Judges 3:23

23 Then Ehud went out through the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upper 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 And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.
22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon’s bowels emptied.
23 Then Ehud went out through the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upper room behind him.
24 After Ehud was gone, Eglon’s servants came in and found the doors of the upper room locked. “He must be relieving himself in the cool room,” they said.
25 So they waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upper room. Then they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor.
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