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Selected Verse: Judges 9:1 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Jud 9:1	Strong Concordance	And Abimelech [040] the son [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378] went [03212] to Shechem [07927] unto his mother's [0517] brethren [0251], and communed [01696] with them, and with all the family [04940] of the house [01004] of his mother's [0517] father [01], saying [0559],
	King James	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,

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
ABIMELECH IS MADE KING BY THE SHECHEMITES. (Jdg 9:1-6) Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem--The idolatry which had been stealthily creeping into Israel during the latter years of Gideon was now openly professed; Shechem was wholly inhabited by its adherents; at least, idolaters had the ascendency. Abimelech, one of Gideon's numerous sons, was connected with that place. Ambitious of sovereign power, and having plied successfully the arts of a demagogue with his maternal relatives and friends, he acquired both the influence and money by which he raised himself to a throne. communed . . . with all the family of the house of his mother's father--Here is a striking instance of the evils of polygamy--one son has connections and interests totally alien to those of his brothers.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

ABIMELECH IS MADE KING BY THE SHECHEMITES. (Jdg 9:1-6)

Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem--The idolatry which had been stealthily creeping into Israel during the latter years of Gideon was now openly professed; Shechem was wholly inhabited by its adherents; at least, idolaters had the ascendency. Abimelech, one of Gideon's numerous sons, was connected with that place. Ambitious of sovereign power, and having plied successfully the arts of a demagogue with his maternal relatives and friends, he acquired both the influence and money by which he raised himself to a throne.

communed . . . with all the family of the house of his mother's father--Here is a striking instance of the evils of polygamy--one son has connections and interests totally alien to those of his brothers.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
We are not told how soon after the death of Gideon these events happened. There must have been time for the apostacy and establishment of Baal-worship, and for the development of ill-will between Abimelech and his brethren.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Jdg 9:1-2 Having gone to Shechem, the home of his mother (Jdg 8:31), Abimelech applied to his mother's brothers and the whole family (all the relations) of the father's house of his mother, and addressed them thus: "Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the lords of Shechem," i.e., speak to them publicly and solemnly. שׁכם בּעלי, the lords, i.e., the possessors or citizens of Shechem (compare Jdg 9:46 with Jdg 9:49, where מגדּל בּעלי is interchangeable with אנשׁי a; also Jdg 20:5, and Jos 24:11): they are not merely Canaanitish citizens, of whom there were some still living in Shechem according to Jdg 9:28, but all the citizens of the town; therefore chiefly Israelites. "What is better for you, that seventy men rule over you, all the sons of Jerubbaal, or (only) one man (i.e., Abimelech)? and remember that I am your flesh and bone" (blood relation, Gen 29:14). The name "sons of Jerubbaal," i.e., of the man who had destroyed the altar of Baal, was just as little adapted to commend the sons of Gideon to the Shechemites, who were devoted to the worship of Baal, as the remark that seventy men were to rule over them. No such rule ever existed, or was even aspired to by the seventy sons of Gideon. But Abimelech assumed that his brothers possessed the same thirst for ruling as he did himself; and the citizens of Shechem might be all the more ready to put faith in his assertions, since the distinction which Gideon had enjoyed was thoroughly adapted to secure a prominent place in the nation for his sons. Jdg 9:3 When his mother's brethren spake to the citizens of Shechem concerning him, i.e., respecting him and his proposal, their heart turned to Abimelech. Jdg 9:4-5 They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the house of Baal-berith, i.e., from the treasury of the temple that was dedicated to the covenant Baal at Shechem, as temple treasures were frequently applied to political purposes (see Kg1 15:18). With this money Abimelech easily hired light and desperate men, who followed him (attached themselves to him); and with their help he murdered his brethren at Ophrah, seventy men, with the exception of Jotham the youngest, who had hidden himself. The number seventy, the total number of his brethren, is reduced by the exception mentioned immediately afterwards to sixty-nine who were really put to death. ריק, empty, i.e., without moral restraint. פּחז lit. gurgling up, boiling over; figuratively, hot, desperate men. "Upon (against) one stone," that is to say, by a formal execution: a bloody omen of the kingdom of ten tribes, which was afterwards founded at Shechem by the Ephraimite Jeroboam, in which one dynasty overthrew another, and generally sought to establish its power by exterminating the whole family of the dynasty that had been overthrown (see Kg1 15:27., Kg2 10:1.). Even in Judah, Athaliah the worshipper of Baal sought to usurp the government by exterminating the whole of the descendants of her son (2 Kings 11). Such fratricides have also occurred in quite recent times in the Mohammedan countries of the East. Jdg 9:6 "Then all the citizens of Shechem assembled together, and all the house of Millo, and made Abimelech king at the memorial terebinth at Shechem." Millo is unquestionably the name of the castle or citadel of the town of Shechem, which is called the tower of Shechem in Jdg 9:46-49. The word Millo (Chaldee מלּיתא) signifies primarily a rampart, inasmuch as it consisted of two walls, with the space between them filled with rubbish. There was also a Millo at Jerusalem (Sa2 5:9; Kg1 9:15). "All the house of Millo" are all the inhabitants of the castle, the same persons who are described in Jdg 9:46 as "all the men (baale) of the tower." The meaning of מצּב אלון is doubtful. מצּב, the thing set up, is a military post in Isa 29:3; but it may also mean a monument of memorial, and here it probably denotes the large stone set up as a memorial at Shechem under the oak or terebinth (see Gen 35:4). The inhabitants of Shechem, the worshippers of Baal-berith, carried out the election of Abimelech as king in the very same place in which Joshua had held the last national assembly, and had renewed the covenant of Israel with Jehovah the true covenant God (Jos 24:1, Jos 24:25-26). It was there in all probability that the temple of Baal-berith was to be found, namely, according to Jdg 9:46, near the tower of Shechem or the citadel of Millo.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Jdg 9:1-2

