Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 9:54
Then he called hastily unto the young man his armorbearer, 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.
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A woman slew him; which was esteemed a matter of disgrace.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then he called hastily to the young man his armourbearer,…. Perceiving it was a mortal blow that was given him, and he should soon expire; and that the cast of the stone was by the hand of a woman, and therefore he was in haste to have the young man come to him:
and said unto him, draw thy sword and slay me, that men say not of me, a woman slew him; it being reckoned very ignominious and reproachful to die by the hand of a woman, and especially any great personage, as a king or general of an army s; to avoid this, he chose rather to be guilty of suicide, or of what cannot well be excused from it, and so died by suicide; which, added to all his other sins, he seemed to have no sense of, or repentance for; and the method he took to conceal the shame of his death served the more to spread it; for this circumstance of his death could not be given without the reason of it, and which was remembered and related punctually near two hundred years afterwards, 2Sa 11:21.
s “O turpe fatum! foemina Herculeae, necis Auctor feretur —-” Seneca Oetaeo.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
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.
‘ Then he called hastily to the young man his armourbearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that men may not say of me, a woman slew him.” And his young man thrust him through and he died.’
Recognising that his end was near he ordered his own armourbearer, a young man, to draw his sword and kill him. The sword would be sheathed because he was helping build up wood by the door of the tower. And the young man, recognising his predicament, for he knew that for a soldier to die at a woman’s hand would be to be disgraced, did as he was bid. But the disgrace has come down in history. The young armourbearer would carry Abimelech’s weapons, spears and shield, prior to a fight and would fight by his master’s side.
There is possibly some kind of justice recognised by the writer in what happened to Abimelech. He who had slain his brothers on a stone, was slain by a mill-stone. And stoning was the sentence exacted on those in Israel on whom the death penalty was passed.
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. a Piscat.
A woman slew. See note on Jdg 4:21.
Draw thy: 1Sa 31:4, 1Sa 31:5
And his young man: It was a disgrace to be killed by a woman.
Reciprocal: Jdg 4:9 – into Jdg 8:21 – Rise thou 2Sa 1:7 – Here am I 2Sa 1:10 – slew 1Ki 16:18 – and burnt the king’s house 1Ch 10:4 – Draw Jer 38:19 – mock Mat 27:5 – and departed Act 16:27 – he drew
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 {r} thrust him through, and he died.
(r) Thus God by such miserable death takes vengeance on tyrants even in this life.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes