Introduction: Judges 9 is a tremendous valley in a basin of low points in the history of Israel. Gideon, although

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1 9 9:1 57 Aimlch Outlin of Chaptr 9: Vv. 1 6 Aimlch, with hlp from Shchm, maks himslf th first king ovr Isral Vv Th fal-paral of Jotham, th only surviving son of Gidon Vv Aimlch and Shchm at nmity with on anothr Vv Gaal n Ed offrs himslf as a rulr in Aimlch s stad Vv Zul snds word to Aimlch concrning this fomnting rvolution Vv Aimlch attacks and dfats Gaal and his soldirs Vv Aimlch attacks and dstroys th ladrs of Shchm Vv Aimlch is dfatd in attl in disgrac, th fatal low ing dlivrd y a woman Charts: v. 31 B thâr mâh or Ba ãrûwmâh Introduction: 9 is a trmndous vally in a asin of low points in th history of Isral. Gidon, although a man of unrcognizd gratnss in 6 8, still, at th nd of his lif, had many wivs and vn sird a astard son namd Aimlch y his mistrss. Aimlch, in a powr gra, will kill all ut on of Gidon s svnty sons, and rul ovr Isral. It is this chaptr which dals with his mafia-lik hit on Gidon s childrn and his rif rul ovr Isral. Had Gidon askd, Giv m on good rason why I should not hav a mistrss. Th answr would hav n Aimlch. This is on of thos chaptrs which, if it is simply placd in your rad th Bil in on yar program, that you will nvr fully grasp. You won t know who is who; you won t grasp why Jotham says what h says; you won t fully grasp who is th ad guy and who is th good guy. In fact, this is a chaptr which can vry it as maninglss as a gnalogy chaptr tnds to, vn though it is fraught with maning. You don t hav th quipmnt and th rsourcs to unarth what is found hr. That is my jo. Onc you hav rad this xplanation, you will fully grasp prtty much vry phras found in this chaptr. If you don t liv m, thn put this commntary down and rad through this chaptr onc or twic in whatvr vrsion you us or, ttr yt, pick up a coupl of vrsions and rad through. Thn ask yourslf if you rally grasp what is going on. Th jo of th pastor or a commntator is to xgt th Word of God th mak it undrstandal to his congrgation. Th pastor is not supposd to mrly giv two or thr light mssags a wk, tll his congrgation to study th Bil for thmslvs, and thn spnd th rst of th wk going to mtings and acting as a poor man s psychiatrist. A pastor is supposd to dig out th maning of God s Word and giv you ampl application to your lif. That is what I hav don hr. On of th things which you might miss is that thr is a grat chang in th ook of with this chaptr. Th ook of is rokn down into thr sctions, and w ar in th scond sction th chronological portion of th list of judgs. This chaptr is th nd of th four chaptr st and is th litrary cntr of th ook of. What occurrd in th ook of from chaptrs 3 through 8 was conscutiv and non-ovrlapping. 9 will continu with that. Howvr, 8:28 was th last tim that w har th phras and th land was undisturd for yars. At this point, Isral will gt th rulr sh dsrvs, and thn th opprssion that sh dsrvs. In 6, w introducd th prson of Gidon, and through chaptrs 6 8 w xamind Gidon dirctly and in this chaptr w will xamin his offspring, particularly th vil Aimlch. Th NIV Study Bil nots: Aimlch...stands in sharp contrast to his fathr Gidon (Jru-Baal), who had attackd Baal worship and insistd that th Lord ruld ovr Isral. Aimlch attmptd this Canaanit rvival in th vry plac whr Joshua had

2 Chaptr arlir raffirmd Isral s allgianc to th Lord (Jos. 24:14 27). In vry rspct, Aimlch was th antithsis of th Lord s appointd judgs. 1 Aimlch was not a judg pr s Aimlch was th first king of Isral. I should point out that th NIV Study Bil 2 ss him as simply a city-king, not unlik th Canaanit city kings in that ara. Most commntators, xcpt for Kil and Dlitzsch, do not s him as a sovrign rulr ovr Isral, dspit th fact that h is said to, in th Bil, a rulr ovr Isral. It is nvr clar how far his rul xtndd, ut it was dfinitly ovr mor than on city, as h placd his own man in powr ovr th city of his youth, and latr at th nd of th chaptr attacks anothr rllious city. Thrfor, h is a rulr ovr a mor significant portion of Isral than just on city. Furthrmor, h has a moil army to ack him up which is larg nough to split into four companis, which also suggsts that h ruld ovr an ara much mor xtnsiv than a city. Th rsult of all of this will ssntially a scattrd, disorganizd civil war in Isral. Som xpositors rjct Aimlch s rul simply caus thy do not lik Aimlch. His rul 3 is suddn and usurpativ. Howvr, h cam to powr allowd y God. Th Most High is sovrign ovr th kingdoms of mn and givs thm to anyon h wishs, and sts ovr thm th lowlist of mn. (Danil 4:17 4 NIV ). McG wrot: Evn today whn a good rulr coms into offic, many folk say, God raisd him up. What aout th wickd rulr? God prmits him to com to th thron also. Do you know why? Bcaus...popl gt th rulr thy dsrv. Th popl of Isral wantd this oy Aimlch to rul ovr thm; and thy got th calir of man thy dsrvd. Frinds, whn w look around our world today, w find this principl is still tru. 5 W hav quit a numr of charactrs in this chaptr, so that it is asy to gt lost vn in a carful rad of th narrativ. Thrfor, w would nfittd to gt to know thm first. Our chif charactr is Aimlch, th astard son of Gidon. In his position as astard son, h has dvlopd jalousy and othr mntal attitud sins, which h comins with powr lust. Now, h is old, and h is mor gutsy than his fathr, Gidon. H dsirs powr and h acts lik a mafia godfathr, xcpt without any rgard to his own family. H first gos to his immdiat family, to s if thy will support him. T hn h has thm spak to th ladrs of Shchm, his hom town. Th rsult is that Shchm, as a city, will support his id for powr. Kp in mind that Isral dsirs a national ladr and that Gidon, prior to his dath, dclind that position. What Gidon did not dclin wr th ladis and h had many wivs and sird 70 childrn and Aimlch saw ths offspring as his nmis in his id for powr. Thrfor, Aimlch assassinatd his svnty half-rothrs. Insofar as w know, Aimlch appars to th only astard son of Gidon. On son scapd, th vry youngst, Jotham. Jotham, surprisingly, plays a fairly larg part in this narrativ, although th actual tim fram for his apparanc is quit rif. H spaks a fw words to th mn of Shchm, disparaging thir choic to follow Aimlch, pointing out that it dfams th honor of Gidon. H prdicts dstruction for th ladrs of Shchm, who stood hind Aimlch, and thn fls for his lif. Thr is a possiility that h authord this chaptr. Thr yars pass during which Aimlch ruls ovr Isral (proaly th northrn portion of Isral). His right-hand man, Zul, is placd in charg of Shchm. W ar not told much aout Zul and his ackground; it would rasonal to guss that h was Aimlch s scond-in-command in his prsonal army. Thn Gaal n Ed strolls into Shchm, at a tim whn th ladrs of Shchm had com disnchantd with Aimlch. W ar not givn any spcifics as to why; w can crtainly spculat that thy would hav xpctd 1 Th NIV Study Bil; 1995 y Th Zondrvan Corporation; p Th NIV Study Bil; 1995 y Th Zondrvan Corporation; pp On of th fun parts of writing is that occasionally, on finds onslf using words which on has nvr rad or usd for; and, which occasionally, fall outsid th ralm of th WordPrfct dictionary. Fortunatly, Wstr hard of this on. 4 Most of th tim, I quot a prsonal astardization of th NASB (rplacing th th s, thou s and shall s, sids taking a fw othr lirtis ). I us th NASB caus it is proaly th st translatd of th radal translations. Occasionally, whn radily availal, I us my own. 5 J. Vrnon McG, Joshua, h1976 y Thru th Bil Books; p. 168.

