Translations
Modern
Then Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two companies rushed against all who were in the fields and struck them down.
Traditional
And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them.
Literal
And Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, and the two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields, and struck them.
Latin
…cum cuneo suo, oppugnans et obsidens civitatem: duæ autem turmæ palantes per campum adversarios persequebantur.
Original
Hebrew
English
Then Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two companies rushed against all who were in the fields and struck them down.
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
- Usurpation by Abimelechc. 1218 BC
People
Abimelech: Son of Gideon, self-proclaimed king of Shechem
Glossary
Abimelech Baal-Berith Curse, Cursed Judges, Book of Shechem (Place) Warfare
Topics
Cities were Frequently: Stormed Judge: Abimelech Sieges: Cities Invested by Frequently Taken by Ambush