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

44Abimelech and his units attacked and blocked the entrance to the city’s gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down. 45Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled the city and spread salt over it. When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard the news, they went to the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. 47Abimelech heard that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place. 48He and all his men went up on Mount Zalmon. He took an ax in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!”

Judges 9:46 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when all the menבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167
• of the towerמִגְדָּלmigdâl migdâlâh · towerH4026
• of Shechemשְׁכֶםshekem · ShechemH7927
• heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• they enteredבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• into an holdצְרִיחַtserîyach · excavationH6877
• of the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• of the godאֵל'êl · El (Berith)H410
• Berithבְּרִיתberîyth · (Baal)-berithH1286

Cross-references for Judges 9:46

• Judges 9:4They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous men as his followers.
• Judges 8:33After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god.
• 1 Kings 8:26Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant, my father David, be realized.
• 2 Kings 1:2Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, “Go, ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”
• Psalms 115:8Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
• Isaiah 28:15For you say, “We have made a treaty with death, with Sheol we have made an agreement. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.”
• Isaiah 37:38One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

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
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Tower of Shechem
• City
• Deserving
• Gaal
• Incline
• Merry
• Middle

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