After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.
Parallel translations
- WEB After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad. He also saved Israel.
- KJV And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.
- NKJV After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.
- NASB Now after him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck and killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.
- NLT After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath rescued Israel. He once killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Shamgar strikes down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad and saves Israel.
Overview
This brief notice introduces another deliverer who used a humble farming tool against a formidable foe. God grants victory through unlikely means and instruments, magnifying His power rather than human weaponry. Shamgar's deliverance, like the others, points to the Lord as Israel's true Savior.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Judg 5:6In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted and the travelers took the byways.
- 1 Sam 17:47And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”
- 1 Cor 1:17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
- 1 Sam 17:50Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
- Judg 15:15He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
- Judg 5:8When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel.
- Judg 2:16Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.
- 1 Sam 13:19–22And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.”
- Judg 11:4–33Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel
- Judg 4:1After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Judg 10:7So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites,
- 1 Sam 4:1Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
- Judg 10:17Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
- Judg 4:3–24Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, because Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had harshly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 3:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.