The Judges & Ruth

He sent messengers to Avimelekh in Tormah with this message: "Ga'al the son of a slave and his brothers have come to Sh'khem, and they're inciting the city against you.

You and the men with you should come up now at night and lie in wait in the field.

In the morning, get up early, as soon as the sun rises; and attack the city. Then, when Ga'al and the men with him come out to fight you, do whatever you can to them."

Avimelekh and all the men with him came up by night and lay in wait against Sh'khem in four groups.

Ga'al the son of a slave went out and stationed himself at the entrance to the city gate. Then Avimelekh and his men rose from their ambush.

When Ga'al saw the men, he said to Z'vul, "Look, there are men coming down from the mountaintops." Z'vul answered, "You're seeing the shadows of the mountains as if they were men."

Ga'al said again, "Look, there are men coming down from the main hill in the land, and one group is coming on the road from the Fortuneteller's Oak.

Z'vul said to him, "Where's your mouth now? You said, 'Who is Avimelekh? Why should we serve him?' Aren't these the people you despise? Go on out and fight them!"

So Ga'al went out, leading the men of Sh'khem, and fought Avimelekh.

But Avimelekh gave chase, and Ga'al took to flight; many fell wounded, strewn all along the way to the city gate.

Then Avimelekh took up residence in Arumah, and Z'vul drove out Ga'al and his brothers, so that they could not live in Sh'khem.

But the very next day, the people went out into the field, and Avimelekh was told about it.

He took his men, divided them into three groups, and lay in wait in the field. When he saw the people going out of the city, he came out of hiding and slaughtered them.

Avimelekh and his group rushed forward and occupied the entrance to the city gate, while the other two groups attacked all those in the field and killed them.

Avimelekh fought against the city all that day; captured it, killed its people, destroyed its buildings and sowed its land with salt.

When all the men in the fortress at Sh'khem heard about this, they took refuge in the stronghold of the temple of El-B'rit.

Avimelekh was told that all the men from the Sh'khem fortress had gathered together;

so he led all his men up to Mount Tzalmon, where he took an axe in his hand, cut a branch off a tree, and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to those with him, "Quick! Do just what you saw me do!"

They all did likewise, each man cutting off his branch; and they followed Avimelekh. They put the branches up against the stronghold, set them on fire, and burned down the stronghold; so that all the people from the Sh'khem fortress died, about a thousand men and women.

Then Avimelekh went to Tevetz, set up camp against Tevetz and captured it.

But there was a fortified tower inside the city; and all the men and women took refuge in it, everyone in the city. They shut themselves inside and went up onto the roof of the tower.

However, when Avimelekh approached the tower, attacked it, and then came up close to the tower's door in order to burn it down,

a woman dropped an upper millstone on Avimelekh's head, cracking his skull.

He quickly called out to the young man holding his armor, "Draw your sword, and finish me off, so that people won't say a woman killed me." So his attendant ran him through, and he died.

When the men of Isra'el saw that Avimelekh was dead, they all went back home.