Chapter 9
The Rise of Abimelech
9:1 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family, 2 “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
Abimelech was the son of Jerubbaal (Gideon) and his concubine that lived in Shechem, here he approached his mother’s family in Shechem to muster support for him to be Israel’s next leader. The statement, “Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?” implies that the seventy sons of Gideon are in some way leading the nation even though Gideon said that would not happen. Abimelech reminds his mother’s family that he is also their bone and flesh.
9:3 And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” 4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. 5 And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6 And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.
The leaders of Shechem endorsed Abimelech and funded his campaign by taking seventy pieces of silver out of the sanctuary dedicated to Baal. Money that will be used to eliminate the competition, his half-brothers. Abimelech hires worthless (Hebrew rê·qîm’, empty, nothing in it) and reckless (Hebrew p̄ō·ḥǎzîm’, arrogant, undisciplined, wild, insolent) mercenaries to aid him in his campaign. They went to Ophrah and killed his brothers on one stone. This was no surprise attack where they died quickly, by killing them on one stone would have required one brother at a time, a slow and brutal murder of each man, probably while the brothers watched. All but one of the seventy brothers were killed, the youngest brother, Jotham hid himself. After the carnage, the leaders of Shechem came together along with everyone from Beth-millo (unknown exactly what this refers to, believed to be an earthen mound or tower within or near Shechem) to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar at Shechem, perhaps the same location where Joshua led the renewal of the covenant ceremony years earlier (see Joshua 24:26). Once a holy site dedicated to YHWH now has become a launch point for a idol-worshiping pagan kingdom (although not for all of Israel, just four primary locations being Shechem, Beth-millo, Arumah, and Thebez).
9:7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon (and the only other son that survived Abimelech’s murderous spree), after hearing about Abmelech’s coronation, he went up to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted out to the people of Shechem below. It is interesting to note that there is a natural triangular-shaped rock face protruding from the mountain that overlooks the city below, perhaps it was used as Jotham’s pulpit. Mount Gerizim was the location where the people of Israel heard the listing of God’s blessings if they obeyed (see Deuteronomy 27:11-14; 28:1-14; Joshua 8:33) and now Jotham offers a curse in the form of a fable (a fictitious narrative that teaches a lesson). He anthropomorphizes plants and organizes them in cascading order, from strong and productive trees to a lowly bramble bush. Each consecutive plant calls out for a lessor plant variety to rule over them until the bramble bush says, okay, take refuge in my shade. “If not, let fire come out from me and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” (Judges 9:15b, NLT) Even though small in comparison to any tree, when a bramble bush catches on fire it can destroy even the mighty cedars of Lebanon.
9:16 “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved— 17 for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, 18 and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative— 19 if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” 21 And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.
Jotham now ties in the lesson of his fable to the situation the people of Shechem are facing, he begins with a conditional statement, if they acted in good faith (Hebrew ‛ěměṯ’, truth, faithfulness, honesty) and integrity (Hebrew ṯā·mîm’, blameless) when they made Abimelech king and have done what is right by Gideon and his descendants. He questions whether they are honoring the man who risked his life rescuing them from the Midianites by making Abimelech, the son of his female servant, who murdered Gideon’s sons, to be their king just because he is their relative. If they did act in good faith and integrity in regard to Gideon, then they should rejoice in having Abimelech as their king and he should rejoice in having them as his people. But if not, let fire come out of their leaders and devour Abimelech, the bramble bush of Jotham’s fable. Jotham then quickly ran off to Beer (see Numbers 21:16, since the word means ‘well’ could be several locations) to hide from Abimelech.
The Fall of Abimelech
9:22 Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.
The text states that Abmelech ruled over Israel, this is not a reference to all of Israel, it is a synecdoche for the people of Israel in just the Shechem region. Plus, the wording “ruled over” (Hebrew yā·śǎr ‛ǎl), while it does refer to having authority, the lack of any reference to royalty or being a king, sets the stage for the following events.
9:23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. 25 And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.
The phrase, “And God sent an evil spirit,” has created a number of speculative ideas and interpretations. Usually framed around questions like, “Does God control evil?” or “How can a holy God send something unholy like a demon or an evil spirit to do His work?” First, we need to remember that all things are possible with God (see Genesis 18:14; Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:17, 7; Matthew 19:26; Mark 14:36; Luke 1:37). Second, the people who ask, “Does God control evil?” should instead be asking, “Can God control evil?” and the answer is yes, but He does allow evil things to occur. Third, while we may ask, “Does the means (such as sending an evil spirit) justify the end (in this scenario, God’s judgment), we can argue the moral implications or we can accept the fact that God chose this process and remember that, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV)
This begins God’s punishment and judgment of Abimelech for killing the sons of Gideon as well as the people of Shechem who did nothing about the murders, but instead “strengthened his hand” (gave him authority). But the leaders now act treacherously (Hebrew yiḇ·geḏû’, to betray) against Abimelech and devise a plan that ambushes and robs all those heading into Shechem. This would eventually harm their economy as traders would likely avoid the city. We are told that Abimelech heard about the ambushing.
9:26 And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. 27 And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. 28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’ ”
We are introduced to Gaal who was likely a Canaanite as he refers to serving the men of Hamor the father of Shechem (see Genesis 33:19; 34:2; Joshua 24:32). The leaders of Shechem joined Gaal in a celebration in the house of their god (likely Baal-berith) where they ate, drank, and reviled (Hebrew yeqǎl·lû’, to be slight, swift, to trivialize, in context to belittle) Abimelech. So Gaal proposed that since Abimelech is not the (legitimate) son of Gideon, that they should stop serving him. He then announces (possibly while inebriated) that he will remove him from power.
