What does the Bible say about left handed people?
As we see throughout many places in the Bible, when referring to the right hand it shows a place of honor and strength. For example:
GEN. 48:13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him.
GEN. 48:14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
EX 15:6 Your right hand, Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
shattered the enemy.
IS. 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
GAL. 2:9 James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
While the scriptures acknowledge the right hand as a place of honor and strength this does not diminish those that are left-handed. The symbolism used refers to the use of an action, object or name to represent an idea or quality. The symbol is used again as we look at scripture in reference to left handed men as well:
JUD. 3:15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
JUD. 3:16 Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing.
JUD. 3:17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.
JUD. 3:18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it.
JUD 3:19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”
JUD. 20:16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
The name Benjamin means "son of my right-hand." Benjamin was Jacob’s favorite son, therefore, the name reflects being close to the father’s authority and honor. Judges Chapter 3 and Chapter 20 speak to the tribe Benjamin, son of my right-hand.
In Judges Chapter 3, we are told that God appoints the second Judge of Israel, King Ehud of Benjamin, a left-handed man. Why mention that this king is left-handed? If he were merely left-handed, then it wouldn’t be worth mentioning. The phrase used here is an indication that he uses his left hand out of necessity, not preference. Perhaps his right hand or arm was injured or not fully functioning at its full capacity. For whatever reason, King Ehud is limited to fighting with his left hand. These details lead us to understand the Lord is raising up a weak hero to lead Israel out of their predicament. God has empowered a weak man to singlehandedly defeat an enemy of Israel. Because the Bible makes mention of this particular man being a symbol of weakness among the Israelites, this does not demonstrate that left-handed men are more weak today. Instead this is a symbol used to point to something greater. In the New Testament God makes known He will use the weak to shame the worldview of strength.
1 COR. 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
As we look in Judges Chapter 20, the nation of Israel as a whole couldn’t be farther from God’s heart. Simply put, instead of waiting on the Lord as a united nation, they instead prepare to fight against each other in battle. In Judges 20:16 we see that the tribe of Benjamin chose to use a special team of 700 left-handed warriors to fight against the other tribes. Ironically, the Benjamin tribe (Sons of my right-hand) is placing its trust in left-handed men to fight against their own flesh and blood.
In conclusion, God in His mighty wisdom, uses left and right hand scripturally to symbolize something much greater in the text as explained above.
Additionally, we can see from scripture God's endless and beautiful creativity in humanity if we look at 1 Corinthians 15 closely.
1 COR. 15:40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.
1 COR. 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
In verse 40 and 41 Paul reminds us that God’s palette for creating physical, earthly bodies is endless and immeasurable to the human mind. The bodies of men are different than that of animals, birds, fish, etc. The divine bodies of the universe vary extraordinarily in physical structure from the sun to the moon and rest of the stars in the sky. If God can make a universe so diverse in appearance, why would we have reason to doubt His ability to design each and every human being to His glory, whether left or right handed?
For a more in-depth teaching on the symbols of left and right hands, we suggest listening to our Judges Study. We also suggest listening to our 1 Corinthians Study, specifically 1 Corinthians 15D and 1 Corinthians 15E to better grasp the endless creativity of our Heavenly Father.
