George Leo Haydock, on Judg 3:16

“And he made himself a two-edged sword, with a haft in the midst of the length of the palm of the hand, and was girded therewith under his garment on the right thigh.”

“He made, or procured, though it was formerly honourable for a person to do such things himself. (Calmet) — Hand. Hebrew gomed, is translated by the Protestants, “of a cubit length,” (Haydock) though the term is never used elsewhere for that measure. Septuagint have spithame, a measure of 12 fingers. — Garment. The sagum, as well as the Septuagint mandua, from the Hebrew mad, denote a military garment. But such a dress might have rendered Aod suspected, (Calmet) unless an uniform might then be deemed a suitable dress for an ambassador. (Haydock) — Thigh. The Jews wore the sword there; (Psalm xliv. 4,) and it would be more convenient on the left thigh, as the nations of Gaul and Germany had it, while the Roman cavalry wore the sword on the right; and the infantry had two swords, the long one on the left, and a shorter, about an hand’s length, on the right. (Josephus, Jewish Wars iii. 3.) (Lipsius)”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.