Eglon

From Bible Exegesis

The bullock; place of heifers.

(1.) Chieftain or king of one of the Moabite tribes (Jdg_3:12-14). Having entered into an alliance with Ammon and Amalek, he overran the trans-Jordanic region, and then crossing the Jordan, seized on Jericho, the “city of palm trees,” which had been by this time rebuilt, but not as a fortress. He made this city his capital, and kept Israel in subjection for eighteen years. The people at length “cried unto the Lord” in their distress, and he “raised them up a deliverer” in Ehud (q.v.), the son of Gera, a Benjamite.

(2.) A city in Judah, near Lachish (Jos_15:39). It was destroyed by Joshua (Jos_10:5, Jos_10:6). It has been identified with Tell Nejileh, 6 miles south of Tell Hesy or Ajlan, north-west of Lachish. (See LACHISH.)

Eglon (1)

eg´lon (עגלון, ‛eghlōn, “circle”):

A king of Moab in the period of the Judges who, in alliance with Ammon and Amalek, overcame Israel and made Jericho his capital, presumably driven across the Jordan by the turmoil in his own kingdom which at that time was probably being used as a battle ground by Edom and the desert tribes (compare Gen_36:35). After 18 years of servitude the children of Israel were delivered by Ehud the Benjamite, who like so many other Benjamites (compare Jdg_20:16) was left-handed. Under the pretext of carrying a present to the tyrant, he secured a private interview and assassinated him with a two-edged sword which he had carried concealed on his right side (Jdg_3:19-22). Ehud made his escape, rallied the children of Israel about him and returned to conquer the Moabites (Jdg_3:30).

Eglon (2)

eg´lon (עגלון, ‛eghlōn; Ὀδολλάμ, Odollám):

A royal Canaanite city whose king joined the league headed by Adonizedek of Jerusalem against the Gibeonites, which suffered overwhelming defeat at the hands of Joshua (Josh 10). Joshua passed from Libnah to Lachish, and from Lachish to Eglon on his way to Hebron (Jos_10:31). It was in the Shephelah of Judah (Jos_15:39). The name seems to be preserved in that of Khirbet ‛Ajlān, about 10 miles West of Beit Jibrīn. Professor Petrie, however, thinks that the site of Tell Nejīleh better suits the requirements. While Khirbet ‛Ajlān is a comparatively modern site, the city at Tell Nejīleh must have been contemporary with that at Tell el-Ḥesy (Lachish). It lies fully three miles Southeast of Tell el-Ḥesy.