Judges 9:22
in Judges 9After Abimelech had reigned over Israel for three years,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abimelech was prince over Israel three years.
KJV
When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
⋯
This verse in Judges 9
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Had reigned - Rather, “had ruled.” It is not the phrase used in Jdg 9:6. It looks as if the Shechemites alone had made him king, and the rest of Israel had submitted to his dominion, without allowing his title of king.
This site's exposition
When Abimelech had reigned three years
on Judges 9:22-24
Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and this is the first place in Scripture where the words evil spirit stand together, checked against the King James text; the next are Saul's at 1 Samuel 16:14 and after. Readers divide over what the sending means, some taking a created spirit given its errand and others a spirit of suspicion stirred among men, with Gill and Clarke both laying weight on the second while holding that God governs it. Verse 24 gives the reason ahead of the events, which the book rarely does, and the blood is laid on the town as well as on the man, because Shechem paid for the killing.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
None could "reign" in Israel, except by rebellious usurpation; and hence the reign of Abimelech is expressed in the original by a word signifying "despotism," not that which describes the mild and divinely authorized rule of the judge.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֧שַׂר | vaiyasar | and he ruled | H7786 → | |
| אֲבִימֶ֛לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| שָׁלֹ֥שׁ | shalosh | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| שָׁנִֽים׃ | shanim | years | H8141 → | 877 times |
וַיָּ֧שַׂרand he ruled
vaiyasarH7786 →
אֲבִימֶ֛לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
שָׁלֹ֥שׁthree
shaloshH7969 →432 times
שָׁנִֽים׃years
shanimH8141 →877 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Judges
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 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).