Judges 3:27

And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(27) He blew a trumpet.—The word for “trumpet” is shophar. The LXX. have “he trumpeted with a horn” (Esalpisen en keratine).

In the mountain of Ephraim.—The hill country of Ephraim was always the fastness of Israelitish freedom (Judges 4:5; Judges 10:1; 1Samuel 1:1; 1Samuel 13:6; 1Samuel 14:22).

He before them.—He assumed the leadership.

Benson Commentary

Jdg 3:27-28. He blew a trumpet — In order to summon those who were disposed to recover their liberty to take arms and follow him. And the children of Israel went down with him — Whom doubtless he had prepared by his emissaries, and gathered together in considerable numbers. With these he attacked the Moabites who were in garrisons on the west of Jordan, and slew ten thousand of their best men; which utterly broke the power of Moab, and freed the Israelites from the yoke of that nation. They took the fords of Jordan — Where that river was usually passed, that neither the Moabites that were in Canaan might escape, nor any more Moabites come over Jordan to their succour.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

3:12-30 When Israel sins again, God raises up a new oppressor. The Israelites did ill, and the Moabites did worse; yet because God punishes the sins of his own people in this world, Israel is weakened, and Moab strengthened against them. If lesser troubles do not do the work, God will send greater. When Israel prays again, God raises up Ehud. As a judge, or minister of Divine justice, Ehud put to death Eglon, the king of Moab, and thus executed the judgments of God upon him as an enemy to God and Israel. But the law of being subject to principalities and powers in all things lawful, is the rule of our conduct. No such commissions are now given; to pretend to them is to blaspheme God. Notice Ehud's address to Eglon. What message from God but a message of vengeance can a proud rebel expect? Such a message is contained in the word of God; his ministers are boldly to declare it, without fearing the frown, or respecting the persons of sinners. But, blessed be God, they have to deliver a message of mercy and of free salvation; the message of vengeance belongs only to those who neglect the offers of grace. The consequence of this victory was, that the land had rest eighty years. It was a great while for the land to rest; yet what is that to the saints' everlasting rest in the heavenly Canaan.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 1 Samuel 13:6), and quickly collected a strong force of Ephraimires and probably the bordering Benjamites.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

27. he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim—summoned to arms the people of that mountainous region, which, adjoining the territory of Benjamin, had probably suffered most from the grievous oppression of the Moabites.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Doubtless he had prepared

the children of Israel, and by his emissaries gathered together in considerable numbers.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And it came to pass, when he was come, That is, to Seirath, Judges 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 Jeremiah 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.

Geneva Study Bible

And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

27. when he was come] If Se‘îrah was meant, ‘thither’ should have been written. Some indication of the place is needed; the LXX. cod. B adds ‘unto the land of Israel,’ shewing that the obscurity was felt. Perhaps the simplest course is to suppose that the original order of words has been disturbed, and to read when he was come to (omit in) the highlands of Ephraim he blew a trumpet. For the summons to arms cf. Jdg 6:34; 1 Samuel 13:3.

the hill country of E.… the hill country] Cf. Jdg 2:9, Jdg 4:5, Jdg 7:24, Jdg 17:1; Joshua 17:15. The Highlands, which extend continuously from the Great Plain to the S. of Judah, were occupied in the northern half by W. Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin (‘the hill country of E.’), in the southern half by Judah (‘the hill country of J.’ Joshua 21:11); at this period a line of Canaanite strongholds separated the territories of Joseph and Judah. The country between Ramah and Beth-el lay ‘in the hill country of E.’ Jdg 4:5; it was the Israelites of this neighbourhood, i.e. the Benjamites, who responded to their clansman’s call.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 27. - He blew a trumpet. Like Alfred in the marshes of Somerset, he gathered a host around him in the shelter of the forest; and then, full of faith in his Divine mission, "strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might," dashed down boldly into the plain, and, seizing the fords, cut off all communication between the Moabites at Jericho and their countrymen east of the Jordan. They could neither escape into Moab nor get help from Moab. Thrown into confusion by the death of their king and the suddenness of the attack, the Moabites fell to the number of 10,000 men; and so ended the second servitude, to be followed by a rest (if the numeral in the text is sound) of eighty years. Judges 3:27

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

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" (Judges 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 Joshua 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.