Judges 3:23

23 Ehud went out to the porch. He shut the doors of the upstairs room behind him. Then he locked them.

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 Then Ehud reached out his left hand. He pulled out the sword that was tied to his right leg. He stuck it into the king's stomach.
22 Even the handle sank in after the blade. The blade came right out the king's back. Ehud didn't pull the sword out. And the fat closed over it.
23 Ehud went out to the porch. He shut the doors of the upstairs room behind him. Then he locked them.
24 After he had gone, the servants came. They found the doors of the upstairs room locked. They said, "Eglon must be going to the toilet in the inside room of the house."
25 They waited for a long time. They waited so long they became worried. But the king still didn't open the doors of the room. So they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their king. He had fallen to the floor. He was dead.
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