Judges 3:23

23 Ehud slipped out by way of the porch and shut and locked the doors of the rooftop room behind him.

Judges 3:23 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 3:23

Then Ehud went forth through the porch
Which the Targum interprets by "exedra", a place, as Kimchi, where there were many seats, either for the people to sit in while waiting to have admittance into the presence of the king, or where the guards sat, and may be called the guard room; through this Ehud passed with all serenity and composure of mind imaginable, without the least show of distress and uneasiness in his countenance, being fully satisfied that what he had done was right, and according to the will of God:

and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them;
joined the doors of the parlour, as the Targum, the two folds of the door, shut them close together upon Eglon within the parlour, and bolted them within, or drew the bolt on the inside, which he was able to do with a key for that purpose; of which see more on ( Judges 3:25 ) ; and which it is probable he took away along with him; this must be understood as done before he went through the porch, and therefore should be rendered, "when" or "after he had shut the doors" F5; wherefore in the Vulgate Latin version this clause is put first.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 (rgoyw) "quum occlusisset", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Judges 3:23 In-Context

21 Ehud reached with his left hand and took his sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's big belly.
22 Not only the blade but the hilt went in. The fat closed in over it so he couldn't pull it out.
23 Ehud slipped out by way of the porch and shut and locked the doors of the rooftop room behind him.
24 Then he was gone. When the servants came, they saw with surprise that the doors to the rooftop room were locked. They said, "He's probably relieving himself in the restroom."
25 They waited. And then they worried - no one was coming out of those locked doors. Finally, they got a key and unlocked them. There was their master, fallen on the floor, dead!
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.