A Woman's Millstone Ends Abimelech's Attack
Abimelech comes to burn another tower and falls beneath a woman's millstone.
Judges 9:50-55 (BSB)
50Then Abimelech went to Thebez, encamped against it, and captured it.
51But there was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and leaders of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.
52When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.
53But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.
54He quickly called his armor-bearer, saying, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So Abimelech’s armor-bearer ran his sword through him, and he died.
55And when the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.
Historical Context
Thebez has an inner tower whose inhabitants close its doors and take refuge on the roof.
Literary Context
The attack recalls Shechem's tower, which Abimelech and his men burned with about a thousand people inside. At Thebez he approaches another occupied tower with the same intention, but this effort is interrupted. The narrator's next two verses explicitly interpret his death and Shechem's destruction as God's repayment for their wickedness.
What is the big idea of Judges 9:50-55?
Abimelech comes to burn another tower and falls beneath a woman's millstone.
Understanding the Big Idea
Abimelech captures Thebez, but men and women retreat into a strong tower and lock it. As he approaches its entrance to burn it, a woman drops an upper millstone that crushes his skull. Anxious that people might say a woman killed him, Abimelech orders his armor-bearer to strike him; the young man does, and Abimelech dies. The Israelites see his death and disperse.
Authorial Intent
To narrate the failure of Abimelech's attempt to repeat Shechem's tower burning and the circumstances of his death.
How does Judges 9:50-55 point to Christ?
Abimelech's death ends his violent campaign, but it is not the gospel. Christ's death for sins and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) are saving acts of a different order from this battle at Thebez.
Questions for Reflection
- What happens to the people of Thebez after the city is captured?
- What is Abimelech trying to do at the tower?
- Who strikes him, with what object, and what injury follows?
- Why does he ask his armor-bearer to kill him?
- How does the narrator describe the Israelites' response?
Chapter: Judges 9
Abimelech's Anti-Kingship: Bloodshed, Treachery, and the Curse Fulfilled
Covenantless ambition enthrones a bramble-king, but God turns Abimelech's bloodshed and Shechem's treachery back upon their own heads.