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,
Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem. The idolatry which had been stealthily creeping into Israel during the latter years of Gideon was now openly professed; Shechem was wholly inhabited by its adherents: at least idolaters had the ascendancy. Abimelech, one of Gideon's numerous sons, was connected with that place, was ambitious of sovereign power, and having plied successfully the arts of a demagogue with his maternal relatives and friends, he acquired both the influence and money by which he raised himself to a throne.
Communed ... with all the family of the house of his mother's father. Here is a striking instance of the evils of polygamy-one son has connections and interests totally alien to those of his brothers.