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Texts -- Judges 9:1-24 (NET)

Context
Abimelech Murders His Brothers
9:1 Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives . He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family , 9:2 “Tell all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want to have seventy men , all Jerub-Baal’s sons , ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler ? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood .’” 9:3 His mother’s relatives spoke on his behalf to all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal . The leaders were drawn to Abimelech ; they said , “He is our close relative .” 9:4 They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith . Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless , dangerous men as his followers . 9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers , the seventy legitimate sons of Jerub-Baal , on one stone . Only Jotham , Jerub-Baal’s youngest son , escaped , because he hid . 9:6 All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled and then went and made Abimelech king by the oak near the pillar in Shechem .
Jotham’s Parable
9:7 When Jotham heard the news, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim . He spoke loudly to the people below, “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem , so that God may listen to you! 9:8 “The trees were determined to go out and choose a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree , ‘Be our king !’ 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil , which is used to honor gods and men , just to sway above the other trees !’ 9:10 “So the trees said to the fig tree , ‘You come and be our king !’ 9:11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my sweet figs, my excellent fruit , just to sway above the other trees !’ 9:12 “So the trees said to the grapevine , ‘You come and be our king !’ 9:13 But the grapevine said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my wine , which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees !’ 9:14 “So all the trees said to the thornbush , ‘You come and be our king !’ 9:15 The thornbush said to the trees , ‘If you really want to choose me as your king , then come along , find safety under my branches ! Otherwise may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon !’ 9:16 “Now , if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king , if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family , if you have properly repaid repaid him– 9:17 my father fought for you; he risked his life and delivered you from Midian’s power . 9:18 But you have attacked my father’s family today . You murdered his seventy legitimate sons on one stone and made Abimelech , the son of his female slave , king over the leaders of Shechem , just because he is your close relative . 9:19 So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub-Baal and his family today , then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness ! 9:20 But if not , may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo ! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech !” 9:21 Then Jotham ran away to Beer and lived there to escape from Abimelech his half-brother .
God Fulfills Jotham’s Curse
9:22 Abimelech commanded Israel for three years . 9:23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem . He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal to Abimelech . 9:24 He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech , their half-brother who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood , along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Shechem

    [isbe] SHECHEM - she'-kem (shekhem, "shoulder"; Suchem, he Sikima, ta Sikima, etc.; the King James Version gives "Sichem" in Gen 12:6; and "Sychem" in Acts 7:16): 1. Historical: This place is first mentioned in connection with Abra...
    [smith] (back or shoulder). An important city in central Palestine, in the valley between mounts Ebal and Gerizim, 34 miles north of Jerusalem and 7 miles southeast of Samaria. Its present name, Nablus , is a corruption of Neapolis,...
    [nave] SHECHEM 1. Called also Sichem and Sychem, a district in the central part of the land of Canaan. Abraham dwells in, Gen. 12:6. Jacob buys a piece of ground in, and erects an altar, Gen. 33:18-20. The flocks and herds of Jac...

  • REIGN

    [isbe] REIGN - ran: The Hebrew word malekhuth, may be rendered "kinghood," "royal dignity," "kingdom," "government" ("reign"). The verb is malakh, "to be king" ("to reign as king"), "to become king," "to accede to the throne," "to ...

  • PERSON, PERSONALITY

    [isbe] PERSON, PERSONALITY - pur'-sun, pur'-s'n, pur-un-al'-ti (nephesh, 'ish, 'adham, panim, prosopon, hupostasis): The most frequent word for "person" in the Old Testament is nephesh, "soul" (Gen 14:21, "Give me the persons, and ...

  • PALESTINE, 2

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 2 - III. Palestine in the Historic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Joshua: Joshua is the great geographical book of the Old Testament; and the large majority of the 600 names of places, rivers and mountains...

  • Olive-tree

    [ebd] is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The dove from the ark brought an olive-branch to Noah (Gen. 8:11). It is mentioned among the most notable trees of Palestine, where it was cultivated long before the time of the Hebrews ...

  • OLIVE TREE

    [isbe] OLIVE TREE - ol'-iv tre (zayith, a word occurring also in Aramaic, Ethiopic and Arabic; in the last it means "olive oil," and zaitun, "the olive tree"; elaia): 1. The Olive Tree: The olive tree has all through history been o...

  • Magistrate

    [ebd] a public civil officer invested with authority. The Hebrew shophetim, or judges, were magistrates having authority in the land (Deut. 1:16, 17). In Judg. 18:7 the word "magistrate" (A.V.) is rendered in the Revised Version "...

