And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And introduces what happens once the leaders decide to support Abimelech. He has not asked for money, but they apparently decide to give him seventy pieces of silver. To link the verses we might say “So” or “Then” (Contemporary English Version). The pronoun they probably refers to the town leaders, who seem to be in charge of the temple treasury. However, if the pronoun is impersonal, we might say “Abimelech was given…” or “Abimelech received….” Seventy pieces of silver is literally “seventy silver,” but most translations add “pieces” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), “coins” (New Living Translation), or “shekels” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; see the comments on verse 8.26). Contemporary English Version inserts a footnote that says seventy pieces of silver is equivalent to about 28 ounces of silver. In New Testament times a silver coin was the daily wage of a laborer, but no one knows what its value was in Abimelech’s time, so a general translation should be used here. Translators should not use modern equivalents for money since their values often change and the translation could become dated quickly. Most languages have a word for silver, so it can be used, but “pieces of money” could also be instead, especially if silver is not used as currency. For seventy see verse 9.2. The house of Baal-berith was the temple dedicated to the worship of the god Baal-berith (see verse 8.33). The narrator makes clear the money to support Abimelech comes from this temple, thus from an unholy source.

With which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows is literally “and Abimelech hired with them [the coins] men worthless and reckless.” The text does not say whether this was the intention of the town leaders for the money, but this is what Abimelech did with it. He gathered together a group of scoundrels who would support him as ruler. Hired renders the common Hebrew verb used for employing workers for a set sum. Up till now, no judge of the Israelites has had to hire men to work or fight for him. Abimelech may have had to hire these men because he did not have much support from the community or because he did not trust his own relatives! The men he hired are described as worthless and reckless. A similar expression is found in verse 11.3 referring to Jephthah and his followers. The Hebrew word for worthless also means “empty,” which Revised English Bible renders well as “good-for-nothing.” Some languages might say “zero” or “worth nothing.” The Hebrew term for reckless occurs rarely in the Old Testament, but seems to describe people who do whatever they want, without regard for anyone or anything. They are people without principles, so New American Bible says “ruffians.” Good News Translation combines these two words, saying “worthless scoundrels.” Contemporary English Version is also very dynamic: “Abimelech used the silver to hire a gang of rough soldiers who would do anything for money,” though it is not clear that these men were soldiers. Translators should look for vivid expressions describing people who are socially unacceptable. If vocabulary is limited, one adjective instead of two can be used here.

Who followed him renders a common Hebrew idiom, which is literally “and they went after him.” Here it conveys the idea of the scoundrels joining Abimelech. It may be rendered “who joined his cause.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• The leaders gave Abimelech seventy pieces of silver taken from the temple of the god, Baal-of-the-Agreement, and he used the money to hire a number of low-lifers to join him.

• These men took seventy silver coins from the temple of their god, Baal-of-the-Covenant, and gave them to Abimelech. He then hired worthless rascals, who joined his cause.

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 .