Judges Chapters 9,10,11,12 Commentary

JUDGES Chapters 9-12 9:1 Gideon’s desire for a concubine may have seemed like a minor deviation at the time (8:31), but the throne which Gideon had refused, is now sought at all cost by the offspring of that relationship. “The greatest influence on our lives comes from our parents. That may seem to be something in Abimelech’s favor. After all, he was a son of Gideon, the hero of faith. But in his case that was not an unmixed blessing, for Abimelech was the product of Gideon’s years of backsliding. His mother was a part of Gideon’s harem, but Gideon did not even give her the dignity of being his wife. She was a convenience, not a life partner….Gideon not only failed to express love to Abimelech, he failed to communicate spiritual truth to him” (Inrig p. 162). If we don’t share the faith with our children, they may undo all the good that we have tried to accomplish.

9:2 Abimelech resorted to a scare tactic. “The gospel according to Abimelech was: ‘I don’t want to scare you, but you don’t want seventy men---all Jerubbaal’s sons—trying to rule over you, do you?’ How less chaotic if only one of his sons rules you—me! By the way, I am related by blood to you men.’ The favorite-son argument won the day” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 122). Note that there wasn’t any real evidence that the sons of Gideon even wanted to rule Israel. 9:3 Abimelech’s relatives did their part in campaigning and arousing public support for this home town boy.

“Blood is thicker than brains” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 122). 9:4 As a result the town gave Abimelech seventy pieces of silver from the local Canaanite shrine, with which he hired some thugs.

In refusing to obey God and drive out the Canaanites, the city of Shechem had become a mixed city. Canaanites and Israelites lived side by side, and together they worshipped Baal. How ironic, for it was near this very city that Joshua had led the people to commit themselves to God’s covenant, as they recited the blessings and cursings from Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim (Deuteronomy 27:12-13; Joshua 8:33).

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9:5 “Treacherous and unstable, these mercenaries helped Abimelech commit wholesale fratricide” (Gaebelein p. 437). Yet, mass murders are rarely a total success, for Jotham managed a narrow escape. Compare with 2 Chronicles 22:10-12. “The demands of God’s law and simple humanity called for Abimelech to be put to death for his crime, but nobody raised a hand against him. Thus, in this one act, both Israel and Abimelech revealed themselves for what they were. Israel was an immoral, pagan society prepared to tolerate the most atrocious acts, while Abimelech was an utterly ruthless man, prepared to use any means to gain his desired ends” (Inrig p. 163). There is a lesson here. If the nation refuses to recognize God as their King, then they will be ruled by an usurper. In like manner, if qualified men refuse to stand up and shepherd the flock, then unqualified individuals will attempt to fill that void.

9:6 Instead of arresting Abimelech, they crowned him! “Beth-millo”-may have been the upper and fortified portion of the city of Shechem. The word “millo” means “fill or fortress” and the word “fill” refers to the huge earthen platform on which these structures were built. The coronation ceremony was held by the oak of the pillar, apparently the same spot where Joshua many years earlier had called upon Israel to be faithful to God (Joshua 24:26-27). 9:7-21 Possibly during the actual coronation, Jotham stands on the top of Mount Gerizim and gives the following story.

Let the reader remember that this location is a natural amphitheater.

“The fable (story) does not stress the worthlessness of kingship but the worthlessness of Abimelech; the concern is not that the worthy candidates depreciate the offer of kingship but that a bramble accepts it. The problem is not kingship but the character of the king and his cronies, as Jotham makes clear in verses 16-20. Jotham’s theme is the foolishness and peril of accepting clearly unqualified leadership.

Brambles make good fuel but poor kings; they burn better than they reign” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 123).

Great men, like Gideon had rejected the temptation to appoint themselves or bend to the whims of the populace and rule as a king in Israel. The “bramble” is clearly a reference to Abimelech. “At last the thornbush was called on; and, having nothing better to do, the surprised shrub gladly agreed to reign. The thorn was a menace to agriculture and had the quality of burning quickly (Psalm 58:9). Since it provided little if any shade, its refuge is spoken of sarcastically. It could only threaten to destroy” (Gaebelein p. 439). While the interpretation is clear without any further explanation, Jotham does give a detailed interpretation in verses 16-20. Verses 16-19 should have shamed the men of Shechem. Gideon had saved them from the oppression of Midian, and in turn these Shechemites had helped Abimelech slaughter all but one of his sons.

