Evidently he was the next national hero to come on the scene of action. His exploits were only local, being directed against the Philistines in southern Palestine. He probably lived at the same time that Deborah and Barak were fighting the Canaanites in the northern part of the country. Chapter 4:1 states that Deborah and Barak performed their deliverance after Ehud was dead, but makes no reference to Shamgar. Deborah implies that Shamgar was a contemporary (ch. 5:6). This fact is further suggested by the observation that Shamgar is not included in the chronological scheme of the narrative, no years being assigned to him at all. By his daring feats he saved the Israelites in his area from being oppressed and enslaved by the Philistines. He was a deliverer, a national hero, but he was not called a judge of Israel.

The name Shamgar appears to be foreign and has been thought probably to be Hurrian or Hittite. The foreign name may be due to the fact that his mother was an Israelite married to a Hurrian or Canaanite. The author has already observed that intermarriages were common. His father was named Anath, the name of a pagan goddess, and it is thought unlikely that a Hebrew would be given this name, unless by backslidden parents.

An instrument for urging oxen forward. These were often as much as 8 ft. long so that the one holding the plow could reach the oxen. Pointed as they were on one end with a metal tip, and having a chisel-shaped blade on the other for scraping the plowshare, such goads could effectively be used in place of a spear. It was a humble weapon, yet an “ox goad,” with God’s blessing, accomplishes infinitely more than a “sword of Goliath” without His blessing. And sometimes God chooses to work by such unlikely means, that the power may truly stand revealed as of God.