3 Th Book of th 301 Shchm to act as a capitol city, whras, all Aimlch did was install som othr man ovr thm, prhaps as simply his ys-man and puppt (this would Zul). So th ladrs of Shchm gravitat toward this Gaal, who, during a party, tlls ths mn what h would do with thir support. If Aimlch wr hr right now, I d...i d... And that was prtty much good nough for th mn of Shchm, so thy thrw thir support hind this Gaal. Zul, whil not traying his loyaltis to Aimlch, appars to hav at last a spaking rlationship with Gaal, which w will s in vv Howvr, prior to that, h will contact Aimlch and sumit his plan of attack to Aimlch. Aftr ing contactd y Zul, Aimlch will ring his army into town and dstroy Gaal n Ed and his army. Thn h will tak out th ladrs of Shchm and th city of Shchm. Finally, at th nd of this chaptr, shortly aftr all of this has takn plac, Aimlch will mortally woundd y a woman, causing him to rqust an assistd suicid. Aftr a carful xamination of this chaptr, it is clar that it should kpt as on litrary unit, although it is possil th last fw vrss wr writtn y a diffrnt prson. W hav this thm which runs through this chaptr, almost from th ginning, and crtainly to th nd. In vv. 1 6, w hav th union of Aimlch and th ladrs of Shchm and th awful dd that thy commit (th killing of Aimlch s 70 half-rothrs). Whn Jotham stands up and spaks to th popl of Shchm, som of whom would hav n ths ladrs who sidd with Aimlch, h warns thm mtaphorically of Aimlch dstroying himslf and th mn of Shchm du to thir allianc (v. 15). Sinc th intrprtation of this vrs could disputd, Jotham intrprts it himslf in v. 20, making it clar that a fir will com out of Aimlch and it will dstroy th ladrs of Shchm; and that a fir would likwis com out from th mn of Shchm and dstroy Aimlch. Latr, in v. 45, Aimlch dstroys th city of Shchm; and h locats th ladrs of Shchm in th stronghold of Shchm (which was possily somthing lik a mostly undrground shltr with tis to idolatry). Aimlch thn ordrs that this st afir, which kills all thos insid (vv ). Th last incidnt rcordd in this chaptr is th dath of Aimlch, which occurs soon thraftr during a raid on anothr rllious city (vv ). Th vry last two vrss of this chaptr thn sum this all up: Thus God rpaid th wickdnss of Aimlch, which h had don to his fathr, in killing his svnty rothrs. Furthrmor, God rturnd all th wickdnss of th mn of Shchm on thir hads, and th curs of Jotham th son of Jruaal cam upon thm ( 9:56 57). You don t find a litrary unit much tightr than that. Th ti-in twn Aimlch s own prsonal dgnracy and th dgnracy of Isral is not clar at first. Th ladrs of Shchm will com off as a littl flaky, ut othr than that, Isral dos not appar to all that dgnrat. Howvr, what is asy to miss is that w hav mntion of svral idolatrous stalishmnts. V. 6 is th qustional rfrnc; w ithr hav a military camp or th oak of a pillar, which might rfr to idolatry. W hav idolatry alludd to in v. 27 in conjunction with a party; w hav two sparat aras of dmon worship mntiond in passing in Shchm in vv In th city of Thz, mntiond at th nd of this chaptr, thr is anothr towr alludd to, which is likly a towr of dmon worship. Whr th idolatry of Isral is unmistakal is actually ack in 8:33, which rads: Thn it cam to pass, as soon as Gidon was dad, that th sons of Isral again playd th harlot with th Baals, and mad Baal-rith thir god. Finally, th rason that w know that th fight hr is against idolatry is that w nvr find th nam Gidon in this chaptr; th author uss only Jruaal, which mans, contnding with Baal. You may think, wll, so what; that is his nicknam, right? In 6, th nam Gidon is found 11 tims; in chaptr 7, 13 tims; and in chaptr 8, 15 tims. But w do not find th nam Gidon vn onc in 9. Ovr and ovr again 9 tims w rad Jruaal contnding with Baal (Jruaal only occurs 4 tims in chaptrs 6 8). Th point is that, vn though thr is no mphasis givn to Isral falling into idolatry, and no mphasis of how vil that is, whn you rad twn th lins, you will rcogniz how stpd in idolatry Isral was and how opposd God was to idolatry (H was contnding with Baal). My thinking is that this tlls us somthing aout th author. Most authors of th Bil will clarly stat thir opposition to idolatry. Th author of this portion of Scriptur only stats as an asid that Isral is caught up in idolatry and h vry quitly implis that idolatry is wrong y using th nam Jruaal ovr and ovr again. Whn you rad this chaptr, th indications ar that Isral was immrsd in idolatry and that sh clarly rapd th rsults of idolatry in hr ladrs. My thinking is that th prson who wrot this was concrnd that th manuscript might found and that h might prscutd y thos who worshippd Baal. If Isral is so dgnrat as to dsrv

4 Chaptr a rulr lik Aimlch, who is no ttr than a gangstr-thug, thn Isral s dgnracy must grat nough to prscut thos who do not worship Baal. Now, this was not th only cas in which th author of this chaptr of usd a nam with grat undrlying significanc. Rcall from 8:31 that w do not hav th normal languag usd whn naming a child. Furthrmor, w hav this mistrss giving irth to a astard son away from Gidon, and th vrs thn rads and H namd him Aimlch. Rcall that Aimlch mans my fathr is king, my fathr is rulr. Evry tim this nam is usd, it is a slight upon Aimlch. H is not a rulr; h is not a king; his fathr is king. And who gav him that nam? This sam unusual us of th vr is found in II Kings 17:34 and Nh. 9:7 whr God dsignats a nw nam for Jaco and Aram. For that rason, w can assum that God ultimatly assignd him this nam so that vry tim his nam is usd in this chaptr, it is tongu in chk; it taks away from his rulrship. My fathr is king, 6 not m. <<Rturn to Chaptr Outlin>> <<Rturn to th Chart Indx>> Aimlch, with Hlp from Shchm, Maks Himslf th First King ovr Isral Slavishly litral: And so wnt Aimlch n Jruaal to Shchm unto rlativs of his mothr; and so h spaks unto thm and unto all of [th ] family of a hous of a fathr of his mothr, to say, 9:1 Modratly litral: Thn Aimlch n Jruaal wnt to Shchm to th rlativs of his mothr; and h spok to thm, and to all of th family of th hous of th fathr of his mothr, saying, Aftr th dath of his fathr, Aimlch n Jruaal