Bible Dictionaries
Eglon

Holman Bible Dictionary

(ehg' lahn) 1. A Moabite king who oppressed the Israelites (Judges 3:12 ). Aided by the Amalekites and Ammonites, Eglon dominated Israel for eighteen years. He was finally slain by the Benjamite judge Ehud, who ran the obese monarch through with a short sword.

2. A Canaanite city whose king entered an alliance with four other Canaanite rulers against Gibeon (Joshua 10:3 ). The Gibeonites had made a treaty with Israel (Joshua 9:1 ). Subsequently, Eglon was captured by the Israelite army under Joshua. It became a part of the territory of the tribe of Judah. Most scholars long held that the modern site of tell el-Hesi was the location of ancient Eglon. More recently, however, some have contended for tell Eton. Both places are to the southwest of Lachish. See Joshua; Judges; Ehud .