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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Judges 9 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/judges/9.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/judges/9.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/judges/9-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Ellicott</a> > <a href="../judges/">Judges</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../judges/8.htm" title="Judges 8">◄</a> Judges 9 <a href="../judges/10.htm" title="Judges 10">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</div><div class="chap"><span class= "bld">IX.</span><p>1-4. Abimelech induces the Shechemites to join in a conspiracy. <a href="/context/judges/9-5.htm" title="And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being three score and ten persons, on one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.">Judges 9:5-6</a>. The murder of his brethren. <a href="/context/judges/9-7.htm" title="And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.">Judges 9:7-15</a>. Jotham’s parable of the trees seeking to anoint a king. <a href="/context/judges/9-16.htm" title="Now therefore, if you have done truly and sincerely, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands;">Judges 9:16-20</a>. Application of the parable. <a href="/judges/9-21.htm" title="And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelled there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.">Judges 9:21</a>. Escape of Jotham. <a href="/context/judges/9-22.htm" title="When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,">Judges 9:22-25</a>. Disaffection of the Shechemites, (<a href="/context/judges/9-26.htm" title="And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.">Judges 9:26-29</a>) fostered by Gaal. <a href="/context/judges/9-30.htm" title="And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.">Judges 9:30-33</a>. Abimelech is informed of the conspiracy by Zebul. <a href="/context/judges/9-34.htm" title="And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.">Judges 9:34-40</a>. Defeat of Gaal. <a href="/context/judges/9-41.htm" title="And Abimelech dwelled at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem.">Judges 9:41-45</a>. His assault on Shechem, which he captures and destroys. <a href="/context/judges/9-46.htm" title="And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.">Judges 9:46-49</a>. Burning of the temple and fortress of Baal-berith. <a href="/context/judges/9-50.htm" title="Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.">Judges 9:50-52</a>. Siege of Thebez. <a href="/context/judges/9-53.htm" title="And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone on Abimelech's head, and all to broke his skull.">Judges 9:53-55</a>. Death of Abimelech. <a href="/context/judges/9-56.htm" title="Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father, in slaying his seventy brothers:">Judges 9:56-57</a>. The moral of the episode.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-1.htm">Judges 9:1</a></div><div class="verse">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,</div>(1) <span class= "bld">And Abimelech.</span>—This narrative of the rise and fall of Abimelech, “the bramble king,” is singularly vivid in many of its details, while at the same time material facts are so briefly touched upon that parts of the story must remain obscure. The general bearing of this graphic episode is to illustrate the slow, but certain, working of Divine retribution. The two main faults of the last phase of Gideon’s career had been his polygamy and his dangerous tampering with unauthorised, if not idolatrous, worship. The retribution for both errors falls on his house. The agents of their overthrow are the kinsmen of his base-born son by a Canaanite mother. Abimelech seems to have taken his first steps very soon after Gideon’s death. Doubtless he had long been secretly maturing his plans. The narrative bears on its surface inimitable marks of truthfulness. We can trace in the character of Abimelech a reflection of his father’s courage and promptitude, overshadowed by elements which he must have drawn from his maternal origin.<p><span class= "bld">Unto his mother’s brethren.</span>—His Canaanite kith and kin, who doubtless had great influence over the still powerful aboriginal element of the Shechemite population.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-2.htm">Judges 9:2</a></div><div class="verse">Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether <i>is</i> better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, <i>which are</i> threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I <i>am</i> your bone and your flesh.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">All the men of Shechem.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">the lords </span>(<span class= "ital">Baali</span>)<span class= "ital"> of Shechem. </span>These seem to be the same as “the men” (<span class= "ital">anoshi</span>)<span class= "ital">, </span>or “lords (<span class= "ital">Baali</span>) of the tower of Shechem,” in <a href="/judges/9-46.htm" title="And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.">Judges 9:46</a>; <a href="/judges/9-49.htm" title="And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire on them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.">Judges 9:49</a>. It is by no means impossible that the Canaanites may have still held possession of the fortress, though the Israelites were nominally predominant in the town. At any rate, this particular title of “lords,” as applied to the chief people of a town, seems to have been Canaanite rather than Hebrew: the “lords” of Jericho (<a href="/joshua/24-11.htm" title="And you went over Jordan, and came to Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.">Joshua 24:11</a>), the “lords” of Gibeah (<a href="/judges/21-5.htm" title="And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation to the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.">Judges 21:5</a>), of Keilah (<a href="/1_samuel/23-11.htm" title="Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech you, tell your servant. And the LORD said, He will come down.">1Samuel 23:11</a>). The term is applied also to the Hittite Uriah (<a href="/2_samuel/11-20.htm" title="And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say to you, Why approached you so near to the city when you did fight? knew you not that they would shoot from the wall?">2Samuel 11:20</a>). What is clear is that, as in so many other towns of Palestine at this epoch (see <a href="/judges/1-32.htm" title="But the Asherites dwelled among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.">Judges 1:32</a>, &c), there was a mixed population living side by side in a sort of armed neutrality, though with a mutual dislike, which might at any time break out in tumults. The Israelites held much the same position in many towns as the Normans among the English during the years after the conquest. The Israelites had the upper hand, but they were fewer in numbers, and might easily be overborne at any particular point. It must be borne in mind also that Abimelech, as a Shechemite, would more easily win the adherence of the proud and jealous Ephraimites, who disliked the <span class= "ital">hegemony </span>(see on <a href="/judges/8-1.htm" title="And the men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you served us thus, that you called us not, when you went to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.">Judges 8:1</a>, and comp. <a href="/2_samuel/20-1.htm" title="And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.">2Samuel 20:1</a>, <a href="/1_kings/12-16.htm" title="So when all Israel saw that the king listened not to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to your own house, David. So Israel departed to their tents.">1Kings 12:16</a>) which Manasseh had acquired from the victories of Gideon. The plans of Abimelech were deep-laid. In counsel no less than in courage—though both were so grievously misdirected—he shows himself his father’s son.<p><span class= "bld">That all the sons of Jerubbaal . . . reign over you.</span>—It seems to have been the merest calumny to suggest that they ever dreamt of making their father’s influence hereditary in this sense. Gideon had expressly repudiated all wish and claim to exercise “rule” (<span class= "ital">meshol, </span><a href="/judges/8-23.htm" title="And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.">Judges 8:23</a>) of this kind. The remark of Abimelech is quite in the ancient spirit—<p><span class= "greekheb">οὐκ άγαθὸν πολυκοίρανίη</span>, εἶς κοιρανὸς ε̄̌<span class= "greekheb">στω</span>.