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The story also infers that Abimelech had made certain threats if he was not appointed (15). In verse 20, Jotham’s point is that, “A friendship based on ambition, ingratitude, disloyalty, and bloodshed could only have disastrous consequences for both sides” (Smith p. 167). “People have a strange tendency to accept bramble-leadership. William L. Shirer saw this in September 1934, at the Nazi Party celebration in Nuremberg.

‘The words he uttered, the thoughts he expressed, often seemed to me ridiculous, but that week in Nuremberg I began to comprehend that it did not matter so much what he said but how he said it. Hitler’s communication with his audiences was uncanny. He established a rapport almost immediately and deepened and intensified it as he went on speaking, holding them completely in his spell. In such a state, it seemed to me, they easily believed anything he said, even the most foolish nonsense. Over the years as I listened to scores of Hitler’s major speeches I would pause in my own mind to exclaim: ‘What utter rubbish!

What brazen lies!’ Then I would look around at the audience. His German listeners were lapping up every word as the utter truth’” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 123-124).

9:23-24 After three years of his rule, the men of Shechem were tired of Abimelech’s leadership. Seeing that God does not violate our free will, the “evil spirit” of this verse did not turn real good friends into enemies overnight. Rather, providential circumstances and other things moved the men of Shechem to become very suspicious and tired of their new king. One of the ways in which God judges evil men, is that He has the ability to turn them against each other. In addition, when we give into evil, it is very easy to become a suspicious person. 9:25 The men of Shechem set ambushes along the busy road which passed through their city. “Merchants and travelers were robbed and abused. Such actions were designed to discredit the reign of Abimelech, to make it appear that the new king was totally incapable of maintaining civil order” (Smith p.

167).

9:26-30 At this point another arrogant and ambitious individual enters the picture. “Gaal” (GAY al), and his relatives had recently moved into Shechem. Like Abimelech, he quickly persuaded the Shechemites, and at a drunken festival during the grape harvest (June-July), he cursed Abimelech, and boldly challenged the absent Abimelech. The expression, “serve the men of Hamor” (28), means the inhabitants of Shechem should serve the ancestor of their clan (Genesis 34:26), rather than the half-breed Abimelech. Gaal also ridiculed Zebul (ZEE buhl), who was the governor or mayor appointed over the city by Abimelech.

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9:30-33 Of course, Zebul was insulted and sent word to Abimelech. 9:3440 With no other choice, Gaal led the Shechemites against Abimelech and were soundly defeated. Zebul drove out the defeated and disgraced Gaal and his followers (41). 9:42-45 Yet Abimelech’s anger was not satisfied. The next day as the people went out to harvest their crops, Abimelech and his army struck in a surprise attack, by cutting off the only way back into the city, they easily massacred the people in their fields. They slaughtered the population, destroyed the city and sowed it with salt. “He tore down the main buildings and sowed the ground with salt to symbolize the utter destruction of the city and its perpetual infertility. Indeed Shechem was not rebuilt until the reign of Jeroboam I, almost two centuries later (1 Kings 12:25)” (Gaebelein p. 444). 9:46-49 “These verses probably explain an incident within the city, included in the destruction previously recorded in verse 45” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p.

398). The “tower of Shechem” might be the same structure called “Beth Millo” in earlier verses. “Mount Zalmon”, (ZAL muhn), was a wooded mountain near Shechem, and may have been the southern peak of Mount Gerizim, now called Jebel Sulman.

9:50-55 The city of “Thebez” (THEE biz), was as fortified city about 13 miles SW of Beth Shean. Possibly this city had joined with Shechem in the revolt.

As at Shechem, Abimelech was ready to burn down the fortified portion of the city, but a certain unnamed woman dropped an upper millstone and it hit Abimelech right on the head. Such a stone was either a cylinder-shaped stone about 8 to 10 inches in length and several inches thick, or the large upper stone of a regular mill, which was about 12 to 18 inches in diameter with a hole in the middle and several inches thick.

