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 group stormed the city gate to keep the men of Shechem from getting back in, while Abimelech’s other two groups cut them down in the fields. 45The battle went on all day before Abimelech finally captured the city. He killed the people, leveled the city, and scattered salt all over the ground. 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. 47Someone reported to Abimelech that the citizens had gathered in the temple, 48so he led his forces to Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and chopped some branches from a tree, then put them on his shoulder. “Quick, do as I have done!” he told his men.

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 silver coins from the temple of Baal-berith, which he used to hire some reckless troublemakers who agreed to follow him.
• Judges 8:33As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god.
• 1 Kings 8:26Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father.
• 2 Kings 1:2One day Israel’s new king, Ahaziah, fell through the latticework of an upper room at his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether he would recover.
• Psalms 115:8And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
• Isaiah 28:15You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”
• Isaiah 37:38One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat, and another son, Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.

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