Judges 9:50 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it.

NIV: Next Abimelek went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it.

NASB: Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he camped against Thebez and captured it.

CSB: Abimelech went to Thebez, camped against it, and captured it.

NLT: Then Abimelech attacked the town of Thebez and captured it.

KJV: Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.

NKJV: Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and took it.

Abimelech has laid waste to the city of Shechem and all its people (Judges 9:44–45). He has burned the temple, killing a thousand men and women hiding inside (Judges 9:46–49). In doing so, he has fulfilled the first part of the curse of his brother Jotham after the murder of Gideon's seventy other sons (Judges 9:1–6; 15).

Scripture does not indicate exactly why Abimelech chooses to move against Thebez. Perhaps he wants to expand his territory. Possibly, Abimelech did not directly control this town. Or, the people there were also in rebellion against his rule (Judges 9:22–25). Abimelech and his men capture the city. They breach the outer walls in some way. As did the survivors in Shechem, the people will take refuge in a structure of last defense.

Scholars believe the town of Thebez to be modern-day Tubas. It is a short distance northeast of Shechem.

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).

Accessed 5/2/2024 2:46:14 PM