Judges 9:54

Jdg 9:54 Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

Ver. 54. Then he called hastily unto the young man.] Exemplum pertinacis ambitionis et impaenitentiae. {a} A fearful example of a man who died in his sins, which is far worse than to die in a ditch, niggardly of his reputation, prodigal of his soul. Do we not sometimes see vain fools running wilfully into the field, into the grave, into hell? and all lest it should be said they have as much fear as wit.

And his young man thrust him through, and he died.] So there lay the greatness of Abimelech, "killed with death," as the phrase is in Rev 2:23. Of him it might be truly said, as it was afterwards of Pope Boniface VIII, that he entered like a fox, reigned as a lion, and died as a dog.

{a} Piscat.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thus God by such miserable death taketh vengeance on tyrants even in this life.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 54. Draw thy sword, and slay me] It was a disgrace to be killed by a woman; on this account, Seneca the tragedian deplores the death of Hercules: -

O turpe fatum! femina Herculeae necis

Autor feritur.

HERC. OETAEUS, ver. 1177.

"O dishonourable fate! a woman is reported to

have been author of the death of Hercules."

Abimelech was also afraid that if he fell thus mortally wounded into the hands of his enemies they might treat him with cruelty and insult.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(54) A woman slew him.—He did not, however, escape the taunt (2Sa_11:21). We see also from the narrative of the death of Saul in 2Sa_1:9, 1Sa_31:4, how sensitive the ancients were about the manner of their death. The same feeling finds ample illustration in Homer and classic writers (Soph. Trach., 1,064). It was a similar feeling which made Deborah exult in the death of Sisera by the hand of a woman, and the Jews in the murder of Holofernes by Judith. It is remarkable that both of the first two Israelite kings die by suicide to avoid a death of greater shame.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

54. armourbearer] Cf. Jdg_7:10 f., 1Sa_31:4.

and kill me] and dispatch me, i.e. give the death stroke; cf. 1Sa_14:13; 1Sa_17:51, especially 2Sa_1:9 f. The first aspirant to kingship and the first real king in Israel met their deaths in the same way.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead,.... That is, those that were with him, the men of his army, who were all Israelites:

they departed every man to his place; disbanded themselves, and went everyone to their own home, and so the inhabitants of Thebez escaped the vengeance of Abimelech.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Slew him. The ancient heroes were always attended by their armour-bearers. (Calmet) --- Marius ordered his servant to run him through, that he might not be exposed to the insults of his enemies; and V. Maximus (vi. 8,) greatly commends the servant for doing so. Nihil eorum pietati cedit, a quibus salus Dominorum protecta est. David was not of the same opinion, since he punished the Amalecite who pretended that he had rendered this service to Saul, 2 Kings i. 16. The Christian religion condemns both those who engage others to take away their life, and those who comply with the impious request. Hercules was affected in the same manner as Abimelech, when he found that he was to die by the malice of a woman. O turpe fatum! femina Herculeæ necis---Auctor feratur. (Seneca) --- The Lacedemonians were not eager to besiege Argos, when they saw that the women were engaged in its defence. (Pausan. ii.) (Calmet) --- Notwithstanding the wicked precaution of Abimelech, what he so much feared took place; for Joab said, Did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, and slay him in Thebes? (2 Kings xi. 21.) His skull was so much fractured, that he had received a mortal wound: the sword only hastened his death. Thus was he justly punished with a stone, who had slaughtered 68 or 69 of his brethren upon one stone. (Haydock) --- He can only be considered as an usurper or tyrant, since he was neither chosen by God nor by the Israelites in general. Hence he is only said to have reigned at Sichem. (Cornelius a Lapide) --- He was going to extend his conquests over other cities and tribes, when he was slain at Thebes. (Josephus) (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

A woman slew him; which was esteemed a matter of disgrace.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

54. A woman slew him — This was reckoned a terrible disgrace to a warrior. Like his next successor in Israelitish royalty, (1Sa_31:4,) he implored his armour-bearer to despatch him; but he did not thereby escape the dreaded ignominy, for the manner of his death was written in history, and long after familiarly associated with his memory. 2Sa_11:21. And thus was ultimately fulfilled the prophetic curse of Jotham.

“Much more beautiful is the otherwise tragical death of Saul. His attendant, influenced by reverence, refuses to kill him, and finally follows him in voluntary death. The songs of David celebrate Saul’s memory; but Abimelech’s epitaph is his brother Jotham’s curse.” — Cassel.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His armour-bearer an office of trust, entailing much intimacy. Saul loved David greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. (1Sa_16:21) Compare the similar incident of Saul and his armour-bearer 1Sa_31:4-6.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A women - Which was esteemed a matter of disgrace.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Lest it be said of me. Lest it be said concerning me.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.