Judges 8:31

31 He had a slave woman who lived in Shechem, and he had a son by her, whom he named Abimelech.

Judges 8:31 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 8:31

And his concubine that was in Shechem
Which was not an harlot, but a secondary or half wife; such were generally taken from handmaids, and of the meaner sort, and were not in such esteem as proper wives, had not the management of household affairs, only a share in the bed, and their children did not inherit. This concubine of Gideon's seems not to have been taken into his house at all, but lived at Shechem, perhaps in her father's house, and here Gideon met with her when he went to Shechem as a judge to try causes; her name, according to Josephus F12, was Druma:

she also bare him a son;
as his other wives did; perhaps all the children he had were sons, and this was one over and above the seventy, and not to be reckoned into that number:

whose name he called Abimelech:
which signifies, "my father a king"; which he gave him either in memory of the offer made him to be king of Israel, or through foresight of what this son of his would be; or he might be moved to it by the mother from pride and vanity, and which name might afterwards inspire the young man to be made a king, as he was; and the account given of his name is because of the narrative of him in the following chapter.


FOOTNOTES:

F12 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 7. sect. 1.

Judges 8:31 In-Context

29 Gideonn son of Joash went to his home to live.
30 He had seventy sons of his own, because he had many wives.
31 He had a slave woman who lived in Shechem, and he had a son by her, whom he named Abimelech.
32 So Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb of Joash, his father, in Ophrah, where the Abiezrites live.
33 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel were again unfaithful to God and followed the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.