Judges 3:17

17 Then he presented the tribute to King Eglon of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.

Judges 3:17 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 3:17

And he brought a present unto Eglon king of Moab
Accompanied by two servants, as Josephus says F2, and who doubtless bore the presents; for that there were such with him that did is clear from ( Judges 3:18 ) ; nor can it be thought that so great a personage as a judge in Israel should go alone and carry a present in his own hands; though it is possible, when come to the king of Moab, he might take it from his servants, and deliver it to him with his own hands:

and Eglon [was] a very fat man:
and so the less active, and unable to decline and avoid the stroke, he might see, when about to be given him.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2.

Judges 3:17 In-Context

15 But when the Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The Israelites sent tribute by him to King Eglon of Moab.
16 Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length; and he fastened it on his right thigh under his clothes.
17 Then he presented the tribute to King Eglon of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.
18 When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent the people who carried the tribute on their way.
19 But he himself turned back at the sculptured stones near Gilgal, and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." So the king said, "Silence!" and all his attendants went out from his presence.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.