Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 9:53

And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to broke his skull.

53. upper millstone ] lit. ‘millstone of riding’; i.e. the upper stone of a mill turned by a handle, the lower stone being stationary. In Palestine the grinding of corn for the household was, and still is, done by the women (Ecc 12:3, St Mat 24:41); this explains how a woman came to use such a weapon. Cf. Jdg 4:21.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The phrase all to is now obsolete, and means quite, entirely, as in Chaucer, Spenser, and Milton.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 53. A piece of a millstone] pelach recheb, a piece of a chariot wheel; but the word is used in other places for upper millstones, and is so understood here by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic.

And all to break his skull.] A most nonsensical version of vattarits eth gulgolto, which is literally, And she brake, or fractured, his skull. Plutarch, in his life of Pyrrhus, observes that this king was killed at the siege of Thebes, by a piece of a tile, which a woman threw upon his head.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Such great stones no doubt they carried up with them, whereby they might defend themselves, or offend those who assaulted them. Here the justice of God is remarkable in suiting the punishment to his sin. He slew his brethren upon a stone, Jdg 9:5, and he loseth his own life by a stone.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone,…. Of the upper millstone, as the word signifies, which is observed by Jarchi and other Jewish commentators; this with other stones being carried up to the top of the tower, to do what execution they could with them: and a woman observing Abimelech making up to the door of the tower, took up this piece of millstone, and threw it down

upon Abimelech’s head, and all to break his skull; she did it with that view, though it may as well be rendered, or “she”, or “it broke his skull” r; it made a fracture in it, which was mortal. Abendana observes, and so others, that that was measure for measure, a righteous retaliation, that as he had slain seventy of his brethren on one stone, he should die by means of a stone.

r “et confregit cranium ejus”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator so Tigurine version.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(53) A piece of a millstone.The word for millstone is receb, literally, runner, i.e., the upper millstone, or lapis vector, which is whirled round and round over the stationary lower one, sheceb (Deu. 24:6).

And all to brake his skull.This is a mere printers error for all-to or al-to, i.e., utterly, and it has led to the further misreading of brake. Others think that it should be printed all to-brake, where the to is intensive like the German geas in Chaucers All is to-broken thilke regioun (Knights Tale, 2,579). But in Latimer we find they love, and all-to love him (see Bible Word-book, 5). The meaning of the verb is smashed or shattered (LXX., suneklase; Vulg., confregit; Luther, zerbrach). The death of Pyrrhus by a tile flung down by a woman as he rode into the town of Argos is an historic parallel (Pausan. 1:13). The ringleader of an attack on the Jews, who had taken refuge in York Castle in 1190, was similarly killed.

His armour.Celm, literally, implements. (Comp. Jdg. 18:11; Gen. 27:3.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

53. All-to brake his skull Better, and she brake his skull. The phrase all-to was used by some of the old English authors in the sense of entirely, but is now obsolete.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘ And a certain woman cast an upper-millstone on Abimelech’s head and broke his skull.’

An unknown woman on the tower, seeing Abimelech not far below her, (the tower would not be very high), took her missile, which was a substantial upper-millstone, one used in her mill to grind the corn, roughly about 18 inches (half a metre) in diameter, and 3 inches (8 centimetres) thick, and hurled it down with all her strength on Abimelech. And her aim was good, and it smashed into his head and broke his skull. The tower was fairly low, and the upper-millstone would be fairly prominent, so that Abimelech knew who had thrown it and even in his agony his pride was such that he could not bear the shame of being killed by a woman, even such a redoubtable woman as this.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jdg 9:53. A certain woman cast a piece of a millstone, &c. A woman threw down from the top of a tower a large stone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to break his skull; which is an old Anglicism, and might be rendered much more eligibly, and fractured his skull. Thus Pyrrhus, at the siege of Thebes, was killed by a woman who threw a tile upon his head. See Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus. But Abimelech’s death by a stone is the more remarkable, as it carried some stamp of his sin upon it, who had slain all his brethren on a stone.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Jdg 9:53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull.

Ver. 53. And a certain woman. ] Women have sometimes done singular service against an enemy: as at the siege of Lamia, laid by M. Acilius, the Roman general: a of Coccinum, in the isle of Lemnus, by the Turks, where Marulla, a maiden, fought desperately in defence of her country: b of Buda, where the Hungarian women bestirred them lustily to save the town. c But what monstrous mothers were those Suevian women, who, assisting their husbands in fight against the Romans, under the conduct of Drusus, son-in-law to Augustus Caesar, threw their young children at them instead of darts. d

Cast a piece of a millstone. ] So that ambitious King Pyrrhus was at last slain with a tile stone thrown upon his head by a woman. e And the like deadly blow light by a like hand, upon the head of Hermanius Earl of Lucelburg, whom Pope Hildebrand had set up in opposition to Henry the Emperor, whom he had excommunicated. f Simeon De Monteforti also, another of the Pope’s champions, fighting against those ancient Protestants the Waldenses, was brained with a stone at the siege of Tholouse. g That scholar that took his death by the falling of a letter of stone from the Earl of Northampton’s house at the funeral of Queen Anne, was to be pitied. But commentators observe it for a just hand of God upon Abimelech, that upon one stone he had slain his seventy brethren, and now a stone slayeth him: his head had stolen the crown of Israel, and now his head is smitten.

a Liv., lib. xxxvii.

b Turk. Hist., 413.

c Ibid., 741.

d Heyl., Geog.

e Plutarch.

f Val. Max. Christ.

g Arch. Ussher.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

a piece of a = an upper.

all to brake = altogether brake. (Obsolete.)

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

woman: Jdg 9:15, Jdg 9:20, 2Sa 11:21, 2Sa 20:21, Job 31:3, Jer 49:20, Jer 50:45

and all to: An antiquated expression, meaning “full intention” to complete an object. “All to,” observes Dr. Johnson, “is a particle of mere enforcement.” The original is wattaritz eth gulgalto, which is simply as the LXX render , “and she brake his skull.” Plutarch relates, that Pyrrhus was killed at the siege of Thebes, by a piece of a tile, which a woman threw upon his head.

Reciprocal: Ecc 10:8 – that

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jdg 9:53-54. A woman cast a piece of a millstone Such great stones, no doubt, they carried up with them, whereby they might defend themselves, or offend those who assaulted them. Here the justice of God is remarkable in suiting the punishment to his sin. He slew his brethren upon a stone, (Jdg 9:5,) and he loseth his own life by a stone. A woman slew him Which was esteemed a matter of disgrace.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments