Difference between revisions of "Eglon"

<p> '''1.''' King of Moab. With [[Amalekites]] and [[Ammonites]] crossed the [[Jordan]] and took [[Jericho]] the city of palmtrees, left unwalled, and therefore an easy prey to the foe, because of Joshua's curse in destroying it 60 years before. There (according to Josephus) [[Eglon]] built a palace. For 18 years he oppressed Israel. Ehud, a young [[Israelite]] of Jericho, gained his favor by a present (or in Keil's view presented the king tribute, as in &nbsp;2 Samuel 8:2; &nbsp;2 Samuel 8:6, "gifts" mean), and after dismissing its bearers turned again from "the graven images," or else stone quarries, where he had temporarily withdrawn from the king's reception room, and was cordially admitted by the king into his private summer parlor or cooling apartment. </p> <p> On Ehud's announcing "I have a message from God unto thee," the king rose reverentially to receive it, and was instantly stabbed in the belly by Ehud's dagger in the left hand, and Eglon's fat closed over it. [[Ehud]] retired to Seirath, in Mount Ephraim, and summoning by trumpet [[Israel]] from the E. and W. descended upon the [[Moabites]] and took the fords, not suffering one of 10,000 to escape. So the land had rest for 80 years (&nbsp;Judges 3:12-30). The mode of deliverance, assassination, is not approved by the Spirit of God. [[Scripture]] simply records the fact, and that Ehud was raised up by [[Jehovah]] as Israel's deliverer. His courage, patriotism, and faith are commendable, but not his means of gaining his end. </p> <p> '''2.''' An [[Amorite]] town (&nbsp;Joshua 15:39), in the shephelah (low country) of Judah. One of the confederacy of five towns (including Jerusalem), which attacked [[Gibeon]] on its making peace with Joshua; was destroyed with Debit, then its king (Joshua 10). Now Ajian, a "shapeless mass of ruins" (Porter, Handbook), 14 miles from Gaza, on the S. of the great coast plain. </p>

<li> A city in Judah, near Lachish (&nbsp;Joshua 15:39 ). It was destroyed by (&nbsp;Joshua 10:5,6 ). It has been identified with Tell Nejileh, 6 miles south of Tell Hesy or Ajlan, north-west of Lachish. (See Lachish .) <div> <p> '''Copyright Statement''' These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by [[Thomas]] Nelson, 1897. Public Domain. </p> <p> '''Bibliography Information''' Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Eglon'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/e/eglon.html. 1897. </p> </div> </li>

<p> [[Eglon]] (''Ĕg'Lon'' ), ''Calf-Like.'' 1. King of the Moabites, who held the [[Israelites]] in bondage eighteen years. &nbsp;Judges 3:14. He formed an alliance with the Ammonites and Amalekites, and took possession of Jericho, where he resided, and where he was afterward assassinated, by Ehud. See Ehud. 2. An Amorite town in Judah. &nbsp;Joshua 10:3-5; &nbsp;Joshua 15:39; now ''ʾAjlan,'' a hill of ruins, ten miles northeast of Gaza. </p>

<p> (Hebrews Eglon', עֵגְלוֹן '','' place of ''Heifers,'' q.d. ''Vituline),'' the name of a man, and also of two places. </p> <p> '''1.''' (Sept. Ε᾿γλώμ, [[Josephus]] Ε᾿γλών,Vulgate ''Eglon.)'' An early king of the Moabites (&nbsp;Judges 3:12 sq.), who, aided by the Ammonites and the Amalekites, crossed the Jordan and took "the city of palm-trees," or Jericho (Josephus). B.C. 1527. Here he built himself a palace (Josephus, Ant. 5:4, 1 sq.), and continued for eighteen years to oppress the children of Israel, who paid him tribute (Josephus). Whether he resided at Jericho permanently, or only during the summer months (&nbsp;Judges 3:20; Josephus), he seems to have formed a familiar intimacy (συνήθης, Josephus, not Judg.) with Ehud, a young Israelite ''(Νεανίας,'' Josephus) who lived in Jericho (Josephus, not Judg.), and who, by means of repeated presents, became a favorite courtier of the monarch. Eglon subdued the Israelites beyond the Jordan, and the southern tribes on this side the river, and made Jericho the seat, or one of the seats, of his government. This subjection to a power always present must have been more galling to the Israelites than any they had previously suffered. At length (B.C. 1509) they were delivered, through the instrumentality of Ehud, who slew the Moabitish king (&nbsp;Judges 3:12-31). (See Ehud). </p> <p> '''2.''' (Sept. Ε᾿γλώμ v.r. Αἰλάμ '','' but in &nbsp;Joshua 10:1-43, Ο᾿δολλάμ; [[Vulgate]] ''Eglon, Aglon.)'' A city in the maritime plain of Judah, near Lachish (&nbsp;Joshua 15:39), formerly one of the royal cities of the [[Canaanites]] (&nbsp;Joshua 12:12). Its Almoritish king [[Debir]] (q.v.) formed a confederacy with the neighboring princes to assist Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, in attacking Gibeon, because that city had made peace with Joshua and the Israelites (&nbsp;Joshua 10:3-4). Joshua met the confederated kings near Gibeon and routed them (&nbsp;Joshua 10:11). Eglon was soon after visited by Joshua and destroyed (&nbsp;Joshua 10:34-35). [[Eusebius]] and [[Jerome]] ''(Onomast.'' s.v. Ε᾿γλώμ, Eglon) erroneously identify it with [[Odollam]] or ADULLAM (See [[Adullam]]) (q.v.), and say it was still "a large village," ten R. miles (Jerome, twelve) east of Eleutheropolis, being misled by the unaccountable reading of the Sept. as above. On the road from Eleutheropolis to Gaza, nine miles from the former and twelve from the latter, are the ruins of Ajlan, which mark the site of the ancient Eglon (Robinson, Researches, 2:392). The site is now completely desolate. The ruins are mere shapeless heaps of rubbish, strewn over a low, white mound (Porter, Handb. for Syria, page 262). The absence of more imposing remains is easily accounted for. The private houses, like those of Damascus, were built of sun-dried bricks; and the temples and fortifications of the soft calcareous stone of the district, which soon crumbles away. A large mound of rubbish, strewn with stones and pieces of pottery, is all we can now expect to mark the site of an ancient city in this plain (Van de Velde, Narrative, 2:188; Thomson, Land and Book, 2:356). </p> <p> '''3.''' Another important place of this name (עגלון ), according to Schwarz ''(Palest;'' p. 235), is mentioned in Talmudical authorities as situated within the bounds of Gad. He identifies it with the present village ''Ajlun,'' one mile east of Kulat er-Rubud, or [[Wady]] Rejib, which runs parallel with Jebel Ajlun on the south (see Robinson's ''Map,'' and comp. ''Researches,'' 2:121). The village is built on both sides of the narrow rivulet Jenne, and contains nothing remarkable except a few ancient mosques (Burckhardt, Syria, page 266). </p>