Judges 9:1-11:40

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 9:1-6

Abimelech’s murders and election as king 9:1-6Though Gideon had rejected kingship officially (Judges 8:23), though not practically, Abimelech desired it for himself. He also hated his half-brothers, presumably because he was the son of a concubine rather than the son of one of Gideon’s wives (Judges 8:31). Shechem was one of the older city-states in Canaan. Canaanites were its primary inhabitants, as is evident from this story. They seem to have been even more open to having a king over them... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 9:1-57

3. The story of Abimelech ch. 9The story of Abimelech connects directly with the story of Gideon. It is the sequel to and indeed the climax of the Gideon story, and it portrays the disastrous results of Gideon’s legacy. Though Abimelech sought a place of leadership in Israel, God did not raise him up as a judge. His history is of interest primarily because of the light it throws on this period of Israel’s national life and the continuing decline in Israel. Furthermore we can see what had become... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 9:1-57

The Story of AbimelechThis chapter breaks the regular order of the book, since Abimelech is not thought of as a judge, and the Canaanites are not here regarded as oppressors. The story, however, throws a valuable light on the way in which Israel fell into unfaithfulness, when free from the yoke of foreign oppression.1-6. The rise of Abimelech.1. As being born out of regular wedlock, Abimelech would be brought up at first in his mother’s family, and reckoned as belonging to it (Judges 9:2). It... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Judges 9:1

(1) And Abimelech.—This narrative of the rise and fall of Abimelech, “the bramble king,” is singularly vivid in many of its details, while at the same time material facts are so briefly touched upon that parts of the story must remain obscure. The general bearing of this graphic episode is to illustrate the slow, but certain, working of Divine retribution. The two main faults of the last phase of Gideon’s career had been his polygamy and his dangerous tampering with unauthorised, if not... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Judges 9:1-57

Judges 9:11 A tallow dip, of the long-eight description, is an excellent thing in the kitchen candlestick, and Betty's nose and eye are not sensitive to the difference between it and the finest wax; it is only when you stick it in the silver candlestick, and introduce it into the drawing-room, that it seems plebeian, dim, and ineffectual. Alas for the worthy man who, like that candle, gets himself into the wrong place! George Eliot, Amos Barton. Does he not drink more sweetly that takes his... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Judges 9:1-57

5ABIMELECH AND JOTHAMJudges 8:29-35; Judges 9:1-57THE history we are tracing moves from man to man; the personal influence of the hero is everything while it lasts and confusion follows on his death. Gideon appears as one of the most successful Hebrew judges in maintaining order. While he was there in Ophrah religion and government had a centre "and the country was in quietness forty years." A man far from perfect but capable of mastery held the reins and gave forth judgment with an authority... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Judges 9:1-57

CHAPTER 9 Abimelech the King and His Wickedness 1. The murder of Gideon’s sons (Judges 9:1-6 ) 2. Jotham’s parable (Judges 9:7-21 ) 3. Scenes of strife and destruction of Shechem (Judges 9:22-49 ) 4. Abimelech’s end (Judges 9:50-57 ) The story of Abimelech is intensely interesting in its typical meaning. Abimelech was the offspring of an unlawful union: the son of Gideon and the concubine in Shechem. He was half Israelite and half Canaanite. Abimelech means “my father was king”; he... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Judges 9:1

9:1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his {a} mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,(a) To practice with his kinsfolk for attaining the kingdom. read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Judges 9:1-57

GIDEON TO JAIR ABIMELECH’S USURPATION (Judges 9:1-6 ) The close of the last lesson shows idolatry creeping into Israel, the fruit of which is reaped in the years following. God is forgotten and Gideon also (Judges 8:34-35 ), the meaning of the last verse being interpreted by the story of Abimelech. This Abimelech fraternized with his nearest of kin, the relatives of his mother’s side (Judges 9:1-3 ), a striking instance, as one says, of the evils of polygamy, where one son of a father has... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Judges 9:1-57

Abimelech The Bramble King Judges 9:0 IS Abimelech dead? Has he reappeared in our own days? Or after the devil made Abimelech did he throw the mould away? These questions are not difficult. We can easily determine them, either in the positive or in the negative. It would be something worth doing to be able to establish as a fact the absolute certainty of the death of Abimelech and all his progeny. But we must take the evidence as we find it, and abide by the issue to which it points, whatever... read more

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