Ironically, instead of using the remainder of his fleeting life to repent, he arrogantly wants to make sure that no one can say that a woman killed him. 9:56-57 Justice is done! The story of Gideon and his descendants is a study in contrast. It is an excellent example of what God can do with a man when he acts in faith. It is also an example of the danger of failure in spite of initial victories.

Chapter 10 10:1-2 “After the turbulent reign of Abimelech…there was a period of relative peace under the leadership of two judges about whom we are told very little” (Davis p. 119). The name Tola (TOE luh) means crimson worm. The expression, “arose to save Israel”, seems to suggest that Israel needed saving from Abimelech’s bad influence. “The influence of this

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thug (Abimelech), and his cooperation with the idolaters at Shechem, created an environment throughout the land from which Israel needed deliverance” (Smith p. 170). 10:3-5 The seventh Judge of Israel was “Jair” (JAY ur). He hailed from the region beyond the Jordan known as Gilead.

“Presumably that is where he also exercised his judgeship for twenty-two years (c. 1148-1126 B.C.)” (Smith p. 171). Jair had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and infers that he was a wealthy man. 10:6 Once the door is opened for one idol, it is hard to keep the others from also entering.

10:7-9 The Philistines to the west (anticipating the narrative of Samson, chapters 13-16) and the Ammonites in the east oppressed Israel for eighteen years. Ammon was a kingdom northeast of Moab and oppressed the Israelites in Gilead, that being the area occupied by the tribe of Gad and Manasseh. 10:10-16 The people cry out to God and God rebukes them for their unfaithfulness, and He gave them a history lesson about His faithfulness (10:11-12), yet Israel still wandered from Him (13), so He said, “cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you”. Israel assumed that whenever things became too bad they could always go back to God. “There is a difference between a prodigal who comes to his senses and returns home and a whore who pleads for her husband’s security only until she finds someone else to take her on” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 135). When it comes to asking God to forgive us, which are we? Do we view God as only being useful in times of trouble?

10:15-16 Israel now demonstrates genuine repentance by throwing out the idols and by being willing to return to God on His terms. God will always respond when we are truly repentant and manifest the fruits of repentance (Acts 26:20; 2 Corinthians 7:10-11). God’s holiness demands that repentance be sincere, and God’s grace demands that something be done. 10:17-18 It looked as if another Ammonite victory was imminent. The Ammonite army had once more assembled to attack Israel. The Israelites, determined to stop the enemy, gathered at Mizpah to plan their strategy. The first task at hand was to select a capable military commander.

Chapter 11 11:1-3 Here we are introduced to “Jephthah” (JEF thuh). He was a courageous man, but had no social standing. Being the offspring of their father and a prostitute, his half-brothers had driven him out of the family.

He fled to the land of Tob, which is probably to be identified with et-

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Taiyibeh, some fifteen miles east of Ramoth Gilead. Here Jephthah roamed with a band of adventurers, soldiers of fortune and fellow misfits.

Yet unlike Abimelech (9:4), Jephthah as well as David (1 Samuel 22:2), were able to mold a difficult group into an effective fighting force.

11:4-10 Forced to eat some humble pie, the elders of Gilead plead with Jephthah to be their leader. In spite of the humiliating things which had happened to him, he still had faith in God (9), and realized that only God could give victory on the field of battle. His years of wandering with a rough crowd had not made him into a bitter man. These verses infer that not only had his brothers shunned him, but the entire community had sided with the family rather than Jephthah. “These elders had sanctioned the expulsion of Jephthah from the land” (Smith p. 173). 11:11-12 Jephthah first makes an attempt to peacefully solve this problem between Israel and the Ammonites. He asked the king of Ammon, “Why are you attacking us?”

