Comentarios bíblicos

Jud 9:1-6.

ABIMELECH IS MADE KING BY THE SHECHEMITES.

1. Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem--The idolatry which had been stealthily creeping into Israel during the latter years of Gideon was now openly professed; Shechem was wholly inhabited by its adherents; at least, idolaters had the ascendency. Abimelech, one of Gideon's numerous sons, was connected with that place. Ambitious of sovereign power, and having plied successfully the arts of a demagogue with his maternal relatives and friends, he acquired both the influence and money by which he raised himself to a throne.

communed . . . with all the family of the house of his mother's father--Here is a striking instance of the evils of polygamy--one son has connections and interests totally alien to those of his brothers.

2. Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, . . . or that one reign over you--a false insinuation, artfully contrived to stir up jealousy and alarm. Gideon had rejected, with abhorrence, the proposal to make himself or any of his family king, and there is no evidence that any of his other sons coveted the title.

4. the house of Baal-berith--either the temple, or the place where this idol was worshipped; Baal-berith, "god of the covenant," by invocation of whom the league of cities was formed.

Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him--idle, worthless vagabonds, the scum of society, who had nothing to lose, but much to gain from the success of a revolutionary movement.

5. went unto . . . Ophrah, and slew his brethren i. e., upon one stone--This is the first mention of a barbarous atrocity which has, with appalling frequency, been perpetrated in the despotic countries of the East--that of one son of the deceased monarch usurping the throne and hastening to confirm himself in the possession by the massacre of all the natural or legitimate competitors. Abimelech slew his brethren on one stone, either by dashing them from one rock, or sacrificing them on one stone altar, in revenge for the demolition of Baal's altar by their father. This latter view is the more probable, from the Shechemites

(Jud 9:24)

aiding in it.

threescore and ten persons--A round number is used, but it is evident that two are wanting to complete that number.

6. all the men of Shechem . . ., and all the house of Millo--that is, a mound or rampart, so that the meaning is, all the men in the house or temple; namely, the priests of Baal.

made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar--rather, "by the oak near a raised mound"--so that the ceremony of coronation might be conspicuous to a crowd.

Jud 9:7-21.

JOTHAM BY A PARABLE REPROACHES THEM.

7. he . . . stood in the top of mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice--The spot he chose was, like the housetops, the public place of Shechem; and the parable

[Jud 9:8-15]

drawn from the rivalry of the various trees was appropriate to the diversified foliage of the valley below. Eastern people are exceedingly fond of parables and use them for conveying reproofs, which they could not give in any other way. The top of Gerizim is not so high in the rear of the town, as it is nearer to the plain. With a little exertion of voice, he could easily have been heard by the people of the city; for the hill so overhangs the valley, that a person from the side or summit would have no difficulty in speaking to listeners at the base. Modern history records a case, in which soldiers on the hill shouted to the people in the city and endeavored to instigate them to an insurrection. There is something about the elastic atmosphere of an Eastern clime which causes it to transmit sound with wonderful celerity and distinctness [HACKETT].

13. wine, which cheereth God and man--not certainly in the same manner. God might be said to be "cheered" by it, when the sacrifices were accepted, as He is said also to be honored by oil

(Jud 9:9).

21. Joatham . . . went to Beer--the modern village El-Bireh, on the ridge which bounds the northern prospect of Jerusalem.