Judges 9:1
in Judges 9Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and spake with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
KJV
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
⋯
This verse in Judges 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
We are not told how soon after the death of Gideon these events happened. There must have been time for the apostacy and establishment of Baal-worship, and for the development of ill-will between Abimelech and his brethren.
This site's exposition
Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went
on Judges 9:1-3
Gideon said at 8:23 that neither he nor his son would rule, and here his son canvasses for the crown. Abimelech argues from kinship rather than right, "I am your own flesh and blood," the formula Laban used of Jacob at Genesis 29:14 and the tribes used of David at 2 Samuel 5:1. Shechem is his mother's town, so there Gideon's seventy sons are outsiders and he is not.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, unto his mother's brethren,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem--The idolatry which had been stealthily creeping into Israel during the latter years of Gideon was now openly professed; Shechem was wholly inhabited by its adherents; at least, idolaters had the ascendency. Abimelech, one of Gideon's numerous sons, was connected with that place.
Abimelech - went to Shechem - We have already seen that Abimelech was the son of Gideon, by his concubine at Shechem. His going thither immediately after his father’s death was to induce his townsmen to proclaim him governor in the place of his father. Shechem was the residence of his mother, and of all her relatives.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֲבִימֶ֤לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְרֻבַּ֙עַל֙ | yerubaal | Jerub-Baal | H3378 → | 14 times |
| שְׁכֶ֔מָה | shekhemah | Shechem towards | H7927 → | 63 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲחֵ֖י | ʾachei | [the] brothers of | H251 → | 630 times |
| אִמּ֑וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִשְׁפַּ֛חַת | mishpachat | [the] clan of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אֲבִ֥י | ʾavi | [the] father of | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אִמּ֖וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיֵּ֨לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
אֲבִימֶ֤לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
יְרֻבַּ֙עַל֙Jerub-Baal
yerubaalH3378 →14 times
שְׁכֶ֔מָהShechem towards
shekhemahH7927 →63 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲחֵ֖י[the] brothers of
ʾacheiH251 →630 times
אִמּ֑וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
וַיְדַבֵּ֣רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מִשְׁפַּ֛חַת[the] clan of
mishpachatH4940 →303 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
אֲבִ֥י[the] father of
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
אִמּ֖וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 18:18Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us…
it leads to
- Psalms 52:2
Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Jeremiah 11:19
For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from…
- Malachi 2:7
For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 18:11
Now therefore, tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am planning a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. Turn…
- Jeremiah 13:13–14
then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests,…
- Psalms 52:2
Through
Genesis 33:18After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
it leads to
- Acts 7:16
Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.
- Joshua 24:1
Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
- Acts 7:16
Through
1 Kings 12:20When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:13
Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I…
- 1 Kings 11:13
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.