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Judges 9

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1Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan,

2“Ask all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember, I am your flesh and blood.”

3When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

4They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers.

5He went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding.

6Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.

7When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.

8One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

9“But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

10“Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

11“But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

12“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

13“But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?’

14“Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

15“The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

16“Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves–

17and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian

18(but today you have revolted against my father's family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother)–

19if then you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too!

20But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!”

21Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

22After Abimelech had governed Israel three years,

23God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.

24God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.

25In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.

26Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him.

27After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech.

28Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son, and isn't Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelech?

29If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Call out your whole army!’ ”

30When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry.

31Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, “Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you.

32Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields.

33In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do whatever your hand finds to do.”

34So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies.

35Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place.

36When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!” Zebul replied, “You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men.”

37But Gaal spoke up again: “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree.”

38Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your big talk now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?’ Aren't these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!”

39So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech.

40Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight–all the way to the entrance to the gate.

41Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

42The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech.

43So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them.

44Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down.

45All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.

46On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith.

47When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there,

48he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, “Quick! Do what you have seen me do!”

49So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.

50Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it.

51Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women–all the people of the city–fled. They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof.

52Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire,

53a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

54Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can't say, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his servant ran him through, and he died.

55When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.

56Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.

57God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

Commentary

Chapter 9 The apostasy of Israel after the death of Gideon is punished, not as the former apostasies by a foreign invasion, or the oppressions of any neighbouring power, but by intestine broils among themselves, which in this chapter we have the story of; and it is hard to say whether their sin or their misery appears most in it. It is an account of the usurpation and tyranny of Abimelech, who was base son to Gideon; so we must call him, and not more modishly his natural son: he was so unlike him. We are here told, I. How he thrust himself into the government at Shechem, his own city, by subtlety and cruelty, particularly by the murder of all his brethren (v. 1-6). II. How his doom was read in a parable by Jothan, Gideon’s youngest son (v. 7–21). III. What strifes there were between Abimelech and his friends the Shechemites (v. 22–41). IV. How this ended in the ruin of the Shechemites (v. 42–49), and of Abimelech himself (v. 50–57). Of this meteor, this ignis fatuus of a prince, that was not a protector but a plague to his country, we may say, as once was said of a great tyrant, that he came in like a fox, ruled like a lion, and died like a dog. "For the transgression of a land, such are the princes thereof."Verses 1-6 We are here told by what arts Abimelech got into authority, and made himself great. His mother perhaps had instilled into his mind some towering ambitious thoughts, and the name his father gave him, carrying royalty in it, might help to blow up these sparks; and now that he has buried his father nothing will serve his proud spirit but he will succeed him in the government of Israel, directly contrary to his father’s will, for he had declared no son of his should rule over them. He had no call from God to this honour as his father had, nor was there any present occasion for a judge to deliver Israel as there was when his father was advanced; but his own ambition must be gratified, and its gratification is all he aims at. Now observe here,I. How craftily he got his mother’s relations into his interests. Shechem was a city in the tribe of Ephraim, of great note. Joshua had held his last assembly there. If that city would but appear for him, and set him up, he thought it would go far in his favour. There he had an interest in the family of which his mother was, and by them he made an interest in the leading men of the city. It does not appear that any of them had an eye to him as a man of merit, who had any thing to recommend him to such a choice, but the motion came first from himself. None would have dreamed of making such a one king, if he had not dreamed of it himself. And see here, 1. How he wheedled them into the choice, v. 2, 3. He basely suggested that Gideon having left seventy sons, who made a good figure and had a good interest, they were designing to keep the power which their father had in their hands, and by a joint-influence to reign over Israel. "Now," says he, "you had better have one king than more, than many, than so many. Affairs of state are best managed by a single person," v. 2. We have no reason to think that all or any of Gideon’s sons had the least intention to reign over Israel (they were of their father’s mind, that the Lord should reign over them, and they were not called of him), yet this he insinuates to pave the way to his own pretensions. Note, Those who design ill themselves are commonly most apt to suspect that others design ill. As for himself, he only puts them in mind of his relation to them (verbum sapienti—A word to the wise is sufficient): Remember that I am your bone and your flesh. The plot took wonderfully. The magistrates of Shechem were pleased to think of their city being a royal city and the metropolis of Israel, and therefore they inclined to follow him; for they said, "He is our brother, and his advancement will be our advantage." 2. How he got money from them to bear the charges of his pretensions (v. 4): They gave him seventy pieces of silver; it is not said what the value of these pieces was; so many shekels are less, and so many talents more, than we can well imagine; therefore it is supposed they were each a pound weight: but they gave this money out of the house of Baal-berith, that is, out of the public treasury, which, out of respect to their idol, they deposited in his temple to be protected by him; or out of the offerings that had been made to that idol, which they hoped would prosper the better in his hands for its having been consecrated to their god. How unfit was he to reign over Israel, because unlikely to defend them, who, instead of restraining and punishing idolatry, thus early made himself a pensioner to an idol! 3. What soldiers he enlisted. He hired into his service vain and light persons, the scum and scoundrels of the country, men of broken fortunes, giddy heads, and profligate lives; none but such would own him, and they were fittest to serve his purpose. Like leader like followers.II. How cruelly he got his father’s sons out of the way.1. The first thing he did with the rabble he headed was to kill all his brethren at once, publicly and in cold blood, threescore and ten men, one only escaping, all slain upon one stone. See in this bloody tragedy, (1.) The power of ambition what beasts it will turn men into, how it will break through all the ties of natural affection and natural conscience, and sacrifice that which is most sacred, dear, and valuable, to its designs. Strange that ever it should enter into the heart of a man to be so very barbarous! (2.) The peril of honour and high birth. Their being the sons of so great a man as Gideon exposed them thus and made Abimelech jealous of them. We find just the same number of Ahab’s sons slain together at Samaria, 2 Ki. 10:1, 7. The grand seigniors have seldom thought themselves safe while any of their brethren have been unstrangled. Let none then envy those of high extraction, or complain of their own meanness and obscurity. The lower the safer.2.

