And all the citizens of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo: There is a time lapse here, since Abimelech and his men have returned to Shechem, and perhaps have already told the townspeople what they had done. Thus the Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And could be translated “Later,” “Sometime later,” or “After their return.” Since there is a shift in location and new participants as well, a new paragraph can also begin here. For all the citizens of Shechem, see verse 9.2. These leaders came together, that is, they “gathered” (New International Version) or “met together.” And all Beth-millo is a puzzling expression that could refer to a second group in another location or could be another way of referring to the leaders of Shechem. Many versions see a reference to two separate places. Thus NET Bible says “All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled” (similarly Good News Translation, New International Version). Though some propose that Beth-millo (literally “the Millo house”) was the name of the meeting place normally used by the leaders of the town, there is yet another possibility. The name Millo seems to come from the Hebrew root meaning “fill,” and could refer to an area inside the town which was made level by filling it with dirt. Jerusalem has an area referred to in this way (verse 2 Sam 5.9), and indeed, in Shechem a similar area has been uncovered by archaeologists. However, since this meaning is uncertain, it is probably better to follow Good News Translation and others by saying “Later all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo got together.” The double occurrence of the word for all in Hebrew shows the next act is based on a unanimous decision.
And they went and made Abimelech king: The verb went may be redundant in some languages. Nevertheless, it is clear the people of Shechem moved to a special location where they made Abimelech king. For the first time in the book of Judges, the Hebrew verb rendered made … king (malak) is used for an Israelite leader. In the previous references to Israelite leadership the Hebrew verb was mashal (see verse 9.2, where it is rendered “rule”). Now Abimelech is set up as the king to rule over the town of Shechem and its nearby areas. Despite verse 9.22, which says “Abimelech ruled over Israel,” he probably controlled only a part of Israelite territory. Made Abimelech king is literally “kinged Abimelech king,” a very emphatic expression in Hebrew. This clause and the exaggerated phrases all the citizens of Shechem and all Beth-millo put a great deal of emphasis on this event. Translators should look for a strong expression here. They may say “they declared Abimelech their king” or “they installed Abimelech as their king.” Some languages have idiomatic expressions, such as “they made Abimelech eat the royalty” or “they seated Abimelech on the royal chair.” In Hebrew the verb for went (halak) contains two letters (l and k) that are also in the word for king (melek), so there are repetitive sounds or assonance here.
By the oak of the pillar at Shechem: According to Gen 12.6, there was a special oak tree was growing in Shechem, which had some religious significance. It probably was a place of worship. For oak see verse 4.11. The Hebrew participle rendered pillar poses real problems for interpreters and translators, as indicated in the footnote of New Revised Standard Version. Some ancient versions suggest that the original text read “which stood,” which seems behind Good News Translation‘s “the sacred oak tree at Shechem.” However, Revised English Bible renders the Hebrew participle here as “propped-up,” so it says “beside the propped-up terebinth at Shechem.” Some scholars propose that a rock was propped up against the oak tree. So New Jerusalem Bible has “at the oak of the cultic stone at Shechem.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “at the tree next to the sacred rock in Shechem.” Given the difficulty here, it might be well to add a footnote saying “Hebrew uncertain.”
Translation models for this verse are:
• After this all the leaders of Shechem and all those from Beth-millo gathered at the large tree near the sacred rock in Shechem. There they made Abimelech their king.
• Later all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered together and went to the oak tree near the sacred pillar in Shechem. There they declared Abimelech their king.
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .