Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 3:29

And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valor; and there escaped not a man.

29. ten thousand ] A round number, Jdg 1:4 n. The Moabites who formed the army of occupation were all picked men.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 29. All lusty, and all men of valour] Picked, chosen troops, which Eglon kept among the Israelites to reduce and overawe them.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men,…. Who had been sent into the land of Israel to keep it in subjection, or had settled themselves there for their better convenience, profit, and pleasure; it is very probable there were some of both sorts:

all lusty, and all men of valour; the word for “lusty” signifies “fat”, living in ease for a long time, and in a plentiful country were grown fat; and, according to Ben Gersom, it signifies rich men, such as had acquired wealth by living in the land of Canaan; or who came over Jordan thither and settled about Jericho, because of the delightfulness of the place, and others were stout and valiant soldiers, whom the king of Moab had placed there to keep the land in subjection he had subdued, and to subdue what remained of it; but they were all destroyed:

and there escaped not a man; for there being no other way of getting into the land of Moab but at the fords of Jordan they fell into the hands of the Israelites possessed of them, as they made up unto them.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Thus they smote at that time about 10,000 Moabites, all fat and powerful men, i.e., the whole army of the enemy in Jericho and on this side of the Jordan, not letting a man escape. The expression “at that time” seems to imply that they did not destroy this number in one single engagement, but during the whole course of the war.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

(29) At that time.Apparently in the first surprise of the Moabite forces and garrisons.

All lusty.Literally, every fat man and every soldier of strength, the word being the same as that used in Jdg. 3:17 to describe the fatness of Eglon. The choice of the word seems to be dictated by a certain grim sense of humour. The narrative ends, as it had begun, with its half-humorous allusion to the well-fed carcases of those who, corpulent like their chief, lay dead along the shore of the river. (Stanley.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

29. About ten thousand men The slaughter of these picked troops did not, probably, occur in one day, but in the course of this short, sharp, and decisive campaign. It was not customary to take prisoners in the battles of those days.

All lusty Fat, stout, robust men. The Moabite warriors seem to have been, like their king, (Jdg 3:17,) large, corpulent men.

As this is the last mention of Ehud, it is proper here to inquire into the moral character of that act which made him prominent in the delivery of Israel. It is both superfluous and unwarrantable to say, as some do, that Ehud’s deed was done under a special impulse or inspiration from the Almighty. There is nothing in the narrative to justify such an opinion. It is not even said that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Ehud; nor does it follow that because God raised him up to deliver Israel, Divine Wisdom directed and approved all the measures he used in order to effect that object. Least of all is it supposable that Ehud’s acts in this case, whether in themselves censurable or not, are a precedent and worthy example for all times and all circumstances.

But let it once be noted that Eglon and the Moabites were now accursed of God, and ripe for judgment, and that Ehud both knew this fact and also that he himself was the divinely chosen minister of vengeance, and there is no need of criticising the morality of his deed, or of justifying it by a supposed special impulse of the Spirit. Jdg 3:15; Jdg 3:28 contain sufficient evidence to show that Ehud understood his divine commission as deliverer of Israel, and that the Moabitish oppression was about to be broken. Beyond this we do not suppose God gave him any special revelations or commands, but left him to the choice of such measures and plans of conquest as his own judgment and skill might devise. Viewed in this light, the murder of Eglon was as justifiable as the slaughter of the ten thousand Moabites. Jdg 3:29. Ehud’s deed was but the first stroke of Divine judgment that fell on the idolatrous kingdom, and may be compared to the slaughter of Agag by the hand of Samuel. 1Sa 15:33. Samuel’s act was an after stroke of judgment, done to complete the curse of Amalek: Ehud’s was the first stroke, and so had more of the character of a stratagem of war. The acts of violence, barbarity, treachery, and deception common in war can never be justified on subjective grounds. So far as they are a part of war itself, they are not to be judged singly and apart from the moral issues involved in the war. Their apology or justification, if any is asked for, is to be found in that which justified the war itself. Compare the note on Jael’s deed at the close of chap. 4.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘ And they slew of Moab at that time about ten eleph men, every lusty man and every man of valour. And there escaped not a man.’

Ten military units of men (five hundred upwards) who were there as guards to the king, and to put pressure on the subject people, were slain. All were trained soldiers and true warriors, but every one died to the last man. And Moab would now be too busy in determining the succession, in selecting and crowning their new king, which would take some time and possibly no little violence, to do anything about it.

“Every lusty man.” The word for lusty usually means fat. It may be that the writer is saying that the fat courtiers were slain along with the true warriors.

What are we to say about Ehud’s method of using assassination? The king was an enemy of Israel and illegally demanding tribute from them. He was thus at continual war with them. So it was an act of war and as such legitimate. It was no more deceitful than laying an ambush for someone and enticing them into it.

It would have been a totally different thing had he paid assassins to kill kings who were merely ruling peacefully over their own countries. But he had not come as a faithful servant, professing loyalty from the heart, he had come as the representative of an oppressed people, and as one of them. And he certainly followed it up by showing that Yahweh was with him. ‘Yahweh has delivered’ (Jdg 3:28), and these are as much the words of the writer as of Ehud, for he unquestionably approved of them.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jdg 3:29. All lusty The word shamen, rendered lusty, signifies, properly, one that abounds in strength, robust, strong: so the Vulgate, robustos. The word in the next verse rendered subdued, is, in the French version, humilie; humbled, which is more agreeable to the Hebrew.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Jdg 3:29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

Ver. 29. All lusty. ] Heb., Fat and succulent. Tremellius rendereth it, Opulent, wealthy. These were those Lurdaines or Lord-Danes, that did eat of the fat and drink of the sweet, while the poor Israelites, their vassals, were forced to take hard on.

And there escaped not a man. ] Ne ignifer quidem relictus est.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)