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Judges
Chapter 9 (Continued)
31
And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying,
"Behold,
Gaal, the son of Ebed, and his brethren
have
come to Shechem
and,
behold, they fortify the city against you. 32
Now
therefore up by night,
you
and the people who are with you,
and
lie in wait in the field. 33
And
it shall be,
that
in the morning,
as
soon as the sun is up,
you
shall rise early,
and
set upon the city.
And,
behold, when he and the people
who
are with him
come
out against you,
then
may you do to them
as
you shall find occasion."
34
And Abimelech rose up,
and
all the people who were with him, by night,
and
they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
35
And Gaal, the son of Ebed, went out,
and
stood in the opening of the gate of the city.
And
Abimelech rose up,
and
the people who were with him . . .
from
lying in wait.
36
And when Gaal saw the people,
he
said to Zebul,
"Behold,
there come people down from the top of the mountains."
And
Zebul said unto him,
"You
see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men."
37
And Gaal spoke again and said,
"See
there come people down by the middle of the land,
and
another company come along by the plain of Meonenim."
38
Then said Zebul unto him,
"Where
is now your mouth, where with you said,
'Who
is Abimelech, that we should serve him?
Is not this the people who you have despised?
Go out, I pray now, and fight with them."
39
And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem,
and
fought with Abimelech.
40
And Abimelech chased him {Gaal},
and
he fled before him,
and
many were overthrown and wounded,
even
unto the opeining of the gate.
41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah.
And
Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren,
that
they should not dwell in Shechem.
42
And it came to pass on the morrow,
that
the people went out into the field
and
they told Abimelech.
43
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.
44
And Abimelech, and the company who were with him,
rushed
forward,
and
stood in the opening of the gate of the city
and
the two other companies
ran
upon all the people who were in the fields, and slew them.
45~~And
Abimelech fought against the city all that day
and
he captured the city
and
killed the people in it
and
he leveled the city
and
sowed it with salt.
46
And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that,
they
entered into an hold of the house of the god/'el Berith.
47
And it was told Abimelech,
that
all the men of the tower of Shechem
were
gathered together.
48
And Abimelech got him 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 bough from the trees,
and
took it, and laid it on his shoulder,
and
said unto the people who were with him,
"What
you have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done."
49
And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough,
and
followed Abimelech,
and
put them to the hold,
and
set the hold on fire upon them;
so
that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also,
about
a thousand men and women.
{Verses
50-55: Tactical Screw-up of Abimelech - David Added to his Military Manual}
50~~Then
Abimelech advanced to Thebez.
And
he besieged Thebez, and captured it.
{most of it - there was a citadel (strong tower) in the middle that
was not taken yet}
51~~
But there was a strong citadel/tower
in
the center of the city.
And
there all the men and women,
and
all the leaders of the city fled.
And
they locked themselves inside
and
went up to the top/turret of the citadel/tower.
52~~Now Abimelech advanced to the citadel/tower, and attacked it.
Now he approached the gate of the citadel/tower to burn it with fire.
{Note: The gate was apparently a strongly reinforced structure made of wood. So Abimelech led men up to the gate to douse it with tar and set it on fire.}
53~~And
{as he did so}
a
certain woman threw a 'heavy rock'/'piece of a millstone'
{and
it landed} on Abimelech's head,
crushing
his skull.
{Note: He must have had a helmet on because he did not die immediately. But he is dying.}
54~~Then
he called quickly to the young man
who
was his armor-bearer,
and
said unto him, "Draw your sword, and kill me,
lest
it be said of me 'A woman killed him {in battle}'. "
{no
warrior wants to die this so called dis-honorable death}
Therefore
his aide/'young man' stabbed him {Abimelech} through,
and
he died.
{Note: David refers to the event in the above verses in II Samuel 11:21. Abimelech was called the bramble king. The women waved bramble branches at him when he was 'crowned king'. And, it was prophesized that the women would 'wave rocks' at him when he died.}
55
And when the men of Israel
saw
that Abimelech was dead,
they
departed every man unto his place.
56
Thus 'Elohiym/Godhead rendered the wickedness of Abimelech,
which
he did unto his father,
in
slaying his seventy brethren.
57
And all the evil of the men of Shechem
did
'Elohiym/Godhead render upon their heads
and
upon them came the curse of Jotham,
the
son of Jerubbaal.
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