Keraia
Judges 9

Judges 9:3

Abimelech’s Conspiracy · Judges 9:1–6
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Translations

Modern
And when his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the leaders of Shechem, their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
Traditional
And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.
Literal
And the brothers of his mother spoke concerning him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words, and their heart was inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
Latin
Locutique sunt fratres matris ejus de eo ad omnes viros Sichem universos sermones istos, et inclinaverunt cor eorum post Abimelech, dicentes: Frater noster est.

Original

Hebrew
English
And when his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the leaders of Shechem, their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

Notes

Judges 9:1–3

  • Abimelech, the son of a concubine (Judges 8:31; see study note on Judges 19:1), claimed he could create the royal dynasty that his father had rejected.

  • The absence of any record of a conquest of Shechem, despite Israel’s covenant activities in the city (Joshua 24), suggests that Shechem’s people became part of Israel. Abimelech’s uncles and his mother might have been of non-Israelite origin.

Judges 9:3–5

Abimelech asked for money from the local temple of Baal-berith, a worship center for a mixed Canaanite-Israelite religious group.

Judges 9:1–57

Abimelech's reign marked a shift from the relative peace of the early judges (Judges 3:7–8:35) to the decline of the later years (10:1–16:31).

Theme notes and profiles

Gideon Preaching to a Tough Crowd Shechem

Events

People

Abimelech: Son of Gideon, self-proclaimed king of Shechem

Places

Shechem: City in Canaan, later allotted to Ephraim

Glossary

Abimelech Arumah Baal-Berith Judges, Book of Ophrah (Place) Shechem (Place) Warfare

Topics

Ambition: Abimelech Conspiracy: Abimelech Against Gideon's Sons Judge: Abimelech Rulers: Wicked: Abimelech, Killing his Seventy Brothers