wnt to Shchm and h spok to th ntir family on his mothr s sid, saying, Aimlch, if you will rcall, is th illgitimat son of Gidon from th prvious chaptr. Gidon had many wivs which or him, in all, svnty childrn. H also had a child y a srvant woman in Shchm and that was Aimlch. Vry littl is said in th Bil dirctly aout Gidon s polygamy and adultry. Th Bil actually rndrs surprisingly fw moral condmnations of individuals throughout th historical narrativs. That is, w rarly find Bo th saint did this and that was a ad thing to do. Th Bil oftn just rcords what happnd and allows th rsults to spak for thmslvs. In this chaptr, w will s th rsult of Gidon s inappropriat rlationship with a woman outsid of marriag. W will also s how fruitlss having 70 childrn was. At th dath of Gidon, who prhaps saw vry littl of Aimlch, Aimlch dcidd to us th fact that h was a son of Gidon s to his own advantag, which is what th first fw vrss of this chaptr ar all aout. W will s that th svnty childrn of Gidon wr compltly lacking in ackon as this narrativ continus; howvr, Aimlch is th xcption. Edrshim writs: Aimlch sms to hav possssd all th courag, vigour, and nrgy of his fathr; only coupld, alas! with rstlss amition, rcklss unscrupulousnss, and daring 7 impity. As notd in th prvious chaptr, w do not vn know that Aimlch was actually namd Aimlch ( 8:31). Shchm is apparntly whr Aimlch was orn and whr his mothr and hr family livd. Th NIV Study Bil: Ruins dating from th Canaanit ra giv vidnc of a sacrd ara, proaly to associatd with th tmpl of 6 Although Kil and Dlitzsch caught th fact that his was a nam givn latr to Aimlch, thy do not fully gras p why h was namd that or its significanc. Ditto for Edrshim. In fact, this might th firs t tim that th corrct significanc of ths nams is actually xplord. Kil and Dlitzsch and Edrshim all ralizd that this was not Aimlch s givn nam at irth, ut thy all unfortunatly mangl oth th maning of th nam and th significanc of th nam. 7 Alfrd Edrshim, Bil History Old Tstamnt; 1995 y Hndrickson Pulishrs, Inc.; p. 369.

5 Th Book of th 303 Baal-Brith or l-brith (vv. 4, 46). Archaological vidnc, which is compatil with th dstruction of Shchm 8 y Aimlch, indicats that its sacrd ara was nvr ruilt aftr this tim. ZPEB spaks disparagingly of th city of Shchm, citing its tis to Canaanit cultur howvr, this city has a rich spiritual ackground as wll, which was covrd in Joshua 24:1. It is clar from v. 4 that thr wr tis twn th popl of Shchm and pagan rligion. Whom Aimlch wnt to is th masculin plural construct of âch (ç àè ) [pronouncd awhk], which mans simply rothr, clos rlativ, fllow countrymn. Strong's #251 BDB #26. H said unto thm and to all of th fminin singular of mishpâchâh (ä çè È Ó îò) [pronouncd mish-paw-khawh], which mans family, clan, class. Strong's #4940 BDB #1046. This is followd y of a hous of and thn w hav th masculin singular construct of â v (á àè,) [pronouncd aw v], which mans fathr, oth as th had of a houshold or th had of a clan. Strong s #1 BDB #3. This is followd y th fminin singular of êm (í à ) [pronouncd aim], which mans rd mothr. Strong s #517 BDB #51. With mothr thr is a 3 prson masculin singular suffix. So Aimlch gos to Shchm to th rlativs of his mothr; and says to thm and to all of th family of th hous of th fathr of his mothr... Spak, plas, in [th] ars of all [th] suprvisors of Shch m, What [is] good to you, a ruling ovr you svnty mn all of [th] sons of Jruaal or a ruling ovr you of a man on? And you rmmr that your on and your flsh I [am]. 9:2 Spak, plas, into th ars of all of th aristocracy of Shchm, What is ttr to you: [having] svnty mn rul ovr you (all th sons of Jruaal) or on man ruling ovr you? And you will r call that I [am] your on and your flsh. Say, if you will, to all of th aristocracy of Shchm, Which is prfral: having svnty mn rul ovr you (i.., all of Jruaal s sons) or having just on man rul ovr you? Don t forgt that I am tid to you y lood. Aimlch is oviously awar of what had n offrd to his fathr. H knw that th popl of Isral had askd his fathr, Gidon, to rul ovr thm as a king; and h knw that his fathr had rfusd. Thrfor, Aimlch knw that th timing was right. Aimlch first gos to his ntir family and anyon rmotly rlatd to his mothr s sid of th family. Thn thy ar to approach th dcision-makrs of th city of Shchm. This is th masculin plural construct of a ãlêy ( é ì òâ á) [pronouncd ah-uh-lay or ah-guh-lay], which mans aristocracy, ladrs, - landownrs, movrs and shakrs, suprvisors, lords, aal s, administrators, citizns, inhaitants. Lords is proaly th st rndring, as it is mor in kping with th tymology of th word. Strong s trats it as a sparat word; BDB and th Nw Englishman s Concordanc trat it as a form of Strong s #1167 (aal). It is a form of th word aal, which crtainly can rfr to th god Baal, ut can also rfr to th influntial popl of a city. Thy wr not to spak to just th ral ut to th movrs and shakrs of Shchm. What appars to th cas is that this is actually a rfrnc to landownrs or to popl who oth hav a say in thir govrnmnt as wll as a stak in it dcisions. Thrfor, w will go with th translations suprvisors or aristocracy. Strong s #1181 BDB # Thir powr was not confrrd upon thm through any official appointmnt or crmony; it was mor of an undrstood thing. Thir ag, influnc, civic involvmnt, tc. wr all part and parcl to thir unofficial powr. Thy ar to ask what is and thn h uss th masculin singular adjctiv þôw v (á è) [pronouncd to v], which mans plasant, plasing, agral, good. Strong s #2896 BDB #373. W might think of this mor in a comparativ way and us th word ttr. 8 Th NIV Study Bil; 1995 y Th Zondrvan Corporation; p As a prsonal not, I gan translating this word as citizns, which would hav n accptal with th undrstanding that ths ar th ons who would vot and mak th dcisions, vry similar to th rstrictions which wr in ffct arly on in our own history m al landownrs. Howvr, citizn dos not gnrally connot that, so I wnt ack, luckily ing al to us find and rplac and changd citizns to ithr suprvisors (to prsrv th plural noun), or to aristocracy, which is th translation which I prfr, ut which dos not prsrv th plurality of th noun.

