Judges 9:46

9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem 1  heard the news, they went to the stronghold 2  of the temple of El-Berith. 3 

Judges 9:49

9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches 4  against the stronghold and set fire to it. 5  All the people 6  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

1 sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.

2 tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.

3 sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.

4 tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

5 tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

6 tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.