Judges (9-10)
Judges 9
1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
— his mother’s brethren; Abimelech was Gideon’s concubine that lived in Shechem, his mother probably one of the Canaanite woman from Shechem;
— the two main faults of the last phase of Gideon’s life had been his polygamy and his dangerous tampering with unauthorised, if not idolatrous, worship.
2 “Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
— Abimelech went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren; that is, her relations; and communed with them; to try if he could engage them to favour and aid the design he had conceived to usurp the government of Israel, in direct opposition to his father’s will, who had declared no son of his should rule over them.
3 And his mother’s brethren spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words; and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
— the men of Shechem chose Abimelech king; possibly the Hivite population of Sheehem, but God was not consulted whether they should have any king, much less who it should be.
4 And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light persons, who followed him. — Baal-berith means “Lord of the covenant,” but a counterfeit; Judges 8:33;
— they gave Abimelech pieces of silver; not shekels, out of the house of Baal-berith; like most temples in ancient days, it’s a fortress of gold and silver, and a bank.
5 And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone. Notwithstanding, yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
— and he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah; probably, like Absalom, he ruthlessly seized the opportunity of some local or family feast at which all his brethren would be assembled;
— with hired vain and light warriors, perhaps seventy of them, giving to each a piece or pound of silver; Abimelech killed his seventy saved one step-brothers with one stone; perhaps the rock on which the Gideon’s altar was built; intended to make his brethren a great victim to Baal.
6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Bethmillo, and went and made Abimelech king by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
— to make him a king; but God was not consulted whether they should have any king at all, nor did they seek advise from the high-priest, or with their brethren of any other city or tribe,
— made Abimelech king; he was the first Israelite who ever bore that name. It does not appear that this royalty was recognised beyond the boundry of of Manasseh, though it was that he should reign over all Israel.
7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice and cried, and said unto them, “Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.
— Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal or Gideon, stood in the top of mount Gerizim; which overlooked the city of Shechem.
8 The trees went forth once to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, ‘Reign thou over us.’
— the trees went forth; from here, it appears Israel to have their first “king” at least of this manner of speaking by parables; and the first massacre of brethren, so here we have the first fable.
9 But the olive tree said unto them, ‘Should I leave my fatness, withwhich by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?’
10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come thou, and reign over us.’
— there was no occasion for the trees to choose a king, they are all the trees of the Lord which he has planted; nor was there any occasion for Israel to set a king over them, for the Lord was their King.
11 But the fig tree said unto them, ‘Should I forsake my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?’
— olive, figs, and wine were the most valuable productions of the land of Canaan, whereas the briar was good for nothing but to burn.
12 Then said the trees unto the vine, ‘Come thou, and reign over us.’
13 And the vine said unto them, ‘Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?’
14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, ‘Come thou, and reign over us.’
— bramble or thornbush; which has nothing but thorns upon it, and does not even cast sufficient shadow for any one to lie down in its shadow and protect himself from the burning heat of the sun, is an admirable simile for a worthless man, who can do nothing but harm;
— all the trees worthy to reign for their intrinsic excellence refused the proffered kingship one after another; but the vilest and most unworthy accepted it.
15 And the bramble said unto the trees, ‘If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
— the result would be that a fire would burst out from the despicable bramble; the bramble is not only eager to be king, but has spiteful and dangerous threats—and set fire to the lofty cedar tree.
16 “Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands
— thus Gideon refused the kingdom, and his sons had virtually refused it likewise; the base-born Abimelech had accepted it, and the result would be a deadly strife, which would destroy both the ungrateful subjects and the unworthy ruler.
17 (for my father fought for you, and ventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;
— not only will fire go forth from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and the inhabitants of Millo, but fire will also go forth from them and devour Abimelech himself;
18 and ye have risen up against my father’s house this day and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother),
— the son of his maidservant, his concubine; the term is intentionally contemptuous, one that is illegitimate; over Shechem instead of in Shiloh, where God’s house is.
19 if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
— these verses contain the interpretation of the fable; in them Jotham points out the base ingratitude of the people in raising Abimelech upon the ruin of Gideon’s house, and foretells the retribution which would fall upon all parties.
20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem and the house of Bethmillo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from the house of Bethmillo, and devour Abimelech.”
— let fire come out; the malediction is that they would all perish by mutual destruction.
21 And Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his brother.
— and Jotham fled; which he might better do, having the advantage of the hill, and because the people were not willing to pursue a man whom they knew to have a just cause to speak.
