Does The Bible Say King Eglon is Really, Really Fat?

“Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years. Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab…” Judges 3:12-17

The story of the Israelites is a story of repeated obedience and disobedience. They would listen to the word of the Lord for a period of time, sometimes years upon years, and then they would fall away. This is apparently what had happened once again, for the Lord gives the Israelites into the hands of Eglon, the king of Moab – for eighteen years. After those eighteen years, the Lord finally heard the cries of the people and gave them a deliverer – Ehud the Benjamite. He was a powerful man – left-handed as the text tells us, which as you may have determined, has some significance. In 1 Chronicles 12:2 it mentions that a squad of soldiers, also Benjamites, who were ambidextrous. Others in the Bible are mentioned to have left-handed abilities as they are described as being able to draw a sword with their left hand. (2 Samuel 20:8-10)

When Ehud approached the room to see Eglon, he would have been inspected by the guards. Since being right handed was more common then as it is today, his guards would have searched his left side for a concealed weapon more carefully than the right. A right-handed person draws a long blade from the left side. Apparently, upon seeing the left side was clear, they didn’t search the right for hidden weapons. After all, it was unlikely that he could draw and use a blade from that side. Now there is one other point about this strange encounter, and it has to do with the size of Eglon.

“Eglon king of Moab…was a very fat man. After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.” The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left. Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. Then Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them. After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the palace.” They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.” Judges 3:17-25

I just love it when the bible throws in these little details that make scripture come alive. The writer did not have to tell us that Ehud was left-handed, or that Eglon was morbidly obese, but they did – and the story comes alive in our minds as we picture the encounter. After all, this is the “living word of G-d” – and the bible should always come alive in our minds.

Pastor Dave