Editing Ehud (section)

==Biblical narrative==
According to {{bibleverse||Judges|3:12-30|NKJV}}, Ehud was sent by the Israelites to the Moabite King [[Eglon (king)|Eglon]] on the pretext of delivering the Israelites' annual [[tribute]]. He made a double-edged shortsword about a [[Cubit (Biblical)|cubit]] (eighteen inches) long, useful for a stabbing thrust. Being left-handed, he could conceal the sword on his right thigh, where it was not expected. Left handedness is significant because the left side of the body is often associated with deception or darkness, it is a tactical advantage in war against the majority who are often right-handed, and is symbolic for being outside of the culturally accepted social norm of leadership in ancient Israel.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Niditch |first=Susan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZa7BwAAQBAJ&dq=The+term+used+for+Ehud%E2%80%99s+ample+belly+is+the+term+used+for+%E2%80%98womb%2C%E2%80%99+while+the+image+of+the+fat+closing+around+the+blade+is+strongly+vaginal.&pg=PA58 |title=Judges: A Commentary |date=2011-03-01 |publisher=Presbyterian Publishing Corp |isbn=978-0-664-23831-5 |language=en}}</ref> Once they met, Ehud told Eglon he had a secret message for him. Eglon dismissed his attendants and allowed Ehud to meet him in private. The Hebrew for the location of the private meeting is  בַּעֲלִיַּת הַמְּקֵרָה ''ba-ʿăliyat ha-məqērāh'', translated as cooling roof chamber,<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Holladay|first1=W. L.|title=The Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament|last2=Köhler|first2=L.|publisher=Brill|year=2000|location=Leiden|page=274}}</ref> which was likely a bathroom<ref>{{Cite book|last=van Wijk-Bos|first=Johanna W. H.|title=The End of the Beginning; Joshua & Judges|publisher=William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|year=2019|isbn=978-0-8028-6838-1|location=Grand Rapids, MI|page=211}}</ref> given that the servants believed Eglon was relieving himself (v24). Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you", drew his sword, and stabbed the king in his [[abdomen]]. The Hebrew word for abdomen בְּבִטְנֽוֹ (beten), is the same word that is used for the womb of a woman.<ref name=":02"/> After Ehud stabbed the king, the end of Judges 3:22 reads in Hebrew וַיֵּצֵא הַֽפַּרְשְׁדֹֽנָה ''wa-yēṣē ha-paršədōnāh'' usually translated as "and the dirt came out", a phrase of uncertain meaning as it is only used once in the Hebrew Bible. "Dirt" could be translated as feces.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Harris|first1=R. L.|title=Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament|last2=Archer|first2=G. L.|last3=Waltke|first3=B. K.|publisher=Moody Press|year=1999|location=Chicago|page=740 |edition=Electronic }}</ref> The translations of the room, abdomen, and dirt lend to a translation that implies sexual undertones and feminizes Eglon, demeaning him to a lower status.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bachmann |first=Mercedes L. García |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_JmDwAAQBAJ&dq=the+inner+organs+closing+around+the+stuck+phallus-like+dagger%2C+the+upper+room%27s+location+where+both+men+are&pg=PA36 |title=Judges |date=2018-07-02 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-8131-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":02" /><ref name="Jr.2013">{{cite book|first=Robert B. Jr. |last=Chisholm|title=A Commentary on Judges and Ruth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFnaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA186|date=14 November 2013|publisher=Kregel Academic|isbn=978-0-8254-2556-1|page=186}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|The word may be an architectural term, indicating the area into which Ehud moved as he left the king and began his escape. Some take the noun as "back", and understand "sword" (from the preceding clause) as the subject, and translate "the sword came out [of] his back". The [[American Standard Version]] says "it [the sword] came out behind" and also provides the variant, "he went out into the antechamber" (ASV version of {{bibleverse||Judges|3:22|ASV}}). The [[Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges]] regards this wording as "based upon a guess of the [[Septuagint]] ({{lang|grc|τὴν προστάδα}})", whose writers may, according to [[Charles Ellicott|Ellicott]], have been "consulting propriety", whereas many [[English translations of the bible|translations]] refer to excrement coming out of the body. The [[King James Version]] uses the euphemism of "dirt". [[Young's Literal Translation]], more cryptically, states that "it goeth out at the fundament".<ref>[https://biblehub.com/judges/3-22.htm Judges 3:22], parallel translations. ''BibleHub''. Accessed 17 February 2021.</ref><ref>[https://biblehub.com/commentaries/judges/3-22.htm Judges 3:22], parallel commentaries. ''BibleHub''. Accessed 17 February 2021</ref>}} The sword disappeared into the wound and Ehud left it there. He locked the doors to the king's chamber and left.

Eglon's assistants returned when too much time had elapsed and found the doors locked. Assuming that he was relieving himself, they waited "to the point of embarrassment" before unlocking the door and finding their king dead.

Ehud escaped to the town of [[Seraiah]] in [[Ephraim]]. He sounded the [[shofar]] and rallied the Israelite tribes, who killed the [[Moabites]], cutting off the fords of the [[Jordan River]], and invaded [[Moab]] itself, killing about 10,000 Moabite soldiers.

After the death of Eglon, the narrative reports that there was peace in the land for 80 years.<ref>{{bibleverse||Judges|3:30|NKJV}}</ref>
[[File:Weltchronik Fulda Aa88 168r detail.jpg|thumb|The Jews (wearing anachronistic [[Judenhut|Judenhüte]]) rejoice as Ehud kills [[Eglon (king)|Eglon]]; from [[Rudolf von Ems]]' ''Weltchronik'', late 14th century]]