Old Testament era; a judge of Israel in the period following the conquest of Canaan.
A judge of Israel who delivered his people from Moabite oppression.
The Righteous Ehud, Judge of Israel
The Righteous Ehud was a judge of Israel who delivered his people from Moabite oppression. Presented in the third chapter of the Book of Judges (Judges 3:12-30), he is identified as Ehud, son of Gera, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, and is remembered as the second of the judges, succeeding Othniel.
According to the scriptural account, Israel had fallen under the domination of Eglon, king of Moab, who headed a confederacy of Moab, Ammon, and Amalek and ruled over the Israelites for eighteen years. Ehud, who was left-handed, gained a private audience with Eglon under the pretext of delivering tribute and slew him, then rallied Israel and broke the power of Moab.
In the Orthodox Church he is numbered among the Holy Forefathers and is commemorated on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ.
Ehud is identified in Scripture as the son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin. The narrative draws particular attention to the fact that he was left-handed, a detail that becomes significant in the account of his deed.
He is reckoned as the second of the judges of Israel, those leaders raised up to deliver the people during the period after the conquest of Canaan, and he succeeded the first judge, Othniel.
The Book of Judges relates that Israel had come under the domination of Eglon, king of Moab. Eglon stood at the head of a confederacy of Moab, Ammon, and Amalek in their assault on Israel, and he ruled over the Israelites for eighteen years.
It was during this oppression that Ehud was raised up to deliver the people, as the scriptural account recounts in Judges 3:12-30.
Ehud approached Eglon on the pretext of delivering the Israelites' annual tribute. He had prepared a double-edged shortsword about a cubit—roughly eighteen inches—in length, and because he was left-handed he was able to conceal it on his right thigh, where it was not expected. Having gained a private audience, he drew the sword and stabbed the king in the abdomen. According to the account, the king's great size prevented Ehud from withdrawing the blade; Eglon's servants, supposing him to be relieving himself, left him undisturbed, and Ehud locked the doors of the chamber and made his escape.
Once away, Ehud sounded the shofar and rallied the Israelite tribes. They seized and cut off the fords of the Jordan River, defeated the Moabites, and struck down about ten thousand of their soldiers. After this deliverance the land had rest for eighty years.
In the Orthodox Church Ehud is venerated among the Righteous and numbered with the Holy Forefathers, the ancestors and righteous figures of the Old Covenant who are commemorated together on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ. His commemoration falls within this celebration of the forefathers who awaited and prefigured the coming of the Savior.
Among the Holy Forefathers, commemorated on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ.