Judges 3:23. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them.
The early Oriental lock consisted merely of a wooden slide drawn into its place by a string, and fastened there by teeth or catches. The lock commonly used in Egypt and Palestine is a long hollow piece of wood fixed in the door and sliding back and forth. A hole is made for it in the door post, and when it is pushed into this hole small bolts of iron wire fall into holes which are made for them in the top of the lock. The lock is placed on the inside of the door, and a hole is made in the door near the lock, through which the hand can be passed, and the key inserted. This will explain Solomon’s Song 5:4, “My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door.” Some of these locks are very large and heavy.