Abimelech (Judges)

Abimelech
King of Shechem
Abimelech from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum
Predecessor	Gideon, only as a Judge
Successor	Tola, only as a Judge
Born	Shechem, Land of Israel
Died	Thebez, Land of Israel
Hebrew	אֲבִימֶלֶךְ
Father	Gideon

Abimelech (⫽əˈbɪməˌlɛk⫽; אֲבִימֶלֶךְ ’Ǎḇīmeleḵ) or Abimelek was the king of Shechem and the tribal territory of Manasseh,^[1] and a son of biblical judge Gideon. His name can best be interpreted as "my father is king",^[2][3] claiming the inherited right to rule. He is introduced in Judges 8:31 as the son of Gideon and his Shechemite concubine, and the biblical account of his reign is described in chapter nine of the Book of Judges. According to the Bible, he was an unprincipled and ambitious ruler who often engaged in war against his own subjects.