References (3)
And they found Adoni-Bezek [probably a title for the king of the city; literally "lord of lightning"] in Bezek ["city of lightning"] and they fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
But Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. [This form of mutilation was common among pagan peoples, rendering the person incapable of wielding weapons or performing religious rites (). In the next verse (in his own words), the king describes how he himself is now suffering the punishment he himself inflicted on 70 other people. He interprets it as God's punishment, see also ; .]
Adoni-Bezek then said, "Seventy kings who gather food under my table [beg] have their thumbs and big toes cut off. As I have done, so God (Elohim) has repaid me."
[The phrase "gather food under my table" refers to begging. These 70 captured kings who had been mutilated could do nothing but beg at the table of their captors. They had been humiliated and were kept alive by Adoni-Bezek only to demonstrate his power and instill fear.]
They took him to Jerusalem, and he died there. [It is not entirely clear who "they" are, but it is likely that the Simonians are behind this revenge and bring Adoni-Bezek to the Jebusites in Jerusalem, although God does not seem to allow him to be kept in Jerusalem in the same way to instill fear in the surrounding area, see also , ; .]
