Indoor Plumbing in the Old Testament

Did you know that there’s a story in the Old Testament that mentions an indoor bathroom? And that’s not all.

Judges 3:12-30 tells the story of Ehud a left-handed Israelite and Eglon, the king of Moab who had power of Israel. The story calls Eglon a very fat man. You’ll see why in a moment.

Judges 3, versus 20-25 says this:

20 Ehud then approached him (Eglon) while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the palace.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

Because Ehud was left-handed, he was able to sneak his sword into a meeting with the king and then kill him while he was using the bathroom in his palace, and then Ehud left his sword inside of the large man.

Still think the Bible’s boring?

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