Judges 9:55 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.

NIV: When the Israelites saw that Abimelek was dead, they went home.

NASB: Now when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each left for his home.

CSB: When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

NLT: When Abimelech’s men saw that he was dead, they disbanded and returned to their homes.

KJV: And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.

NKJV: And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place.

The writer of Judges adds a surprising detail in this verse. Abimelech is dead: his skull crushed by a millstone thrown from a tower and finished off by his own armor-bearer (Judges 9:50–54). The reign of this murderous, power-crazed son of Gideon and a concubine has ended (Judges 8:31; 9:1–6). With nobody left to take orders from or fight for, Abimelech's followers leave the people of Thebez alone and return to their homes.

Here, it is revealed that Abimelech's men were Israelites. Shechem was a largely Canaanite city, and the leaders of Shechem who put Abimelech in place were likely Canaanites. The city was a center of worship to the Canaanite god El-berith, also perhaps known as Baal-berith (Judges 8:33; 9:4). To this point, a reader might naturally assume Abimelech's men were also largely Canaanites.

Instead, we see that Abimelech had earned the following of Israelite men. That's not entirely surprising; he was a son of Gideon. He had also come to Thebez as an act of war against Israel's traditional enemies. Those Israelites who longed for a king to rule over them may have seen Abimelech as their best chance to accomplish that. Yet God had no intention of allowing Israel to have a king just yet (Judges 8:22–23). The Lord also fulfilled Jotham's curse against Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem (Judges 9:8–20). Abimelech's reign was doomed from the start, no matter who followed him.

Judges 9:22–57 describes the brutal fulfillment of Jotham's curse against his brother, Abimelech, and the leaders of the city of Shechem. God allows the two sides to be split by an evil spirit. First, Shechem's leaders attempt to kill Abimelech. Then they plot with a man named Gaal to overthrow him. Helped by his officer in the city, Abimelech and his men ambush Gaal and Shechem. They kill all the people and destroy the city. They then move on to the town of Thebez to do the same, but Abimelech is killed. Jotham's prediction of divine vengeance (Judges 9:19–20) comes true.

Shechem's leaders conspire with a concubine's son to kill Gideon's other seventy sons. They make this man, Abimelech, their ruler. Gideon's youngest son survives, however, and delivers a curse. Using a fable, he says Abimelech and Shechem's leaders will destroy each other. God causes a division between Shechem's leaders and Abimelech. The noblemen attempt to kill Abimelech and unite behind a new leader. Abimelech discovers the plot and kills everyone in Shechem, destroying the city. When attacking a tower in a nearby town, however, Abimelech's skull is crushed by a thrown millstone. The curse is fulfilled.

Gideon successfully defeated Midianite raiders but declined to become Israel's official king. His sons, however, were held in high esteem during his remaining years (Judges 8). After Gideon's death, ambitious men conspire to kill almost all those heirs. This results in a series of bloody events. Eventually, judgment comes on those responsible. Israel fails to learn from the tragedies. Chapter 10 explains further idolatry and sin, before introducing the next major judge, Jephthah, in chapter 11.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).