عنة

Anath was the father of Shamgar, the judge who delivered Israel by killing six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad (Judges 3:31; 5:6). The brief notice of Shamgar's exploit places it in the period of oppression before Deborah, and the Song of Deborah references 'the days of Shamgar son of Anath' as a time of terrible insecurity on the roads (Judges 5:6). Some scholars have suggested that 'son of Anath' may indicate Canaanite origin—Anath being a Canaanite war goddess—making Shamgar a non-Israelite deliverer, though this interpretation is debated. Anath himself plays no role in the narrative beyond providing Shamgar's patronym.