Judges 9:1

Translations

Modern

Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,

Traditional

And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,

Literal

And Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to the brothers of his mother, and he spoke to them and to all the family of the house of the father of his mother, saying,

Latin

Abiit autem Abimelech filius Jerobaal in Sichem ad fratres matris suæ, et locutus est ad eos, et ad omnem cognationem domus patris matris suæ, dicens:

Original

Hebrew

English

Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,

Notes

Judges 9:1–3

Abimelech, the son of a concubine (Judges 8:31; see study note on Judges 19:1), claimed he could create the royal dynasty that his father had rejected.
The absence of any record of a conquest of Shechem, despite Israel’s covenant activities in the city (Joshua 24), suggests that Shechem’s people became part of Israel. Abimelech’s uncles and his mother might have been of non-Israelite origin.

Judges 9:1–57

Abimelech's reign marked a shift from the relative peace of the early judges (Judges 3:7–8:35) to the decline of the later years (10:1–16:31).

Theme notes and profiles

Gideon Preaching to a Tough Crowd Shechem

Events

Usurpation by Abimelech

Related verses

Judges 8:31
His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
Psalm 83:2–4
See how Your enemies rage, how Your foes have reared their heads.
1 Kings 12:3
So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said,
Genesis 33:18
After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
1 Kings 12:1
Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.
Genesis 34:2
When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
1 Kings 12:20
When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
Jeremiah 18:18
Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
2 Samuel 15:6
Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

People

Abimelech: Son of Gideon, self-proclaimed king of Shechem Gideon: Judge of Israel; defeated Midianites; tested and reassured by God

Places

Shechem: City in Canaan, later allotted to Ephraim

Glossary

Abimelech Arumah Baal-Berith Judges, Book of Ophrah (Place) Shechem (Place) Warfare

Topics

Abimelech: Son of Gideon Ambition: Abimelech Conspiracy: Abimelech Against Gideon's Sons Israel: Under the Judges: Abimelech Foments an Inter-Tribal War Judge: Abimelech Rulers: Wicked: Abimelech, Killing his Seventy Brothers Shechem: Also Called Sychar, a City of Refuge in Mount Ephraim: Abimelech Made King At the Tribe of Manasseh: Remarkable Persons of Abimelech

Judges 9:1

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