During the time of Ehud, King Eglon of Moab expanded his territory and captured the “city of palms,” probably to be understood as Jericho. Ehud and the other Israelite delegates were returning from delivering their tribute to Eglon, but Ehud turned back and killed Eglon at Jericho. Then Ehud escaped to the hill country of Ephraim and mustered the warriors of Israel, who captured the fords of the Jordan River to prevent the Moabites from escaping.
