Judges 3:23

23 Then Ehud closed and locked the doors of the room and escaped down the latrine.

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, pulled out the dagger strapped to his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly.
22 The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king’s fat. So Ehud did not pull out the dagger, and the king’s bowels emptied.
23 Then Ehud closed and locked the doors of the room and escaped down the latrine.
24 After Ehud was gone, the king’s servants returned and found the doors to the upstairs room locked. They thought he might be using the latrine in the room,
25 so they waited. But when the king didn’t come out after a long delay, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the doors, they found their master dead on the floor.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or and went out through the porch; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
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