Judges 3:26

And it came to pass, when he was come, That is, to Seirath, Jdg 3:26, in the tribe of Ephraim:

that be blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim; which being an high mountain, the sound of the trumpet was heard afar off; and if Ehud's design was known to the Israelites, what he intended to do, this might be the token agreed on, should he succeed, to call them together, see Jer 31:6,

and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them; being there assembled together, and which might be the place before appointed for their rendezvous, and where and when he took the command of them, and went before them as their general.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jdg 3:26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

Ver. 26. And Ehud escaped while they tarried.] So did Montgomery, Carnutensis, and other prime Protestants in the massacre of Paris, when lodging in the suburbs, and hearing the tumult within the city, though at first they could not tell what to make of it, yet afterwards they fled with all speed before the Duke of Guise, when his cut-throats came, who pursued a great way, but could not overtake them, God, by his providence, so ordering that, when the city gates were to be opened, the right keys could not presently be found. {a}

{a} Epitome Hist. Gallic., 148.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 26. Passed beyond the quarries] Beyond the pesilim, which appear to have been the Moabitish borders, where they had set up those hewn stones as landmarks, or sacred boundary stones.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) Unto Seirath.—Perhaps, rather, into the bush, or woodland, as the word has the article, and does not occur again. When he had got beyond the frontier post of Gilgal, into the district of Ephraim, he was safe from pursuit.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. and passed beyond the quarries] lit. he having passed the sculptured stones. The construction in Hebr. (a circumstantial clause dependent on the preceding) is harsh and awkward: it is accounted for if we may suppose that clause b (‘and passed … unto Seirah’) is a doublet of clause a. The repetition of he escaped looks as if this were the case. Instead of passed the sculptured stones we should probably translate crossed (i.e. the river Jordan, not mentioned but implied in the general situation) near the sculptured stones, cf. Jdg_3:19; for crossed without an expressed object cf. Gen_32:21 [22 Heb.], 2Sa_17:16; for the prep, near cf. Jdg_3:19 and Jdg_4:11.

unto Seirah] Se‘îrah, somewhere on the nearer highlands of Ephraim; otherwise unknown.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Seirath - “The forest” or “weald,” which evidently bordered on the cultivated plain near Gilgal, and extended into “the mountain or hill country of Ephraim.” Once there, he was safe from pursuit (compare 1Sa 13:6), and quickly collected a strong force of Ephraimires and probably the bordering Benjamites.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Confusion. Hebrew, "tarrying," as they waited a long time before they ventured to open the door.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

26. Seirath is unknown. Its name indicates that it was a wooded district of Mount Ephraim.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The quarries. See above, ver. 19. Seirath, or rather hasseirah, is not known as the name of a place. It seems to mean the rough or woody district, the forest in the hill country of Ephraim, where there was good shelter to hide in.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ehud had escaped whilst the servants of Eglon were waiting, and had passed the stone quarries and reached Seirah. Seirah is a place that is never mentioned again; and, judging from the etymology (the hairy), it was a wooded region, respecting the situation of which all that can be decided is, that it is not to be sought for in the neighbourhood of Jericho, but "upon the mountains of Ephraim" (Jdg 3:27). For when Ehud had come to Seirah, he blew the trumpet "upon the mountains of Ephraim," to announce to the people the victory that was placed within their reach by the death of Eglon, and to summon them to war with the Moabites, and then went down from the mountain into the plain near Jericho; "and he was before them," i.e., went in front as their leader, saying to the people, "Follow me; for Jehovah has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." Then they went down and took (i.e., took possession of) the fords near Jericho (see at Jos 2:7), למואב, either "from the Moabites" or "towards Moab," and let no one (of the Moabites) cross over, i.e., escape to their own land.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

While the servants were waiting ... Ehud escaped

This tells what happened before the servants opened the doors to the upper room and found the king dead. AT: "Meanwhile, as the servants were still waiting outside of the upper room ... Ehud escaped" (See: Order of Events)

Seirah

This is the name of a city. (See: How to Translate Names)

When he arrived

This could be made clearer. AT: "When he arrived in Seirah" (See: Ellipsis)

translationWords

image

false god

trumpet

Ephraim

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Escaped. Fled, "eschamocier" in old French.

While [lit. until] they tarried. As in, "While the king lounged," "Affection, while still desired" —while we both desire it.

In the underbrush. A thin-branched, heavily wooded forest, called "brousaille", brush, in old French, excellent for concealment. Frequently, in the order of Zeraim, thin branches are called "sa'ar"—"[He] overturned the branches," "If the branches meshed."

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.