And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done.
So Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon with all his men. He took an ax and cut down a tree branch, put it on his shoulder, and told his followers, 'Hurry and do what you've seen me do—cut branches like I did.'
Abimelech is leading by example, showing his men how to cut branches from trees for what would become a deadly attack on the people hiding in a stronghold.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during Abimelech's violent campaign to maintain his illegitimate rule over Israel after he had murdered his seventy half-brothers. The people of Shechem had rebelled against him and taken refuge in a tower. Abimelech was gathering wood to burn down their stronghold, which would kill about a thousand people who had sought safety there.
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