{"id":24651,"date":"2026-02-12T07:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=24651"},"modified":"2026-02-13T08:53:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T13:53:33","slug":"left-handed-people-in-the-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/hebrew-bible\/left-handed-people-in-the-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"Left-Handed People in the Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"left-handed-people-bible\"<\/a>

There are only three mentions of left-handed people in the Bible\u2014and all of them refer to members of the tribe of Benjamin, including their deadly accurate slingers (see drawing above). Were these people from the tribe of Benjamin left-handed by nature or nurture? Modern studies in the genetics of left-handedness may be able to shed light on this curious case. (Drawing by Josh Seevers, courtesy of Boyd Seevers)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The Hebrew Bible mentions left-handed people on three occasions: the story of Ehud\u2019s assassination of the Moabite<\/a> king (Judges 3:12\u201330), the 700 Benjamites who could use the sling with deadly accuracy (Judges 20:16) and the two-dozen ambidextrous warriors who came to support David<\/a> in Hebron (1 Chronicles 12:2). All of these stories of left-handed people in the Bible appear in military contexts, and, curiously, all involve members of the tribe of Benjamin.<\/p>\n

In a Biblical Views column<\/a> in the May\/June 2013 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em>, professors Boyd Seevers and Joanna Klein ask the question, \u201cWere these warriors from the tribe of Benjamin left-handed by nature or nurture?\u201d Citing studies in the genetics of left-handedness and Biblical texts, Seevers and Klein show that it may have been a bit of both.<\/p>\n

Benjamites may have been genetically disposed to left-handedness at birth, but the trait may also have been encouraged in soldiers to give them a strategic advantage in combat\u2014somewhat like left-handed baseball pitchers today\u2014against right-handed opponents who were unaccustomed to fighting \u201clefties.\u201d Warriors from the tribe of Benjamin might have been trained to be equally or more effective with their left hands.<\/p>\n

Then again, perhaps the Biblical writers simply enjoyed a bit of word play. The name Benjamin means \u201cson of (my) right hand.\u201d Perhaps the irony of left-handed \u201csons of right-handers\u201d caused the Biblical authors to take note in these cases.<\/p>\n

\nFor more about the tribe of Benjamin, left-handedness in the Bible, and the genetics of left-handedness, see Boyd Seevers and Joanna Klein, Biblical Views: \u201cLeft-Handed Sons of Right-Handers\u201d<\/a> in the May\/June 2013 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on May 31, 2013.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n

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Related reading in Bible History Daily<\/em><\/h4>\n

The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n