11:13-28 “According to the king of Ammon, Israel had no legitimate right to the territory which they occupied on the east bank of the Jordan. He evidently knew something of the history of Israel’s conquest of the land, for he made reference to their exodus out of Egypt. Jephthah replied to the king of Ammon by pointing out that he too knew Old Testament history. He reminded the arrogant king that when Israel marched up through Edom into Moab that the territory at that time was under the control of Sihon who was the king of the Amorites (16-19). Sihon refused peaceful passage through the territory, and the area was conquered by Israel. Beginning with verse 21, Jephthah postulated four arguments in answer to the charge of the king of Ammon. First of all he pointed out that the land which Israel possessed was originally in the hands of the Amorites, not the Ammonites. The second argument was a religious argument stating that the God of Israel gave that land to Israel. Even the pagans recognized that when victory was given by a deity, the victors had the full right to possess that territory. The third argument was based on political precedent. He raised the question that if Balak, an earlier king of Moab, did not fight against Israel on the grounds of land rights, why then should the king of Ammon do so this late in history? The final argument in the negotiations was a time argument. He pointed out that the king of Ammon had, in effect, waited too long to make claim to that territory, for 300 years had passed since Israel dwelled in Heshbon on the east side of the Jordan. If the land did not really belong to Israel by right of conquest, then why was not the claim made to it much earlier?” (Davis pp. 123-124).

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There is an important note concerning time in 11:26. According to Jephthah, at the time of this speech, Israel had been in the land, at least on the east side of the Jordan for 300 years. “It indicates that the period of the judges must cover approximately 350 years. If 144 years, representing the time from the second year of Jephthah to the fourth year of Solomon, and thirty-eight years from the Exodus to Heshbon should be added to this total, the total would be approximately 482 years which is in general agreement with the statement made in 1 Kings 6:1 that there were 480 years between the Exodus and the fourth year of Solomon” (Davis p. 124). 11:29 As in the case of Gideon (6:34), the Spirit of the Lord empowered Jephthah in preparation for battle. In this verse he is traveling north on the east side of the Jordan and is gathering his troops.

11:30-31 Jephthah’s desire to defeat the Ammonites was so intense that he makes the following vow to God. “The masculine gender could be translated ‘whatever comes out’ or ‘whoever comes out’” (Gaebelein p.

455). Human sacrifice was strictly forbidden in the Law (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31), yet it is hard to see how Jephthah was vowing anything other than human sacrifice. First, animals were not kept indoors.

Second, it would be a mockery to vow to God whatever animal happened out the door. “If he intended an animal sacrifice, he would have vowed his very best animals, not just whatever wandered out the door” (Inrig p. 193). 11:32-33 Israel won the battle.

11:34-40 Basically there are two views concerning this text. Until the middle ages the interpretation of this text seems to have been fairly consistent, that is, Jephthah sacrificed his daughter. In recent times another view has surfaced, that Jephthah dedicated his daughter to serving at the tabernacle. “The view that Jephthah’s daughter was offered in some kind of celibate service originated with the Jewish rabbi David Kimchi (c.

AD 1232)” (Smith p. 180). Concerning the women who are associated with the tabernacle in 1 Samuel 2:22 and Exodus 38:8, nothing is said about them being permanent residents, and there is no evidence that such women were single or should be treated as nuns. The Hebrew word for burnt offering in 11:31, always has the idea of a burnt sacrifice in the Old Testament. The yearly commemoration (11:40) of his daughter makes sense only if she died. The view that she served at the sanctuary in lifelong service would not demand this kind of lamenting. The same point could be made concerning her own period of mourning: “Had she only been confined to a single life, she needed not to have desired these two months to bewail it in: she had her whole life before her to do that, if she 7

saw cause. Nor needed she to take such a sad leave of her companions” (Matthew Henry. 2:197).

From the text we learn the danger of being ignorant of God’s word.

Jephthah knew it was a sin to break a vow (Numbers 30:2), but he was ignorant and misguided concerning what he could and couldn’t vow.

