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Text -- Judges 9:1-50 (NET)
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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 .
9:25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting bandits in the hills , who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road . But Abimelech found out about it.
9:26 Gaal son of Ebed came through Shechem with his brothers . The leaders of Shechem transferred their loyalty to him.
9:27 They went out to the field , harvested their grapes , squeezed out the juice, and celebrated . They came to the temple of their god and ate , drank , and cursed Abimelech .
9:28 Gaal son of Ebed said , “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem , that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal , and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? Serve the sons of Hamor , the father of Shechem ! But why should we serve Abimelech?
9:29 If only these men were under my command , I would get rid of Abimelech !” He challenged Abimelech , “Muster your army and come out for battle !”
9:30 When Zebul , the city commissioner , heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed , he was furious .
9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech , who was in Arumah , reporting , “Beware ! Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you.
9:32 Now , come up at night with your men and set an ambush in the field outside the city.
9:33 In the morning at sunrise quickly attack the city . When he and his men come out to fight you, do what you can to him.”
9:34 So Abimelech and all his men came up at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into four units .
9:35 When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city’s gate , Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places.
9:36 Gaal saw the men and said to Zebul , “Look , men are coming down from the tops of the hills .” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the hills – it just looks like men .”
9:37 Gaal again said , “Look , men are coming down from the very center of the land . A unit is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners .”
9:38 Zebul said to him , “Where now are your bragging words , ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the men you insulted ? Go out now and fight them!”
9:39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out and fought Abimelech .
9:40 Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ran from him. Many Shechemites fell wounded at the entrance of the gate .
9:41 Abimelech went back to Arumah ; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem .
9:42 The next day the Shechemites came out to the field . When Abimelech heard about it ,
9:43 he took his men and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field . When he saw the people coming out of the city , he attacked and struck them down .
9:44 Abimelech and his units attacked and blocked the entrance to the city’s gate . Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down.
9:45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day . He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled the city and spread salt over it.
9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard the news, they went to the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith .
9:47 Abimelech heard that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place .
9:48 He and all his men went up on Mount Zalmon . He took an ax in his hand and cut off a tree branch . He put it on his shoulder and said to his men , “Quickly , do what you have just seen me do !”
9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech . They put the branches against the stronghold and set fire to it . All the people of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women .
9:50 Abimelech moved on to Thebez ; he besieged and captured it.
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Jdg 9:1; Jdg 9:1; Jdg 9:2; Jdg 9:2; Jdg 9:2; Jdg 9:3; Jdg 9:3; Jdg 9:3; Jdg 9:3; Jdg 9:3; Jdg 9:4; Jdg 9:4; Jdg 9:5; Jdg 9:5; Jdg 9:5; Jdg 9:6; Jdg 9:7; Jdg 9:7; Jdg 9:8; Jdg 9:8; Jdg 9:8; Jdg 9:9; Jdg 9:10; Jdg 9:11; Jdg 9:12; Jdg 9:13; Jdg 9:14; Jdg 9:15; Jdg 9:15; Jdg 9:15; Jdg 9:16; Jdg 9:16; Jdg 9:17; Jdg 9:17; Jdg 9:18; Jdg 9:18; Jdg 9:18; Jdg 9:18; Jdg 9:19; Jdg 9:19; Jdg 9:21; Jdg 9:21; Jdg 9:21; Jdg 9:22; Jdg 9:22; Jdg 9:23; Jdg 9:23; Jdg 9:24; Jdg 9:24; Jdg 9:25; Jdg 9:25; Jdg 9:25; Jdg 9:25; Jdg 9:26; Jdg 9:26; Jdg 9:27; Jdg 9:27; Jdg 9:27; Jdg 9:28; Jdg 9:28; Jdg 9:29; Jdg 9:29; Jdg 9:29; Jdg 9:29; Jdg 9:29; Jdg 9:29; Jdg 9:30; Jdg 9:31; Jdg 9:31; Jdg 9:31; Jdg 9:31; Jdg 9:32; Jdg 9:32; Jdg 9:32; Jdg 9:33; Jdg 9:34; Jdg 9:34; Jdg 9:36; Jdg 9:36; Jdg 9:37; Jdg 9:37; Jdg 9:37; Jdg 9:38; Jdg 9:38; Jdg 9:38; Jdg 9:39; Jdg 9:40; Jdg 9:40; Jdg 9:41; Jdg 9:41; Jdg 9:42; Jdg 9:42; Jdg 9:43; Jdg 9:43; Jdg 9:43; Jdg 9:44; Jdg 9:44; Jdg 9:45; Jdg 9:45; Jdg 9:45; Jdg 9:46; Jdg 9:46; Jdg 9:46; Jdg 9:47; Jdg 9:47; Jdg 9:48; Jdg 9:48; Jdg 9:48; Jdg 9:48; Jdg 9:48; Jdg 9:49; Jdg 9:49; Jdg 9:49; Jdg 9:50; Jdg 9:50
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:6 The translation assumes that the form in the Hebrew text (מֻצָּב, mutsav) is a corruption of an original מ...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:9 Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translat...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:11 Heb “Should I stop my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees? The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of ...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:13 Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation refle...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:22 Abimelech commanded Israel. Perhaps while ruling as king over the city-state of Shechem, Abimelech also became a leader of the Israelite tribal allian...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:23 Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:24 Heb “so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal might come, and their blood might be placed on Abimelech, their brother, who mu...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:26 Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance wit...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:28 Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:31 The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is b...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:33 Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds [to do].”
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:34 Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:37 Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:40 The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:45 The spreading of salt over the city was probably a symbolic act designed to place the site under a curse, deprive it of fertility, and prevent any fut...
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:46 The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.
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NET Notes: Jdg 9:49 Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.
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