Having gone to Shechem, the home of his mother (Jdg 8:31), Abimelech applied to his mother's brothers and the whole family (all the relations) of the father's house of his mother, and addressed them thus: "Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the lords of Shechem," i.e., speak to them publicly and solemnly. שׁכם בּעלי, the lords, i.e., the possessors or citizens of Shechem (compare Jdg 9:46 with Jdg 9:49, where מגדּל בּעלי is interchangeable with אנשׁי a; also Jdg 20:5, and Jos 24:11): they are not merely Canaanitish citizens, of whom there were some still living in Shechem according to Jdg 9:28, but all the citizens of the town; therefore chiefly Israelites. "What is better for you, that seventy men rule over you, all the sons of Jerubbaal, or (only) one man (i.e., Abimelech)? and remember that I am your flesh and bone" (blood relation, Gen 29:14). The name "sons of Jerubbaal," i.e., of the man who had destroyed the altar of Baal, was just as little adapted to commend the sons of Gideon to the Shechemites, who were devoted to the worship of Baal, as the remark that seventy men were to rule over them. No such rule ever existed, or was even aspired to by the seventy sons of Gideon. But Abimelech assumed that his brothers possessed the same thirst for ruling as he did himself; and the citizens of Shechem might be all the more ready to put faith in his assertions, since the distinction which Gideon had enjoyed was thoroughly adapted to secure a prominent place in the nation for his sons.

Jdg 9:3

When his mother's brethren spake to the citizens of Shechem concerning him, i.e., respecting him and his proposal, their heart turned to Abimelech.

