Ehud's Two-Edged Sword and Benjamin the Tearing Wolf

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Vayechi 14:1

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

Another interpretation (of Genesis 49:27): "Benjamin is a wolf that tears," and so forth. It speaks of its judge, of Ehud. What is written? "And Ehud made for himself a sword, and it had two mouths" (Judges 3:16) — for he was engaged in Torah, which is called "a two-edged sword" (Psalms 149:6). "And it had two mouths," because it consumes in two worlds, in this world and in the world to come.

Themes

WarJudgesViolenceTribesHeresy

Biblical References

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Book of JubileesBenjamin in Joseph's TimeThe brothers of Joseph certainly did. Remember them? They who sold their own brother into slavery? Well, their story takes another twist in the Book of JubileesThe Book of Maccabees IJudas Sweeps Through Cities With the SwordThe story plunges us right into the thick of it. Judas Maccabeus, the hammer of God, and his army are on the move. They’ve just made a sharp turn "by the way ofThe Book of Maccabees ITale of JudahThe Book of Maccabees I turns to Tale of Judah. The Seleucid army, a force to be reckoned with, is meticulously organized and strategically deployed. About the Legends of the JewsHazor in BattleLegends of the Jews turns to Hazor in Battle. Judah, the first to scale the formidable walls. He's not waiting for backup, not strategizing. He's just going. AsAntiquities of the Jews (Josephus)The War Against Benjamin Over a Crime at GibeahA famine drove one family out of Bethlehem and into the land of Moab. Elimelech took his wife Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chillon, across the border toMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelThe Terrifying Section of Curses That God Promises Will Fall UponThe Mekhilta, the halakhic midrash on Exodus from the 2nd century CE, examines one of the starkest either-or passages in the Prophets. Isaiah delivers God's ult