And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.

JUDGES 9:45KJV
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Judges 9:45 (KJV)

What does Judges 9:45 mean?

Judges 9:45 describes how Abimelech attacked a city for an entire day, captured it, killed its inhabitants, destroyed the city itself, and then scattered salt over its ruins. This verse shows the total destruction Abimelech brought upon the city and its people.

In the story, Abimelech is leading a violent campaign against Shechem, a city that had rebelled against him. The act of sowing salt on the ruins was a symbolic gesture, often understood as a way to curse the land and make it uninhabitable, showing that Abimelech intended for the city never to be rebuilt. This event is part of a larger narrative about the consequences of Abimelech’s ruthless quest for power.

The Hebrew behind Judges 9:45

  • The word for "sowed" is זָרַע (zara‘), which means to scatter seed. Here, it is used for scattering salt, emphasizing the deliberate act of making the land barren.
  • The word for "salt" is מֶלַח (melach), which in this context is not for flavor or preservation, but as a symbol of desolation and curse.
  • The verb "beat down" is נָתַץ (natats), meaning to demolish or tear down, highlighting the thoroughness of the destruction.

Why Judges 9:45 matters

  • This verse clarifies that Abimelech’s actions went beyond simple conquest; he intended to erase the city’s future by making the land unusable.
  • The detail about sowing salt connects to ancient practices of cursing conquered places, helping readers understand the severity of Abimelech’s judgment against Shechem.
  • Seeing this act in the wider story shows the destructive consequences of Abimelech’s ambition and the violence that marked his rule, setting up the events that follow in the chapter.

Where else these words appear

“salt” Hebrew H4417 · used in 26 verses

  • Genesis 14:3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
  • Joshua 3:16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
  • 2 Kings 14:7 He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.

“down” Hebrew H5422 · used in 41 verses

  • Exodus 34:13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
  • 2 Kings 11:18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.
  • Psalms 52:5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

“sowed” Hebrew H2232 · used in 54 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Deuteronomy 11:10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
  • Isaiah 32:20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

“Abimelech” Hebrew H40 · used in 62 verses

  • Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
  • Genesis 26:11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
  • Judges 9:31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.