Jdg 9:4-5

They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the house of Baal-berith, i.e., from the treasury of the temple that was dedicated to the covenant Baal at Shechem, as temple treasures were frequently applied to political purposes (see Kg1 15:18). With this money Abimelech easily hired light and desperate men, who followed him (attached themselves to him); and with their help he murdered his brethren at Ophrah, seventy men, with the exception of Jotham the youngest, who had hidden himself. The number seventy, the total number of his brethren, is reduced by the exception mentioned immediately afterwards to sixty-nine who were really put to death. ריק, empty, i.e., without moral restraint. פּחז lit. gurgling up, boiling over; figuratively, hot, desperate men. "Upon (against) one stone," that is to say, by a formal execution: a bloody omen of the kingdom of ten tribes, which was afterwards founded at Shechem by the Ephraimite Jeroboam, in which one dynasty overthrew another, and generally sought to establish its power by exterminating the whole family of the dynasty that had been overthrown (see Kg1 15:27., Kg2 10:1.). Even in Judah, Athaliah the worshipper of Baal sought to usurp the government by exterminating the whole of the descendants of her son (2 Kings 11). Such fratricides have also occurred in quite recent times in the Mohammedan countries of the East.

Jdg 9:6

"Then all the citizens of Shechem assembled together, and all the house of Millo, and made Abimelech king at the memorial terebinth at Shechem." Millo is unquestionably the name of the castle or citadel of the town of Shechem, which is called the tower of Shechem in Jdg 9:46-49. The word Millo (Chaldee מלּיתא) signifies primarily a rampart, inasmuch as it consisted of two walls, with the space between them filled with rubbish. There was also a Millo at Jerusalem (Sa2 5:9; Kg1 9:15). "All the house of Millo" are all the inhabitants of the castle, the same persons who are described in Jdg 9:46 as "all the men (baale) of the tower." The meaning of מצּב אלון is doubtful. מצּב, the thing set up, is a military post in Isa 29:3; but it may also mean a monument of memorial, and here it probably denotes the large stone set up as a memorial at Shechem under the oak or terebinth (see Gen 35:4). The inhabitants of Shechem, the worshippers of Baal-berith, carried out the election of Abimelech as king in the very same place in which Joshua had held the last national assembly, and had renewed the covenant of Israel with Jehovah the true covenant God (Jos 24:1, Jos 24:25-26). It was there in all probability that the temple of Baal-berith was to be found, namely, according to Jdg 9:46, near the tower of Shechem or the citadel of Millo.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Abimelech - went to Shechem - We have already seen that Abimelech was the son of Gideon, by his concubine at Shechem. His going thither immediately after his father's death was to induce his townsmen to proclaim him governor in the place of his father. Shechem was the residence of his mother, and of all her relatives.

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¹ And Abimelech [040] the son [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378] went [03212] to Shechem [07927] unto his mother's [0517] brethren [0251], and communed [01696] with them, and with all the family [04940] of the house [01004] of his mother's [0517] father [01], saying [0559],
² Speak [01696], I pray you, in the ears [0241] of all the men [01167] of Shechem [07927], Whether is better [02896] for you, either that all the sons [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378], which are threescore and ten [07657] persons [0376], reign [04910] over you, or that one [0259] reign [04910] over you? remember [02142] also that I am your bone [06106] and your flesh [01320].
³ And his mother's [0517] brethren [0251] spake [01696] of him in the ears [0241] of all the men [01167] of Shechem [07927] all these words [01697]: and their hearts [03820] inclined [05186] to follow [0310] Abimelech [040]; for they said [0559], He is our brother [0251].
⁴ And they gave [05414] him threescore and ten [07657] pieces of silver [03701] out of the house [01004] of Baalberith [01170], wherewith Abimelech [040] hired [07936] vain [07386] and light [06348] persons [0582], which followed [03212] him [0310].
⁵ And he went [0935] unto his father's [01] house [01004] at Ophrah [06084], and slew [02026] his brethren [0251] the sons [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378], being threescore and ten [07657] persons [0376], upon one [0259] stone [068]: notwithstanding yet Jotham [03147] the youngest [06996] son [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378] was left [03498]; for he hid [02244] himself.
⁶ And all the men [01167] of Shechem [07927] gathered together [0622], and all the house [01004] of Millo [04407] [01037], and went [03212], and made [04427] Abimelech [040] king [04428], by the plain [0436] of the pillar [05324] that was in Shechem [07927].

