The Hebrew name Adoni-Bezek (H137) means "lord of Bezek" and is the name of a Canaanite king defeated by the tribes of Judah and Simeon at the outset of the conquest (Judges 1:4-7). He had previously mutilated seventy kings by cutting off their thumbs and big toes.
His own capture resulted in the same mutilation he had inflicted on others — one of Scripture's most vivid illustrations of the principle that divine judgment mirrors the sins committed.
Adoni-Bezek's story is a striking Old Testament illustration of divine justice and the law of retribution. His own acknowledgment — "God has paid me back for what I did to them" (Judges 1:7) — is a remarkable confession from a pagan king that Yahweh governs moral justice.
The cutting off of thumbs and big toes rendered captive kings incapable of holding weapons or standing for battle — a total disarmament. The principle of lex talionis (measure-for-measure justice) embedded in the Law finds vivid narrative expression here, pointing ultimately to the perfect justice of the cross, where the price for all sin was fully paid.