And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.
Parallel translations
- WEB When all the men of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered into the stronghold of the house of Elberith.
- BSB On hearing of this, all the leaders in the tower of Shechem entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.
- NKJV Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered the stronghold of the temple of the god Berith.
- NASB When all the leaders of the tower of Shechem heard about it, they entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.
- NLT When the leading citizens who lived in the tower of Shechem heard what had happened, they ran and hid in the temple of Baal-berith.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The men of the tower of Shechem retreat into the stronghold of the temple of El-berith. They flee to their false god for refuge.
Overview
Survivors take shelter in the fortified temple of Baal-berith (El-berith), the covenant-god whose silver had funded Abimelech's rise (9:4). Seeking safety in an idol's house, they find none. Their misplaced trust exposes the helplessness of false gods to save, in pointed contrast to the LORD who is a true refuge.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Judg 8:33And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
- Ps 115:8They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
- Judg 9:4And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.
- Isa 37:38And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
- 1 Kgs 8:26And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
- Isa 28:15–18Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
- 2 Kgs 1:2–4And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.
- Judg 9:27And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 9:46 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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