6 Chaptr Aimlch s cas is first prsntd to th o s wh o would most sympathtic to him his own immdiat family. Oviously, thy would prfr to hav on of thir own as a rulr ovr Isral as opposd to anyon ls. Bcaus of th rlationship twn Gidon and his mistrss, thy ar actually rlatd to Aimlch whras th othr sons of Gidon ar not rlatd at all to Gidon s slav-mistrss. Aimlch dos not spll it out, ut it is ovious that this family will rciv prfrntial tratmnt, as thy ar actually rlatd to Aimlch. Furthrmor, th city of Shchm, for supporting Aimlch in this ndavor, will also rciv prfrntial tratmnt. Aimlch suggsts that h would ttr suitd to rul ovr Isral, as opposd to all svnty of his half-rothrs. This dos not man that his svnty rothrs had aspird to any form of rulrship ovr Isral. What Aimlch has st up is a compltly fals altrnativ. Th choic is not twn whthr h ruls ovr Isral or his svnty rothrs rul; th actual rality is that thr might hav n a judg or two, and possily vn from his halfrothrs, who would hav ruld, so to spak, ovr Isral. By th way, thr ar only two tims in th Bil that this particular phras is usd I am your on and your flsh ; and in ach cas, th spakr would us it to manipulat th prson listning. Whn Jaco fll in lov with Rachl and wnt hom to mt hr fathr (thy wr rlatd), Laan said th sam thing to Jaco. Thn Laan got svn fr yars of laor from Jaco, hooks him up with th wrong daughtr (purposly) and thn gts anothr svn yars of fr laor out of Jaco. Furthrmor, in oth cass, th prson who was manipulatd got xactly what thy dsrvd (rcall how Jaco was quit duplicitous in his own actions). This incidnt is rcordd ack in Gn. 29. And so spok rothrs of his mothr conc rning him in an ar of all of [th] suprvisors of Shchm all ths words; and so h [Aimlch] inclind thir harts aftr Aimlch for thy said, H [is] our rothr. 9:3 Thn his mothr s family spok all ths words concrning him in th ars of th aristocracy of Shchm: and so h [Aimlch] inclind thir harts aftr Aimlch, for thy said, H [is] our rothr. Thrfor, his mothr s family said ths things to th aristocracy of Shchm so that thy wr prsuadd to plac thir support with Aimlch. In fact, thy vn said, H is our rothr. nd Aftr th family of his mothr spok to thm w hav th 2 prson masculin singular, Qal imprfct of nâþâh (ä) ðèèè [pronouncd naw-tawh], which mans to strtch out, to sprad out, to inclin, to ow, to xtnd. Strong s #5186 BDB #639. W hav no masculin singular nouns in this vrs othr than Aimlch; thrfor, th sujct is simply h. This is a rfrnc ack to Aimlch from actually th prvious vrs rathr than to Aimlch of this vrs (sam Aimlch; howvr, Aimlch is usd as an ojct in this vrs). Aimlch gins his grass roots platform. H gos first to his lction committ, which just happns to his mothr s immdiat family. Sinc his mothr was th mistrss of Gidon, sh did not hav any spcial rights or privilgs and was, thrfor, outsid of th loop, whn it cam to ladrship in Isral. Having on of hr own as a political powr was tmpting to hr and it was tmpting to hr immdiat family. Whn ths immdiat rlativs of his mothr thn spok to th town of Shchm, thy wr also convincd. In this way, Shchm had som say in th govrnmnt of Isral. In fact, with on of thir own as th rulr of Isral, Shchm could vry likly com th capital of Isral (or, of northrn Isral w do not know ovr how much of Isral that Aimlch ruld). This havior is common to many groups and rgions and quit wll-known, vn in today s world (prhaps, I should say spcially in today s world). Som candidats hr ar votd for caus thy ar or ar not a woman, caus thy ar or ar not Black (or, Hispanic); and som popl will vot for a candidat caus of his rgional origin as wll. Isral havd th sam way and th split twn th Northrn and Southrn kingdoms of Isral occurrd partially caus th Northrn kingdom did not fl thy wr rciving adquat rprsntation in govrnmnt du to rgional diffrncs (s I Kings 12:16).

7 Th Book of th 305 And so thy gav to him svnty [pics of] silvr from a hous of Baal-rith and so hird with thm [th pics of silvr] Aimlch mn of worthl ssn ss and asily-influ nc d [or, procurd]; and so thy wnt aftr him. 9:4 So thy gav to him svnty [pics of] silvr from th hous of Baal-rith; thrfor, Aimlch hird with thm [th pics of silvr] worthlss and asily-procurd mn and thy wnt aftr him. Thrfor, thy gav him campaign financing from th hous of Baal-rith, a local hathn tmpl. Aimlch usd ths funds to hir mrcnaris to follow aftr him. What thy gav to him wr svnty and thn th masculin singular of kçph (óñ ) [pronouncd KEH-sf], which mans silvr. W may hav to infr shkls of or pics of in this vrs. Young gos with silvrings, ut loss th singular in that. Strong s #3701 BDB #494. If w ar spaking of shkls, thn w ar only spaking of a coupl of pounds of silvr, which is not too much. For this rason, I would go with 70 pics of silvr. Rcall that Baal-rith was a god which Isral worshippd aftr th dath of Gidon ( 8:33); it is apropos that th mony to financ th mafia-lik tak ovr of Aimlch should financd from th trasury of an idol. Th NIV Study Bil points out: Ancint tmpls srvd as dpositoris for prsonal and civic funds. Thy paymnts of vows and pnaltis, as wll as gifts, wr also part of th tmpl trasury. 10 It is hr whr w hav a ad mix of church and stat. Th church of Baal has mptid out its coffrs to support thir political candidat. A similar situation occurs during th tim of Asa in I Kings 15:18. Who Aimlch hirs is mn first qualifid y th masculin plural of rêq ( øå ) [pronouncd rak] mans mpty, vain, worthlss. Strong s #7386 BDB #938. Th scond qualifir is th masculin plural, Qal activ participl of pâchaz (æ ç - È ) [pronouncd paw-khahz], th maning of which is givn as to wanton, to rcklss, to lascivious, to proud. It is proprly usd of watr, rfrring to ithr oiling ovr or to th fact that it taks th shap of th ojct that it is placd in. Sinc this vr and its cognats occur in only Gn. 49:4 9:4 Zph. 3:4. Th translators know that th rfrnc is ngativ; it is just that thy don t know how to rndr it for crtain. Run is th ky h knw what was right and h allowd himslf to wrongly influncd y his rothrs. Rathr than taking th corrct stanc with rgards to Josph, Run intndd to go along with his rothrs and thn com ack latr and mak vrything right. Thrfor, w will go with th manings asily influncd, asily ought, asily lad, procurd. In othr words, ths mn did not stand for any principls; thy wr paid and that convincd thm. Strong s #6348 BDB #808. Essntially, what h hird wr mrcnaris or soldirs of fortun. Thy wr soldirs of Baal, purchasd with th mony of a tmpl ddicatd to Baal. Mony dtrmind thir political loyaltis. Now, svral popl hird soldirs: Jphtah did this in 11:3, as wll as David (I Sam. 22:1 2), Asalom (II Sam. 15:1), Adonijah (I Kings 1:5), Rzon (I Kings 11:23 24) and Jrooam (II Chron. 