What does the Bible say about being left-handed?

Answer

The Bible presents the right h and as the h and of strength (Exodus 15:6; Psalm 118:16). Sitting at someone’s right h and is considered a position of honor (Psalm 110:1). The right h and is consistently valued over the left h and in Scripture (Genesis 48:13-18; Galatians 2:9). What does this mean about left-handedness? Is being left-handed considered a curse or a weakness? No. The Bible’s emphasis on “the right hand” is simply a reflection of reality. The dominant arm is almost always stronger than the other arm, and 85-90 percent of people are right-handed. So, in the vast majority of people, the right h and is stronger. Thus, the Bible uses the right h and as a symbol of strength and honor.

This does not carry any negative connotations for left-handed people. It is simply a matter of symbolism. Whenever the Bible mentions left-handed people, it does not present left-handedness as a weakness. Ehud, a judge of Israel and a mighty warrior, was left-handed (Judges 3:15-21). Judges 20:16 mentions 700 left-handed warriors who could “sling a stone at a hair and not miss.” First Chronicles 12:2 seems to reference bowmen who were ambidextrous. When the Bible refers to left-handed people, it speaks of left-handedness as an advantage, not a weakness.

While it is not as honorable as sitting at someone’s right hand, sitting at the left h and is still a position of honor (Matthew 20:21). Sitting immediately to a person’s left was considered the second-most honorable position. It was not as if everyone to the right was more honored than those to the left. The right h and is used in the Bible as a symbol of strength due to the right h and usually being stronger than the left. This should not be understood as a slight against left-handed people.