This should not surprise us, for King Saul made the same type of vow (1 Samuel 14:28, 43-45). If only Jephthah had known more of God’s word, if only someone had taught him, or like those who rescued Jonathan, if only someone had stopped him! Here we see the danger of having zeal without the proper knowledge. Gaebelein reminds us, “Yet Israel’s neighbors---ironically, especially the Ammonites---sacrificed their children; and this custom might have influenced Jephthah….In his desperation the king was willing to pay the ultimate price for victory. Although Jephthah did not originally plan to sacrifice his daughter, he would gladly have offered up anyone else if it helped bring victory” (p. 455). This account should remind us that individuals such as Jephthah, who are praised in Hebrews chapter 11, are praised for their faith, and not their acts of unbelief, selfishness or ignorance (11:32). In addition, what makes this account even more depressing is that his daughter was also completely ignorant of God’s law on this point. She could have saved her life—and grief to her father, if she had pointed out that God never expected anyone to keep such a terrible vow. This account does confirm the final statement in the book, “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:21). “The dominant philosophy of this day was moral and spiritual relativism” (Davis p. 127). This is one reason why we always need to be teaching the truth on basic subjects, for the truth can become so easily forgotten, and innocent people can get hurt when zeal for God is running far ahead of Biblical truth.

Chapter 12 12:1-3 “The proud and powerful tribe of Ephraim had earlier denounced Gideon for failing to invite them and participate in the victory over Midian (8:1-3). Gideon had soothed them by involving them in the campaign and praising their contribution” (Gaebelein p. 458). Jephthah was a different type of man, he was not about to be bullied by ungrateful neighbors. For eighteen years the Ammonites had overrun the area of Gilead and Ephraim had totally ignored the needs of their brothers. But now, after the battle was over, they complained. Ephraim was always brave after the battle was over! “Jephthah, having been a nobody was

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likely unimpressed with somebodies. In any case, Jephthah retorted that he had summoned the Ephraimites and they had left him in the lurch” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 150).

The spirit of Ephraim is still alive. We are acting like this ungrateful tribe when we complain about something not getting done or succeeding in the local congregation, when in reality, we did not lift a finger or offer any of our help when the help was needed. “I am afraid that there are far too many Christians who are Ephraimites when it comes to understanding their God-given responsibilities. They are more willing to let other believers move out into the world, and to let other Christians confront the world with the gospel….But these people reserve the right to criticize from the sidelines or even to condemn what these other Christians do. They are very critical of their brothers, but they are not involved in confronting the enemy” (Inrig p. 199).

12:4 Civil war broke out, especially when the Ephraimites started hurling racial slurs at those on the east side of the Jordan. “Ephraim looked down on these relatives across the river, who no longer even spoke the same dialect (6)” (Gaebelein p. 458). 12:5-6 For the third time in the book, the capture of the convenient crossing places across the Jordan was crucial (3:28; 7:24-25). The Ephraimites turned out to be the fugitives! The Ephraimites trying to get back home were easily identified by their colloquial pronunciation of the Hebrew sound sh which they pronounced as an s. This civil war cost the Ephraimites 42,000 lives, a high price for arrogance! The word “Shibboleth” (SHIBB oh lehth), means either an ear of corn or a flowing stream. “During World War II, the Nazis identified Russian Jews by the way they pronounced the word for corn: “kookoorooza” (Gaebelein p. 458). “So every Ephraimite who played Bible Password that day lost” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 151). 12:7 Jephthah only lived six more years.

Ibzan, Elon, Abdon 12:8-15 We are left wondering why so little is said about these judges. The pronunications of their names are as follows: “Ibzan” (IB zan); “Elon” (EE lahn); “Abdon” (AB done). The Bethlehem from which Ibzan ruled, is either the Bethlehem in Judah, or probably the Bethlehem located in the territory of Zebulun, located about 10 miles north of Megiddo. A suggested time line for these judges would be, Ibzan (1105-1098); Elon (1097-1087); Abdon (1089-1081).

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The brevity of the Bible tells us something, the center of the story isn’t man.

That doesn’t mean that man is unimportant, but that man is not the focus.

“It tells us that its purpose is not to tell us about every Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 154). In addition, God may focus more on Gideon, Jephthah and Samson, not because they were greater than Ibzan, Elon or Abdon, but because we can learn more lessons from their lives (Romans 15:4), and the lessons to be learned might be far more in the realm of what not to do.

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