Left-Handed People in the Bible
Is there a genetic link to Benjamite lefties?
There are only three mentions of left-handed people in the Bible—and 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)
The Hebrew Bible mentions left-handed people on three occasions: the story of Ehud’s assassination of the Moabite king (Judges 3:12–30), 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 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.
In a Biblical Views column in the May/June 2013 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, professors Boyd Seevers and Joanna Klein ask the question, “Were these warriors from the tribe of Benjamin left-handed by nature or nurture?” Citing studies in the genetics of left-handedness and Biblical texts, Seevers and Klein show that it may have been a bit of both.
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—somewhat like left-handed baseball pitchers today—against right-handed opponents who were unaccustomed to fighting “lefties.” Warriors from the tribe of Benjamin might have been trained to be equally or more effective with their left hands.
Then again, perhaps the Biblical writers simply enjoyed a bit of word play. The name Benjamin means “son of (my) right hand.” Perhaps the irony of left-handed “sons of right-handers” caused the Biblical authors to take note in these cases.
For 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: “Left-Handed Sons of Right-Handers” in the May/June 2013 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
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This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on May 31, 2013.
Related reading in Bible History Daily
The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible
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Ancient Israel’s Neighbors—The Transjordanian Kingdoms of Ammon, Moab, and Edom
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My take on why Left handed men were used for sling has to do with their vulnerabilities in other martial skills. Southpaws, whether with sword or fighting, stand right foot forward. This makes their liver, a very tempting target in all forms of martial arts. As sling and archers, it made these soldiers highly lethal without exposing their weakness in close quarter battle.
The intellectual integrity of the statement “The phrase “restricted in his right hand” seems to allow for the possibility, although it may just as easily mean something like “can’t use his right hand like normal.”” was not only admirable, it was blatantly … funny! Thanks!