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Judges 5:6,8
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways…

an ox goad.

Judges 15:15
And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

1 Samuel 13:19-22
Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews makethem swords or spears: …

1 Samuel 17:47,50
And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battleis the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands…

also

Judges 2:16
Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

Israel.

Judges 4:1,3
And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead…

Judges 10:7,17
And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon…

Judges 11:4
And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

And he too saved Israel,
Shamgar's role as a savior aligns him with the judges who preceded and followed him, each raised by God to deliver Israel from oppression. His deliverance is a testament to God's faithfulness in responding to the cries of His people, despite their recurring disobedience. This phrase underscores the cyclical pattern of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance that characterizes the Book of Judges.

striking down six hundred Philistines
The Philistines were a significant threat to Israel, often depicted as formidable enemies due to their military prowess and advanced weaponry. Shamgar's feat of killing six hundred Philistines is remarkable, suggesting divine empowerment. This act of deliverance prefigures later conflicts with the Philistines, notably during the time of Samson and David. It also foreshadows the ultimate victory over sin and death through Christ, who delivers His people from spiritual oppression.

with an oxgoad.
An oxgoad is a long, pointed stick used to drive oxen, indicating Shamgar's humble status as a farmer. His use of an agricultural tool as a weapon highlights God's ability to use ordinary means and people for extraordinary purposes. This mirrors other biblical instances where God uses the weak to confound the strong, such as David with his sling or Moses with his staff. It points to the theme of divine empowerment and the sufficiency of God's provision in the face of overwhelming odds.

• Scripture places Shamgar immediately after Ehud’s eighty-year period of peace (Judges 3:30).

• “After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the LORD” (Judges 4:1). God responds by raising another deliverer, demonstrating His ongoing patience.

• Shamgar’s appearance is also mentioned in the Song of Deborah: “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath… the roads were deserted” (Judges 5:6). That note hints at social instability, showing the need for someone courageous to step forward.

• Judges regularly highlights that salvation comes through individuals God appoints: “Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them” (Judges 2:16).

• Shamgar’s salvation is part of a pattern: “Then the LORD sent Jerub-baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you” (1 Samuel 12:11). Each deliverer points to God’s faithfulness rather than personal glory.

• The brevity of Shamgar’s story underscores that God’s rescuing acts do not require lengthy biographies; His power shines even in a single verse.

• Six hundred enemy warriors fell—an extraordinary victory echoing other Spirit-empowered feats:

– Samson “struck down a thousand men” (Judges 15:15).

– One of David’s mighty men “killed eight hundred men with his spear at one time” (2 Samuel 23:8).

• The Philistines were a persistent threat long before the days of Saul and David (Judges 10:6). Shamgar’s blow temporarily checked their advance and reminded Israel that God could still protect them despite their recurring lapses.

• An oxgoad is a long wooden stick tipped with iron, used to prod cattle—hardly standard military gear.

• God delights in confounding expectations:

– Samson used “the fresh jawbone of a donkey” (Judges 15:15).

– David defeated Goliath “with a sling and a stone” (1 Samuel 17:50).

– “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

• By employing ordinary farm equipment, the LORD shows that victory depends on Him, not on conventional weapons or human strength (Zechariah 4:6).

Shamgar’s single-verse story proclaims that God continually raises deliverers, even during seasons of national compromise. Working through an unlikely hero armed with nothing more than an oxgoad, the LORD preserved His people and displayed His sovereign power. The account encourages trust that God can still accomplish great things through ordinary believers who are willing to stand up when others shrink back.

The son of Anath.--There was a Beth-anath in Naphtali, but Shamgar could hardly have belonged to Northern Israel. We know nothing of Shamgar's tribe or family, but, as neither his name nor that of his father is Jewish, it has been conjectured that he may have been a Kenite; a conjecture which derives some confirmation from his juxtaposition with Jael inJudges 5:6. Shamgar means "name of a stranger" (comp. Grershom, "a stranger there"). Samgar-Nebo is the name of a Babylonian general (Jeremiah 39:3).

Six hundred men.--It has been most needlessly assumed that he slew them single-handed, and not, as is probable, at the head of a band of peasants armed with the same rude weapons as himself. If he slew 600 with his own hand, thewholenumber that perished would almost certainly have been added. There is, indeed, no impossibility (even apart from Divine assistance, which is implied though not expressly attributed to him) in the supposition that in a battle which may have lasted for more than one day a single chief may with his own hand have killed this number, for we are told that in a night battle against Moawijah, Ali raised a shout each time he had killed an enemy, and his voice was heard 300 times in one night; and a story closely resembling that of Shamgar is narrated of a Swedish peasant; but the question here is merely one of interpretation, and nothing is more common in Scripture, as in all literature, than to say that a leader personally did what was done under his leadership,e.g., "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (1Samuel 18:7).

With an ox goad.--The LXX. (Codex B) and Vulgate have "with a ploughshare;" and the Alexandrian Codex of the LXX. renders it "besides the oxen." These translations are not tenable. The phrase occurs here alone--bemalmad ha b?k?r;literally, "with a thing to teach oxen." There can be little doubt that an ox-goad is meant. In the East they are sometimes formidable implements, eight feet long, pointed with a strong sharp iron head. The use of them--since whips were not used for cattle--is alluded to in1Samuel 13:21;Acts 9:5. Being disarmed, the Israelites would be unable to find any more effective weapon (Judges 5:6;Judges 5:8). Disarmament was the universal policy of ancient days (1Samuel 13:19); and this reduced the Israelites to the use of inventive skill in very simple weapons (1Samuel 17:40;1Samuel 17:43). Samson had nothing better than the jawbone of an ass (Judges 15:15). Similarly the Thracian king Lycurgus is said to have chased the Bacchanals with an ox-goad (bouplegi, II.vi. 134), and that in this very neighbourhood ("near Carmel," Nonnus,Dionys.20). The Athenians, in their painting of Marathon, in the P?cile, represented the gigantic rustic, Echetlus, who was supposed to have slain so many of the Persians, with his ploughshare (Pausan. i. 15, ? 4). Comp. Hom.Iliad, vi. 134. . . .

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