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49. Set the hold on fire. It is evident that the hold was not intended for defense. It was a walled cellar of the temple precinct into which the refugees had fled expecting that Abimelech would honor their right of asylum there. The intense heat of the pitchy branches soon set the wooden paneling on fire, with the result that everyone in the cavernous rooms perished, perhaps as many as 1,000 men and women in all.

The prophecy of Jotham was literally fulfilled. Fire had gone forth from the bramble-king and destroyed the people of Shechem (v. 20). Many of the people were probably in no way concerned with the quarrel or with making Abimelech king. Perhaps they had not meddled with either side. However, all through the centuries men of turbulent spirits cause others to perish with them. Millions of innocent people still perish in cruel wars brought on by a few evil men.