13:6 7). 11 Now, if you ar giving this much thought, you must asking yourslf, how can ths mn agr to go to work for Aimlch for so littl mony? Actors will oftn forgo a larg salary in ordr to tak a prcntag of th procds; ths mn wr xpcting to gt mor y way of powr and mony whn Aimlch cam king ovr Isral. You will also notic how Aimlch and th ladrs of Shchm avoid assassinating th sons of Gidon dirctly; th ladrs of Shchm giv th mony to Aimlch and h hirs th hit mn. And so h wnt [to] a hous of his fathr [in] Ophrah and so h killd his rothrs, sons of Jruaal, svnty mn, upon on ston. And so was l ft ovr Jotham n Jruaal th youngst for h hid himslf. 9:5 Thn h wnt to th hous of his fathr in Ophrah and killd his [half] rothrs, th sons of Jruaal, svnty mn, on on ston. And Jotham n Jruaal, th youngst, rmaind, caus h hid himslf. 10 Th NIV Study Bil; 1995 y Th Zondrvan Corporation; p This list was givn y Th NIV Study Bil; 1995 y Th Zondrvan Corporation; p. 341.

8 Chaptr Thn h wnt to th hous of his fathr in Ophrah and h killd th svnty sons of his fathr Jruaal, his half-rothrs, all upon on ston. Only on son, Jotham n Jruaal, scapd this attack. Th scond vr is th Qal imprfct of hârag (â øç äè ) [pronouncd haw-rahg] mans to k ill, to slay, and, occasionally, to xcut. Strong's #2026 BDB #246. What Aimlch did was ssntially a mo-styl xcution. H hird 70 hit mn, ach of whom had a targt on of his half rothrs. Thy wnt to Ophrah and took out all of his family, vry singl prson that might al to tak on a position of ladrship. I hav no clu what it mans to against [or, upon] on ston. Th NIV Study Bil suggsts that thy wr killd lik sacrificial animals. So Manoah took th kid with th grain offring and offrd it on th rock to Jhovah, and H prformd wondrs whil Manoah and his wif lookd on. For it was whn th flam wnt up from th altar toward havn, that th angl of Jhovah ascndd in th flam of th altar. Whn Manoah and his wif saw, thy fll with thir facs to th ground ( 13:19 20). Thy also quot I Sam. 14:33 34 to support this. In ffct, h inauguratd his kingship y using his Isralits half rothrs as his coronation sacrifics (s 2Sam 15:10, 12; 12 1Ki 1:5, 9; 3:4). Kil and Dlitzsch tak a sta at intrprting this, ut mrly say that upon on ston mans that Aimlch s half rothrs wr formally xcutd. My ducatd guss is that all of ths rothrs wr round up, all at onc, and thn takn to th sam plac and killd. In othr words, it had th apparanc of civility, lgality and formality, vn though it was th razn act of a powr-lusting hathn. In othr words, th svnty mn which Aimlch hird did not go out and kill th half-rothrs in various placs; ut thy collctd thm all, rought thm to th sam plac, and thn xcutd all of thm thr, against on ston. Th most proaly xplanation is that 13 thy wr lind up against a hug ston or against a ston wall or against a fac of Grizim and thn pulically xcutd. In any cas, this was not a picmal opration, ut it was all don at onc. Barns points out that such wholsal slaughtr of rivals ar common in astrn countris and is a common rsult of polygamy (s II Kings 10:7 11:1 2 II Chron. 22:9). I must point out a grat waknss in th lin of Gidon at this tim. Hr h has svnty sons and apparntly svnty nmis would contractd to round ths mn up. Baal worship is rampant in that ara. Ths sons of Gidon hav takn no stand against idolatry, vn though togthr thy mak up a larg and influntial portion of th population of Shchm (kp in mind that thy proaly ar rlativly walthy as wll). Furthrmor, not that it only rquirs svnty mn to gathr thm up and xcut thm. Edrshim writs: If w may judg from thir connivanc at th worship of Baal around, from th want of any rcognisd outstanding individuality among thm, and spcially from thir uttr inaility to mak a stand vn for lif against an qual numr of nmis, thy must 14 hav sadly dgnratd; proaly wr an nrvatd, luxurious, uttrly fl rac. This is a tstimony to th fact that quantity dos not ncssarily produc quality. Gidon producd svnty sons, on of who has grat nrv ut is dgnrat; and on, Jotham, who w will find, has som nrv, som charisma, ut dos not fl as though h can do much mor than stand, giv a spch of condmnation, and thn fl for his lif. I am not putting Jotham down, hr, as h is th most nol of all th sons of Gidon, insofar as w can tll. My point is that non of ths svnty, sav th most dgnrat mutt of th unch, Aimlch, who was al to parlay his irth of half-nol origins and his influnc in th city of Shchm into th gratst position of authority in Isral sinc Moss or Joshua. As you might suspct, th nam of Jotham is also significant. Jotham, in th Hrw, is yôwthâm (íúè é) [pronouncd yoh-thawm], which mans yah is prfct, yah is complt. It is arviatd for Jhovah is prfct, Jhovah is complt. Strong s #3147 BDB #222. Th scond to th last vr is th Niphal imprfct of yâthar (ø úç éè) [pronouncd yaw-thahr], which mans to rmain ovr, to rmain. In th Niphal, it mans to lft ovr, to lft hind. Strong s #3498 BDB #451. Th final vr is th Niphal prfct of châ vâ (à áè çè ) [pronouncd khaw -VAW], which mans to withdraw, to hid; in th 12 Th NIV Study Bil; 1995 y Th Zondrvan Corporation; p Kil and Dlitzsch dscri Mount Grizim, which is right thr, as a stp wall of rock which riss 800 ft aov th vally of Shchm (Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Pulishrs, Inc.; Vol. 2, p. 262). 14 Alfrd Edrshim, Bil History Old Tstamnt; 1995 y Hndrickson Pulishrs, Inc.; p. 369.