22 When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
— over Israel; that is, over all the Israelites who would accept his authority, mainly the central tribes; as by stealthy and progressive encroachments he subjected some of the neighboring towns to his sway;
23 then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,
— God sent an evil spirit; that would give Satan permission to work upon their minds; dealt treacherously, which would be the beginning of defections;
24 that the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brethren.
— that the violence done to the sons of Jerubbaal, and their blood, might come to be bounced back upon Abimelech, and upon the men of Shechem which aided him in killing of his brethren; by giving him money to hire them to go with him to do it.
25 And the men of Shechem set liersinwait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them; and it was told Abimelech.
— set liers in wait for him; and they robbed all that came along that way by them that belonged to Abimelech and others also; and this they did to show their contempt of his government.
26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren and went over to Shechem, and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.
— Gaal, the son of Ebed; we are not told any further who he was; but the context leads us to infer that he was one of these freebooters or highway plunderers, and probably belonged to the Canaanite population.
27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.
— did eat and drink; in some merry public feast, such as often took place in idol temples; perhaps in an idolatrous feast in the house of Baal-berith while cursing Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is not he the son of Jerubbaal, and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. For why should we serve him?
— “Who is Abimelech?” this is obviously contemptuous, mocking like, “Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse?” Abimelech’s mother was a Canaanite bond-woman, a Shechemite; and the plea for making Abimelech king was, “for he is our brother.”
29 And would to God this people were under my hand! Then would I remove Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase thine army, and come out!”
— Gaal the son of Ebed, a highway plunderer, continued mocking, challenging Abimelech, “Increase thine army, and come out!”
30 And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
— and when Zebul the ruler of the city, perhaps the governor of Shechem under Abimelech; Zebul meanwhile hesitated, lacking the strength to confront Gaal directly, not strong enough to resist Gaal openly.
31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren have come to Shechem; and behold, they fortify the city against thee.
— and when Zebul the ruler of Shechem sent messengers unto Abimelech privily; in a secret manner, unknown to Gaal, the highway plunderer, and the men of Shechem.
32 Now therefore, up by night, thou and the people who are with thee, and lie in wait in the field.
— lie in wait in the field; an ambush, to surprise the Shechemites when they went out to finish their vintage operations, which they would do securely under the protection of Gaal’s forces.
33 And it shall be that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early and set upon the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.”
— the Message Bible says,
Zebul, governor of the city, heard what Gaal son of Ebed was saying and got angry. Secretly he sent messengers to Abimelech with the message, “Gaal son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem and are stirring up trouble against you. Here’s what you do: Tonight bring your troops and wait in ambush in the field. In the morning, as soon as the sun breaks, get moving and charge the city. Gaal and his troops will come out to you, and you’ll know what to do next.”
Abimelech and his troops, four companies of them, went up that night and waited in ambush approaching Shechem. Gaal son of Ebed had gotten up and was standing in the city gate. Abimelech and his troops left their cover. When Gaal saw them he said to Zebul, “Look at that, people coming down from the tops of the mountains!”
Zebul said, “That’s nothing but mountain shadows; they just look like men.” Gaal kept chattering away. Judges 9:32-36 MSG
34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.
— Abimelech intended to punish the Schechemites for slighting him now, but God punished them for their serving him formerly in the murder of Gideon’s sons.
35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from lying in wait.
— Gaal, the highway plunderer, saw them he said to Zebul, “Look at that, people coming down from the tops of the mountains!”
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains.” And Zebul said unto him, “Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”
37 And Gaal spoke again and said, “See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.”
38 Then said Zebul unto him, “Where now is thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom thou hast despised? Go out, I pray now, and fight with them.”
— the Message Bible says,
37 Then he said again, “Look at the troops coming down off Tabbur-erez (the Navel of the World)—and one company coming straight from the Oracle Oak.”
38 Zebul said, “Where is that big mouth of yours now? You who said, ‘And who is Abimelech that we should take orders from him?’ Well, there he is with the troops you ridiculed. Here’s your chance. Fight away!”
39-40 Gaal went out, backed by the leaders of Shechem, and did battle with Abimelech. Abimelech chased him, and Gaal turned tail and ran. Many fell wounded, right up to the city gate.
41 Abimelech set up his field headquarters at Arumah while Zebul kept Gaal and his relatives out of Shechem. Judges 9:37-41 MSG
39 And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him; and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entrance of the gate.
41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah; and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
42 And it came to pass on the morrow that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.
43 And he took the people and divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field, and looked, and behold, the people had come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them and smote them.
44 And Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and the two other companies ran upon all the people who were in the fields and slew them.
45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people who were therein, and beat down the city and sowed it with salt.