9:30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. 32 Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. 33 Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.”
We learn from verse twenty-eight that Zebul is an officer in Abimelech’s army (he may have been in attendance at the celebration, perhaps that is why Gaal mentions Zebul’s name, thinking that having an insider would be to his advantage). But when he heard that Gaal openly threatened Abimelech, he got angry and secretly told Abimelech that Gaal was “stirring up the city.“ So he proposed a preemptive strike.
9:34 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies. 35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush. 36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.” 37 Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.” 38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.” 39 And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. 41 And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.
Zebul brought Gaal to a location that he planned with Abimelech to ambush him. We are told that Gaal asked Zebul if what he was seeing were men coming down the mountain, but Zebul quickly dismisses it as an illusion, saying that it was just a shadow. Soon it was clear that wasn’t true and so Zebul sarcastically asks, “Where is your mouth now?” Gaal and the leaders of Shechem fought against Abimelech, but the battle ended with Abimelech fleeing. Many men were wounded and fell as they retreated to the city gate. Abimelech stayed that night in Arumah (nothing is known about this location, found only here in this chapter), meanwhile Zebul drove Gaal and his relatives out of Shechem. That is the last we hear about either one.
9:42 On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told. 43 He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them. 44 Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them. 45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.
Wanting to squash the rebellion against him, Abmelech is told that the people of Shechem had come out of the city to work the fields. He organizes his people into three companies. Upon arrival he kills those coming out of the city, then he, and the company with him, remained at the gate to the city. The other two companies went to the fields and killed everyone working in the field. Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, but eventually captured it, killing every resident, then leveled the city, and scattered salt over the remains (a practice that essentially serves as a curse to remain a barren land).
9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith. 47 Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” 49 So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
The Tower of Shechem was likely an elevated structure designed to watch over the city, apparently in a facility away from the city on Mount Zalmon (unknown exact location). The leaders of the tower (dignitaries of some nature) quickly left and ran to the stronghold (Hebrew ṣerîªḥ’, a cellar, basement, inner chamber, this word is only used three times in the Bible, in context a fortified room inside another structure) of the house (likely a temple) of El-berith (equivalent to Baal-berith, see Appendix 1). When Abimelech heard about the leaders of the Tower of Shechem fleeing to the stronghold, he came up with the idea of burning the stronghold. He and his men gathered enough easy-to-burn wood and set it on fire. Everyone inside died, approximately one-thousand men and women were killed.
9:50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. 52 And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
Abimelech next went to Thebez (believed to be modern-day Tubas), approximately ten miles northeast of Shechem, and was able to breach the walls, but all of the townspeople fled to the strong tower inside the city. He then went to the base of the tower with the idea of setting it on fire.
9:53 And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. 54 Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.
A woman took an upper millstone (the smaller of the two millstones but still heavy, typically twenty to thirty pounds) and dropped it on Abimelech’s head. He notices that it was a woman that crushed his skull, so he quickly called his young armor-bearer to kill him with his sword so that no one could say that he was killed by a woman. The armor-bearer did as instructed and Abimelech died, the battle was over and everyone returned home.
9:56 Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57 And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
The author tells us that God returned the evil of Abimelech for killing his seventy brothers. God also returned the evil of the men of Shechem for abandoning Him. God’s retribution came just as the curse of Jotham, the only surviving son of Gideon, had pronounced (see Judges 9:14-20).
Considerations
Strongholds
In much of the Old Testament crime and war were prevalent, most cities had fortified walls around them and it was unsafe to travel outside a city alone. Even with walls, some chose to build towers and strongholds to run to during an attack (see Judges 6:2; 1 Samuel 22:5; 23:14, 19, 29; 24:22; 2 Samuel 5:17; 23:14; 1 Chronicles 11:16; Zechariah 9:3). Some strongholds were natural, like a cave or some other rock formation, but most were manmade. Some were towers which served two roles, to keep watch (good visibility) and elevation to keep out of range of most attackers and to effectively employ weapons in defense. But these strongholds were only as strong as its building materials, as wood burns and poles can be cut.
One example, an ancient Canaanite stronghold that was recently discovered, one that we might call a mini-fortress, was found in the Gurin forest (near Kiryat Gat). Its "footprint" is fifty-four feet by fifty-four feet and the foundation was made of large stones, one of which is estimated to weigh over three tons near the entrance. It is situated on a hill which overlooks the valley below. It is believed to have had high walls with as many as four watchtowers. Some of these strongholds were stand alone structures (not within city walls).
The Bible also refers to spiritual strongholds. From a believer's perspective there is only one stronghold, we can take refuge in God (see 2 Samuel 22:3; Psalms 9:9; 18:2; 27:1; 37:39; 94:22; 144:2; Proverbs 10:29; Joel 3:16; Nahum 1:7). But there are other types of spiritual strongholds, those in our minds that harbor evil, such as desiring to fulfill lusts which need to be fought against and purged (see Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 10:13; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:13-18; James 4:7; 1 John 1:9). One other form of spiritual stronghold seems to be associated with cities and other locations where the enemy has made his home (see Revelation 2:9, 13; 3:9-10), history tells us there may be several of these locations.