<p>(Comp. Eur. <span class= "ital">Suppl. </span>410.)<p><span class= "bld">Your bone and your flesh.</span>—The same phrase is found in <a href="/genesis/2-23.htm" title="And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.">Genesis 2:23</a>; <a href="/genesis/29-14.htm" title="And Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him the space of a month.">Genesis 29:14</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/5-1.htm" title="Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.">2Samuel 5:1</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/19-12.htm" title="You are my brothers, you are my bones and my flesh: why then are you the last to bring back the king?">2Samuel 19:12</a>. He was akin to both the elements of the population: to the Ephraimites, from the place of his birth, or at any rate of his mother’s residence; and to the Canaanites (as the whole narrative implies), from her blood. The plea was “like that of our Henry II., the first Norman son of a Saxon mother” (Stanley).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-4.htm">Judges 9:4</a></div><div class="verse">And they gave him threescore and ten <i>pieces</i> of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.</div>(4) <span class= "bld">Pieces.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">shekels, </span>which is the word normally understood in similar phrases (<a href="/judges/8-26.htm" title="And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks.">Judges 8:26</a>). “Neither the citizens of Shechem nor the ignobly-ambitious bastard understood what true monarchy was, and still less what it ought to be in the commonwealth of Jehovah” (Ewald, ii. 389).<p><span class= "bld">Out of the house of Baal-berith.</span>—Like most temples in ancient days (<span class= "ital">e.g., </span>that of Venus on Mount Eryx, the Parthenon, and that of Jupiter Latiaris), this served at once as a sanctuary, a fortress, and a bank. Similarly the treasures amassed at Delphi enabled the three Phocian brothers, Phayllus, Phalaekus, and Onomarchus, to support the whole burden of the sacred war (Diodor. xvi. 30; comp. Thuc. i. 121, 2:13). (Comp. also <a href="/1_kings/15-18.htm" title="Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelled at Damascus, saying,">1Kings 15:18</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Vain and light persons.</span>—These are exactly analogous to the <span class= "ital">doruphoroi</span>—a body-guard of spear-bearers, which an ambitious Greek always hired as the first step to setting up a tyranny (Diog. Laert. 1:49). We find Jephthah (<a href="/judges/11-3.htm" title="Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and dwelled in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.">Judges 11:3</a>), and David (<a href="/1_samuel/22-2.htm" title="And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves to him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.">1Samuel 22:2</a>), and Absalom (<a href="/2_samuel/15-1.htm" title="And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.">2Samuel 15:1</a>), and Rezon (<a href="/1_kings/11-24.htm" title="And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelled therein, and reigned in Damascus.">1Kings 11:24</a>), and Adonijah (<a href="/1_kings/1-5.htm" title="Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.">1Kings 1:5</a>), and Jeroboam (<a href="/2_chronicles/13-7.htm" title="And there are gathered to him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.">2Chronicles 13:7</a>) doing exactly the same thing. Who these “vain” persons were is best defined in <a href="/1_samuel/22-2.htm" title="And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves to him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.">1Samuel 22:2</a>. They were like the <span class= "ital">condottieri, </span>or free-lances. The word vain (<span class= "ital">rikîm</span>) is from the same root as Raca; it means <span class= "ital">vauriens. </span>The word for “light persons” (<span class= "ital">pochazîm</span>) occurs in <a href="/genesis/49-4.htm" title="Unstable as water, you shall not excel; because you went up to your father's bed; then defiled you it: he went up to my couch.">Genesis 49:4</a> (applied to Reuben) and <a href="/zephaniah/3-4.htm" title="Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.">Zephaniah 3:4</a>. It is from a root which means to <span class= "ital">boil over.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-5.htm">Judges 9:5</a></div><div class="verse">And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, <i>being</i> threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.</div>(5) <span class= "bld">And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah.</span>—Probably, like Absalom, he seized the opportunity of some local or family feast at which all his brethren would be assembled (<a href="/2_samuel/13-23.htm" title="And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheep shearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.">2Samuel 13:23</a>); it may even have been the anniversary of Gideon’s vision.<p><span class= "bld">Slew his brethren . . .</span>—This is the first mention in Scripture of the hideous custom, which is so common among all Oriental despots, of anticipating conspiracies by destroying all their brothers and near kinsmen. (Comp. Pope, <span class= "ital">Epistle to Arbuthnot: </span>“Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne.”) There is little affection and much jealousy in polygamous households. Abimelech by this vile wickedness set a fatal precedent, which was followed again and again in the kingdom of Israel by Baasha (<a href="/1_kings/15-29.htm" title="And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:">1Kings 15:29</a>), Zimri (<a href="/1_kings/16-11.htm" title="And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that urinates against a wall, neither of his kinfolks, nor of his friends.">1Kings 16:11</a>), Jehu (<a href="/2_kings/10-7.htm" title="And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.">2Kings 10:7</a>), and probably by other kings (2 Kings 15); and by Athaliah (<a href="/2_kings/11-1.htm" title="And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.">2Kings 11:1</a>) in <span class= "ital">the </span>kingdom of Judah. Herod also put to death most of his kinsmen, and some of his sons (see <span class= "ital">Life of Christ, </span>i. 43). Seneca says, “Nec regna socium ferre, nec taedae sciunt”—nor realms nor weddings admit a sharer (<span class= "ital">Agam. </span>259).<p><span class= "bld">Threescore and ten persons.</span>—Jotham is counted in this number.<p><span class= "bld">Upon one stone.</span>—Perhaps on the rock on which was built Gideon’s altar; at any rate, by some formal execution. How ruthlessly these murders were carried out we see from <a href="/2_kings/10-7.htm" title="And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.">2Kings 10:7</a>, and from many events in Eastern history. On one occasion, at a banquet in Damascus. Abdallah-Ebn-Ali murdered no less than <span class= "ital">ninety </span>of the rival dynasty of the Ommiades.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-6.htm">Judges 9:6</a></div><div class="verse">And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that <i>was</i> in Shechem.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">The house of Millo.</span>—It cannot be determined whether Beth Millo is here a proper name, or whether <span class= "ital">Beth </span>means the family or inhabitants of Millo. The Chaldee renders Millo by “a rampart;” and if this be correct, the “house of the rampart” was perhaps the same as the “tower of Shechem” (<a href="/context/judges/9-46.htm" title="And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.">Judges 9:46-49</a>). There was a Millo on Mount Zion (<a href="/2_samuel/5-9.htm" title="So David dwelled in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.">2Samuel 5:9</a>), which was also called a Beth Millo (<a href="/2_kings/12-21.htm" title="For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.">2Kings 12:21</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Made Abimelech king.</span>—He was the first Israelite who ever bore that name. It does not appear that this royalty was recognised beyond the limits of Ephraim. Gideon had not only refused the title of king (<span class= "ital">melek</span>)<span class= "ital">, </span>but even the title of ruler (<a href="/judges/8-23.htm" title="And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.">Judges 8:23</a>).