46 And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into a stronghold of the house of the god Berith.
47 And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
48 And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people who were with him, “What ye have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done.”
49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough and followed Abimelech, and put them to the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire upon them, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
50 Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez and took it.
51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women and all those of the city, and shut it to them and went up to the top of the tower.
52 And Abimelech came unto the tower and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
— the Message Bible says,
42-45 The next day the people went out to the fields. This was reported to Abimelech. He took his troops, divided them into three companies, and placed them in ambush in the fields. When he saw that the people were well out in the open, he sprang up and attacked them. Abimelech and the company with him charged ahead and took control of the entrance to the city gate; the other two companies chased down those who were in the open fields and killed them. Abimelech fought at the city all that day. He captured the city and massacred everyone in it. He leveled the city to the ground, then sowed it with salt.
46-49 When the leaders connected with Shechem’s Tower heard this, they went into the fortified God-of-the-Covenant temple. This was reported to Abimelech that the Shechem’s Tower bunch were gathered together. He and his troops climbed Mount Zalmon (Dark Mountain). Abimelech took his ax and chopped a bundle of firewood, picked it up, and put it on his shoulder. He said to his troops, “Do what you’ve seen me do, and quickly.” So each of his men cut his own bundle. They followed Abimelech, piled their bundles against the Tower fortifications, and set the whole structure on fire. Everyone in Shechem’s Tower died, about a thousand men and women.
50-54 Abimelech went on to Thebez. He camped at Thebez and captured it. The Tower-of-Strength stood in the middle of the city; all the men and women of the city along with the city’s leaders had fled there and locked themselves in. They were up on the tower roof. Abimelech got as far as the tower and assaulted it. He came up to the tower door to set it on fire. Just then some woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and crushed his skull. He called urgently to his young armor bearer and said, “Draw your sword and kill me so they can’t say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” His armor bearer drove in his sword, and Abimelech died.
55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.
56-57 God avenged the evil Abimelech had done to his father, murdering his seventy brothers. And God brought down on the heads of the men of Shechem all the evil that they had done, the curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal. Judges 9:42-57 MSG
53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head and broke his skull.
54 Then he called hastily unto the young man, his armorbearer, and said unto him, “Draw thy sword and slay me, that men say not of me, ‘A woman slew him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.
56 Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father in slaying his seventy brethren.
57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned upon their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
Judges 10
1 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim.
— after Abimelech; it was only a matter of time; as Abimelech was not counted among the judges, for evil was the episode of his rebellions.
2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died and was buried in Shamir.
— Tola; of a son of Issachar, hence, he could not be nephew of Abimelech a Manassite; in mount Ephraim; as judge, he would have to fix his residence in a town more central than any in his own tribe; but sill not in Shiloh where the Ark was.
3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.
— Jair, a Gileadite; in Numbers 32:41 we are told of a Jair, the son of Manasseh, who “took the small towns” of Gilead.
4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts; and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair [the villages of Jair] unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
— Jair had thirty sons, perhaps from the tribe of Manasseh; an indication of his rank and position, which assumed an ostentatious polygamy as usual in those days.
5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord and served not Him.
7 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the children of Ammon.
— no longer the Midianites, but new adversaries: the Philistines and the Ammonites.
8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel eighteen years — all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
— and from that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years. all the children of Israel who were on the western side of the Jordan.
9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was sore distressed.
— the children of Ammon were along the eastern side of the Jordan, while the the Philistines were along the west of the Jordan.
10 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against Thee, both because we have forsaken our God and also served the Baalim.”
11 And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, “Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon and from the Philistines?
— the children of Israel are now facing enemies from all sides; north, south, east and west.
12 The Sidonians also and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you; and ye cried to Me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
— did I not deliver you from the Egyptians? With so much to learn from their past, they didn’t, hence they deserve some pain to understand the whole process again.
13 Yet ye have forsaken Me and served other gods: therefore I will deliver you no more.
— wherefore I will deliver you no more; which is not to be understood absolutely, since after this he did deliver them, but conditionally, unless they repented of their idolatries, and forsook them.
14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
— Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; for they were their choice, and not what they were obliged to serve through persecution, and by compulsion of others, and whom they needed not, having the Lord to be their God.
15 And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, “We have sinned! Do Thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee. Deliver us only, we pray Thee, this day.”
— and the children of Israel said unto the Lord, we have sinned; by serving other gods particularly; and they seemed to have a true sense of repentence.
16 And they put away the strange gods from among them and served the Lord; and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
— the children of Israel are prone to worshipping strange gods from neighbouring tribes.
17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together and encamped in Mizpah.
18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, “What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