9 Th Book of th 307 Niphal, it mans to hid onslf, to hiddn. Strong s #2244 BDB #285. Jotham, th youngst son that scaps this slaughtr, actually shows som ladrship potntial latr on in th chaptr. Unfortunatly, w nvr hr from him again aftr this chaptr. Th rason for that is that a popl oftn gt th rulr that thy dsrv, and Isral got Aimlch. And so gathrd tog thr all suprvisors of Shchm and all a hous of Millo and so thy wnt and so thy [causd to ] mad king Aimlch for a king nar an oak of a pillar [or, military camp] which [was] in Shchm. 9:6 And so all th aristocracy of Shchm wr assmld and all th hous of Millo; and thy wnt and mad Aimlch rign for a king n ar th oak of th pillar [or, military camp] which [was] in Shchm. Thn all of th aristocracy of Shchm, along with th hous of Millo, assmld. Thy dclard Aimlch king nar th oak of th military camp in Shchm. Th first vr is th Niphal imprfct of âçaph (ó ñç àè ) [pronouncd aw-sahf], which mans transfr, transport, gathr, to gathr and rmov, to rmov. In th Niphal, it mans to assml, to assmld, to gathr, to gathrd. Strong s #622 BDB #62. In this vrs, w hav th curious rfrnc to a hous of Millo or Bth-millo. This apparntly has n a confusion to xgts for many yars, ut th xplanation is simpl Millo is th fathr (or, chif ancstor) of th mothr of Aimlch. On would xpct th city of Shchm, which stood hind Aimlch, to stand tall with thos who convincd thm, which would rasonaly th hous of mothr of Aimlch, or th hous of Millo. 15 Aftr thy wnt, w hav th Hiphil imprfct of mâlak (ê Ó ìî) Ç È [pronouncd maw-lahk ], which mans to rign, to com king or qun. In th Hiphil, it mans to caus to com king (or qun), to caus to rul ovr. Strong s #4427 BDB #573. This is a diffrnt vr than w saw ack in 8: Thr w hav th Qal imprativ and Qal imprfct of mâshal (ì Ç îè ) [pronouncd maw-shahl], which mans to rul, to hav dominion, to rign. Strong s #4910 (s #4911) BDB #605. Th KJV diffrntiats twn ths two y gnrally rndring th formr as to rign and th lattr as to rul. Th vr found in conjunction with Aimlch hr is th most oftn usd of th two vrs in th Old Tstamnt. Othr than that, th vr found hr is mor oftn found in th Hiphil than mâshal, which is only found in th Hiphil thr tims. Furthrmor, mâshal is found mor oftn as a participl, and is in that way usd as a noun. Mâlak is th vr most oftn associatd with th kings of Isral. Aimlch is th dirct ojct and h is followd y th lâmd prposition and th masculin singular noun mlk ( ì î ) [pronouncd MEH-lk], which mans king, princ. Strong s #4428 BDB #572. Th likly scnario is that h cam king ovr a limitd portion of Isral that did not includ Judah or Simon (and possily som of th othr tris, lik thos ast of th Jordan). So far, this givs us: And so gathrd togthr all suprvisors of Shchm and all a hous of Millo and so thy wnt and so thy [causd to ] mad king Aimlch for a king... now w nd to ask: was Aimlch rally a king or just a city-rulr? First of all, thr ar thr vrs which ar translatd to rign, to rul, to hav dominion ovr; and all thr of ths vrs ar usd in conjunction with Aimlch. W find mâshal us in 9:2 (as wll as 8:22 23); mâlakê is found in 9:6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18; and sûwr (or, sârar) is found in 9:22. Aimlch first got th support of his family to rally support in Shchm in ordr to rprsnt thm as rulr. Howvr, h did not simply rul in Shchm, as h would 15 Thr is anothr Millo altogthr diffrnt, which is found nar Jrusalm which Solomon rconstructd (s I Kings 9:15, 24 11:27). Th city alrady xistd during th tim of David (II Sam. 5:9 I Chron. 11:8). It is uncrtain which location is rfrrd to in II Kings 12:20 (as th hous of Millo would tak on a plac maning as wll as th rfrnc to a family). Th NIV Study Bil offrs a compltly diffrnt tak on this, claiming that Millo is drivd from th Hrw word to fill, and thy suggst that this rfrs to th fill dirt upon which platforms and walls wr uilt. Thy also suggst that this could idntical to th stronghold mntiond latr on in v. 46. S Th NIV Study Bil; 1995 y Th Zondrvan Corporation; p Barns suggsts that Bth Millo is a fortifid plac, also possily th sam as th stronghold in v. 46. Kil and Dlitzs ch s uggs t that it is a rampart of two walls, with ruish pild twn (Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Pulishrs, Inc.; Vol. 2, p. 262).

10 Chaptr hav no rason for th mn of Shchm to giv him mony to hir th mrcnaris if h wr only going to rul ovr thm. H lft Shchm and wnt to th city of Ophrah and killd all of Gidon s sons, his half-rothrs. H will put his own man ovr Shchm as h is oviously ruling from som pla c ls ( Ju dgs 9:30). Latr, Aimlch will travl to Thz to quash a rllion ( 9:50). Finally, Aimlch is said to rul ovr Isral for thr yars ( 9:22) whras Ed is said to th rulr of th city of Shchm in 9:30. For ths rasons, Aimlch is mor than just a city rulr in th tradition of th Canaanit kings. By th tstimony of th Bil itslf, h is a rulr of Isral. Aftr king, w hav th prposition îm (í ò)ò [pronouncd ìm], which is gnrally rndrd with. It also can usd for narnss and vicinity, and rndrd at, y, nar. Strong s #5973 BDB #767. This is followd y th fminin singular construct of êlôwn (ï ì à ) [pronouncd AY-loan], which mans oak, trinth, tall tr, a strong and hardy tr. Strong s #436 BDB #18. This is th tall oak of and thn w hav a prolm: th nxt word is ithr B th Hophal participl of nâtsa v (á öç ðè ) [pronouncd naw-tsah V], which mans to stand up, to st somthing upright, to rct. In th Hophal, it mans to placd, to st, to plantd, to fixd, to sttld. Strong s #5324 BDB #662. Howvr, rathr than this th Hophal participl of this vr, it could th masculin B noun mûtstsâ v (á È îë ) [pronouncd moots-tsaw V], which mans a garrison, a station (of soldirs); it is takn from th vr. Strong s #4674 BDB #663. This is why w hav th translations camp (Young), pillar (NASB, NIV, 16 NRSV, Own, Rothrham), proppd up (REB), mmorial pillar (NAB), and cultic ston (NJB). It maks sns for Aimlch to st up his rul in th shadow of a pagan pillar as wll as in th shadow of a military camp. <<Rturn to Chaptr Outlin>> <<Rturn to th Chart Indx>> Th Fal-Paral of Jotham, th Only Surviving Son of Gidon It may hlp us to furthr sudivid this sction of 9: V. 7 Jotham is introducd Vv Jotham spaks a fal-paral to th popl of Shchm Vv Jotham xplains his paral to th popl of Shchm V. 21 Jotham scaps And so thy wr mad known to Jotham; and so h wnt and so h stood at a top of Mount Grizim and so h liftd up his voic and so h calld out and so h said to thm, Listn unto m, mn of Shchm, and will listn to you [all] God: 9:7 And so [ths things] wr mad known to Jotham, so h wnt and stood on top of Mount Grizim and liftd up his voic and calld out and said to thm, Listn to m, mn of Sh ch m, and God will list n to you all: whn Jotham hard that Isral was aout to mak Aimlch king, h stood at th top of Mount Grizim and shoutd to th crowd which had gathrd, Listn to m, mn of Shchm and listn to God. Rcall that Jotham is th on rmaining son of Gidon that Aimlch did not assassinat. W hav a vrs filld with wâw conscutivs, which draws our attntion to th rapidity of th action. Many mn who had just had 69 or 70 of his rothrs killd might making a dash for th nxt stat, ut Jotham is a rathr nrvy young man. Th first vr is th Hiphil imprfct of nâgad (ã âç ðè ) [pronouncd naw-gahd], which mans to mak conspicuous, to mak known, to xpound, to dclar, to inform, to mak it pitifully ovious that. Strong's #5046 BDB #616. Jotham stands on a hill and calls out to th mn of Shchm. What will follow is on of th vry fw parals of th Old Tstamnt. 16 Th Sptuagint has th oak of Sdition (this is my English rndring of it); thy mntion that this is a plac whr thr was a doul translation (in th Sptuagint itslf); w hav th choic of to find or stationary in th Sptuagint.

