Judges 6-9

The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)

Judges 6 - No mention of any women.

Judges 7 - No mention of any women.

8:30-31 - No Gideon had 70 sons of his own offspring for he had many wives. His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son and he named him Abimelech.

9:1 - Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's kinsfilk and spoke to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family.
9:3 - His mother's kinsfolk spoke all his words on his behalf in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech for he was their brother.
9:18 - Jotham cries, "But you have risen up against my father's house this day, and have killed his sons, 70 men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, son of his slave woman, king over the lord of Shechem because he is your kinsman."
9:49 - Abimelech and his men cut bundles of brushwood and set them against the Tower of Shechem, setting it on fire and killing about a thousand men and women.
9:51 - There was a strong tower within the city and men, women, and all the lords of the city took refuge inside it.
9:53-54 - A woman threw a millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. Before he died Abimelech called to the young man who carried his armor and commanded the young man draw his sword and kill him, "So people will not say about me, 'A woman killed him.'"

My Comments

There isn't too much here. The only part of any significance is Abimelech not wanting to have his exact cause of death be a woman so much that he ordered one of his own men to finish him off. I'm not really sure that "His own man killed him" is better than "A woman killed him." But that's just me, apparently in these times and in this culture it is better to be killed by you own armor carrier instead of a woman. I think that speaks volumes by itself, no other commentary necessary.

And it says after Abimelech died that the soldiers quit fighting and went home. I wonder then if that woman, in throwing that millstone and striking Abimelech, saved all those people in the tower. It doesn't say that the tower was burned down or tat the people inside were slaughtered, so one can only assume that the woman single-handedly saved the remaining people of Shechem. Which is pretty awesome.

Still, I'm fairly certain she didn't get a parade or a holiday in her honor. I guess them's the breaks when you're a woman living back in the day.

Just as an update there won't be a post tomorrow. My brother is coming into town to visit and I don't think I will get a chance to sit and write an entry for tomorrow. Posts will return to their normal schedule on Monday.

Monday: Judges 10-15