  • MILLO, THE HOUSE OF

    [smith] Apparently a family or clan, mentioned in (Judges 9:6,20) only, in connection with the men or lords of Shechem. The spot at which King Joash was murdered by his slaves. (2 Kings 12:20)

  • Lord

    [ebd] There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered. (1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews. The form "Jehovah" is retain...

  • KING; KINGDOM

    [isbe] KING; KINGDOM - king'-dum: I. KING 1. Etymology and Definition 2. Earliest Kings 3. Biblical Signification of the Title II. KINGDOM 1. Israel's Theocracy 2. Period of Judges 3. Establishment of the Monarchy 4. Appointment of...

  • Judge

    [nave] JUDGE Appointed by Persians, Ezra 7:25. Kings and other rulers as, 2 Sam. 8:15; 15:2; 1 Kin. 3:16-28; 10:9; 2 Kin. 8:1-6; Psa. 72:1-4; Matt. 27:11-26; Acts 23:34, 35; 24; 25:11, 12. Priests and Levites as, Deut. 17:9; 2 Ch...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • ISRAEL, RELIGION OF, 1

    [isbe] ISRAEL, RELIGION OF, 1 - || I. INTRODUCTION: HISTORICAL CONSIDERATION OF THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL II. HISTORICAL OUTLINE 1. Pre-Mosaic Religion of the Ancestors of Israel (1) The Traditional View (2) The Modern View (3) A High...

  • HAMOR

    [isbe] HAMOR - ha'-mor (chamor, "an ass"; Emmor): Hamor was the father of Shechem from whom Jacob bought a piece of ground on his return from Paddan-aram for one hundred pieces of silver (Gen 33:19), and the burial place of Joseph ...

  • FOOD

    [isbe] FOOD - food: I. VEGETABLE FOODS 1. Primitive Habits 2. Cereals 3. Leguminous Plants 4. Food of Trees II. ANIMAL FOOD LITERATURE In a previous article (see BREAD) it has been shown that in the Bible "bread" usually stands for...

  • FABLE

    [ebd] applied in the New Testament to the traditions and speculations, "cunningly devised fables", of the Jews on religious questions (1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16). In such passages the word means anything...
    [isbe] FABLE - fa'-b'-l (muthos): (1) Primitive man conceives of the objects around him as possessing his own characteristics. Consequently in his stories, beasts, trees, rocks, etc., think, talk and act exactly as if they were hum...
    [smith] A fable is a narrative in which being irrational, and sometimes inanimate, are, for the purpose of moral instruction, feigned to act and speak with human interests and passions. --Encyc. Brit. The fable differs from the parab...

  • Beelzebub

    [ebd] (Gr. form Beel'zebul), the name given to Satan, and found only in the New Testament (Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22). It is probably the same as Baalzebub (q.v.), the god of Ekron, meaning "the lord of flies," or, as othe...

  • Atad

    [ebd] buckthorn, a place where Joseph and his brethren, when on their way from Egypt to Hebron with the remains of their father Jacob, made for seven days a "great and very sore lamentation." On this account the Canaanites called ...

  • Abimelech

    [ebd] my father a king, or father of a king, a common name of the Philistine kings, as "Pharaoh" was of the Egyptian kings. (1.) The Philistine king of Gerar in the time of Abraham (Gen. 20:1-18). By an interposition of Providence...
    [isbe] ABIMELECH - a-bim'-e-lek ('abhimelekh, "father of a king"): A name borne by five Old Testament persons. (1) The name of two kings of Philistia; the first was a contemporary of Abraham, the second, probably son of the former,...
    [nave] ABIMELECH 1. King of Gerar, Gen. 20; 21:22-32. 2. King of Gerar, Gen. 26. 3. Son of Gideon, Judg. 8:31; 9; 2 Sam. 11:21. 4. See: Achish; Ahimelech.

  • ACCOMMODATION

    [isbe] ACCOMMODATION - a-kom-mo-da'-shun: I. INTRODUCTORY 1. Three Uses of the Term 2. The Importance of the Subject II. ACCOMMODATED APPLICATION OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 1. Interpretation a Science 2. Scientific Accommodation III. DO...

