But when the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised them up a savior, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man left-handed. The children of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
"Ehud ... the Benjamite, a man lefthanded"  (Judges 3:15).  "The last word here in the Hebrew is literally, `bound of his right hand,'"[15] indicating that Ehud's right hand might have been crippled or injured.  At any rate, it was "tied up" or "bound."  However, Ehud was also, as were many of the Benjaminites, lefthanded  (Judges 20:16).  Dummelow interpreted the literal Hebrew here as, "Lamed in his right hand,"[16] but thought that, in the light of  Judges 20:16, "Ambidexterity is all that is meant."  Our own opinion is that both meanings are in the passage.  Ehud was not merely left-handed (or ambidextrous) but he was also lamed or injured in his right hand, which on the occasion of his bringing the tribute was rendered totally useless by bandages.  This, no doubt, greatly aided the deception necessary to enable the assassination of Eglon.  As Soggin said, "Everything is in favor of a real physical defect of a kind that would seriously diminish the capability of a fighting man and make him seem to be harmless.  This is the only way in which we can explain how Ehud could ever have been admitted into the presence of the king without any search or any precautionary measures."[17]