Judges 9:6
in Judges 9Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
KJV
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
⋯
This verse in Judges 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseOf the pillar - Or, by the oak of the pillar, by the oak, where Joshua erected a pillar as a witness of the covenant renewed between God and Israel, Josh. xxiv, 26. This place they chose, to signify that they still owned God, and their covenant with him; and did not worship Baal in opposition to God, but in conjunction with him, or in subordination to him.
This site's exposition
gathered beside the oak at the pillar
Abimelech is crowned "beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem," where the King James reads plain. At Joshua 24:26 a great stone was set under an oak by the sanctuary here, when Israel swore to serve the LORD alone. Keil and Delitzsch take the trees as one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And all the men of Shechem gathered together,....
God was not consulted whether they should have any king at all, much less who it should be; here is no advising with the priest or with their brethren of any other city or tribe, though it was designed that he should reign over Israel,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
all the men of Shechem . . ., and all the house of Millo--that is, a mound or rampart, so that the meaning is, all the men in the house or temple; namely, the priests of Baal. made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar--rather, "by the oak near a raised mound"--so that the ceremony of coronation might be conspicuous to a crowd.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
And all the house of Millo - If Millo be the name of a place, it is nowhere else mentioned in the sacred writings. But it is probably the name of a person of note and influence in the city of Shechem - the men of Shechem and the family of Millo.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Millo must have been a fortified place close to, but separate from, Shechem, and perhaps the same as the tower of Shechem mentioned in Jdg 9:46-47. The building or enlarging of the better-known Millo, at Jerusalem was one of Solomon’s great works 1Ki 9:15, 1Ki 9:24. The population dwelling in Millo though perhaps numerically small, had great weight from possessing the stronghold. Their giving Abimelech the title of king indicates the strong Canaanite influence at Shechem. All the Canaanite chiefs were called kings, but it was a title hitherto unknown in Israel. This title had not been named by those Israelites who offered to make Gideon their hereditary ruler Jdg 8:22-23. The plain of the pillar ... - Rather “the oak of the garrison which is in Shechem.” The oak in question was probably called the “garrison oak,” from a garrison being stationed near it.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּאָ֨סְפ֜וּ | vaiyeasefu | and they gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בַּעֲלֵ֤י | baalei | [the] citizens of | H1167 → | 84 times |
| שְׁכֶם֙ | shekhem | Shechem | H7927 → | 63 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | Beth | H1037 → | 8 times |
| מִלּ֔וֹא | milo' | Millo | H1037 → | 8 times |
| וַיֵּ֣לְכ֔וּ | vaiyelekhu | and they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַיַּמְלִ֥יכוּ | vaiyamlikhu | and they made king | H4427 → | 348 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| לְמֶ֑לֶךְ | lemelekh | to king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | near | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֵל֥וֹן | ʾelon | [the] great tree | H436 → | 9 times |
| מֻצָּ֖ב | mutzav | set up | H5324 → | 75 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּשְׁכֶֽם׃ | bishkhem | [was] in Shechem | H7927 → | 63 times |
וַיֵּאָ֨סְפ֜וּand they gathered
vaiyeasefuH622 →200 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בַּעֲלֵ֤י[the] citizens of
baaleiH1167 →84 times
שְׁכֶם֙Shechem
shekhemH7927 →63 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
בֵּ֣יתBeth
beitH1037 →8 times
מִלּ֔וֹאMillo
milo'H1037 →8 times
וַיֵּ֣לְכ֔וּand they went
vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times
וַיַּמְלִ֥יכוּand they made king
vaiyamlikhuH4427 →348 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
לְמֶ֑לֶךְto king
lemelekhH4428 →2525 times
עִם־near
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
אֵל֥וֹן[the] great tree
ʾelonH436 →9 times
מֻצָּ֖בset up
mutzavH5324 →75 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּשְׁכֶֽם׃[was] in Shechem
bishkhemH7927 →63 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
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 11:32
But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
- 1 Kings 11:13
Through
2 Samuel 5:9So David took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built it up all the way around, from the supporting terraces inward.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 9:15
This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor,…
- 1 Kings 9:24
As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
- 1 Kings 9:15
Through
1 Kings 12:25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.
it leads to
- Judges 8:17
He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
- Judges 8:8
From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
- Genesis 32:30–31
So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
- Judges 9:45–49
And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.
- Judges 8:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.