Translations
Modern
So he took his men, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose up against them and attacked them.
Traditional
And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them.
Literal
And he took the people and divided them into three companies and lay in wait in the field, and he looked, and behold, the people were coming out of the city; and he rose up against them and attacked them.
Latin
…tulit exercitum suum, et divisit in tres turmas, tendens insidias in agris. Vidensque quod egrederetur populus de civitate, surrexit, et irruit in eos
Original
Hebrew
English
So he took his men, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose up against them and attacked them.
Notes
Abimelech lost any right to be seen as an inspired leader. He ordered his men to attack the people of Shechem, killing them all and destroying the city.
Theological statements in Judges 9:23–24 and 9:56–57 frame the story of the civil conflict that caused the destruction of Abimelech and Shechem. This event fulfilled the curse that Jotham declared (Judges 9:19–20).
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).
Events
Glossary
Abimelech Baal-Berith Curse, Cursed Judges, Book of Shechem (Place) Warfare
Topics
Armies: March in Ranks: Move, in Attack, in Three Divisions Judge: Abimelech Sieges: Cities Invested by Frequently Taken by Ambush