Fratricide, defined as the act of killing one’s brother, is notably exemplified in the Bible through the story of Cain and Abel, where Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy and anger (Genesis 4:1-16). This act is often interpreted as a symbol of humanity’s capacity for sin and the destructive consequences of unresolved conflict and envy.
Scripture
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.
4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,
5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.
11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.
15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.
16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Biblical Meaning of Fratricide
The act of fratricide in the Bible, most prominently illustrated in the story of Cain and Abel, serves as a profound commentary on the dangers of unchecked jealousy and the fragility of familial bonds. Genesis 4:1-16 details how Cain’s anger towards God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering leads him to commit the first murder, symbolizing the depths of human sinfulness and the potential for violence when emotions are left unchecked. This narrative encapsulates the broader themes of sin’s progression: from internal feelings of envy and rejection to the external act of violence. As Cain confronts the hard truths of his actions, he not only embodies the tragic consequences of fratricide but also evokes questions about personal responsibility, the nature of sin, and the alienation that follows such acts.
Moreover, Cain’s punishment underscores the weight of his transgression. He is marked and condemned to wander, which reflects not only the social ramifications of fratricide but also the spiritual estrangement that results from such a grave sin (Genesis 4:12). This interplay between action and consequence invites readers to reflect on the intrinsic worth of communal ties and the responsibility humans bear to cultivate love and reconciliation among one another. Broader biblical themes mirror Cain’s narrative, reinforcing the notion that envy, hatred, and violence lead to destruction—not only of one’s brother but of one’s own humanity. The idea of fratricide urges believers to confront their inner turmoil, seek forgiveness, and foster peace, as emphasized in passages like 1 John 3:15, which states that “Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer,” highlighting the importance of love and harmony in human relationships as fundamental to divine truth.
In exploring the topic of fratricide throughout the biblical text, the implications extend beyond the individual narrative of Cain and Abel to permeate numerous stories that reflect the tumultuous nature of sibling relationships within the scriptural framework. The complex dynamics between brothers often serve as a microcosm for larger societal conflicts. For instance, the tension between Jacob and Esau illuminates the destructive potential of rivalry and deception rooted in familial discord. Jacob’s cunning maneuvering for his brother’s birthright ultimately leads to estrangement and reconciliation narratives that mirror the challenges of forgiveness and healing in family structures. The fraternal strife depicted here highlights the destructive cycles of envy and competition that can arise when familial love devolves into animosity.
Furthermore, fratricide as a concept resonates with the story of Joseph and his brothers, who, driven by jealousy, plot to eliminate him rather than confront their own flawed desires. This act of betrayal, while not resulting in physical death, encapsulates the notion of ‘murdering the spirit’ within family dynamics—a betrayal that leads to suffering and separation. Joseph’s eventual rise to power, and the way he chooses to reconcile with those who wronged him, underscores a central biblical theme: transformation through grace and forgiveness. These narratives invite deeper reflection on the consequences of fractured relationships and the burden of guilt associated with betrayal among kin. They reiterate that the cycle of fratricide—whether in thought, word, or deed—poses a profound challenge to the well-being of both individuals and communities, pointing to the necessity of redemption, healing, and the imperative to uphold love within the family.
The Consequences of Jealousy and Sin
Fratricide in the Bible often serves as a stark reminder of the destructive power of jealousy and sin. The act of killing a brother symbolizes the ultimate betrayal of familial bonds, illustrating how envy can lead to devastating actions. This theme highlights the moral implications of allowing negative emotions to fester, ultimately resulting in tragic outcomes that affect not only the individuals involved but also their families and communities.
The Breakdown of Relationships
Fratricide also represents the breakdown of relationships and the erosion of trust within families. The act signifies a profound rupture in the natural order of kinship, where love and support should prevail. This breakdown serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of nurturing healthy relationships and the potential consequences when conflict and resentment are allowed to take root.
The Need for Redemption and Forgiveness
Finally, the theme of fratricide in the Bible underscores the need for redemption and forgiveness. The act of killing a brother is not just a physical act but also a spiritual one, reflecting a deep moral failing. This narrative invites readers to consider the importance of seeking forgiveness and reconciliation, both with oneself and with others, as a pathway to healing and restoration in the face of deep-seated conflict.
How to Foster Peace and Justice Among Siblings
Fostering peace and justice among siblings is a beautiful way to live out our Christian values in the family setting. Start by embracing open communication; encourage each sibling to express their feelings and perspectives without fear of judgment. Remember, as Romans 12:18 reminds us, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” This means taking the initiative to listen actively and empathize with one another, even when disagreements arise. Practicing forgiveness is also crucial; just as Christ forgave us, we must extend that grace to our siblings, letting go of past grievances to build a stronger bond. Lastly, engage in shared activities that promote teamwork and understanding, whether it’s volunteering together or simply enjoying a family game night. By nurturing these habits, you not only create a more harmonious home but also reflect the love and justice of Christ in your everyday interactions.
