Chapter 9. Abimelech.
Abimelech Becomes Sole Prince of The Gideon Tribes - His Rise and Fall.
This chapter contains an account of the craft and cruelty of Abimelech, by which he had himself made a prince of Israel and king of the Shechemites; of the parable of Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, concerning the trees, in which he exposes their folly in making Abimelech king, and foretells the ruin of them both; of the contentions which arose between Abimelech, and the men of Shechem, which were increased by Gaal the son of Ebed, who was drawn into a battle with Abimelech, and defeated and forced to flee. But the quarrel between Abimelech and the men of Shechem still continued, which resulted in the entire ruin of the city and its inhabitants, and in the death of Abimelech himself, in accordance with Jotham's curse.
Shechem was an ancient city situated in the hill country of Ephraim. It was mentioned in the 19th century BC Egyptian execration texts, and excavations show it to have been strongly fortified, covering fourteen acres. It was very prosperous in the Hyksos period (1700-1550 BC) during which a massive fortress-temple was built. This may well have been ‘the house of Baal-berith'. In the Amarna letters (including correspondence between the Pharaohs and their vassals in Canaan in the 15th century BC) its king Labayu is said by an enemy (Abdi Heba) to have given Shechem to the Habiru (‘Should we do as Lab'aya, who gave Shechem to the enemy (Habiru)?')? Labayu and his sons were spasmodically rebel leaders against Egypt with influence as far as Gezer and Taanach and they even threatened Megiddo, who wanted a hundred troops to assist in defending against them (‘ Let the king give a hundred garrison men to protect the city. Truly Lab'aya has no other intention. To take Megiddo is that which he seeks!'). Thus Shechem contained a non-Canaaanite section of population at this time. Later there is evidence of specific Israelite occupation, from 11th century BC.
There is no record of Joshua ever having had to take the city and yet it was there that he held a ceremony for the renewing of the covenant (Joshua 8; Joshua 24). It may well be that, when ‘Simeon and Levi' destroyed the inhabitants of the city in Genesis 34, some from their households were allowed to settle there as a reward for assisting in the attack, and in order to look after Jacob's land rights (Genesis 33:19; Genesis 37:12 compare Joshua 24:32), marrying the bereaved women to obtain their land rights and introducing the worship of Yahweh. They may well have been seen elsewhere as ‘Habiru'. This was possibly when the idea of Baal-berith, ‘the lord of the covenant', originated as genuine worship of Yahweh, or there may have been a gradual compromise and amalgamating of ideas. Habiru (stateless, non-Canaanite peoples) appear to have been settled there in the time of Labayu (see above). Thus when Joshua arrived and was welcomed and found non-Canaanites willing to submit to the covenant he was probably satisfied to incorporate them into the covenant rather than treating them as Canaanites (consider Joshua 24:23).
Abimelech Usurps The Princeship of Israel and the Throne of Shechem (Judges 9:1-6).
‘ And Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, went to Shechem, to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father.'
One problem with kingship was that on the death of the king there was usually unrest while the claimants to the throne settled their differences. The fact that this happened here supports the idea that Gideon had been made the equivalent of a ‘king'. Abimelech certainly saw it that way. It would appear that Abimelech had been brought up with his brothers. But he was always aware of his inferior status and when his father died he seized his opportunity. He went to Shechem to seek the assistance of his mother's side of the family to gain the throne for himself.