<p><span class= "bld">By the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">near the terebinth of the monument which is in Shechem. </span>The word rendered “by” is <span class= "ital">im, </span>which properly means <span class= "ital">with, </span>but may mean “near,” as in <a href="/genesis/25-11.htm" title="And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelled by the well Lahairoi.">Genesis 25:11</a>. The word rendered “the pillar” is <span class= "ital">mutsabh, </span>which the Syriac and Arabic versions take for a proper name, and the Chaldee renders “the corn-field” or <span class= "ital">“</span>statue.” Luther renders it the <span class= "ital">“</span>lofty oak,” and the Vulg. follows another reading. The LXX. take it to mean <span class= "ital">“</span>a garrison” (LXX., <span class= "ital">stasis</span>)<span class= "ital">, </span>which is the meaning it has in <a href="/isaiah/29-3.htm" title="And I will camp against you round about, and will lay siege against you with a mount, and I will raise forts against you.">Isaiah 29:3</a>; but as the terebinth is doubtless that under which Joshua had raised his “stone of witness” (<a href="/joshua/24-26.htm" title="And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.">Joshua 24:26</a>), the <span class= "ital">mutsabh </span>is perhaps a name for this stone. If so, the neighbourhood of that pledge of faithfulness would add audacity to his acts. There can be little doubt that the terebinth was the celebrated tree under which Jacob had made his family bury their idolatrous earrings and amulets (<a href="/genesis/35-4.htm" title="And they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.">Genesis 35:4</a>), and the terebinth (E.V., <span class= "ital">plain</span>) of Moreh, near Shechem, under which Abraham had spread his tent and where he had built an altar (<a href="/genesis/12-6.htm" title="And Abram passed through the land to the place of Sichem, to the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.">Genesis 12:6</a>). Possibly, too, it may be the “terebinth of the enchanters” mentioned in <a href="/judges/9-37.htm" title="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.">Judges 9:37</a>. The veneration attached to old trees lasted from generation to generation in Palestine, and the terebinth of Mamre was celebrated for a thousand years.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-7.htm">Judges 9:7</a></div><div class="verse">And when they told <i>it</i> to Jotham, he went and stood in 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.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">In the top of mount Gerizim.</span>—Unless Shechem is not to be identified with Neapolis (<span class= "ital">Nablous</span>)<span class= "ital">, </span>and was rather, as De Saulcy decides, on Mount Gerizim itself, at a spot still marked by extensive ruins, it would have been entirely impossible for Jotham to be heard at Shechem from the actual summit of Gerizim. But over the town of Nablous is a precipitous rock, to the summit of which the name Gerizim might be loosely given. Here Jotham might well have stood; and it seems certain that in the still clear air of Palestine the rhythmical chant adopted by Orientals might be heard at a great distance. A traveller mentions that standing on Gerizim he heard the voice of a muleteer who was driving his mules down Mount Ebal; and on the very summit of Mount Gerizim I heard a shepherd holding a musical colloquy with another, who was out of sight on a distant hill. “The people in these mountainous countries are able from long practice to pitch their voices so as to be heard at distances almost incredible” (Thomson, <span class= "ital">Land and Book, </span>p. 473).<p><span class= "bld">And cried.</span>—It may be asked how Jotham ventured to risk his life by thus upbraiding the Shechemites. No certain answer, but many probable ones, may be offered. At the summit of a precipitous crag far above the city, and on a hillside abounding with caverns and hiding-places, he would have sufficient start to have at least a chance of safety from any pursuit; or he may not have been without some followers and kindly partisans, who, now that the massacre of his brethren was over, would not be too willing to allow him to be hunted down. Indeed, the pathos of his opening appeal may have secured for him a favourable hearing. Josephus says that he seized an opportunity when there was a public feast at Shechem, and the whole multitude were gathered there. “He spoke like the bard of the English ode, and before the startled assembly below could reach the rocky pinnacle where he stood, he was gone” (Stanley, p. 352).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-8.htm">Judges 9:8</a></div><div class="verse">The trees went forth <i>on a time</i> to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.</div>(8) <span class= "bld">The trees went forth.</span>—As in this chapter we have the first Israelite “king” and the first massacre of brethren, so here we have the first fable. Fables are extremely popular in the East, where they are often current, under the name of the slave-philosopher Lokman, the counterpart of the Greek Æsop. But though there are many apologues and parables in Scripture (<span class= "ital">e.g., </span>in the Old Testament, “the ewe lamb,” <a href="/context/2_samuel/12-1.htm" title="And the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.">2Samuel 12:1-4</a>; Psalms 80; <a href="/context/isaiah/5-1.htm" title="Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:">Isaiah 5:1-6</a>, &c), there is only one other “fable,” and that is one closely akin to this (<a href="/2_kings/14-9.htm" title="And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and stepped down the thistle.">2Kings 14:9</a>). St. Paul, however, in <a href="/context/1_corinthians/12-14.htm" title="For the body is not one member, but many.">1Corinthians 12:14-19</a>, evidently refers to the ancient fable of Menenius Agrippa, about the belly and the members (Liv. 2:30). A “fable” is a fanciful story, to inculcate prudential morality. In the Bible “trees” seem to be more favourite <span class= "ital">dramatis personœ </span>than the talking birds and beasts of other nations. “Went forth” is the emphatic phrase “going, they went.” The scenery immediately around Jotham would furnish the most striking illustration of his words, for it is more umbrageous than any other in Palestine, and Shechem seems to rise out of a sea of living verdure. The aptitude for keen and proverbial speech seems to have been hereditary in his family (Joash, <a href="/judges/6-31.htm" title="And Joash said to all that stood against him, Will you plead for Baal? will you save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one has cast down his altar.">Judges 6:31</a>; Gideon, <a href="/judges/8-2.htm" title="And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?">Judges 8:2</a>).<p><span class= "bld">To anoint a king over them.</span>—Evidently the thought of royalty was, so to speak, <span class= "ital">“</span>in the air.” It is interesting to find from this passing allusion that the custom of “anointing” a king must have prevailed among the neighbouring nations.<p><span class= "bld">Unto the olive tree.</span>—This venerable and fruitful tree, with its silvery leaves and its grey cloud-like appearance at a distance, and its peculiar value and fruitfulness, would naturally first occur to the trees.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-9.htm">Judges 9:9</a></div><div class="verse">But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?</div>(9) <span class= "bld">Wherewith by me they honour God and man.</span>—The words may also mean, <span class= "ital">which gods and men honour in me </span>(Vulg., <span class= "ital">quâ et dii utuntur et homines; </span>Luther, <span class= "ital">meine Fettigheit, die beide Götter und menschen an mir preisen; </span>and so some MSS. of the LXX.). In either case the mention of gods or God (Elohim) refers to the use of oil in sacrifices, offerings, consecrations, &c. (<a href="/genesis/28-18.htm" title="And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.">Genesis 28:18</a>; <a href="/exodus/30-24.htm" title="And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:">Exodus 30:24</a>; <a href="/context/leviticus/3-1.htm" title="And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.">Leviticus 3:1-16</a>). Oil is used in the East as one of the greatest luxuries, and also as possessing valuable medicinal properties (<a href="/james/5-15.htm" title="And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.">James 5:15</a>; <a href="/luke/10-34.htm" title="And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.">Luke 10:34</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Go to be promoted over the trees.