ABSTRACT

Bias against left-handers is well-documented and seen in the etymology of “left” and “right” in most languages. The subject of this study, Ehud, lived between the exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt and the establishment of the Israelite kingdom (c1200–1000 BC), at the transition between the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age 1. His left-handedness was crucial to his deliverance of the proto-nation from tyranny, recorded in Judges in the Hebrew Bible. The description of Ehud as left-handed (’iṭṭēr yaḏ-yεmînô) is used once more in the Hebrew Bible, also in Judges, to describe the artillery of Ehud’s tribe. The words apparently mean “bound/restricted in the right hand”, sometimes interpreted as “ambidextrous”. This is unlikely: ambidexterity is uncommon. The artillery used the sling with either hand, but Ehud used his left (śεm’ōl) hand to draw his sword. śεm’ōl, used throughout the Hebrew Bible, means left, without bias or derogatory implications. We suggest that ‘iṭṭēr yaḏ-yεmînô was a right-handed bias towards left-handed people, but Ehud’s left-handed victory was recognized as significant. Significant enough that (a) the language changed and the biased description was dropped in favour of simple description, and (b) the army changed with the development of left-handed slingers (artillery).

摘要

对左撇子的偏见是有据可查的，并且可以在大多数语言的“左”和“右”词源中看到。本研究的对象埃胡德 (Ehud) 生活在希伯来奴隶出埃及和以色列王国建立之间（约公元前 1200 年至公元前 1000 年），正值青铜时代晚期和铁器时代 1 之间的过渡时期。他是左撇子对他将原始国家从暴政中解救出来至关重要，这一点记录在希伯来圣经的士师记中。对埃胡德的描述是左撇子 ( 'iṭṭēr yaḏ-yεmînô）在希伯来圣经和士师记中再次使用，描述埃胡德部落的大炮。这些词显然意味着“被右手束缚/限制”，有时被解释为“双手灵巧”。这不太可能：双手灵巧的人并不常见。炮兵双手使用投石器，但埃胡德用左手 ( śεm'ōl ) 拔剑。śεm'ōl贯穿希伯来圣经，意思是左派，没有偏见或贬义。我们建议 ' iṭṭēr yaḏ-yεmînô这是对左撇子的偏见，但埃胡德的左撇子胜利被认为是意义重大的。意义重大的是（a）语言发生了变化，有偏见的描述被放弃，取而代之的是简单的描述，（b）军队随着左撇子投石手（火炮）的发展而发生了变化。