⁴⁶ And when all the men [01167] of the tower [04026] of Shechem [07927] heard [08085] that, they entered [0935] into an hold [06877] of the house [01004] of the god [0410] Berith [01286].

²⁵ So Joshua [03091] made [03772] a covenant [01285] with the people [05971] that day [03117], and set [07760] them a statute [02706] and an ordinance [04941] in Shechem [07927].
²⁶ And Joshua [03091] wrote [03789] these words [01697] in the book [05612] of the law [08451] of God [0430], and took [03947] a great [01419] stone [068], and set it up [06965] there under an oak [0427], that was by the sanctuary [04720] of the LORD [03068].

¹ And Joshua [03091] gathered [0622] all the tribes [07626] of Israel [03478] to Shechem [07927], and called [07121] for the elders [02205] of Israel [03478], and for their heads [07218], and for their judges [08199], and for their officers [07860]; and they presented [03320] themselves before [06440] God [0430].

⁴ And they gave [05414] unto Jacob [03290] all the strange [05236] gods [0430] which were in their hand [03027], and all their earrings [05141] which were in their ears [0241]; and Jacob [03290] hid [02934] them under the oak [0424] which was by Shechem [07927].

³ And I will camp [02583] against thee round about [01754], and will lay siege [06696] against thee with a mount [04674], and I will raise [06965] forts [04694] against thee.

⁴⁶ And when all the men [01167] of the tower [04026] of Shechem [07927] heard [08085] that, they entered [0935] into an hold [06877] of the house [01004] of the god [0410] Berith [01286].

¹⁵ And this is the reason [01697] of the levy [04522] which king [04428] Solomon [08010] raised [05927]; for to build [01129] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and his own house [01004], and Millo [04407], and the wall [02346] of Jerusalem [03389], and Hazor [02674], and Megiddo [04023], and Gezer [01507].

⁹ So David [01732] dwelt [03427] in the fort [04686], and called [07121] it the city [05892] of David [01732]. And David [01732] built [01129] round about [05439] from Millo [04407] and inward [01004].

⁴⁶ And when all the men [01167] of the tower [04026] of Shechem [07927] heard [08085] that, they entered [0935] into an hold [06877] of the house [01004] of the god [0410] Berith [01286].
⁴⁷ And it was told [05046] Abimelech [040], that all the men [01167] of the tower [04026] of Shechem [07927] were gathered together [06908].
⁴⁸ And Abimelech [040] gat him up [05927] to mount [02022] Zalmon [06756], he and all the people [05971] that were with him; and Abimelech [040] took [03947] an axe [07134] in his hand [03027], and cut down [03772] a bough [07754] from the trees [06086], and took [05375] it, and laid [07760] it on his shoulder [07926], and said [0559] unto the people [05971] that were with him, What ye have seen [07200] me do [06213], make haste [04116], and do [06213] as I [03644] have done.
⁴⁹ And all the people [05971] likewise cut down [03772] every man [0376] his bough [07754], and followed [03212] [0310] Abimelech [040], and put [07760] them to the hold [06877], and set [03341] the hold [06877] on fire [0784] upon them; so that all the men [0582] of the tower [04026] of Shechem [07927] died [04191] also, about a thousand [0505] men [0376] and women [0802].

⁶ And all the men [01167] of Shechem [07927] gathered together [0622], and all the house [01004] of Millo [04407] [01037], and went [03212], and made [04427] Abimelech [040] king [04428], by the plain [0436] of the pillar [05324] that was in Shechem [07927].

