Judges 3:23

Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Ehud	אֵה֖וּד 'e.Hud	H164	Ehud · proper noun, a man's name
forth	וַיֵּצֵ֥א vai.ye.Tze'	H3318	to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
porch	הַֽמִּסְדְּר֑וֹנָה ha.mis.de.Ro.nah	H4528	a colonnade or internal portico (from its rows of pilla… · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute + directional suffix
shut	וַיִּסְגֹּ֞ר vai.yis.Gor	H5462	to shut up · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
doors	דַּלְת֧וֹת dal.Tot	H1817	something swinging · noun, common feminine plural construct
parlour	הָעַלִיָּ֛ה ha.'a.li.Yah	H5944	something lofty · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
locked	וְנָעָֽל ve.na.'Al	H5274	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 3:12-30

Ehud is the next of the judges whose achievements are related in this history, and here is an account of his actions. I. When Israel sins again God raises up a new oppressor, Jdg 3:12-14. It was an aggravation of their wickedness that they did evil again after they had smarted so long for their former iniquities, promised so fair when Othniel judged them, and received so much mercy from God in their deliverance. What, and after all this, again to break his commandments! Was the disease obstinate to all the methods of cure, both corrosives and lenitives? It seems it was. Perhaps they thought they might make the more bold with their old sins because they saw themselves in no danger from their…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 3:21

Ehud put forth his left hand--The whole circumstance of this daring act--the death of Eglon without a shriek, or noise--the locking of the doors--the carrying off the key--the calm, unhurried deportment of Ehud--show the strength of his confidence that he was doing God service.

John Gill on Judges 3:23

Then Ehud went forth through the porch,.... Which the Targum interprets by "exedra", a place, as Kimchi, where there were many seats, either for the people to sit in while waiting to have admittance into the presence of the king, or where the guards sat, and may be called the guard room; through this Ehud passed with all serenity and composure of mind imaginable, without the least show of distress and uneasiness in his countenance, being fully satisfied that what he had done was right, and according to the will of God: and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them; joined the doors of the parlour, as the Targum, the two folds of the door, shut them close together upon Eglon wi…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 3:23

As soon as the deed was accomplished, Ehud went out into the porch or front hall, shut the door of the room behind him (בּעדו, not behind himself, but literally round him, i.e., Eglon; cf. Gen 7:16; Kg2 4:4) and bolted it (this is only added as a more precise explanation of the previous verb).

The Church Fathers

And Aod went out and passed through the guards and closed the doors of the upper gallery behind him and bolted. This which had been omitted, is now said by recapitulation. Because it is to believe that Ehod did this before and so he would come down from the top and pass in front of the guardians.
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON JUDGES, Q. 22 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Doors — Moved on pivots of wood fastened in sockets above and below (Prov. 26:14). They were fastened by a lock (Judg. 3:23, 25; Cant. 5:5) or by a bar (Judg. 16:3; Job 38:10). In the interior of Oriental…
Ehud — Union. (1.) A descendant of Benjamin (1 Chr. 7:10), his great-grandson. (2.) The son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 3:15). After the death of Othniel the people again fell into idolatry,…
Goad — (Heb. malmad, only in Judg. 3: 31), an instrument used by ploughmen for guiding their oxen. Shamgar slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. “The goad is a formidable weapon. It is sometimes ten…
Moab — The seed of the father, or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest son of Lot (Gen. 19:37), of incestuous birth. (2.) Used to denote the people of Moab (Num. 22:3-14; Judg. 3:30; 2 Sam.…
Moabite — The designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37). From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on…
Parlor — a word in English usage meaning the common room of the family, and hence probably in Authorized Version denoting the king’s audience-chamber, so used in reference to Eglon. (Judges 3:20-25)
Confidence · .Eglon, by Ehud — .Eglon, by Ehud
Deception · .Ehud — .Ehud
Eglon · .Assassinated by Ehud — .Assassinated by Ehud
Gilgal · .Eglon, king of Moab, resi — .Eglon, king of Moab, resi
Homicide · .Ehud — .Ehud
House · .Porches

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 3:12-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 3:21

John Gill on Judges 3:23

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 3:23

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 3:12-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 3:21

John Gill on Judges 3:23

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 3:23

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Rashi on Judges 3:23