</span>—The English Version here follows the Vulg. (<span class= "ital">ut inter ligna promovear</span>)<span class= "ital">; </span>but the verb in the original is much finer and more picturesque, for it expresses the utter scorn of the olive for the proffered honour. The margin renders it, <span class= "ital">go up and down for other trees, </span>but it means rather “float about” (LXX., <span class= "ital">kineisthai; </span>Vulg., <span class= "ital">agitari</span>)<span class= "ital">; </span>as Luther admirably renders it, <span class= "ital">dass ich uber den Baümen Schwebe. </span>(Comp. <a href="/isaiah/19-1.htm" title="The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the middle of it.">Isaiah 19:1</a> (be moved), <a href="/isaiah/29-9.htm" title="Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry you out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.">Isaiah 29:9</a> (stagger); <a href="/lamentations/4-14.htm" title="They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.">Lamentations 4:14</a> (wander), &c.) When, in 1868, the crown of Spain was offered to Ferdinand of Portugal, he is reported to have answered, <span class= "ital">Pour moi pas si imbécile.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-10.htm">Judges 9:10</a></div><div class="verse">And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, <i>and</i> reign over us.</div>(10) <span class= "bld">The fig tree.</span>—The luscious fruit and broad green shade of the ancient fig would naturally make it the next choice; but it returns the same scornful answer.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-12.htm">Judges 9:12</a></div><div class="verse">Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, <i>and</i> reign over us.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">Unto the vine.</span>—We might have felt surprise that the vine was not the first choice, but the low-growing, trellised vine, which needs support for its own tendrils, might seem less suitable. Indeed, ancient nations talked of the <span class= "ital">female </span>vine—<p>“Or they led the vine<p>To wed her elm; she round about him flings<p>Her marriageable arms,” &c.—<span class= "ital">Milton.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-13.htm">Judges 9:13</a></div><div class="verse">And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?</div>(</span>13<span class= "ital">)</span> <span class= "bld">My wine.</span>—The Hebrew word is <span class= "ital">tirôsh </span>which sometimes means merely “grape-cluster.”<p><span class= "bld">Which cheereth God and man.</span>—For explanation, see <a href="/exodus/29-40.htm" title="And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.">Exodus 29:40</a>; <a href="/numbers/15-7.htm" title="And for a drink offering you shall offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet smell to the LORD.">Numbers 15:7</a>; <a href="/numbers/15-10.htm" title="And you shall bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet smell to the LORD.">Numbers 15:10</a>, &c. If <span class= "ital">Elohim </span>be here understood of God, the expression is, of course, of that simply anthropomorphic character which marks very ancient literature.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-14.htm">Judges 9:14</a></div><div class="verse">Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, <i>and</i> reign over us.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">Unto the bramble.</span>—Despairing of their best, they avail themselves of the unscrupulous ambition of their worst. The bramble—<span class= "ital">atad</span>—is rather the rhamnus, or buckthorn, which Dioscorides calls the <span class= "ital">Cartha ginian atadin. </span>There seems to be an echo of this fable in Æsop’s fable of the fox and the thorn, where the fox is dreadfully rent by taking hold of the thorn to save himself from a fall, and the thorn asks him what else he could expect.<p><span class= "bld">Reign over us.</span>—They seem to address the thorn in a less ceremonious imperative—not <span class= "ital">mālekah, </span>as to the olive, or <span class= "ital">mūlekî, </span>as to the fig-tree and vine, but a mere blunt <span class= "ital">melāk!</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-15.htm">Judges 9:15</a></div><div class="verse">And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, <i>then</i> come <i>and</i> put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">If in truth</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e., </span>with serious purpose. The bramble can hardly believe in the infatuation of the trees.<p><span class= "bld">Put your trust in my shadow.</span>—The mean leaves and bristling thorns of the rhamnus could afford no shadow to speak of, and even such as they could afford would be dangerous; but the fable is full of fine and biting irony.<p><span class= "bld">If not.</span>—The bramble is not only eager to be king, but has spiteful and dangerous threats—the counterpart of those, doubtless, which had been used by Abimelech—to discourage any withdrawal of the offer.<p><span class= "bld">Let fire come out of the bramble.</span>—Some suppose that there is a reference to the ancient notions of the spontaneous ignition of the boughs of the bramble when rubbed together by the wind. The allusion is far more probably to the use of thorns for fuel: <a href="/exodus/22-6.htm" title="If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.">Exodus 22:6</a>, “If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn . . . be consumed;” <a href="/psalms/58-9.htm" title="Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.">Psalm 58:9</a>, “Or ever your pots be made hot with thorns;” <a href="/ecclesiastes/7-6.htm" title="For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.">Ecclesiastes 7:6</a>, “the crackling of thorns under a pot.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-16.htm">Judges 9:16</a></div><div class="verse">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;</div>(16) <span class= "bld">Now therefore.</span>—Here follows the <span class= "ital">epimuthion. </span>or application of the fable. <a href="/context/judges/9-16.htm" title="Now therefore, if you have done truly and sincerely, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands;">Judges 9:16-18</a> are the <span class= "ital">protasis </span>of the sentence, which is a long and parenthetic series of premisses; the conclusion, or <span class= "ital">apodosis, </span>follows in <a href="/judges/9-19.htm" title="If you then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice you in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:">Judges 9:19</a>.<p><span class= "bld">If ye have done truly and sincerely.</span>—A bitterly ironical supposition with a side glance at the phrase used by the bramble (see <a href="/judges/9-15.htm" title="And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth you 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.">Judges 9:15</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-17.htm">Judges 9:17</a></div><div class="verse">(For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:</div>(17) <span class= "bld">Adventured his life.</span>—Literally, as in the margin, <span class= "ital">cast his life </span>(LXX., <span class= "greekheb">εῤῥιψε</span>), like the Latin <span class= "ital">projicere vitam </span>(Lucan, <span class= "ital">Phars. </span>iv. 516). Comp. the reading <span class= "ital">paraboleusamenos </span>in <a href="/philippians/2-30.htm" title="Because for the work of Christ he was near to death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.">Philippians 2:30</a> and <a href="/isaiah/53-12.htm" title="Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he has poured out his soul to death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.">Isaiah 53:12</a> : “He hath poured out his soul unto death.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-18.htm">Judges 9:18</a></div><div class="verse">And ye are 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 <i>is</i> your brother;)</div>(18) <span class= "bld">Threescore and ten persons.</span>—See Note on. <a href="/judges/9-5.htm" title="And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being three score and ten persons, on one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.">Judges 9:5</a>.