¹ And Ahab [0256] had seventy [07657] sons [01121] in Samaria [08111]. And Jehu [03058] wrote [03789] letters [05612], and sent [07971] to Samaria [08111], unto the rulers [08269] of Jezreel [03157], to the elders [02205], and to them that brought up [0539] Ahab's [0256] children, saying [0559],

²⁷ And Baasha [01201] the son [01121] of Ahijah [0281], of the house [01004] of Issachar [03485], conspired [07194] against him; and Baasha [01201] smote [05221] him at Gibbethon [01405], which belonged to the Philistines [06430]; for Nadab [05070] and all Israel [03478] laid siege [06696] to Gibbethon [01405].

¹⁸ Then Asa [0609] took [03947] all the silver [03701] and the gold [02091] that were left [03498] in the treasures [0214] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and the treasures [0214] of the king's [04428] house [01004], and delivered [05414] them into the hand [03027] of his servants [05650]: and king [04428] Asa [0609] sent [07971] them to Benhadad [01130], the son [01121] of Tabrimon [02886], the son [01121] of Hezion [02383], king [04428] of Syria [0758], that dwelt [03427] at Damascus [01834], saying [0559],

⁴ And they gave [05414] him threescore and ten [07657] pieces of silver [03701] out of the house [01004] of Baalberith [01170], wherewith Abimelech [040] hired [07936] vain [07386] and light [06348] persons [0582], which followed [03212] him [0310].
⁵ And he went [0935] unto his father's [01] house [01004] at Ophrah [06084], and slew [02026] his brethren [0251] the sons [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378], being threescore and ten [07657] persons [0376], upon one [0259] stone [068]: notwithstanding yet Jotham [03147] the youngest [06996] son [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378] was left [03498]; for he hid [02244] himself.

³ And his mother's [0517] brethren [0251] spake [01696] of him in the ears [0241] of all the men [01167] of Shechem [07927] all these words [01697]: and their hearts [03820] inclined [05186] to follow [0310] Abimelech [040]; for they said [0559], He is our brother [0251].

¹⁴ And Laban [03837] said [0559] to him, Surely [0389] thou art my bone [06106] and my flesh [01320]. And he abode [03427] with him the space [03117] of a month [02320].

²⁸ And Gaal [01603] the son [01121] of Ebed [05651] said [0559], Who is Abimelech [040], and who is Shechem [07927], that we should serve [05647] him? is not he the son [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378]? and Zebul [02083] his officer [06496]? serve [05647] the men [0582] of Hamor [02544] the father [01] of Shechem [07927]: for why should we serve [05647] him?

¹¹ And ye went over [05674] Jordan [03383], and came [0935] unto Jericho [03405]: and the men [01167] of Jericho [03405] fought [03898] against you, the Amorites [0567], and the Perizzites [06522], and the Canaanites [03669], and the Hittites [02850], and the Girgashites [01622], the Hivites [02340], and the Jebusites [02983]; and I delivered [05414] them into your hand [03027].

⁵ And the men [01167] of Gibeah [01390] rose [06965] against me, and beset [05437] the house [01004] round about [05437] upon me by night [03915], and thought [01819] to have slain [02026] me: and my concubine [06370] have they forced [06031], that she is dead [04191].

⁴⁹ And all the people [05971] likewise cut down [03772] every man [0376] his bough [07754], and followed [03212] [0310] Abimelech [040], and put [07760] them to the hold [06877], and set [03341] the hold [06877] on fire [0784] upon them; so that all the men [0582] of the tower [04026] of Shechem [07927] died [04191] also, about a thousand [0505] men [0376] and women [0802].

⁴⁶ And when all the men [01167] of the tower [04026] of Shechem [07927] heard [08085] that, they entered [0935] into an hold [06877] of the house [01004] of the god [0410] Berith [01286].

³¹ And his concubine [06370] that was in Shechem [07927], she also bare [03205] him a son [01121], whose name [08034] he called [07760] Abimelech [040].