Judges 3 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

• Verses 1–8: The Israelites lived with other nations and worshiped their gods
• Verses 9–11: God sent Othniel to rescue Israel from Aram
• Verses 12–30: God sent Ehud to rescue Israel from Moab
• Verse 31: God sent Shamgar to rescue Israel from the Philistines

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Yahweh allowed other nations to conquer Israel

As 3:5–8 explains, Israel worshiped idols and false gods. Because of this, Yahweh allowed the nations of Aram and Moab to rule over them. In the period of Judges, when Israel sinned, they were often placed under the rule of a foreign power. However, when the people repented, Yahweh sent judges to deliver them. This chapter describes how Yahweh sent Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar to rescue Israel from foreign control. (See: falsegod and sin)

The carved images at Gilgal

Biblical scholars are not entirely sure what the “carved images” mentioned in 3:19 were. They could have been some kind of boundary marker. Some interpreters associate them with the twelve large stones that Joshua set up at Gilgal in Joshua 4:20. They seem to have been a recognizable landmark of some kind. Once Ehud and the porters reached them, Ehud knew that the porters were back in Israelite territory and could find their way safely back home from there without him. In your translation, you might refer to these as “carved stones” or, as in the UST, “boundary stones.”