Abimelech in the Bible

Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally told them all these things, and the men were terrified.

Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”

Abimelech also said to Abraham, “What did you intend when you did this thing?”

Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.

Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you want.”

Abimelech also told Sarah, "Look! I am giving your brother 1,000 pieces of silver to vindicate you in the eyes of all who are with you. As a result, you will be completely vindicated."

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children,

for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.

But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.

Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”

Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?”

After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.

There was another famine in the land in addition to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

When Isaac had been there for some time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

Then Abimelech said, “What is this you’ve done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.”

So Abimelech warned all the people with these words: “Whoever harms this man or his wife will certainly die.”

And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us.”

Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.

His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech.

Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother's relatives. He said to them and to his mother's entire extended family,

His mother's relatives spoke on his behalf to all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; they said, "He is our close relative."

They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous men as his followers.

All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled and then went and made Abimelech king by the oak near the pillar in Shechem.

"Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, if you have properly repaid him --

But you have attacked my father's family today. You murdered his seventy legitimate sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative.

So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub-Baal and his family today, then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness!

But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!"

Then Jotham ran away to Beer and lived there to escape from Abimelech his half-brother.

Abimelech commanded Israel for three years.

God sent a spirit to stir up hostility between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal to Abimelech.

He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub-Baal's seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech, their half-brother who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them.

The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting bandits in the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it.

They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, squeezed out the juice, and celebrated. They came to the temple of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech.

Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech?

If only these men were under my command, I would get rid of Abimelech!" He challenged Abimelech, "Muster your army and come out for battle!"

He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, reporting, "Beware! Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you.

So Abimelech and all his men came up at night and set an ambush outside Shechem -- they divided into four units.

When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city's gate, Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places.

Zebul said to him, "Where now are your bragging words, 'Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?' Are these not the men you insulted? Go out now and fight them!"

So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out and fought Abimelech.

Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ran from him. Many Shechemites fell wounded at the entrance of the gate.

Abimelech went back to Arumah; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

The next day the Shechemites came out to the field. When Abimelech heard about it,

So he took his army, divided it into three separate companies, and laid in ambush out in the field. When Abimelech noticed the people coming out from the city, his army attacked them and killed them.

Abimelech and his units attacked and blocked the entrance to the city's gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down.

Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled the city and spread salt over it.

Abimelech heard that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place.

So Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a branch from the trees, picked it up, and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the people with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do just as I have done.”

So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the stronghold and set fire to it. All the people of the Tower of Shechem died -- about a thousand men and women.

Abimelech moved on to Thebez; he besieged and captured it.

Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire,

But a certain woman threw an upper millstone [down] on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

Then Abimelech called hastily unto the young man that bare his harness, and said unto him, "Draw thy sword and slay me, that men say not of me, 'A woman slew him.'" And his lad thrust him through and he died.

When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.

God repaid Abimelech for the evil he did to his father by murdering his seventy half-brothers.

After Abimelech's death, Tola son of Puah, grandson of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar, rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country.

And David will come to Nob to Abimelech the priest: and Abimelech will tremble to meet David, and he will say to him, Wherefore thou thyself alone and no man with thee?

And David will say to Abimelech the priest, The king commanded me a word, and he will say to me, A man shall not know any thing of the word for which I sent thee, and what I commanded thee: and the boys I showed to such a place a certain one.

And, Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Abimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests, - and, Seraiah, was scribe;

Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

So the man went, and came to David, and gave him all the news which Joab had sent him to give; then David was angry with Joab and said, Why did you go so near the town for the fight? was it not certain that their archers would be on the wall? who put Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, to death? did not a woman send a great stone down on him from the wall, putting him to death at Thebez? why did you go so near the wall?

and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe;

LORD, may your gracious love be upon us, even as we hope in you. By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away. So David left.

{A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.} I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices, with burnt offerings, and with whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar. To the Director: A Davidic instruction about Doeg, the Edomite, when he went to Saul and told him, "David went to the house of Abimelech."

{To the Chanter, an exhortation of David when Doeg the Edomite came to Saul, and showed him, saying: David is come to the house of Abimelech} Thy boastest thou thyself, thou tyrant, that thou canst do mischief, whereas the goodness of God endureth yet daily?