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Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG የይሩበኣል ልጅ አቤሜሌክም ወደ ሴኬም ወደ እናቱ ወንድሞች ሄደ፥ ለእነርሱም ለእናቱ አባት ቤተ ሰቦችም ሁሉ፦ አማርኛ BCV ኣቢሜሌክ ወዲ የሩበዓል ድማ ናብ ሴኬም ናብ ኣኮታቱ ኸይዱ፥ ንኣኣቶምን ንዅሎም እቶም ዓሌት ኣቦ እኖኡን ከምዙይ በሎም፦ ትግርኛ GAZBIB Abiimelek ilmi Giidewon isa “Yiruub-Ba'aal” jedhamee, eessumman isaa fi qomoo haadha isaatii warra Sheekem keessa jiraa… Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ወሖረ አቢሜሌክ ወልደ ሮበዓም ውስተ ስቂማ ኀበ አኀወ እሙ ወተናገሮሙ ለኵሉ አዝማደ ቤተ እሙ። giz GAZGAZ Abiimelek ilmi Giidewon isa “Yiruub-Ba'aal” jedhamee, eessumman isaa fi qomoo haadha isaatii warra Sheekem keessa jiraa… Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum ኣቢሜሌክ ወዲ የሩበዓል ድማ ናብ ሴኬም ናብ ኣኮታቱ ኸይዱ፥ ንኣኣቶምን ንዅሎም እቶም ዓሌት ኣቦ እኖኡን ከምዙይ በሎም፦ ትግርኛ AMHNIV የይሩባኣል ልጅ አቤሜሌክ ወደ እናቱ ወንድሞች ወደ ሴኬም ሄደ። እነርሱንና የእናቱን ጐሣዎች በሙሉ እንዲህ አላቸው፤ አማርኛ SWAHSUV Abimeleki, mwana wa Yerubaali, akaenda Shekemu kwa ndugu za mama yake, akanena nao, na wote waliokuwa wa nyumba ya baba… Kiswahili