But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. — The mutilation of Adoni-bezek's thumbs and toes represents both a practical military tactic (preventing him from wielding weapons or fleeing effectively) and a visceral display of Israelite power. The vocabulary suggests deliberate, methodical humiliation rather than spontaneous brutality, indicating calculated justice within ancient Near Eastern military conventions. Yet the verse also carries an irony that becomes explicit in verse 7: this blinded and crippled king witnesses the very judgment he inflicted on others, suggesting a divine justice operating through Israel's hands.

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