שופטים, פרק ט׳, פסוק מ״ה

After a relentless day of battle, Abimelech successfully overtakes the city, unleashing total devastation. He slaughters the inhabitants and tears the settlement down to the ground. This campaign of ruin culminates in a severe and striking final measure: scattering salt across the conquered land.

The primary approach among commentators is that this action is meant to completely ruin the soil. By spreading salt over the ground, the earth is intentionally corrupted, ensuring that the fields remain entirely unfit for future planting or the cultivation of vineyards [מצודת דוד, רלב״ג]. Whether this was carried out as a literal, physical salting of the earth or is meant to be understood as a powerful metaphor, the message is clear. It serves as an undeniable symbol of absolute destruction, representing a city leveled to its very foundations with barren fields that will never again be planted or produce life [ביאור שטיינזלץ].