Judges 9:46

Judges 9:46 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.
• New International Version (NIV)On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered the stronghold of the temple of the god Berith.

Context of Judges 9:46

44Then Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two companies rushed against all who were in the fields and struck them down. 45And 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. On hearing of this, all the leaders in the tower of Shechem entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith. 47And when Abimelech was told that all the leaders in the tower of Shechem were gathered there, 48he and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his axe in his hand and cut a branch from the trees, which he lifted to his shoulder, saying to his men, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.”

Judges 9:46 word by word

וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֔וּ כָּֽל־בַּעֲלֵ֖י מִֽגְדַּל־שְׁכֶ֑ם וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ אֶל־צְרִ֔יחַ בֵּ֖ית אֵ֥ל בְּרִֽית׃Read the interlinear

• On hearing of thisשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• the leadersבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167
• in the towerמִגְדָּלmigdâl migdâlâh · towerH4026
• of Shechemשְׁכֶםshekem · ShechemH7927
• enteredבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• enteredאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• the inner chamberצְרִיחַtserîyach · excavationH6877
• of the templeבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• of El-berithאֵל'êl · El (Berith)H410
• of El-berithבְּרִיתberîyth · (Baal)-berithH1286

Cross-references for Judges 9:46

• Judges 9:4So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.
• Judges 8:33And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.
• 1 Kings 8:26And now, O God of Israel, please confirm what You promised to Your servant, my father David.
• 2 Kings 1:2Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
• Psalms 115:8Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
• Isaiah 28:15For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”
• Isaiah 37:38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.

Commentaries on Judges 9:46

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 46A hold of the house of the god Berith - This must mean the precincts of the temple, as we find there were a thousand men and women together in that place.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 46An hold of the house of the god Berith - As combining the advantages of a “sanctuary” (compare 1 Kings 2:28) and a fortress. The word rendered “hold” occurs elsewhere only in 1 Samuel 13:6, where it is rendered “high-place.” Its exact signification is uncertain.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-49Verses 30-49 Abimelech intended to punish the Schechemites for slighting him now, but God punished them for their serving him formerly in the murder of Gideon's sons. When God uses men as instruments in his hand to do his work, he means one thing, and they another. That, which they hoped would have been for their welfare, proved a snare and a trap, as those will certainly find, who run to idols for shelter; such will prove a refuge of lies. (Jdg 9:50-57)Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 46-49The leaders (literally lords) of Shechem, who first plotted against Abimelech, gathered in the temple of Baal-berith. The temple then burned around them. Archaeologists have confirmed this destruction at the site.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-4922. When Abimelech had reigned three years--His reign did not, probably at first, extend beyond Shechem; but by stealthy and progressive encroachments he subjected some of the neighboring towns to his sway. 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.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 9:46

• Baal-Berith
• Judge
• Tower

In the dictionaries

• God
• Shechem
• Tower of Shechem
• City
• Deserving
• Gaal
• Incline
• Merry
• Middle
• Mouth

Commentaries on Judges 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary