Judges 9:34
in Judges 9So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
KJV
And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
⋯
This verse in Judges 9
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
lay in wait against Shechem in four companies
on Judges 9:34-36
Gaal stands "at the entrance of the city gate," and sees men coming off the hills. Zebul answers, "The shadows of the mountains look like men to you," holding him there while the companies close in. In the Hebrew, shadows is the thornbush's word for its shade at verse 15.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night,.... According to the advice of Zebul: and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies; he divided his army into four parts, which he placed on the four sides of the city, at some distance from it, to act as they should have opportunity, to find ways and means of getting into it on either quarter.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The consequence was that he allowed himself to be drawn into an ambush, was defeated, the city of Shechem destroyed and strewn with salt. The people took refuge in the stronghold, which was set on fire, and all in it perished.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֧קָם | vaiyakom | and he arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֲבִימֶ֛לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֥ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עִמּ֖וֹ | imo | [was] with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| לָ֑יְלָה | layelah | night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וַיֶּאֶרְב֣וּ | vaiyeervu | and they lay in wait | H693 → | 41 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׁכֶ֔ם | shekhem | Shechem | H7927 → | 63 times |
| אַרְבָּעָ֖ה | ʾarbaah | four | H702 → | 318 times |
| רָאשִֽׁים׃ | rashim | companies | H7218 → | 599 times |
וַיָּ֧קָםand he arose
vaiyakomH6965 →628 times
אֲבִימֶ֛לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֥םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עִמּ֖וֹ[was] with him
imoH5973 →1050 times
לָ֑יְלָהnight
layelahH3915 →233 times
וַיֶּאֶרְב֣וּand they lay in wait
vaiyeervuH693 →41 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שְׁכֶ֔םShechem
shekhemH7927 →63 times
אַרְבָּעָ֖הfour
ʾarbaahH702 →318 times
רָאשִֽׁים׃companies
rashimH7218 →599 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.