Judges 9:45-49

9:45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled ¹  the city and spread salt over it. ² 

9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem ³  heard the news, they went to the stronghold ⁴  of the temple of El-Berith. ⁵  9:47 Abimelech heard ⁶  that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place. ⁷  9:48 He and all his men ⁸  went up on Mount Zalmon. He ⁹  took an ax ¹⁰  in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it ¹¹  on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” ¹²  9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ¹³  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ¹⁴  All the people ¹⁵  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

[9:45]  ¹ tn Or “destroyed.”

[9:45]  ² tn Heb “sowed it with salt.”

[9:46]  ³ sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.

[9:46]  ⁴ tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.

[9:46]  ⁵ sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.

[9:47]  ⁶ tn Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”

[9:47]  ⁷ tn Heb “were assembled.”

[9:48]  ⁸ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:48]  ⁹ tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

[9:48]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

[9:48]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

[9:48]  ¹² tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

[9:49]  ¹³ tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:49]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

[9:49]  ¹⁵ tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.