11-15). Othniel soon defeated Cushan-rishathaim.
3:11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Othniel judged and provided Israel peace for forty years. Time enough for a new generation who knew not war to learn. When Othniel died the cycle began again.
Ehud
3:12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
The Israelites once again did what was evil in the sight of YHWH so He ’strengthened’ Eglon, the king of Moab was able to bring together the Ammonite and Amalekite armies from the east side of the Jordan with his army to fight and defeat the Israelites. They took possession of Jericho (the city of palms, see Deuteronomy 34:3, see also Judges 1:16), now around sixty years after Jericho was destroyed, some rebuilding had occurred but not as a fortified city (which would not qualify being under the curse, see Joshua 6:26). This generation of Israelites served and were oppressed by Eglon for eighteen years before they remembered YHWH.
3:15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
The people cried out to YHWH and He raised up Ehud to deliver them from Eglon, the king of Moab. We are told that he is left-handed, an important fact that will become evident in the following verses. He brought tribute (a regular payment to the king, can consist of anything of value) from the people of Israel to the king.
3:16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes.
Before meeting the king to give him tribute, Ehud made a sword with two edges approximately eighteen inches long and attached it to his right thigh under his garment. Swords are typically drawn from the side opposite the predominant hand, for most people that would be on the left side, a location where people seeking an audience with any royalty would be searched. It is interesting to note that the Benjaminites were known for being ambidextrous (see 1 Chronicles 12:2).
3:17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.
Ehud and some others from Israel presented the tribute to the king (which undoubtedly involved some ritual or prearranged statement) and when finished Ehud and the people that were with him left Jericho towards home. Ehud sent the others on while he, as we will learn in the next verse turned back. We are also told that the king was a very fat man, which helps explain the following scenario.
3:19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence.
Ehud apparently left Jericho and once he made it to Gilgal, which is now where Joshua had setup the memorial stones in honor of what God did (see Joshua 4:20) were sculptured statutes of Canaanite gods, and returned to the king. He told the king, “I have a secret message for you.” The king asked for silence and has all of his servants leave the room.
3:20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.
When Ehud told the king that he had a message from God (Elohim, not specific) for him, the king stood up, allowing Ehud to get close to him. At that time Ehud took hold of his sword with his left hand and thrusted it into Eglon’s stomach, and his fat closed over the sword and his dung (Hebrew pǎr·šeḏō’·nā(h), refuse, intestines, bowels, etc.) came out. Ehud closed and locked the doors of the chamber where the king had died, and left through the porch.
3:24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
When the king’s servants came to check up on the king the doors were locked. Believing he was relieving himself they waited, which allowed Ehud time to get away. The Hebrew word translated here as “embarrassed” is bôš’ means to act shamefully, in other words they waited a long time before they unlocked and opened the doors. When they did, their king was found dead on the floor.
3:26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader.
Ehud was able to escape to Seirah (an unknown city or landmark) where he sounded a shofar in the hill country of Ephraim’s territory to get everyone’s attention. We read that Ehud then became the people of Israel’s leader. Since deception was employed by Ehud, some believe that God would never endorse any form of deception, click here for more on that subject.
3:28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
Ehud called the Israelites to follow after him, saying that YHWH has given their enemies, the Moabites, into their hand. So they did and first seized the fords of the Jordan (the locations along the river that are shallow enough to cross) preventing any from escaping and reinforcements to cross over. None of the Moabites were able to escape, approximately 10,000 Moabites were killed. Moab no longer oppressed Israel, who then enjoyed peace and rest for eighty years, the longest period of rest recorded in the book of Judges.
Shamgar
3:31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.
We are not given a lot of information regarding Shamgar (his name only appears here and Judges 5:6). His father was Anath, who being named after the Cananaanite goddess of sex and war, is believed by some to be a Gentile, but there is no further support for that belief. We are also not told if he killed 600 Philistines at one time or was this over a lifetime total accumulation. The word for oxgoad is the only time the word appears in the Bible (there are several of these used-only-once words in this book, theologians call them “hapax-legomenon,” Greek for “said once”). Typically an oxgoad is a long pole with a metal point on one end with a chisel-shaped blade on the other end for plowing.
It is noted that he also saved Israel (a deliverer but not a judge), which connects him to Ehud, perhaps concurrently as we do not hear about Ehud’s death until the next verse. This also tells us that the Philistines were beginning to settle more of the coastal plain.