11 Th Book of th 309 Mount Grizim was an appropriat plac for him to spak from. First of all, apparntly th acoustics wr good thr for a crowd. Whn Isral ntrd into th land, thy wr to hik on ovr to Mount Grizim and to Mount Eal and th lssings would rad from Mount Grizim and th cursings would rad from Mount Eal (Dut. 11: :12 28:68 Joshua 8:33 34). This is vry likly whr Jsus spok to th woman of Samaria (John 4:7 38; s v. 20). Finally, Mount Grizim was th mor likly plac to spak from, as Shchm was uilt at th foot of Mount Grizim. What w will find in th susqunt vrss is a paral, on of th vry fw in th Old Tstamnt. In fact, this is actually a fal/paral. A fal is whn inanimat ojcts (.g., trs) or animat ojcts (lik animals) talk and act as popl do. Fals ar apparntly was quit common in th ancint world ut found only two tims in th Bil (II Kings 14:9 10 is th othr occurrnc). A paral is a situation which involvs popl doing and saying things that popl normally would. It is a fictional story which could hav happnd. Th parals of th Old Tstamnt ar found in II Sam. 12:1 4 14:5 11 I Kings 20: Th most wll-known of ths parals is th on found in II Sam. 12:1 4 whr King David had not only had an adultrous affair with Bathsha, ut sh was aring his child and David saw to it that hr husand was killd in attl. Nathan, th propht during th tim of David, told David aout a rich man who had many flocks and hrds and a poor man who had just on w lam. Nathan dscris th rlationship twn th poor man and his lam as a warm and loving on, much lik a prson who is unmarrid and has a dog or a cat. Th rich man dcidd that h wantd a mal, so, rathr than tak from his own flocks and hrd, h taks th w of th poor man and slaughtrs it and prpars it for a mal. Of cours, David is outragd at th arroganc and grd of th rich man, and Nathan thn tlls David, Thou ar th man! (II Sam. 12:7). Th primary rason a paral is usd to is st up som common ground of agrmnt and undrstanding and thn to procd to an ara of disagrmnt or to a point which is ing mad. I us this in mathmatics taching all of th tim. Whn I prciv that a studnt is confusd aout a particular topic or just douts th ruls and rgulations as applid to a particular topic, I tak thm ack to somthing which is analogous and rmind thm how it was don thr; and, caus thy undrstand that, thy ttr undrstand th nw topic. For instanc, whn adding rational xprssions, th procdur might sm long (a rational xprssion is simply a fraction with varials). Whn I tach how to add rational xprssions, I first go ack to th concpt of adding simpl fractions and run through th procdur thr. Onc I hav th studnts nodding thir hads up and down, thn w mov on to rational xprssions, which oprat undr th sam ruls. Nathan s spaking to David taks David to a situation whr it is ovious what is right and what is wrong. Nathan dos not immdiatly attack King David h taks David to som nutral ground, allows David to mak th judgmnt call, and thn point out to David that h has don xactly what th rich man did in th paral h stol th on and only w lam that th poor man had. David vn placd judgmnt on this man: As Jhovah livs, surly th man who has don this dsrvs to di. H must mak rstitution for th lam fourfold, caus h did this thing and caus h had no compassion. You s th Nathan got just th rspons that h xpctd from David. Had h gon to David and simply told him that h had don wrong, David may or may not hav disagrd. Howvr, hr, David not only ralizs what a grat wrong th man of th paral (and thrfor, h himslf as wll) had don, ut David himslf sts th standard for th judgmnt which was to imposd upon th man and, thrfor, upon himslf. Jotham will us a paral for two rasons first, h has a point of viw that will radily undrstood and prhaps vn accptd whn first givn in paral form. Howvr, h has a mor important rason for using a paral, which will divulgd low. [Rturn to su-outlin] A going out wnt forth th tr s to anoint ovr thm a king; and so thy said to th oliv tr, Rign ovr us. 9:8 A going out: th tr s wnt out to anoint a king ovr thm; and thy said to th oliv tr, Rign ovr us. Th going out: Th trs wnt out to anoint a king ovr thm. First thy said to th oliv tr, Rign ovr us.

