Judges 9:52

52 Abimelech came to the tower. He began to fight against it and went near the entrance of the tower to burn it down.

Judges 9:52 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 9:52

And Abimelech came unto the tower
With his army to besiege it:

and fought against it;
using all the methods he could to oblige those in it to surrender:

and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire;
in order to get entrance into it; and perhaps the tower was built of stone, so that no other part could be set fire to; and to do this he drew near to the door himself, for nothing more is meant by the phrase, "went hard", than drawing near in his own person to the door; hazarding his life in the enterprise, being so bent upon it, thinking to do by this tower what he had done to the hold of the temple of Baalberith.

Judges 9:52 In-Context

50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez, camped there, and captured it.

51 Now, there was a strong tower inside the town. All the men, women, and leaders of the town fled to it. They locked the door behind them and went up on the roof of the tower.

52 Abimelech came to the tower. He began to fight against it and went near the entrance of the tower to burn it down.

53 Then a woman threw a small millstone that hit Abimelech on the head and cracked his skull.

54 He quickly called his armorbearer. He told him, "Take your sword and kill me! I don't want anyone to say, 'A woman killed Abimelech.'" His armorbearer did as he said, so Abimelech died.