<p><span class= "bld">The son of his maidservant.</span>—The term is intentionally contemptuous. It seems clear from <a href="/judges/8-31.htm" title="And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.">Judges 8:31</a>; <a href="/judges/9-1.htm" title="And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brothers, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,">Judges 9:1</a>, that she was not a slave, but even of high birth among the Canaanites.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-19.htm">Judges 9:19</a></div><div class="verse">If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, <i>then</i> rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:</div>(19) <span class= "bld">If ye then have dealt truly.</span>—If your conduct be just and right, I wish you all joy in it.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-20.htm">Judges 9:20</a></div><div class="verse">But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.</div>(20) <span class= "bld">Let fire come out.</span>—The malediction is that they may perish by mutual destruction. It was exactly fulfilled (<a href="/context/judges/9-45.htm" title="And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.">Judges 9:45-49</a>). So when (Œetes is crucified as he had crucified Polykrates, Herodotus notices the similarity of the Nemesis (3:128).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-21.htm">Judges 9:21</a></div><div class="verse">And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">Went to Beer.</span>—Since Beer means a “well,” it. was naturally a very common name in Palestine. There is nothing to show with certainty whether this Beer is Beeroth in Benjamin (<a href="/joshua/9-17.htm" title="And the children of Israel journeyed, and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.">Joshua 9:17</a>), now <span class= "ital">el Bireh, </span>about. six miles north of Jerusalem (see my <span class= "ital">Life of Christ, </span>i. 73), or the <span class= "ital">el Bireh </span>which lies on the road from Shechem to Askalon, or the <span class= "ital">el Bireh </span>near Endor. Probably Jotham would be safe anywhere in the territories of Judah or Benjamin, without going, as Ewald supposes, to the Beer of <a href="/numbers/21-16.htm" title="And from there they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spoke to Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.">Numbers 21:16</a>, on the frontiers of Moab, an ancient sanctuary on the other side of the Jordan, possibly the Beer-elim (palm-well) of <a href="/isaiah/15-8.htm" title="For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof to Eglaim, and the howling thereof to Beerelim.">Isaiah 15:8</a>.<p><span class= "bld">For fear of Abimelech.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">from the face of Abimelech.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-22.htm">Judges 9:22</a></div><div class="verse">When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,</div>(22) <span class= "bld">Had reigned.</span>—The verb is here <span class= "ital">sûr, </span>not <span class= "ital">malak, </span>as in <a href="/judges/9-6.htm" title="And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.">Judges 9:6</a>; but whether the change of word is meant to be significant we cannot say.<p><span class= "bld">Over Israel</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e., </span>over all the Israelites who would accept his authority—mainly the central tribes.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-23.htm">Judges 9:23</a></div><div class="verse">Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:</div>(23) <span class= "bld">An evil spirit.</span>—Whether the word used for spirit (<span class= "ital">ruach</span>) is here meant to be <span class= "ital">personal </span>or not we cannot say. Sometimes it seems to mean an evil being (<a href="/1_samuel/16-14.htm" title="But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.">1Samuel 16:14</a>), sometimes only an evil temper (<a href="/numbers/14-24.htm" title="But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him will I bring into the land into where he went; and his seed shall possess it.">Numbers 14:24</a>). The later Jews would have made little or no difference between the two, since they attributed almost every evil to the direct agency of demons.<p><span class= "bld">Dealt treacherously.</span>—The word is used for the beginning of a defection.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-24.htm">Judges 9:24</a></div><div class="verse">That the cruelty <i>done</i> to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">That the cruelty . . . might come . . . upon Abimelech.</span>—Scripture is always most emphatic in the recognition of the Divine Nemesis upon wickedness, especially upon bloodshed.<p><span class= "bld">Their blood be laid upon Abimelech.</span>—Comp. <a href="/1_kings/2-5.htm" title="Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.">1Kings 2:5</a>, <a href="/matthew/23-35.htm" title="That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar.">Matthew 23:35</a>, and the cry of the Jews in <a href="/matthew/27-25.htm" title="Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.">Matthew 27:25</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-25.htm">Judges 9:25</a></div><div class="verse">And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.</div>(25) <span class= "bld">Set liers in wait for him.</span>—The “for him” does not necessarily mean “to seize him,” but to his disadvantage. The disaffection began to show itself, as has so often been the case in Palestine from the days of Saul to those of Herod, by the rise of brigandage, rendering all government precarious, and providing a refuge tor all dangerous and discontented spirits. Josephus says that Abimelech was expelled from Shechem, and even from the tribe of Ephraim (<span class= "ital">Antt. v.</span> 1, § 3).<p><span class= "bld">In the top of the mountains.</span>—Especially Ebal and Gerizim.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-26.htm">Judges 9:26</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(26) <span class= "bld">Gaal the son of Ebed.</span>—We are not told any further who he was; but the context leads us to infer that he was one of these freebooters, and probably belonged to the Canaanite population. His “brethren” may have formed the nucleus of a marauding band. Josephus says he was “a certain chief, with his soldiers and kinsmen.” For Ebed some MSS. and versions read Eber, and some Jobel. “Gaal Ben-Ebed” (“loathing son of a slave “) sounds like some contemptuous distortion of his real name.<p><span class= "bld">Went over to Shechem.</span>—Possibly he had been practising brigandage on the other side of the Jordan.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-27.htm">Judges 9:27</a></div><div class="verse">And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode <i>the grapes</i>, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.</div>(27) <span class= "bld">And made merry.</span>—The vintage was the most joyous festival of the year (<a href="/context/isaiah/16-9.htm" title="Therefore I will mourn with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for your summer fruits and for your harvest is fallen.">Isaiah 16:9-10</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/25-30.htm" title="Therefore prophesy you against them all these words, and say to them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar on his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.">Jeremiah 25:30</a>). The word rendered “merry” is <span class= "ital">hillûlim, </span>and occurs only here and in <a href="/leviticus/19-24.htm" title="But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD with.">Leviticus 19:24</a>, where it is rendered <span class= "ital">“</span>praise.” Some render it “offered thank-offerings.” The Chaldee renders it “dances,” and the Vulg. “choirs of singers.” The word evidently involves the notion of triumphant songs (LXX., <span class= "ital">elloulim </span>and <span class= "ital">chorous</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span><p><span class= "bld">Of their god.</span>—Baal-berith.<p><span class= "bld">Did eat and drink.