Haft

Haft is an archaic English term for the handle of a blade weapon, appearing once in the Authorized Version in the account of Ehud's assassination of the Moabite king Eglon: and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade (Judg. 3:22). The Hebrew word nitstsab refers to the hilt or handle of Ehud's double-edged short sword (or dagger), which sank so deeply into Eglon's obese body that even the handle disappeared into the flesh.

The grim detail serves a narrative purpose in the Ehud story, explaining why the attendants found the chamber doors locked and delayed their entry, allowing Ehud to escape. The passage is notable for its vivid, unsentimental description of the assassination—part of the Deuteronomistic history's frank portrayal of the often violent means by which God delivered Israel from oppression during the period of the judges.