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Judges introduces Ehud as a left-handed man from Benjamin, the tribe whose name means ‘son of the right hand.’ Judges later describes 700 left-handed Benjaminite slingers, describing the tribe with the opposite trait.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Judges 3:15
Hebrew Bible
14 The Israelites were subject to King Eglon of Moab for 18 years. 15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. 16 Ehud made himself a sword—it had two edges and was 18 inches long. He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh.
Judges 20:16
Hebrew Bible
15 That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities 26,000 sword-wielding soldiers, besides 700 well-trained soldiers from Gibeah. 16 Among this army were 700 specially trained left-handed soldiers. Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. 17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered 400,000 sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior.
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Notes and References
... As a left-handed man, his strength comes from an unexpected direction and so catches Eglon by surprise. First Chronicles 7:10-11 lists Ehud as one of the mighty warriors of the house of Benjamin. Even in the midst of the battle against Benjamin in Judges 20, the narrator acknowledges the military prowess of a special force of 'seven hundred picked men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair, and not miss' (20:16). It seems likely that Ehud was a member of this elite band. It is not a surprise that his people select him to guard and deliver the tribute that they are offering to Eglon, nor that his story reads rather like a special forces operation. ...
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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