“And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.”
Ehud came to him, while he was sitting alone in his cool chamber, and said, 'I have a message from God for you.' Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly; — The assassination narrative reaches its climax as Ehud 'thrust it into his belly' (וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת־הַחֲנִית בְקִרְבּוֹ), employing his left-handed advantage to deliver a fatal blow. The phrase 'message from God' represents fraudulent invocation of divine authority to lower Eglon's guard. The anatomical specificity—'belly' (קֶרֶב)—indicates a mortal wound calculated to ensure the target's death.
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