Judges 3:20

And Ehud came unto him,.... Somewhat nearer him than he was before; it seems probable that Eglon retired from the presence chamber, where he received company, into his summer parlour; which was

And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

They had divers houses and chambers, some for winter, others for summer. See . Which he had for himself alone; into which he used to retire himself from company; which is mentioned as the reason why his servants waited so long ere they went in to him, . I have a message, to be delivered not in words, but by actions; Heb. a word, or thing, or business. So that there is no need to charge Ehud with a lie, as some do. From God: this he saith to amuse him, by raising his expectation and wonder, to divert him from any apprehension of his danger, and to oblige him to rise out of his seat, which he knew he would do from the common practice of the heathens in their intercourses with God. And he designedly useth the name Elohim, which was common to the true God and false ones, and not Jehovah, which was peculiar to the true God, because Ehud not knowing whether the message came not from his own false god, he would more certainly rise, and thereby give Ehud more advantage for his blow; whereas he would possibly show his contempt of the God of Israel by sitting still to hear his message. He arose out of his seat, in token of humble subjection and reverence to God; see ; which condemns those Christians that behave themselves irreverently in the presence and service of the true God.

Judges 3:20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of [his] seat.Ver. 20. I have a message from God unto thee.] Or, From the gods, for the word is plural; thy gods at Gilgal: but Elohim is commonly used for the true God. This message was his dagger. Not only the vocal admonitions of God, but also the real judgments are his errands to the world. And he arose out of his seat.] To show his respect to the divine majesty: this he did though a heathen, a king, a fat and unwieldy man. It is a witty note that one here maketh: Eglon that had risen up in arms against God’ s people, now riseth up in reverence to his name. God would have liked well to have had less of his courtesy and more of his obedience. Bishop Hall.

(20) Ehud came unto him.—The previous message had either been spoken at some distance, in a loud voice, or had been merely a message sent to the king by the attendants. In a summer parlour.—Literally, a parlour of cooling (comp. Amos 3:15). The room is one of the kind known in the East as alijah (Greek, huperôon; Mark 14:15), the coolest part of an Eastern house. Obergemache der Kühlung (De Wette). Sommer-laube (Luther). The expression reminds us that the scene of the incident is placed in the Ghôr—the Jordan valley, which lies nearly a thousand feet below the level of the Mediterranean, and is probably the hottest district in the world. Eglon had retired into this room after the public reception of the present, and Ehud had anticipated this as part of his deeply-laid design. Which he had for himself alone.—Rather, “in his solitude.” The words merely mean (as in the LXX. and Vulg.) that he was sitting alone. I have a message from God unto thee.—Josephus makes him say that he had a dream to impart to Eglon, by command of God. The whole narrative implies that Ehud was, to some extent, an honoured person even among the Moabites. Probably he was reckoned as a prophet. In the East sacred claims are readily conceded, even to enemies. The Mohammedans received St. Francis of Assisi with entire respect. He arose out of his seat.—Probably out of reverence, to receive the Divine message, which would naturally be delivered in low and reverent tones. “He rose from his throne (and came) near him” (LXX.). Josephus says that he “leaped out of his throne for joy of the dream.” Thus Cimber pressed close upon Cæsar (Plut. Cœs. 86), and Cleander upon Parmenio (Curt. 72, 27) (Cassel).

Verse 20. He was sitting in a summer parlour] Besides the platforms, says Dr. Shaw, which were upon the ancient houses of the East, and which are found there to this day, it is probable that heretofore, as well as at present, most of the great houses had a smaller one annexed, which seldom consisted of more than one or two rooms and a terrace. Others, built as they frequently are above the porch or gateway, have, if we except the ground-floor, all the conveniences belonging to the house, properly so called. There is a door of communication from them into the gallery of the house, kept open or shut at the discretion of the master of the house, besides another door which opens immediately from a privy stairs down into the porch or street, without giving the least disturbance to the house. In these back houses strangers are usually lodged and entertained; hither the men are wont to retire from the hurry and noise of their families, to be more at leisure for meditation or diversions; and they are often used for wardrobes and magazines. These the Arabs call oleah, which exactly answers to the Hebrew word עלית aliyath found in this place; and without doubt such was the apartment in which Eglon received Ehud, by the privy stairs belonging to which he escaped, after having killed Eglon. The doors of the Eastern buildings are large, and their chambers spacious, conveniences well adapted to those hotter climates; but in the present passage something more seems to be meant; at least there are now other conveniences in the East to give coolness to particular rooms, which are very common. In Egypt the cooling their rooms is effected by openings at the top, which let in the fresh air. Mons. Maillet informs us that their halls are made very large and lofty, with a dome at the top, which towards the north has several open windows, so constructed as to throw the north wind down into the rooms; and by this means, though the country is excessively hot, they can make the coolness of those apartments so great, as often not to be borne without being wrapped in furs. Eglon's was a chamber; and some contrivance to mitigate the heat of it was the more necessary, as he appears to have kept his court at Jericho, Judges 3:13; Judges 3:28, where the heat is so excessive as sometimes to prove fatal. See Harmer's Observations. I have a message from God unto thee] דבר אלהים לי אליך debar elohim li aleycha, a word of the gods to me, unto thee. It is very likely that the word elohim is used here to signify idols, or the pesilim mentioned above, Judges 3:19.

12–30. Ehud delivers Israel from Moab The story of Ehud is furnished by the editor with an introduction (Judges 3:12-15 a) and conclusion (Judges 3:30) in his usual manner. The narrative thus enclosed is one of the oldest in the Book; it has the freshness and vigour which belong to the best style of Hebrew story-telling. Traces of editorial interference may perhaps be detected here and there, Judges 3:19-20; Judges 3:22-23; Judges 3:27-28 are taken by some to be doublets; but the narrative as a whole (Judges 3:15-29) is homogeneous. The Moabites, whose territory lay on the E. of the Dead Sea and reached northwards probably to the fords of the Jordan, had crossed the river, occupied Jericho, and reduced the Israelites of the neighbourhood. The Benjamites were the principal sufferers; and it was the Benjamite hero Ehud who, by a clever and courageous stratagem, freed his countrymen from the tyrant. By the Dtc. compiler the subjugation and deliverance are extended so as to affect all Israel.

Probably Ehud’s first message Judges 3:19 had been delivered to the attendants, and by them carried to the king. Now Ehud is admitted to the king’s presence, into the cool upper chamber.

20. Summer parlour — Literally, a loft for cooling; an alijah, or upper chamber, which served both for retirement and coolness.