His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
Parallel translations
- WEB His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
- KJV And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
- NKJV And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
- NASB And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
- NLT He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Gideon's concubine in Shechem bears him a son named Abimelech.
Overview
The name Abimelech means 'my father is king,' hinting at the royal ambitions lurking in Gideon's house. This son, of lower status, will seize power through bloodshed. The verse plants the seed of the destructive events that dominate the next chapter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Judg 9:18but you have risen up against my father’s house this day and killed his seventy sons on a single stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the leaders of Shechem because he is your brother—
- Gen 22:24Moreover, Nahor’s concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
- Gen 16:15And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
- Judg 9:1–5Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,
- Gen 20:2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 8:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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