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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
9:1-57 Abimelech, Apostate "King." This is an extended account of Abimelech's violent grab for power. The seeds of his offense are found in Israel's continuing apostasy, in its request for a warrior-king and rejection of the Lord, and in his father Gideon's misdeeds and mistakes.
9:1-6 Abimelech's Sordid Rise. Abimelech rose to power by ruthlessly killing his own brothers, with the help of the Shechemites. He was then "made king" at Shechem (v. 6). Jerubbaal. That is, Gideon (see 8:35 and note on 6:32). worthless and reckless fellows. Abimelech's character can be judged by the company that he kept, as can Jephthah's (cf. 11:3).
9:7-21 Indictment of Abimelech: Jotham's Fable. Jotham, the only brother of Abimelech who escaped his murderous rampage, provided a strong indictment of Abimelech's actions by means of a fable (vv. 7-20). The fable depicts the noble trees of the forest each in turn rejecting the call to kingship, which is finally accepted by the ignoble bramble bush (vv. 8-15). In this context, it is an indictment of the Shechemites (who have chosen the ignoble Abimelech as king), of Abimelech himself, and of the process by which this "king" was chosen (see esp. Jotham's comments in vv. 16-20). It is not an indictment of the institution of kingship in general, however, since the overall thrust of the book is that a proper king would have been good for Israel.
9:7 Mount Gerizim. When Israel had entered the land, they proclaimed the blessings of the covenant from this mountain (Josh. 8:30-35) as Moses had commanded (Deut. 11:26-32). Now Abimelech utters curses from this "mountain of blessing" (see note on Judg. 9:20).
9:20 let fire come out. Jotham's challenge to the Shechemites and Abimelech was dramatically resolved when fire from Abimelech devoured a large number of Shechemites and a Shechemite woman killed Abimelech (vv. 49, 54).
9:22-55 Abimelech's Violent Reign and End. The Shechemites and Abimelech deserved each other. Abimelech, who was aided by the Shechemites, was himself now the target of their lawlessness, and discord prevailed between them (vv. 22-25)--a discord that spread into open revolt under Gaal (vv. 26-33). Abimelech was able to quell the revolt, and he razed Shechem (vv. 34-45). He also destroyed the stronghold of Shechem (its tower), burning it with fire (vv. 46-49). Abimelech himself met his end at nearby Thebez (vv. 50-55), where he also attempted to burn its tower but instead was mortally wounded by a stone dropped from it by a woman.
9:22 Ruled has the nuance "rule (as prince or commander)"; it is not the more usual word for "rule (as king)" used in 8:22-23. The ignoble Abimelech, who had been "made king" by the people, not by God (9:6), could only "rule" as a secondary commander, not as a true king.
9:23 an evil spirit. Cf. the "evil (or harmful) spirit" God sent to Saul (1 Sam. 16:14, 15, 16, 23a, 23b; 18:10; 19:9; see note on 1 Sam. 16:14). Here, the spirit is between Abimelech and the Shechemites, probably "a spirit of ill will" or "a harmful spirit" between the parties. In this way, God himself brought about the estrangement between the two sides.
9:45 sowed it with salt. This physical yet symbolic action signified the turning of Shechem into a barren, uninhabitable desert (cf. Deut. 29:23; Job 39:6; Ps. 107:34; Jer. 17:6). It was later rebuilt by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:25).
9:46 El-berith. "El" was the name of a well-known Canaanite god, the father of Baal. The term here is probably another way of referring to the god "Baal-berith" and would mean "El of the covenant" (see note on 8:33-35).
9:51 strong tower (cf. 8:17; 9:46-49). The foundations of a square tower (
9:54 kill me. Being killed or bested by a woman was a disgrace to a warrior. See notes on 4:6-9; 5:24-27.
9:56-57 Final Verdict on Abimelech. Abimelech was not a true king; the institution of a valid monarchy in Israel would have to await a later time. God actively opposed Abimelech, in return for the evil he had done in killing his brothers. The "evil" (Hb. ra‘ah) spirit sent by God to effect the discord (v. 23) led directly to God's repaying the "wickedness" (Hb. ra‘ah) of Abimelech and the Shechemites (vv. 56-57). The fire that was a sign of Abimelech's poor choice (vv. 15, 20) brought the downfall of Shechem and Abimelech (vv. 49, 52), and these two devoured each other, as Jotham's fable had foretold.
