Ehud
?–1150 BCE · Biblical · Jericho (Tell es-Sultan)
Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Binyamin, is the second deliverer in the Book of Judges. Eglon, king of Moab, allied with Ammon and Amalek, defeated Israel, occupied 'the City of Palms', and held Israel subject for eighteen years (Judges 3:12-14). Ehud was chosen to carry Israel's tribute to Eglon. He made a short two-edged dagger and strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak, where a right-handed guard would not expect it (Judges 3:15-16). After delivering the tribute he came back alone, claiming 'a message from God'. Alone with the very fat king in his cool upper chamber, he drew the dagger with his left hand and killed him (Judges 3:19-22). He locked the doors and escaped while the courtiers waited outside. Then he sounded the shofar in the hill country of Ephraim. His men seized the fords of the Jordan, cut off the Moabite retreat and killed about ten thousand. The land then had peace for eighty years (Judges 3:23-30).
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Jericho (Tell es-Sultan)Lower Jordan Valley (West Bank)
What they did here
Eglon occupied 'the City of Palms' (Judges 3:13), and Deuteronomy 34:3 uses that name for Jericho. The text does not state that Eglon's palace was there. Ehud's route passed 'Pesilim near Gilgal' and he fled to Seirah (Judges 3:19, 26), both unidentified. So the pin marks the occupied city, not a confirmed scene of the assassination.
Works
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