</span>—In some public feast, such as often took place in idol temples (<a href="/judges/16-23.htm" title="Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.">Judges 16:23</a>; <a href="/2_kings/19-37.htm" title="And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.">2Kings 19:37</a>; <a href="/1_corinthians/8-10.htm" title="For if any man see you which have knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;">1Corinthians 8:10</a>). It is evident that this was a sort of heathen analogue of the Feast of Ingathering. The apostasy would be facilitated by a transference of customs of worship from Elohim to Baal.<p><span class= "bld">Cursed Abimelech.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">abused. </span>This seems to have been the first outburst of rebellion among the general population, and Gaal took advantage of it.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-28.htm">Judges 9:28</a></div><div class="verse">And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who <i>is</i> Abimelech, and who <i>is</i> Shechem, that we should serve him? <i>is</i> not <i>he</i> the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?</div>(28) <span class= "bld">Who is Abimelech?</span>—This is obviously contemptuous, like “Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse?” in <a href="/1_samuel/25-10.htm" title="And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.">1Samuel 25:10</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Who is Shechem?</span>—The meaning of this clause is very obscure. It can hardly be a <span class= "ital">contrast </span>between the insignificance of Abimelech and the grandeur of Shechem (Vulg., <span class= "ital">quœ est Shechem?</span>)<span class= "ital">. </span>Some say that “Shechem” means “Abimelech;” but there is no trace of kings assuming the name of the place over which they rule, nor does the LXX. mend matters much by interpolating the words, “who is <span class= "ital">the son of </span>Shechem?”<p><span class= "bld">The son of Jerubbaal?</span>—And, therefore, on the father’s side, disconnected both with Ephraimites and Canaanites; and the Baal-fighter’s son has no claim on Baal-worshippers.<p><span class= "bld">And Zebul his officer?</span>—We are not even under the rule of Abimelech, but of his underling.<p><span class= "bld">Serve the men of Hamor.</span>—Here the LXX., Vulg., and other versions adopt a different punctuation and a different reading. But there is no reason to alter the text. The Canaanites were powerful; the Ephraimites had apostatised to their religion; even Abimelech bears a Canaanite name (<a href="/genesis/26-1.htm" title="And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to Gerar.">Genesis 26:1</a>), and owed his power to his Hivite blood. Gaal says in effect. “Why should we serve this son of an upstart alien when we might return to the allegiance of the descendants of our old native prince Hamor, whose son Shechem was the <span class= "ital">hero eponymos </span>of the city?” (<a href="/genesis/33-19.htm" title="And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.">Genesis 33:19</a>; <a href="/joshua/24-32.htm" title="And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.">Joshua 24:32</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-29.htm">Judges 9:29</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(29) <span class= "bld">Would to God this people were under my hand !</span>—Comp. <a href="/2_samuel/15-4.htm" title="Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which has any suit or cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!">2Samuel 15:4</a>.<p><span class= "bld">And he said to Abimelech.</span>—The “he said” may be the impersonal idiom (comp. <a href="/joshua/7-26.htm" title="And they raised over him a great heap of stones to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Why the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, to this day.">Joshua 7:26</a>, &c.), meaning “it was told” (Vulg., <span class= "ital">Dictum est</span>)<span class= "ital">. </span>It is less likely that “he” means Zebul, or that it is Gaal’s drunken vaunt to the absent Abimelech. Another reading is, “And I would say to Abimelech,” &c.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-30.htm">Judges 9:30</a></div><div class="verse">And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.</div>(30) <span class= "bld">The ruler of the city.</span>—The word <span class= "ital">sar </span>seems to imply that he was the military commandant.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-31.htm">Judges 9:31</a></div><div class="verse">And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.</div>(31) <span class= "bld">Privily.</span>—The Hebrew is <span class= "ital">betormah, </span>which may mean “to Tormah,” or Arumah, where Abimelech was living (<a href="/judges/9-41.htm" title="And Abimelech dwelled at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem.">Judges 9:41</a>). The word occurs nowhere else, and the versions differ (LXX., <span class= "ital">in secret; </span>Cod. B, with <span class= "ital">gifts; </span>Cod. A reading <span class= "ital">batherumah</span>)<span class= "ital">. </span>Whether “craftily” be the right rendering or not, it is clear that the message was a secret one, for Zebul dissembled his anger until he was strong enough to throw off the mask.<p><span class= "bld">They fortify.</span>—Rather, perhaps, <span class= "ital">they tyrannise over the city because of thee.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-32.htm">Judges 9:32</a></div><div class="verse">Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that <i>is</i> with thee, and lie in wait in the field:</div>(32) <span class= "bld">Lie in wait in the field.</span>—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.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-33.htm">Judges 9:33</a></div><div class="verse">And it shall be, <i>that</i> in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, <i>when</i> he and the people that <i>is</i> with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.</div>(33) <span class= "bld">As thou shalt find occasion.</span>—Literally, as in the margin, <span class= "ital">as thine hand shall find, </span>as in <a href="/1_samuel/10-7.htm" title="And let it be, when these signs are come to you, that you do as occasion serve you; for God is with you.">1Samuel 10:7</a>; <a href="/1_samuel/25-8.htm" title="Ask your young men, and they will show you. Why let the young men find favor in your eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray you, whatever comes to your hand to your servants, and to your son David.">1Samuel 25:8</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-34.htm">Judges 9:34</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that <i>were</i> with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.</div>(34) <span class= "bld">Four companies.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">four heads. </span>(Comp. <a href="/judges/7-16.htm" title="And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.">Judges 7:16</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-35.htm">Judges 9:35</a></div><div class="verse">And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that <i>were</i> with him, from lying in wait.</div>(35) <span class= "bld">Stood in the entering of the gate of the city.</span>—This was the ordinary station of kings, judges, &c.; but Gaal only seems to have gone there in order to keep a look-out (<a href="/joshua/20-4.htm" title="And when he that does flee to one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city to them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.">Joshua 20:4</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-36.htm">Judges 9:36</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>if they were</i> men.</div>(36) <span class= "bld">He said to Zebul.</span>—The narrative is too brief to enable us to understand clearly the somewhat anomalous position of Zebul. He seems to have been deposed from his office, and yet to have retained the confidence of Gaal and the Shechemites.<p><span class= "bld">Thou seest the shadow of the mountains.</span>—The shadow advancing as the sun rose. It was, of course, Zebul’s object to keep Gaal deceived as long as possible. But it is evident that Gaal’s suspicions were by no means lulled. Zebul treats him almost as if he were still suffering from the intoxication of his vaunting feast.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-37.htm">Judges 9:37</a></div><div class="verse">And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.</div>(37) <span class= "bld">By the middle of the land.