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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 9:22-49

Three years Abimelech reigned, after a sort, without any disturbance; it is not said, He judged Israel, or did any service at all to his co 7611 untry, but so long he enjoyed the title and dignity of a king; and not only the Shechemites, but many other places, paid him respect. They must have been fond of a king that could please themselves with such a one as this. But the triumphing of the wicked is short. Within three years, as the years of a hireling, all this glory shall be contemned, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 9:46

And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that ,.... That the city of Shechem was taken, the inhabitants of it slain, the city beaten down, and sowed with salt; by which it appears that this tower was not within the city, for then the men of it would have seen what was done, and not be said only to hear it; though it was not far from it, and possessed by Shechemites, and whither some of the principal inhabitants had now fled for safety; perhaps it is the same with the house of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 9:47

And it was told Abimelech ,.... Who had his spies about, and particularly to observe the motions of the men in this tower: that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together ; in the hold of the temple of Baalberith. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 9:48

And Abimelech got him up to Mount Zalmon ,.... A mountain near Shechem, and thought to be the same with Salmon in Psalm 68:14 which seems to have had its name from the shade of the trees which grew upon it: he and all the people that were with him ; his whole army: and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees ; which grew upon Mount Zalmon: and took it, and laid it on his shoulders ; and carried it along with him: and said unto the people that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 9:49

And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech ,.... With their boughs on their shoulders, so that they were men that seemed to be as trees walking: and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them ; upon the men in it, or with them, the boughs of trees; it is probable the hold was made of wood, and so could the more easily be set on fire. Jarchi says it was a wood or forest, where they bent the trees, and divided them round about, and made a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 9:46

A hold of the house of the god Berith - This must mean the precincts of the temple, as we find there were a thousand men and women together in that place. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 9:46

An hold of the house of the god Berith - As combining the advantages of a “sanctuary” (compare 1 Kings 2:28) and a fortress. The word rendered “hold” occurs elsewhere only in 1 Samuel 13:6, where it is rendered “high-place.” Its exact signification is uncertain. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 9:48

Zalmon - A lofty and thickly-wooded hill, as the etymology of the name (“shady”) implies, in the immediate neighborhood of Shechem: perhaps the same as Ebal. The setting fire to the hold, where the men of Shechem were all crowded together, with their wives and children, was the literal fulfillment of Jotham’s curse in Judges 9:20. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 9:46

Judges 9:46. When the men of the tower heard Either a strong place belonging to the city of Shechem, and made for its defence without the city, or perhaps a town at some distance from Shechem, but probably inhabited by Shechemites. When these people heard of the fate of the city, they retired to a strong hold adjoining to one of their temples, which used to be built on eminences, and to be fortified by nature as well as art. Hither they fled, fearing the same destruction which had befallen... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 9:48-51

Judges 9:48-51. Zalmon A place so called from its shadiness. Thebez Another town near Shechem; and, as it seems, within its territory. Thither fled all the men and women All that were not slain in the taking of the town. And gat them up to the top of the tower Which was flat and plain, after their manner of building. read more

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