Judges 8:31

Jdg 8:31 And his concubine that [was] in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

Ver. 31. And his concubine,] i.e., His wife though in an inferior degree: {a} as having been before his maid servant. {Jdg 9:18}

Whose name he called Abimelech,] i.e., My father is king. This name, probably, he gave him at the motion of his concubine, who might say of her son as afterwards Nero’s mother did of him, Occidar, modo imperet; let him reign upon any terms: and possibly this name of his might stir him up to aspire to the kingdom, taking omen ex nomine, and being told that his father was offered the sovereign and supreme power for him and his posterity.

{a} Dio.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 8:31-32. His concubine that was in Shechem — She dwelt there, and he often went thither, either to execute judgment, or upon other occasions. Abimelech — That is, my father the king; so he called him, probably to gratify his concubine, who desired it either out of pride, or design. Gideon died in a good old age — His long life being crowned with the continuance of honour, tranquillity, and happiness.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 31. His concubine] A lawful but secondary wife, whose children could not inherit.

Whose name he called Abimelech.] That is, my father is king, or my father hath reigned. This name was doubtless given by the mother, and so it should be understood here; she wished to raise her son to the supreme government, and therefore gave him a name which might serve to stimulate him to seek that which she hoped he should enjoy in his father's right. See the following chapter (Jdg 9).

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(31) His concubine that was in Shechem.—In Jdg_9:18 she is contemptuously called his “maid servant.” The sequel (Jdg_9:1-4) seems to show that she belonged to the Canaanite population of Shechem. If so, Gideon’s conduct in making her a concubine was as much against the Mosaic law as that of Solomon, though it may have had the same colour of worldly expediency. But it is probable that the requirements of the Mosaic law were much better known in the reign of Solomon, when the priests had once more become influential, than they were in this anarchical period. This concubine exercised an influence sufficiently important to cause the preservation of her name by tradition—Drumah (Jos. Antt. v. 7, § 1).

Whose name he called Abimelech.—For “called” the margin has set. The phrase is not the ordinary one, and perhaps implies that Abimelech (Father-king—“a king, my father”) was a surname given him by his father on observing his ambitious and boastful character. It seems more probable that the name was given by the Shechemites and his mother, and it may not have been without some influence for evil upon his ultimate career. The name has exactly the same significance as Padishah and Attalik, the title of the Khan of Bokhara (Gesenius). Being a well-understood dynastic title (Genesis 20; Psalms 34 title), it would be all the more significant. He was like a bad reproduction of Gideon, with the courage and energy of his father, but with none of his virtues.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. his concubine that was in Shechem] A connexion of this kind is illustrated by early Arabian custom: the woman, or ‘female friend’ (ṣadâḳa), did not leave her home, the union was of a temporary character (hence the term, mot‘a marriage) and required no consent from parents or guardians, the children remained with their mother and belonged to her tribe; cf. Jdg_9:1; Jdg_9:14. Robertson Smith, Kinship and Marriage in early Arabia, p. 69 ff. The narrative seems to imply that the woman was a Canaanite.

and he called his name Abimelech] lit. set, an idiom found only in late writings 2Ki_17:34, Neh_9:7, Dan_1:7. Abimelech does not mean ‘my father (Gideon) is king,’ but probably ‘Melech (i.e. the divine king) is father.’ See Gray, Hebr. Pr. Names, pp. 75–86.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age,.... Having lived it seems forty years after his war with Midian, blessed with a large family, much wealth and riches, great credit and esteem among his people, and in favour with God and men:

and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites; a city which belonged to the family of the Abiezrites, who were of the tribe of Manasseh, in which Gideon lived, and his father before him; and where there was a family vault, in which he was interred. In the days of this judge it is supposed (m) was the famous expedition of the Argonauts to Colchis, to fetch from thence the golden fleece.

(m) Gerard. Voss Chronolog. Sacr. Dissert. 1. p. 4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Abimelech’s mother was not reckoned among the wives, being, probably, one of the Canaanite population in Shechem Jdg 9:28 : neither was Abimelech himself reckoned with the 70 other sons of Jerubbaal (Jdg 9:24. Compare Jdg 11:1-2).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

His concubine. She was his servant, but not his harlot; and is called his concubine, as wives of an inferior degree are commonly called in the Old Testament, though otherwise lawfully married. (Challoner) --- They had not all the privileges of wives; (Genesis xxv. 6,) and their children could not claim the inheritance. (Calmet) --- Abimelech means, "my (Haydock) father king;" alluding to the dignity of Gedeon; or perhaps the mother imposed this name, hoping that her son would obtain the highest honours. Josephus calls her Druma. She dwelt at Sichem, to which place the judge of Israel often resorted, though his usual residence was at Ephra. This son of theirs is included among the 70.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

In Shechem; she dwelt there, and he oft came thither, either to execute judgment, or upon other occasions.

Abimelech, i.e. my father the king; so he called him, probably to gratify his concubine, who desired it either out of pride or design.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

31. Whose name he called Abimelech — Literally, as margin, he set his name, from which expression Keil understands that Gideon gave his son this name, not at the time of his birth, but after he had grown up and shown such qualities as led to the expectation that he would be a king’s father.

The name and maternity of this son prepare us for the history contained in the next chapter.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whose name he called. This is badly translated; it should he, he gave him the name of Abimelech literally, he set his name Abimelech. There are two phrases in Hebrew. The one, he called his name Seth, Noah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, Jacob, etc., as the case may be. And this is the phrase always, though not exclusively, (see, e.g. , Gen_35:10 Jud_1:6:32) used of the name given to a child at its birth or circumcision. The other is, he gave or set him the name, or, he gave or set his name so-and-so, and this phrase is only used of additional names, or surnames given later in life. The examples are Jud_1:13:3 2Ki_17:34 Neh_9:7 Dan_2:7 Dan_5:12. The inference is that the name of Abimelech, which means father of a king, and was the name of the royal family of Gerar, was given to Abimelech as a significant surname, and was perhaps one of the causes which induced him to seize the kingdom. A third phrase is found in 2Ki_23:34 2Ki_24:17 2Ch_36:4: he turned his name to Jehoiakim; changed his name to Zedekiah. The Hebrew is the same in all these passages.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Shechem - She dwelt there, and he often came thither, either to execute judgment, or upon other occasions. Abimelech - That is, my father the king; so he called him, probably, to gratify his concubine, who desired it either out of pride, or design.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.