Judges 3:16
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
Judges 3:16 stands in the section giving the stories of the twelve judges, running from Judges 3:7 to Judges 16:31. It belongs to the period of Israel's experience between the death of Joshua and the raising up of Samuel, a time marked by repeated backsliding and captivity to surrounding enemies. The judges in this section were leaders raised up by God in times of national crisis and captivity to defend and deliver Israel, and are for that reason called saviors rather than judges in the modern sense. The broader record in Judges 3 to 17 follows a repeated cycle in which backsliding from God leads to suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude, and returning to God leads to forgiveness and deliverance. That record contrasts Israel's perversity and unbelief with God's long-suffering and goodness, set amid corrupt moral surroundings and the demoralizing influence of the tribes Israel allowed to remain in the promised land.