Bible References to Fratricide and Its Meaning:
1 John 3:11-15: 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Matthew 23:29-36: 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Hebrews 11:4: 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
Hebrews 12:24: 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Numbers 35:9-34: 9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11 then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.
12 The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
13 And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge.
14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.
15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.
16 “But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden object that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.
20 And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died,
21 or in enmity struck him with his hand so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22 “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait”
23 or if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
24 then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
25 And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
26 But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled,
27 And the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood.
28 because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
29 And these things shall be for a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
30 “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.
31 Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death.
32 And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest.
33 You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”
Deuteronomy 21:1-9: 1 “If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him,”
2 then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities.
3 Then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities.
4 and the elders of the city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.
5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled.
6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,
7 and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed.
8 forgive your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’
9 So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
2 Samuel 13:23-39: 23 After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.
24 And Absalom came to the king and said, “Behold, your servant has sheepshearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant.”
25 But the king would not listen to all the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”
27 But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.
28 Then Absalom commanded his servants, “Mark when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Fear not; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.”
29 And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each mounted his mule and fled.
30 But Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Mark when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Do not fear; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.”
31 Then the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the earth. And all his servants who were standing by tore their garments.
32 But Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men the king’s sons, for Amnon alone is dead.
33 Now therefore let not my lord the king so take it to heart as to suppose that all the king’s sons are dead, for Amnon alone is dead.”
34 But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him by the side of the mountain.
35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Behold, the king’s sons have come; as your servant said, so it has come to pass.”
36 While he was yet speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.”
37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son day after day.
38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
39 And the spirit of the king longed to go out to Absalom, because he was comforted about Amnon, since he was dead.
2 Samuel 14:1-33: 1 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart went out to Absalom.
2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman and said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner and put on mourning garments. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead.
3 And go to the king and speak thus to him.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.
4 When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, “Save me, O king.”
5 And the king said to her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead.
6 Your servant had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
7 And now the king, my lord, the word that I speak to you is in fact: for the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. The Lord your God be with you.”
8 Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.”
9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father’s house; let the king and his throne be guiltless.”
10 But the king said, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never touch you again.”
11 Then she said, “Please let the king invoke the Lord your God, that the avenger of blood kill no more, and my son be not destroyed.” He said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”
12 But the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.”
13 And the woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again.
14 For we will all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.
15 Now I have come to speak of this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid, and your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.
16 For the king will hear and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the heritage of God.
17 Your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!”
18 Then the king answered the woman, “Do not hide from me anything I ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.”
19 And the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who commanded me; it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant.
20 In order to change the course of things your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.”
21 Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom.”
22 Joab fell on his face to the ground and paid homage and blessed the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant.”
23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24 And the king said, “Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence.” So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.
25 Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
26 And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.
27 And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.
28 And Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king’s presence.
29 Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but Joab would not come.
30 Then he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31 Then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
32 Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.”
33 Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.
Judges 9:1-57: 1 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family,
2 “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
3 And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.
5 And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
6 And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.
7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice and cried out.
8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’
9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’
10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’
11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’
12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’
13 “But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’”
14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’
15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
16 “Now therefore, if you have acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved—”
17 for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian,
18 And you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative—
19 if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.”
21 And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.
22 Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.
23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,
24 that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
25 And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.
26 And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him.
27 And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is Zebul not his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, but why should we serve him?
29 If you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you.
32 Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field.
33 In the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.”
34 And Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies.
35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.”
37 And Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”
38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.”
39 And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
40 But Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate.
41 And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.
42 And the next day the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told.
43 And he took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them.
44 Abimelech and the company who was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them.
45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.
46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith.
47 And when Abimelech and all the men who were with him had gone up to Mount Zalmon, he took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood, and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.”
48 And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood, and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.”
49 Then all the people likewise cut down each one his bough and followed Abimelech and put them at the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it.
51 There was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower.
52 And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 “But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.”
54 Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
55 And all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.
56 Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers.
57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
1 Kings 2:25-34: 25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because you shared in all my father’s affliction.”
27 So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28 When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar.
29 When it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar, Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.”
30 Then Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
31 Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
32 The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.
33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But for David, and for his descendants, and for his house, and for his throne, there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.
34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
Rev. François Dupont is a dedicated church minister with a wealth of experience in serving spiritual communities. With a calm and serene demeanor, he has been devoted to sharing the message of love, compassion, and tolerance for over two decades. Through his thoughtful sermons, compassionate counseling, and unwavering support, Rev. Dupont has touched the lives of countless individuals, allowing them to find solace and strength during difficult times. His serene presence and deep understanding of the human condition make him a trusted guide for those seeking spiritual nourishment and guidance.