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • All was not well in Abraham's household. Ishmael was a potential rival to Isaac's inheritance. This section records another crisis in the story of Abraham's heir.Normally the son of a concubine became the heir of his mother b...
  • 3:1-12 Horeb is another name for Sinai (v. 1). It probably indicates a range of mountains rather than a particular mountain peak. The writer called it "the mountain of God"because it was the place where God later gave the Mos...
  • I. The reason for Israel's apostasy 1:1-3:6A. Hostilities between the Israelites and the Canaanites after Joshua's death 1:1-2:51. Initial successes and failures ch. 12. The announcement of God's discipline 2:1-5B. Israel's c...
  • The first major section in the book (1:1-3:6) explains very clearly why the period of the judges was a dark chapter in Israel's history. God revealed the reasons for Israel's apostasy and consequent national problems in terms...
  • Israel's JudgesJudgeScriptureIsrael's OppressorsLength in YearsNation(s)King(s)OppressionJudgeshipPeaceOthniel3:7-11MesopotamiaCushan-rishathaim8(ca. 1358-1350 B.C.)40(ca. 1350-1310 B.C.)Ehud3:12-30Moab (with Ammon & Amal...
  • The writer of Judges structured this book so the story of Gideon would be its focal center."Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between th...
  • Tanner also pointed out that the Gideon narrative consists of five primary structural sections."The first section (6:1-10) provides the introduction and setting before Gideon's debut, the second section (6:11-32) gives the co...
  • These verses wrap up the story of Gideon and introduce the story of Abimelech that follows (ch. 9).Gideon enjoyed the fruits of his heroism for the rest of his life. He was wealthy enough to afford many wives who bore him 70 ...
  • Though Gideon had rejected kingship officially (8:23), though not practically, Abimelech desired it for himself. He also hated his half-brothers, presumably because he was the son of a concubine rather than the son of one of ...
  • Before Abimelech's sole surviving brother went into hiding he uttered a protest against Abimelech that predicted the effect of his rule. Jotham (lit. Yahweh is perfect, honest) stood on the same mountain where six of Israel's...
  • Abimelech's rule over Israel appears to have been very small in scope as well as short in duration. He was only the ruler of Shechem and its surrounding territory. He evidently lived in Arumah about five miles to the southeas...
  • Verses 1-3 provide information about Jephthah's personal background. His name means "He [an unspecified deity] has opened [the womb]."Jephthah lived on the east side of the Jordan River. Unlike Gideon he was a courageous and ...
  • Verses 1-33 record Jephthah's success. The rest of his story (11:34-12:7) relates his failure. The writer likewise recorded Gideon's success first (6:1-8:23) and then his failure (8:24-9:57). We shall find a similar pattern w...
  • The writer's emphasis now shifts from Jephthah's foolishness to Ephraim's arrogance.The Ephraimites were the Gileadites' neighbors to the west. They resented the fact that Jephthah had not requested their assistance in the wa...
  • The following two extended incidents (ch. 17-21) differ from the records of the judges just completed (chs. 3-16). They are not accounts of the activities of any of Israel's judges. They are the record of events that took pla...
  • The Danites' defeat of the inhabitants of Laish appears cruel and unjustified (cf. 9:45-49). The town that seemed so desirable to the spies was really vulnerable and isolated. Its advantages proved to be weaknesses. Since God...
  • The Book of Joshua recorded Israel's victory over her enemies through trust in and obedience to God. The Book of Judges shows the defeat of the nation by its enemies from without and within due to refusal to trust and obey Go...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. Land of the Bible. Phildelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The...
  • "In addition to being the middle chapter of 1 Samuel, chapter 16 is pivotal in another way as well: Its first half (vv. 1-13), ending with a statement concerning David's reception of the Spirit of God, describes David's anoin...
  • God blessed Amaziah by allowing him to subdue the Edomites who had revolted from Judean control during the reign of Judah's king Jehoram (cf. 2 Chron. 25:5-16). The Valley of Salt lay south of the Salt (Dead) Sea in the Araba...
  • 10:9 The Israelites had sinned consistently since the days of the atrocity at Gibeah (Judg. 19-20; cf. 9:9; Isa. 1:10). The prophet visualized them as warriors standing at Gibeah. He asked rhetorically if the Lord's battle ag...
  • 11:1 The prophet announced in vigorous poetic language that Lebanon's famous cedars would perish. The Israelites referred to the royal palace in Jerusalem as Lebanon because it contained so much cedar from Lebanon (Jer. 22:23...
  • The mustard seed was so small that the Jews used it proverbially to represent a very small thing.544When mature, the mustard plant stood 10 to 12 feet tall as "the largest of garden plants"(NIV).545Consequently it became a pe...
  • The kingdom of God is the messianic kingdom that the Old Testament predicted. It would be an earthly kingdom over which Messiah would rule for 1, 000 years (Rev. 20:4-6). It is similar to a mustard seed in that it had a small...
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