That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
This happened so that the terrible murder of Gideon's seventy sons would be punished, and their blood would be on the hands of their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who helped him murder his brothers.
This verse explains that God was bringing justice for the brutal murder of seventy innocent men by ensuring their killers would face consequences.
📚 Historical Context
Abimelech was the son of Gideon (also called Jerubbaal), one of Israel's judges who had delivered them from their enemies. After Gideon's death, Abimelech convinced the people of Shechem to make him king by brutally murdering his seventy half-brothers on a single stone, leaving only the youngest, Jotham, who escaped. This verse comes in the context of God bringing judgment on both Abimelech and the men of Shechem for this mass murder.
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