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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)When the leading citizens who lived in the tower of Shechem heard what had happened, they ran and hid in the temple of Baal-berith.

Context of Judges 9:46

44Abimelek and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance of the city gate. Then two companies attacked those in the fields and struck them down. 45All that day Abimelek pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it. On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. 47When Abimelek heard that they had assembled there, 48he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, “Quick! 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

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 gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelek used it to hire reckless scoundrels, who became his followers.
• Judges 8:33No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god
• 1 Kings 8:26And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.
• 2 Kings 1:2Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.”
• Psalms 115:8Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
• Isaiah 28:15You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”
• Isaiah 37:38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded 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
• 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