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">by the navel of the land. </span>Probably the expression means some gently-swelling hill, but it perplexed the translators. The Chaldee renders it “the strength,” and the Svriac “the fortification of the land.” In <a href="/ezekiel/38-12.htm" title="To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn your hand on the desolate places that are now inhabited, and on the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the land.">Ezekiel 38:12</a> it is rendered “in the midst of the land.” The LXX. here have the strangely blundering addition, “by sea.”<p><span class= "bld">Another company.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">one head </span>(Vulg., <span class= "ital">cuneus unus</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span><p><span class= "bld">By the plain of Meonenim.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">from the way to the Enchanters’ Terebinth </span>(LXX., “of the oak of those that look away;” Vulg., “which looks toward the oak;” Luther, more correctly, “<span class= "ital">zur Zaubereiche”</span>)<span class= "ital">. Meonen </span>in <a href="/leviticus/19-28.htm" title="You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks on you: I am the LORD.">Leviticus 19:28</a> is rendered “enchantment,” and means especially the kind of “enchantment” which affects the eye (the “evil eye,” &c.), and therefore implies the use of amulets, &c. Hence, though the terebinth is nowhere else mentioned by this particular name, it is at least a probable conjecture that it may be the ancient tree under which Jacob’s family had buried their idolatrous amulets (<a href="/genesis/35-4.htm" title="And they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.">Genesis 35:4</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-38.htm">Judges 9:38</a></div><div class="verse">Then said Zebul unto him, Where <i>is</i> now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who <i>is</i> Abimelech, that we should serve him? <i>is</i> not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.</div>(38) <span class= "bld">Where is now thy mouth . . .?</span><span class= "ital">—</span>“Mouth” here means <span class= "ital">boastfulness. </span>This is usually taken as a bitter taunt, as though Zebul could now safely throw off his deceitful acquiescence in Gaal’s plans. It may be so, for the narrative gives us no further details; but unless Zebul was in some way secured by his own adherents from Gaal’s immediate vengeance, it seems better to take it as a sort of expostulation against Gaal’s past rashness.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-39.htm">Judges 9:39</a></div><div class="verse">And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.</div>(39) <span class= "bld">Before the men of Shechem.</span>—Not merely “in the presence of the Shechemites,” as some of the versions understand it, but as leader of the “lords” of Shechem. (Comp. <a href="/judges/9-23.htm" title="Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:">Judges 9:23</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-40.htm">Judges 9:40</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown <i>and</i> wounded, <i>even</i> unto the entering of the gate.</div>(40) Abimelech <span class= "bld">chased him . . .</span>—He won a complete victory; but Gaal and his forces were able to secure themselves in Shechem. They succeeded in closing the gates against Abimelech, but only at the cost of many lives.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-41.htm">Judges 9:41</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.</div>(41) <span class= "bld">Dwelt at Arumah.</span>—Eusebius and Jerome identify Arumah with Remphis or Arimathea, near Lydda, which is most improbable on every ground. It is clearly some place at no great distance from Shechem which he was still determined to punish.<p><span class= "bld">Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren.</span>—Josephus seems here to supply us with the proper clue, for he says that Zebul accused Gaal to the Shechemites of military cowardice and mismanagement. He seems to have been a deep dissembler. Gaal, however, escaped the fate of the Shechemites by their expulsion of him.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-42.htm">Judges 9:42</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.</div>(42) <span class= "bld">On the morrow.</span>—This is surprising. Possibly, however, there were important agricultural labours to be finished, and Abimelech had lulled them into security by ostentatiously withdrawing his forces.<p>Into the field—“The wide corn-fields at the <span class= "ital">opening </span>of the Valley of Shechem” (Stanley).<p>(42) <span class= "bld">Set the hold on fire.</span>—The words of Jotham (<a href="/judges/9-20.htm" title="But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.">Judges 9:20</a>) had proved prophetic. (For a similar incident see <a href="/1_kings/16-18.htm" title="And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died.">1Kings 16:18</a>—Zimri burnt in the palace at Tirzah.)<p><span class= "bld">Died.</span>—The Vulgate renders it, <span class= "ital">Were killed with the smoke and fire.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-43.htm">Judges 9:43</a></div><div class="verse">And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people <i>were</i> come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them.</div>(43) <span class= "bld">Into three companies.</span>—Why he only made <span class= "ital">three </span>companies this time can only be matter of conjecture.<p><span class= "bld">He rose up against them, and smote them.</span>—He was evidently a man of ruthlessly vindictive temperament, for these people whom he slew were mere husbandmen, not an armed host.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-44.htm">Judges 9:44</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech, and the company that <i>was</i> with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two <i>other</i> companies ran upon all <i>the people</i> that <i>were</i> in the fields, and slew them.</div>(44) <span class= "bld">In the entering of the gate of the city.</span>—This time he was able to intercept the people before they could get back, and he had reserved the post of honour and peril for himself.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-45.htm">Judges 9:45</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that <i>was</i> therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.</div>(45) <span class= "bld">Beat down the city.</span>—Comp. <a href="/2_samuel/17-13.htm" title="Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.">2Samuel 17:13</a>; <a href="/micah/3-12.htm" title="Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.">Micah 3:12</a>.<p>Sowed it with salt.—Nothing can better show his deadly execration against the populace to whom he owed his elevation, and who had been the instrument of his crimes. By this symbolic act he devoted the city to barrenness and desolation. (See <a href="/psalms/107-34.htm" title="A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.">Psalm 107:34</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/29-23.htm" title="And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:">Deuteronomy 29:23</a>; <a href="/job/39-6.htm" title="Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.">Job 39:6</a>, and marg.) “When Milan was taken, in A.D. 1162, it was sown with salt, and the house of Admiral Coligny, A.D. 1572, was sown with salt by the command of Charles IX., king of France” (Wordsworth).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-46.htm">Judges 9:46</a></div><div class="verse">And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard <i>that</i>, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.</div>(46) <span class= "bld">The men of the tower of Shechem.</span>—Evidently the garrison of the house of Millo (<a href="/judges/9-6.htm" title="And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.">Judges 9:6</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Entered into an hold.</span>—The word for “hold” occurs in <a href="/1_samuel/13-6.htm" title="When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.">1Samuel 13:6</a> (“high place”). The LXX. render it “a fortress” (<span class= "ital">ochuroma</span>)<span class= "ital">; </span>Luther, <span class= "ital">“Festung.” </span>In the Æthiopic Version of <a href="/mark/16-15.htm" title="And he said to them, Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.">Mark 16:15</a> a similar word is used for “upper room.” The Vulg. has, “They entered the fane of their god Berith, where they had made their league with him, and from this the place had received its name, and it was strongly fortified.”