Judges - 9:54



54 Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, 'A woman killed him.' His young man thrust him through, and he died."

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Judges 9:54.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Then he called hastily unto the young man his armorbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and kill me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
And he called hastily to his armourbearer, and said to him: Draw thy sword, and kill me: lest it should be said that I was slain by a woman. He did as he was commanded, and slew him.
Then he called hastily to the young man his armor-bearer, and said to him, |Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, 'A woman killed him.'| And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and kill me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Then he called hastily to the young man his armor-bearer, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
and he calleth hastily unto the young man bearing his weapons, and saith to him, 'Draw thy sword, and thou hast put me to death, lest they say of me, A woman slew him;' and his young man pierced him through, and he dieth.
Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, Draw your sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A women slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Then quickly crying out to his body-servant, he said to him, Take out your sword and put an end to me straight away, so that men may not say of me, His death was the work of a woman. So the young man put his sword through him, causing his death.
Then he called hastily unto the young man his armour-bearer, and said unto him: 'Draw thy sword, and kill me, that men say not of me: A woman slew him.' And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Then he called quickly to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, 'Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, 'A woman killed him.' So the young man thrust him through, and he died.
And he quickly called to his armor bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword and strike me, otherwise it may be said that I was slain by a woman." And, doing as he was ordered, he killed him.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Draw thy sword, and slay me - It was a disgrace to be killed by a woman; on this account, Seneca the tragedian deplores the death of Hercules: -
O turpe fatum! femina Herculeae necis
Autor feritur.
Herc. Oetaeus, ver. 1177.
"O dishonorable fate! a woman is reported to
have been author of the death of Hercules."
Abimelech was also afraid that if he fell thus mortally wounded into the hands of his enemies they might treat him with cruelty and insult.

Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man (r) thrust him through, and he died.
(r) Thus God by such miserable death takes vengeance on tyrants even in this life.

Then he called hastily to the young man his armourbearer,.... Perceiving it was a mortal blow that was given him, and he should soon expire; and that the cast of the stone was by the hand of a woman, and therefore he was in haste to have the young man come to him:
and said unto him, draw thy sword and slay me, that men say not of me, a woman slew him; it being reckoned very ignominious and reproachful to die by the hand of a woman, and especially any great personage, as a king or general of an army (s); to avoid this, he chose rather to be guilty of suicide, or of what cannot well be excused from it, and so died by suicide; which, added to all his other sins, he seemed to have no sense of, or repentance for; and the method he took to conceal the shame of his death served the more to spread it; for this circumstance of his death could not be given without the reason of it, and which was remembered and related punctually near two hundred years afterwards, 2-Samuel 11:21.
(s) "O turpe fatum! foemina Herculeae, necis Auctor feretur ----" Seneca Oetaeo.

A women - Which was esteemed a matter of disgrace.

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