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Judges 3

Israel’s repeated turn to other gods brings YHWH’s judgment, while his chosen deliverers rescue the people from foreign rule.

Israel lives among nations left in Canaan, where a generation without battle experience faces a test of obedience to YHWH. The people intermarry with their neighbors and serve their gods. Foreign rule follows, and Israel cries out for help. YHWH raises up Othniel, then Ehud, whose killing of Moab’s king opens the way for Israel’s victory. These rescues bring long periods of rest. A brief closing account names Shamgar as another deliverer.

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1Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
2only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at least those who knew nothing of it before:
3the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.
4They were left to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to the LORD’s commandments, which he commanded their fathers by Moses.
5The children of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
6They took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.
7The children of Israel did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
8Therefore the LORD’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan Rishathaim eight years.
9When the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a savior to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10The LORD’s Spirit came on him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and the LORD delivered Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. His hand prevailed against Cushan Rishathaim.
11The land had rest forty years, then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the LORD’s sight.
13He gathered the children of Ammon and Amalek to himself; and he went and struck Israel, and they possessed the city of palm trees.
14The children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15But when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a savior for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The children of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
16Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he wore it under his clothing on his right thigh.
17He offered the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.
19But he himself turned back from the stone idols that were by Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” The king said, “Keep silence!” All who stood by him left him.
20Ehud came to him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. Ehud said, “I have a message from God to you.” He arose out of his seat.
21Ehud put out his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body.
27When he had come, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he led them.
28He said to them, “Follow me; for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” They followed him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and didn’t allow any man to pass over.
29They struck at that time about ten thousand men of Moab, every strong man and every man of valor. No man escaped.
30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. Then the land had rest eighty years.
31After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad. He also saved Israel.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Judges 3:7Israel’s service to the Baals and Asheroth makes forgetting YHWH a concrete breach of allegiance.
Judges 3:10YHWH’s Spirit equips Othniel to lead, and the account credits YHWH with giving him victory.
Judges 3:31Shamgar’s brief account extends the chapter’s record of rescue, naming an ox goad as his weapon against the Philistines.
Where this chapter reaches

Deuteronomy shares the warning that marriage with surrounding peoples can lead Israel into serving their gods, while Joshua also names Othniel and his connection to Caleb. YHWH’s Spirit empowering a leader links Othniel’s account with 1 Samuel; Psalm recounts Israel’s idolatry, oppression, and rescue.

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After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about YHWH’s actions in both Israel’s oppression and its rescue?

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How does the return to evil after forty years of rest shape your reading of Israel’s deliverance?

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Questions people ask about Judges 3

Why did God leave nations in Canaan in Judges 3?

The opening verses give two purposes: teaching warfare to Israelites who had no experience of Canaan’s wars, and testing whether Israel would obey YHWH’s commands given through Moses. The account then records Israel living among these peoples, intermarrying with them, and serving their gods.

Why does Judges 3 mention that Ehud was left-handed?

Ehud’s left hand matters to the sequence of the killing. He hides a sword on his right thigh, then draws it with his left hand when alone with Eglon. The text does not say that guards searched him or explain how left-handedness affected their expectations.

Who was Shamgar, and what was an ox goad?

Shamgar is identified as the son of Anath, a man who saved Israel by striking six hundred Philistines with an ox goad. A goad was a long stick used to drive oxen. This chapter gives no further account of his background, the battle’s circumstances, or the length of his leadership.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).