Judges 9:53

9:50-57 The Shechemites were ruined by Abimelech; now he is reckoned with, who was their leader in villany. Evil pursues sinners, and sometimes overtakes them, when not only at ease, but triumphant. Though wickedness may prosper a while, it will not prosper always. The history of mankind, if truly told, would greatly resemble that of this chapter. The records of what are called splendid events present to us such contests for power. Such scenes, though praised of men, fully explain the Scripture doctrine of the deceitfulness and desperate wickedness of the human heart, the force of men's lust, and the effect of Satan's influence. Lord, thou has given us thy word of truth and righteousness, O pour upon us thy spirit of purity, peace, and love, and write thy holy law in our hearts.

And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone,.... Of the upper millstone, as the word signifies, which is observed by Jarchi and other Jewish commentators; this with other stones being carried up to the top of the tower, to do what execution they could with them: and a woman observing Abimelech making up to the door of the tower, took up this piece of millstone, and threw it down upon Abimelech's head, and all to break his skull; she did it with that view, though it may as well be rendered, or "she", or "it broke his skull" (r); it made a fracture in it, which was mortal. Abendana observes, and so others, that that was measure for measure, a righteous retaliation, that as he had slain seventy of his brethren on one stone, he should die by means of a stone. (r) "et confregit cranium ejus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Tigurine version.

Jdg 9:53-54. A woman cast a piece of a millstone — Such great stones, no doubt, they carried up with them, whereby they might defend themselves, or offend those who assaulted them. Here the justice of God is remarkable in suiting the punishment to his sin. He slew his brethren upon a stone, ( Jdg 9:5 ,) and he loseth his own life by a stone. A woman slew him — Which was esteemed a matter of disgrace.

Verse 53. - A millstone . The word here used means the upper millstone , which rides as it were, or moves, over the fixed nether stone. All to brake his skull . This obsolete English phrase has been the subject of a recent controversy. In the older English of Chaucer and his immediate successors such compounds as to-break , to-burst , etc. were very common, and were frequently preceded by the adverb all. Hence, some English scholars would read the phrase here, and all to-brake his skull. It is, however, certain that before the time when the A.V. was made the compounds to-break , to-burst , etc. had become entirely obsolete, and the compound all-to had come into use. The right way, therefore, in which to read the present phrase is , and all-to brake his skull , i.e. smashed it, dashed it in pieces. The prefix all-to gives intensity to the verb. Judges 9:53

Such great stones no doubt they carried up with them, whereby they might defend themselves, or offend those who assaulted them. Here the justice of God is remarkable in suiting the punishment to his sin. He slew his brethren upon a stone, Judges 9:5 , and he loseth his own life by a stone.

53 . upper millstone ] lit. ‘millstone of riding’; i.e. the upper stone of a mill turned by a handle, the lower stone being stationary. In Palestine the grinding of corn for the household was, and still is, done by the women ( Ecclesiastes 12:3 , St Matthew 24:41 ); this explains how a woman came to use such a weapon. Cf. Jdg 4:21 .

51-53. all the men and women, … gat them up to the top of the tower—The Canaanite forts were generally mountain fastnesses or keeps, and they often had a strong tower which served as a last refuge. The Assyrian bas-reliefs afford counterparts of the scene here described so vivid and exact, that we might almost suppose them to be representations of the same historic events. The besieged city—the strong tower within—the men and women crowding its battlements—the fire applied to the doors, and even the huge fragments of stone dropping from the hands of one of the garrison on the heads of the assailants, are all well represented to the life—just as they are here described in the narrative of inspired truth [Goss].

(53) A piece of a millstone. —The word for millstone is receb, literally, runner, i.e., the upper millstone, or lapis vector, which is whirled round and round over the stationary lower one, sheceb ( Deuteronomy 24:6 ). And all to brake his skull.—This is a mere printer’s error for all-to or al-to, i.e., utterly, and it has led to the further misreading of “brake.” Others think that it should be printed “all to-brake,” where the to is intensive like the German ge—as in Chaucer’s “All is to-broken thilke regioun” (Knight’s Tale, 2,579). But in Latimer we find “they love, and all-to love him” (see Bible Word-book, § 5). The meaning of the verb is “smashed” or “shattered” (LXX., suneklase; Vulg., confregit; Luther, zerbrach). The death of Pyrrhus by a tile flung down by a woman as he rode into the town of Argos is an historic parallel (Pausan. 1:13). The ringleader of an attack on the Jews, who had taken refuge in York Castle in 1190, was similarly killed. His armour.—Celîm, literally, implements. (Comp. Judges 18:11; Genesis 27:3.)

At length the fate predicted by Jotham ( Judges 9:20 ) overtook Abimelech. Judges 9:50-54 He went from Shechem to Thebez, besieged the town, and took it. Thebez, according to the Onom. thirteen miles from Neapolis (Shechem) on the road to Scythopolis (Beisan), has been preserved in the large village of Tubs on the north of Shechem (see Rob. Pal. iii. p. 156, and Bibl. Res. p. 305). This town possessed a strong tower, in which men and women and all the inhabitants of the town took refuge and shut themselves in. But when Abimelech advanced to the tower and drew near to the door to set it on fire, a woman threw a millstone down upon him from the roof of the tower and smashed his skull, whereupon he called hastily to the attendant who carried his weapons to give him his death-blow with his sword, that men might not say of him "a woman slew him." רכב פּלח, the upper millstone which was turned round, lapis vector (see Deuteronomy 24:6). תּריץ: from רצץ, with a toneless i, possibly to distinguish it from ותּרץ (from רוּץ). גּלגּלתּו, an unusual form for גּלגּלתּו, which is found in the edition of Norzi (Mantua, 1742).

[Reformed Biblical] wn, and retired to their strong hold. ## The top of the tower was flat and plain, after their manner of building. Judges 9:52 No text from Poole on this verse. Judges 9:53 Such great stones no doubt they carried up with them, whereby they might defend themselves, or offend those who assaulted them. Here the justice of God is remarkable in suiting the punishment to his sin. He slew his brethren upon a stone, Jud_9:5, and he loseth his own life by a stone. Judges 9:54 A woman slew him; which was esteemed a matter of disgrace. Judges 9:55 No text from Poole on this verse. ## Judges 9:56 The wickedness which he did unto his father, in rooting out, as far as he could, the name, and memory, and remainders of his father. Judges 9:57 No text from Poole on this verse. ## Judges 10:1 JUDGES CHAPTER 10 ## Tola judgeth Israel; and Jair, whose thirty sons had thirty cities, Jud_10:1-5. The people’s idolatry, Jud_10:6. The Philistines and Ammonites oppress them, Jud_10:7-9. They cry to God, who sendeth them to their false gods; but upon their repentance pitieth them, Jud_10:10-11. The Ammonites and Israelites encamp against one another, Jud_10:17 ,18 . ## There arose; not of himself, but either chosen by the people; or rather, raised by God, as the other judges were.