So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.
Parallel translations
- WEB They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.
- KJV And 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.
- NKJV So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men; and they followed him.
- NASB And they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.
- NLT They gave him seventy silver coins from the temple of Baal-berith, which he used to hire some reckless troublemakers who agreed to follow him.
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
Shechem funds Abimelech from Baal Berith's temple, and he hires reckless men.
Overview
Silver from a pagan temple bankrolls Abimelech's coup, binding idolatry to his bloody ambition. The 'vain and light fellows' he hires are lawless mercenaries fit for murder. The whole enterprise is rooted in false worship and contempt for God's order.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Judg 8:33And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.
- Prov 12:11The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.
- 2 Chr 13:7Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.
- Acts 17:5The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.
- Judg 11:3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.
- Judg 9:46–49On hearing of this, all the leaders in the tower of Shechem entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.
- Job 30:8A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
- 1 Sam 22:2And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
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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 9:4 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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