<p><span class= "bld">Of the house of the god Berith.</span>—Similarly. Arcesilas burnt the Cyrenæns in a tower (<span class= "ital">Herod. iv.</span> 164), and in <a href="//apocrypha.org/1_maccabees/5-43.htm" title="So he went first over unto them, and all the people after him: then all the heathen, being discomfited before him, cast away their weapons, and fled unto the temple that was at Carnaim.">1 Maccabees 5:43</a> the defeated enemy fly for refuge to the temple of Ashtaroth in Karnaim, which Judas takes and burns.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-48.htm">Judges 9:48</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that <i>were</i> with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid <i>it</i> on his shoulder, and said unto the people that <i>were</i> with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, <i>and</i> do as I <i>have done</i>.</div>(48) <span class= "bld">To mount Zalmon.</span>—Evidently the nearest spot where he could get wood for his hideous design. Zalmon means <span class= "ital">shady. </span>In <a href="/psalms/68-14.htm" title="When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.">Psalm 68:14</a> we find “as white as snow in Zalmon,” but whether the same mountain is referred to we cannot tell. It may be any of the hills near Gerizim.<p><span class= "bld">An axe.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">the axes</span>—i.e., he took axes for himself and his army.<p><span class= "bld">Cut down a bough.</span>—The word for “a bough” is <span class= "ital">socath, </span>which does not mean “a bundle of logs,” as the LXX. render it. Every one will recall the scene in <span class= "ital">Macbeth </span>where Malcolm says:—<p>“Let every soldier hew him down a bough,<p>And bear’t before him; thereby shall we shadow<p>The numbers of our host, and make discovery<p>Err in report of us.”—Acts 5, sc. 4.<p>But Abimelech merely wanted combustible materials.<p><span class= "bld">What ye have seen me do.</span>—Comp. what Gideon says in <a href="/judges/7-17.htm" title="And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall you do.">Judges 7:17</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-50.htm">Judges 9:50</a></div><div class="verse">Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.</div>(50) <span class= "bld">Thebez.</span>—One of the cities in the league of “Baal of the Covenant,” perhaps, <span class= "ital">Tubas, </span>ten miles north-east of Shechem, on a mound among the hills.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-51.htm">Judges 9:51</a></div><div class="verse">But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut <i>it</i> to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.</div>(51) <span class= "bld">There was a strong tower within the city.</span>—This constant mention of towers and strongholds (<a href="/judges/8-9.htm" title="And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.">Judges 8:9</a>, &c.) shows the disturbed state of the country, which probably resembled the state of England in the days of King Stephen.<p><span class= "bld">To the top of the tower.</span>—“Standing about the battlements upon the roof of the tower” (Vulg.).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-52.htm">Judges 9:52</a></div><div class="verse">And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.</div>(52) <span class= "bld">Went hard unto the door.</span>—Hard, <span class= "ital">i.e., </span>close. Like other bad men, Abimelech was not lacking in physical courage. He had all his father’s impetuous energy. The peril of such rashness served the Israelites as a perpetual warning (<a href="/2_samuel/11-21.htm" title="Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went you near the wall? then say you, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.">2Samuel 11:21</a>).<p><span class= "bld">To burn it with fire.</span>—He naturally anticipated another hideous success like that at Millo.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-53.htm">Judges 9:53</a></div><div class="verse">And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.</div>(53) <span class= "bld">A piece of a millstone.</span>—The word for millstone is <span class= "ital">receb, </span>literally, <span class= "ital">runner, i.e., </span>the upper millstone, or <span class= "ital">lapis vector, </span>which is whirled round and round over the stationary lower one, <span class= "ital">sheceb </span>(<a href="/deuteronomy/24-6.htm" title="No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he takes a man's life to pledge.">Deuteronomy 24:6</a>).<p><span class= "bld">And all to brake his skull.</span>—This is a mere printer’s error for <span class= "ital">all-to </span>or <span class= "ital">al-to, i.e., </span>utterly, and it has led to the further misreading of “brake.” Others think that it should be printed “all to-brake,” where the <span class= "ital">to </span>is intensive like the German <span class= "ital">ge</span>—as in Chaucer’s “All is to-broken thilke regioun” (<span class= "ital">Knight’s Tale, </span>2,579). But in Latimer we find “they love, and all-to love him” (see <span class= "ital">Bible Word-book, </span>§ 5). The meaning of the verb is “smashed” or “shattered” (LXX., <span class= "ital">suneklase; </span>Vulg., <span class= "ital">confregit; </span>Luther, <span class= "ital">zerbrach</span>)<span class= "ital">. </span>The death of Pyrrhus by a tile flung down by a woman as he rode into the town of Argos is an historic parallel (Pausan. 1:13). The ringleader of an attack on the Jews, who had taken refuge in York Castle in 1190, was similarly killed.<p><span class= "bld">His armour.</span>—<span class= "ital">Celîm, </span>literally, <span class= "ital">implements. </span>(Comp. <a href="/judges/18-11.htm" title="And there went from there of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.">Judges 18:11</a>; <a href="/genesis/27-3.htm" title="Now therefore take, I pray you, your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;">Genesis 27:3</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-54.htm">Judges 9:54</a></div><div class="verse">Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, 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.</div>(54) A woman slew him.—He did not, however, escape the taunt (<a href="/2_samuel/11-21.htm" title="Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went you near the wall? then say you, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.">2Samuel 11:21</a>). We see also from the narrative of the death of Saul in <a href="/2_samuel/1-9.htm" title="He said to me again, Stand, I pray you, on me, and slay me: for anguish is come on me, because my life is yet whole in me.">2Samuel 1:9</a>, <a href="/1_samuel/31-4.htm" title="Then said Saul to his armor bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell on it.">1Samuel 31:4</a>, how sensitive the ancients were about the manner of their death. The same feeling finds ample illustration in Homer and classic writers (Soph. <span class= "ital">Trach., </span>1,064). It was a similar feeling which made Deborah exult in the death of Sisera by the hand of a woman, and the Jews in the murder of Holofernes by Judith. It is remarkable that <span class= "ital">both </span>of the first two Israelite kings die by suicide to avoid a death of greater shame.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-55.htm">Judges 9:55</a></div><div class="verse">And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.</div>(55) <span class= "bld">They departed.</span>—The death of a leader was generally sufficient to break up an ancient army (<a href="/1_samuel/17-51.htm" title="Therefore David ran, and stood on the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.">1Samuel 17:51</a>). “With Abimelech expired this first abortive attempt at monarchy. . . . The true King of Israel is still far in the distance” (Stanley).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/judges/9-56.htm">Judges 9:56</a></div><div class="verse">Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:</div>(56, 57) Thus.—These impressive verses give the explanation of the whole narrative. They are inserted to show that God punishes both individual and national crimes, and that men’s pleasant vices are made the instruments to scourge them. The murderer of his brothers “on one stone” is slain by a stone flung on his head, and the treacherous idolaters are treacherously burnt in the temple of their idol.<p> <div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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