God Repays Abimelech and Shechem

The narrator looks back over Abimelech's rule, the brothers' murder, Shechem's destruction, and Jotham's warning.

Abimelech has died at Thebez after an unnamed woman's millstone strike and the armor-bearer's sword, while his soldiers have dispersed. Shechem's city and tower have already suffered his violence. This short conclusion interprets those events retrospectively and links them to Jotham's earlier warning. Judges 10 begins another judge's account rather than extending Abimelech's rule.

The narrator names God's justice behind the collapse of Abimelech and Shechem.

Understanding the Big Idea

The narrator now explains the violent ending: God repaid Abimelech for the wickedness of killing his brothers and brought the wickedness of Shechem's men back on them. Jotham's curse, spoken after the murders and coronation, came upon those involved. The chapter closes by naming both the divine judge and the human wrongs being judged.

To provide the narrator's theological verdict on Abimelech's death and Shechem's ruin, explicitly identifying God's repayment and the fulfillment of Jotham's curse.

Divine repayment of wickedness is not identical to the gospel, but it makes moral guilt impossible to dismiss. The good news is that Christ died for sins and was raised (1 Corinthians 15:3-4); these verses do not license private vengeance or suggest that violent rulers can save themselves.

1. Whose wickedness does verse 56 name, and against whom was it done?
2. Whose wickedness does verse 57 name?
3. Who does the narrator say repaid these acts?
4. How are these verses different in voice from Jotham's earlier speech?
5. What relationship does the narrator draw between the outcome and Jotham's curse?