Difficult Judges 3 Quiz with Questions and Answers

Answer 1: C: Eglon king of Moab gathered Ammon and Amalek, smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees (Judges 3:13). The mountain of Ephraim is where Ehud later rallied Israel after the assassination, not where Eglon established his hold. Gilgal and its quarries are connected with Ehud’s movements, not with Eglon’s military seizure.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:13 (KJV): “and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.”

Answer 2: D: Ehud put forth his left hand and took the dagger from his right thigh before thrusting it into Eglon’s belly (Judges 3:21). Because Ehud was lefthanded, he had girded the dagger on his right thigh rather than his left, where a righthanded soldier would typically carry a blade. A reader who assumes a natural right-handed draw would expect option A or E.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:21 (KJV): “And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:”

Answer 3: E: After rallying Israel, Ehud declared the Lord had delivered the Moabites into their hand, and they took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, allowing no man to cross (Judges 3:28). The city of palm trees was where Eglon had held his seat, not the military objective of the pursuit. Seizing the fords trapped the retreating Moabites with no escape route.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:28 (KJV): “And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.”

Answer 4: A: Judges 3:9 names Othniel as “the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.” Kenaz was Caleb’s brother, making Othniel Caleb’s nephew through his father Kenaz. Option B would place Othniel as Caleb’s son, but the text names Kenaz as his father.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:9 (KJV): “the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.”

Answer 5: C: Judges 3:7 records that Israel “forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.” The text names these two things. Option A pairs Baalim correctly but replaces the groves with Moabite gods; the text gives the groves as the second thing Israel served, not any national deity.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:7 (KJV): “and the children of Israel…served Baalim and the groves.”

Answer 6: B: Judges 3:14 states that Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. Eight years is the length of the earlier oppression under Chushanrishathaim, making it the most natural point of confusion in this chapter. Fourscore years is the rest that followed Ehud’s victory, not the duration of Moabite domination.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:14 (KJV): “So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.”

Answer 7: E: Judges 3:31 records that Shamgar the son of Anath slew six hundred Philistines with an ox goad and delivered Israel. A two-edged dagger is the weapon Ehud used earlier in this same chapter, not Shamgar’s instrument. The ox goad was a pointed farming implement used for driving cattle, not a weapon of war.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:31 (KJV): “which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.”

Answer 8: D: When Ehud declared he had a message from God, Eglon arose out of his seat (Judges 3:20). The servants had already been dismissed before this moment, in response to the announcement of a secret errand in verse 19. The text records no bowing, calling of guards, or falling to the ground.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:20 (KJV): “And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.”

Answer 9: C: Judges 3:5 lists six peoples among whom Israel dwelt: Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Option A substitutes Moabites for Hivites; the Moabites are the dominant oppressor in this chapter but do not appear in verse 5’s list. The remaining wrong options each swap in the Philistines, Sidonians, or Ammonites for one of the six actual peoples.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:5 (KJV): “And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:”

Answer 10: E: After Ehud thrust the dagger in, the fat closed upon the blade so that he could not draw it out of Eglon’s belly (Judges 3:22). Option D (“the doors were suddenly locked”) is grounded in verse 23, but Ehud locked the doors as he left through the porch after already leaving the dagger behind: the locking was part of his escape, not what prevented him from drawing the blade. The servants had been dismissed before the assassination.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:22 (KJV): “and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.”

Answer 11: A: Judges 3:4 states the nations were left “to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.” The test was one of obedience to God’s law, not military or territorial action. Option E, whether Israel would drive out those peoples, echoes the original Mosaic commission but mistakes it for the purpose the text assigns here; obedience to commandments is what verse 4 names, and Israel failed it by intermarrying and serving foreign gods.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:4 (KJV): “And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”

Answer 12: D: Judges 3:13 records that Eglon “gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek” before marching against Israel. The Philistines appear only in the Shamgar account at the close of this chapter. The Sidonians and Hivites are among the nations left to test Israel in verse 3, not Eglon’s military coalition.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:13 (KJV): “And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.”

Answer 13: B: Judges 3:8 states that Israel served Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia eight years before crying out to the Lord. Eighteen years is the length of the later servitude under Eglon king of Moab, making it the closest point of confusion in this chapter. Forty years and fourscore years are both periods of rest, not oppression.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:8 (KJV): “and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.”

Answer 14: C: When the servants found the doors locked, they said “Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber,” meaning they assumed he was relieving himself (Judges 3:24). They waited so long they became ashamed before finally using a key to open the doors. The text records no suspicion of escape, prayer, or illness.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:24 (KJV): “they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.”

Answer 15: E: After Moab was subdued under Ehud, the land had rest fourscore years, that is, eighty years (Judges 3:30). Forty years is the rest that came after the earlier deliverance by Othniel, not Ehud. The period of rest under Ehud is the longest recorded in this chapter.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:30 (KJV): “And the land had rest fourscore years.”

Answer 16: A: Judges 3:16 states that Ehud “did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.” Because he was lefthanded, his right thigh was the natural side from which to draw with his left hand. Option B uses the correct method but places it on the left thigh, which reverses the detail the text gives.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:16 (KJV): “and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.”

Answer 17: D: Judges 3:3 identifies the Hivites as dwelling “in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.” The mountain of Ephraim and Seirath are connected with Ehud’s movements later in the chapter. Gilgal and the city of palm trees appear in the Eglon and Ehud narrative, not in this geographic description.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:3 (KJV): “the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.”

Answer 18: C: Ehud turned back from the quarries near Gilgal and told Eglon “I have a secret errand unto thee, O king,” causing the king to send everyone out (Judges 3:19). The declaration of “a message from God” came later in the summer parlour after they were already alone (v20). Option D draws from that second statement and confuses the two exchanges.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:19 (KJV): “and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.”

Answer 19: B: Judges 3:26 records that Ehud “escaped unto Seirath” while Eglon’s servants waited outside the locked doors. The mountain of Ephraim is where he went next, after reaching Seirath, to blow the trumpet and rally Israel. Gilgal is where he had turned back before the assassination.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:26 (KJV): “And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.”

Answer 20: E: Judges 3:11 records that the land had rest forty years following Othniel’s victory, after which Othniel died. Fourscore years is the rest that came after the later victory under Ehud, not Othniel. Eight years is the length of the oppression that preceded Othniel’s deliverance.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:11 (KJV): “And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.”

Answer 21: D: Judges 3:29 records that Israel slew about ten thousand men of Moab at that time, all described as lusty and men of valour, with none escaping. Six hundred is the number of Philistines Shamgar slew with an ox goad, which appears at the close of this same chapter.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:29 (KJV): “And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.”

Answer 22: A: Judges 3:15 identifies Ehud as “the son of Gera, a Benjamite.” The mountain of Ephraim is where he later blew the trumpet to rally Israel, but that location names the terrain, not his tribal origin. The text at verse 15 is clear: he was a Benjamite.
KJV Reference: Judges 3:15 (KJV): “the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded:”