John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 4. And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baalbirith , etc.] The temple of their idol; of this name (see Gill on “ Judges 8:33”), out of the money which had been dedicated to his service by freewill offering, or out of a bank which they deposited there for greater safety, and perhaps out of a superstitious notion of its being more prosperous and successful: of what value these pieces were is not certain; by pieces of silver, commonly shekels are meant; but these are thought to be of too little value to be given to a man to raise an army with, or carry on a scheme to advance himself to the throne; and talents are judged to be too large a sum for such a city to contribute out of a temple of theirs, and that but lately built, as it must be since the death of Gideon; they are therefore thought to be pounds, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; however, in the number of them there seems to be some reference to the number of Gideon’s sons, who were to be destroyed by bribing men with this sum, which was the scheme concerted between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him ; perhaps seventy of them, giving to each a piece or pound of silver; these were a base scoundrel sort of people, that lived in an idle scandalous manner, a sort of freebooters, that lived upon what they could lay hold on in a way of force and rapine; men of light heads and empty brains, and whose pockets were as light and empty as their heads, and fit to engage in any enterprise, though ever so barbarous, for the sake of a little money.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-6 - The men of Shechem chose Abimelech king. God was not consulted whethe they should have any king, much less who it should be. If parents coul see what their children would do, and what they are to suffer, their joy in them often would be turned into sorrow: we may be thankful tha we cannot know what shall happen. Above all, we should fear and watc against sin; for our evil conduct may produce fatal effects upon ou families, after we are in our graves.
Original Hebrew ויתנו5414 לו שׁבעים7657 כסף3701 מבית1004 בעל ברית1170 וישׂכר7936 בהם אבימלך40 אנשׁים582 ריקים7386 ופחזים6348 וילכו1980 אחריו׃310
