The Meaning of Judges 9:6 Explained

Judges 9:6

KJV: And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.

YLT: And all the masters of Shechem are gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and come and cause Abimelech to reign for king at the oak of the camp which is in Shechem;

Darby: And all the citizens of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abim'elech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

ASV: And all the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And all the men  of Shechem  gathered together,  and all the house  of Millo,  and went,  and made  Abimelech  king,  by the plain  of the pillar  that [was] in Shechem. 

What does Judges 9:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 9:1-6 - "through Slaughter To A Throne"
The Children of Israel were guilty of great fickleness and instability. They soon relapsed into Baal worship and forgot to show kindness to the family of their great leader. But such is the frailty of the human heart. However hot we may be for Christ today, we may be cold and distant tomorrow. It seems as if the great adversary taunts us with this as he did John Bunyan, to whom he kept whispering. "I'll cool you, I'll cool you." We must take our fickle hearts to our Lord, asking Him to keep us true and hot in our love. There are times when His friendship is the most real thing in life, but then the rainbow-glory fades in the sky. Let it not be so any more, O Lord, we beseech thee!
The terrible crime of Abimelech was extenuated by the people of Shechem, because his mother was one of themselves. Compare Judges 8:31 with 9:1, 18. But the mills of God were grinding out awful trouble for them all, Judges 9:56-57. Surely, in his lack of self-control, Gideon had much to answer for, Judges 8:30! The evil that men do lives after them. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 9

1  Abimelech by conspiracy with the Shechemites, and murder of his brothers, is made king
7  Jotham by a parable rebukes them, and foretells their ruin
22  Gaal conspires with the Shechemites against him
30  Zebul reveals it
34  Abimelech overcomes them, and sows the city with salt
46  He burns the hold of the god Berith
50  At Thebez he is slain by a piece of a millstone
56  Jotham's curse is fulfilled

What do the individual words in Judges 9:6 mean?

And gathered together all the men of Shechem and all of Beth Millo and they went and made - Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar that [was] in Shechem
וַיֵּאָ֨סְפ֜וּ כָּל־ בַּעֲלֵ֤י שְׁכֶם֙ וְכָל־ בֵּ֣ית מִלּ֔וֹא וַיֵּ֣לְכ֔וּ וַיַּמְלִ֥יכוּ אֶת־ אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ לְמֶ֑לֶךְ עִם־ אֵל֥וֹן מֻצָּ֖ב אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׁכֶֽם

וַיֵּאָ֨סְפ֜וּ  And  gathered  together 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
בַּעֲלֵ֤י  the  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בָּעַל 
Sense: owner, husband, lord.
שְׁכֶם֙  of  Shechem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׁכֶם 
Sense: son of Hamor, the chieftain of the Hivites at Shechem at the time of Jacob’s arrival.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
מִלּ֔וֹא  Beth  Millo 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלֹּא 
Sense: a place near Shechem; site unknown.
וַיֵּ֣לְכ֔וּ  and  they  went 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וַיַּמְלִ֥יכוּ  and  made 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ  Abimelech 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲבִימֶלֶךְ  
Sense: king of Gerar in Abraham’s time.
לְמֶ֑לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
עִם־  beside 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
אֵל֥וֹן  the  terebinth  tree  at 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֵלֹון  
Sense: tree, great tree, terebinth.
מֻצָּ֖ב  the  pillar 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: הֻצַּב 
Sense: to stand, take one’s stand, stand upright, be set (over), establish.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  that  [was] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בִּשְׁכֶֽם  in  Shechem 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׁכֶם 
Sense: son of Hamor, the chieftain of the Hivites at Shechem at the time of Jacob’s arrival.