Charles Ellicott Commentary Judges 3:19

"But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him." — Judges 3:19 (ASV)

But he himself turned again. — Ehud's plan was carefully devised. He wished:

1. to secure his goal, which would be more difficult among the soldiers and attendants who would guard the king during the presentation of the tribute;
2. to avoid endangering his comrades;
3. and to provide, if possible, for his own escape.

By leaving with the deputation of serfs he had introduced, he would further lull any suspicion.

From the quarries. — The Hebrew word is pesilîm. The Septuagint, followed by our margin, renders it “graven images”; and the Vulgate, “from Gilgal, where there were idols” (Luther, Götzen). This is the meaning of pesîlîm in Deuteronomy 7:5, 2 Kings 17:41, Psalms 97:7, and other passages. The rendering “stone quarries,” is derived from the Chaldee and Rabbi Jarchi.

However, it probably means idols of some kind—likely those of Moab. Some explain it as the twelve stones that were taken out of the Jordan and set up at Gilgal (Joshua 4:2). The Septuagint (in some manuscripts) makes it mean that Eglon returned, but this is clearly a mistake.

Gilgal was near Jericho. After Ehud had accompanied his comrades to a well-known landmark at Gilgal, he returned to Jericho. Josephus says he had “two attendants” with him, but the word “people” in Judges 3:18 implies that many more had accompanied him.

By Gilgal. — Ewald thinks that Gilgal belonged to Ephraim and that “he went to see if all was safe at this frontier-post.” If the pesîlîm were sacred stones marking a boundary , they would, like the Greek Hermæ, have been condemned by the Jews as idolatrous.

I have a secret errand unto thee, O king. — Something in Ehud’s position and background enabled him to count on the king’s credulity. Eglon, aware of discontent among the Israelites, may have supposed that Ehud had some secret to betray. Similarly, Darius obtained an interview with the Pseudo-Smerdis to assassinate him by pretending to have a secret message for him. In explaining it to his comrade, Darius says, “When lying is necessary, lie” (Herodotus, iii. 72). In Josephus’s version of the story, Ehud pretends that he has a dream to narrate.

Who said, Keep silence. — Rather, “And he said, Hush!” (Hebrew, Hâs). The narrative is very vivid, but it is not clear whether the “Hush!” was addressed to Ehud, to prevent him from saying anything more in the presence of the attendants, or as an indication to the attendants to retire. They at once understood that the king wished to be left alone.

All that stood by him. — Courtiers always stand in the presence of Eastern kings.