Abimelech plans to use a similar strategy to burn down the tower at Thebez as he did with the Tower of Shechem. This verse seems to be made up of almost parallel parts, each containing a verb of movement (came, drew near) and a verb of destruction (fought, burn). The word tower is also prominent, occurring once in each part.

And Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it: Most English versions leave untranslated the Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And at the beginning of this verse (New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version). Once again Abimelech is probably accompanied by his men. He could not have carried out this deed alone. For fought see verse 9.45. Not much detail is given here concerning how this fight was conducted. Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible both use the verb “attacked.” Even though the first clause in this verse is independent in Hebrew and Revised Standard Version, translators may render it as a time clause, for example, “When Abimelech and his men arrived at the tower, they launched an attack against it.”

And drew near to the door of the tower …: As Abimelech had done previously, he plans to burn down the door. Drew near may be rendered “approached” (New International Version, Revised English Bible) or “came near” (New Revised Standard Version). The door of the tower refers to the entrance of the fortress. The text does not say what the door was made of, but presumably it was made of wood. Some cultures know only of doorways closed off by cloth, so it may be necessary to specify a harder substance such as wood. Contemporary English Version speaks of “the heavy wooden doors.” We may also say “the entrance way.” As above, in some languages this independent clause may be expressed as a dependent one by saying “And as he approached the door of the tower….”

To burn it with fire: Abimelech planned to burn the entrance way, thus preventing anyone from escaping. At this point in the narrative, readers/listeners do not know whether the tower burned to the ground, along with the people inside. It again looks as if Abimelech will win a victory. However, the story will now take a strange turn, one full of irony and wit.

Contemporary English Version provides a good model for this verse:

• Abimelech and his army rushed to the fortress and tried to force their way inside. Abimelech himself was about to set the heavy wooden doors on fire….

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 .