Judges 3:29

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.

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.

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.

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

Or, strong, and big bodied.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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

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

(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.)

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

29. ten thousand] A round number, Jdg_1:4 n. The Moabites who formed the army of occupation were all picked men.

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.

So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel,.... Or the Moabites were broken, as the Targum, that is, their forces in the land of Israel; for the land of Moab itself was not subdued and brought into subjection to the Israelites; but they were so weakened by this stroke upon them, that they could not detain the Israelites under their power any longer:

and the land had rest fourscore years; eighty years, which, according to Ben Gersom, are to be reckoned from the beginning of their servitude, and that the rest properly was but sixty two years, and so both rest and servitude were eighty years, as R. Isaiah; and, according to Abarbinel, the rest was from the death of Othniel; and our Bishop Usher (o) reckons this eightieth year from the former rest restored to it by Othniel; but others (p) are of opinion that there were several judges at a time in several parts of the land, and that the land was at rest in one part when there was war in another; and so that at this time it was only the eastern part of the land that had rest, while the western parts were distressed by the Philistines, and the northern parts by Jabin king of Canaan, as in Jdg 3:31.

(o) Annal. Vet. Test. p. 42. (p) Marsham. Canon. Chron. p. 306, 307. Patrick in loc. Vid. Lampe Eccl. Hist. l. 1. c. 5. p. 21, 22.

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

Strong. Hebrew literally, "the fatness," denoting what is most excellent, Psalm xxi. 30., and lxxvii. 31. (Calmet) --- Eglon would have his chief nobility and most valiant soldiers round his person. (Haydock)

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).

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.

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.)

All horrific [lit. corpulent]. Every man awe inspiring.

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.