12 Chaptr This vrs gins with th Qal infinitiv asolut of hâlak (ê Ó ìç äè) [pronouncd haw-lahk ], which mans to go, to com, to dpart, to walk. Strong s #1980 (and #3212) BDB #229. Th infinitiv asolut prsnts a vr in th activ voic usd as a vral noun, gnrally usd as a complmnt of affirmation. It is immdiatly followd y rd th 3 prson masculin plural, Qal prfct of th sam vr. Togthr, thy ar various translatd as: onc wnt forth (Own); wnt thir way (Rothrham); actually wnt (Rothrham footnot: vr mphatic y r-duplication); hav diligntly gon (Young); wnt forth (NASB); st out (REB). I wondr if it could hav mor lik a titl hr, rathr than an mphatic vr. It dos dscri what th trs do for th ntirty of this paral. Intrstingly nough, Jotham will communicat to thm via a paral. My thinking hr is that parals rquir a prson to think for thy can rspond to what is ing said. To som rally dns popl, thy may not gt it for a fw hours. It appars to sooth th actions of a mo caus not vry singl prson gts it at th sam tim, so thy ar lss likly to act in unison. In othr words, this sort of approach would hlp to dfus a mo, if th mo will listn in th first plac. So far, th analogy to th listnr will sm to quit ovious: th trs ar th popl of Shchm and th oliv tr is Aimlch. Don t misundrstand m, this is not th corrct intrprtation, ut it is what th listnr would hav thought to gin with. Thrfor, what thy har dos not distur thm. A fw might raliz that th oliv tr is actually Gidon ( 8:22 23). In any cas, thy listn to Jotham and har him out. So far, th paral sms harmlss nough. And so said to thm th oliv tr, Will I lav [or, forsak] my fatnss which [is] in m ar honord [y] gods and mn [or, God and mn] and I will go to sway ovr th trs? 9:9 Thn th oliv tr said to thm, Will I forak my oil, which [is] in m [which] gods and mn [or, God and mn] honor and will I go to sway ovr th [othr] trs? But th oliv tr answrd thm, Is it worth it for m to forsak th oil in m, which oil is honord y oth God and mn, and rul ovr th othr trs? Lt s first s what som othrs hav don with this vrs: Th Emphasizd Bil NASB REB TEV Young's Lit. Translation But th oliv tr said unto thm, Should I lav my fatnss, which in m gods and mn do honour, and go to wav to and fro ovr th trs? But th oliv tr said to thm, Shall I lav my fatnss with which [lit., which y m] God and mn ar honord, and go to wav ovr th trs? But th oliv tr answrd: What, lav my rich oil y which gods and mn ar honourd, to go and hold sway ovr th trs? Th oliv tr answrd, In ordr to govrn you, I would hav to stop producing my oil, which is usd to honor gods and mn. And th oliv saith to thm, Hav I casd from my fatnss, y which thy honour gods and mn, that I hav gon to staggr ovr th trs? As you can prciv, this will first a difficult vrs to proprly translat; and thn it might vn mor difficult to intrprt. Th first word in th oliv tr s dissrtation is th intrrogativ particl, which acts as an upsid down qustion mark in Spanish. Th vr is th Qal prfct of châdal (ì ãç çè ) [pronouncd khaw-dahl], which mans to lav off, to cas, to dsist, to forsak, to lav. Strong s #2308 BDB #292. Th oliv tr, which is Aimlch, says, Will I forsak... and thn w hav th thing which h will forsak, th masculin singular noun dshn (ï ) [pronouncd DEH-shn], which mans fatnss, fat ashs, frtility, prosprity, aundanc; in this contxt, oil would a rasonal rndring. Strong s #1880 BDB #206. st Thn w hav th rlativ pronoun, th êyth prposition and th 1 prson suffix, which is, litrally, which in m. rd This is followd y th 3 prson masculin plural, Pil imprfct of kâ vêd (ã á Å È ) [pronouncd kaw()-vade], which mans to honor, to glorify, to havy, wighty, urdnsom. In th Pil, it mans to honor, to do honor to. Strong's #3513 BDB #457. Th sujct is gods and mn. This givs us: And so th oliv tr said to thm, Will I forsak my oil which is in m, honord [y] gods and mn,... Th oil of th oliv tr was usd in oth th grain offrings (Lv. 2:1 16) and in th holy anointings (Ex. 30:24 25).

13 Th Book of th 311 Thn w hav th wâw conjunction and th Qal prfct of to go followd y th Qal infinitiv construct (with a lâmd prposition) of nûwa ( ò ð) [pronouncd NOO-ahì], which mans to sway, to quivr, to wav, to trml, to shak, - to tottr. Strong s #5128 BDB #631. This tr, although rgardd for its oil y which h honors oth mn and th gods, is calld upon to stand tallr than th othr trs and thrfor to wav or shak ovr thm. Th tallr th tr, th gratr th wav. Now, I must admit to, at first, at this xact point, ing lost in this particular focus of Jotham s story. I am crtain that his half-rothr also has a quizzical look in his fac, if h is now listning. Howvr, th point which is ing mad is that Gidon, whn askd to rul ovr Isral, rally had it mad alrady. H had no nd to rul ovr Isral as his opinion was valud and h himslf was honord for his past dds. H had n in pulic srvic alrady, for all intnts and purposs, and so h rtird. Whn this scond tr is mntiond, all who ar listning ar supposd to think th first tr must Gidon and th scond tr is thrfor Aimlch. Howvr, a third thr will mntiond low. And so said th trs to th fig tr, Com, you, and rign ovr us. 9:10 Thn th trs said to th fig tr, You, com, and rign ovr us. Thn th othr trs wnt to th fig tr and said, You thr com and rul ovr us. Th oliv tr rfusd, so th trs go to a fig tr and dmand that it rul ovr thm. Thos listning, including Aimlch, would dcid that th oliv tr is Gidon and th fig tr hr is Aimlch. Howvr, as th 17 fal/paral gos on, it will com clar that that is not th corrct intrprtation. Th ral maning was that Isral dsird to hav a king rul ovr hr and sh was dsprat for such a rulr. First w hav th logical choics and thn w will hav th most illogical choic. Th thr flora mntiond th oliv tr, th fig tr and th grap vin wr quit important to th middl ast. Th fig tr, lik th oak tr, had no part in th sacrifics of th Law. With this mntiond of th third tr, th crowd should com nonplusd. Thos who stay with it, assum that this third tr must Aimlch. And so said to thm th fig tr, Will I forsak my swtnss and my fruit th good and go to sway ovr th trs? 9:11 And so th fig tr said to thm, Will I forsak my swtnss and my good fruit and go to sway ovr th trs? But th fig tr said to thm, Why should I forsak my swtnss and my produc so that I can rul ovr th othr trs. Th fig tr asks if it should forsak th masculin singular noun môthq ( úéî) [pronouncd MOH-thk], which mans swtnss and is found only hr in Scriptur (although it has 3 cognats). Strong s #4987 BDB #608. Th othr thing th fig tr would hav to forsak is th fminin singular of t nûw vâh (äáè ð ) [pronouncd t noo- VAW ], which mans fruit, produc. Strong s #8570 BDB #626. This is qualifid y th prsonal pronominal suffix and th adjctiv þôw v (á è) [pronouncd to v], which mans plasant, plasing, agral, good. Strong s #2896 BDB #373. This paral suggsts that Gidon was not th only prson that Isral askd to rign ovr thm. It is likly that svral groups of popl approachd svral of his sons in th past, suggsting that thy rul ovr Isral. Howvr, this is only an infrnc that w can gt from th fal at hand; w hav no othr support for this notion. 17 In fact, according to Kil and Dlitzsch, th Rais of old intrprt ths two trs and grap vin as ing Othnil, Dorah and thn Gidon, ut this is not th corrct intrprtation.