AOD (Heb. 'Ehrdth.), — Second “judge” of Israel, son of Gera (distinct from the son of Balan in 1 Chron. 7:10), of the tribe of Benjamin, raised up by Jahweh as a “savior” forty years after Othniel (q.v.): Judg. 3:12-30. The king of the Moabites, Eglon, allied with the Ammonites and Amalekites, had occupied the territory of Reuben and, crossing the Jordan, established himself at Jericho, imposing an annual tribute on the Israelites. After eighteen years of servitude, Ehud was sent with others to bring tribute to Eglon; having delivered it, he dismissed his companions (according to the Vulgate, he went out with them as far as near Gilgal and then returned to the king), and told Eglon that he had a secret message from God to communicate. While the fat king, left alone, rose to listen, Ehud, being ambidextrous, struck him with his left hand using a sword he had hidden under his garments.
Fleeing by the back door (through a window, according to Lagrange), Ehud rejoined his companions at Gilgal. In the palace they did not immediately notice the assassination, as they dared not open the door locked by the king. From Gilgal, Ehud sent messengers into the hill country of Ephraim to rally the Israelites against the Moabites. Having gathered an army, he seized the fords of the Jordan to prevent the enemy’s escape, then attacked them from the rear. The Moabite forces were defeated and perished to the number of about ten thousand. Israel then enjoyed peace for eighty years.