Summary Judges 10: Two chiefs, Tola and Jair, rule over Israel one after the other. Jotham's fable (9:8-15) illustrates the ambiguity concerning kings in the book of Judges. In this guide, we’ll look at each of the 12 judges of Israel, exploring what the Bible says about them and the role they played in delivering Israel. Judges 9:1-57 – Abimelech Summary Abimelech, Gideon's son, tries to become king of Shechem, but fails. A son of Abiathar and priest during the reign of Israel's king David (1 Chronicles 18:16). Judges 9 shows how Abimelech grew up to be an ambitious leader. KJV Judges 8:30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. (22-25) Gaal plans a coup (26-29) Zebel, the city ruler, warns Abimelech and plans a trap for Gaal (30-33) Abimilech defeats Gaal (34-41) Using his family connections, he convinced the men of Shechem that a son of Gideon—himself, of course—should rule, and he hired a band of thugs to kill his 70 half-brothers to ensure that no other son of Gideon could challenge him. Let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem: Jotham's warning to the men of Shechem was that their unwise choice will come back to hurt them. He predicted that "fire" would come forth from Abimelech and devour them. 1. 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. His tyrannical reign ends when a woman throws a millstone on Abimelech’s head. Analysis. – –1-2 – –How the Israelites reacted after the death of Joshua. (7-21) God divides the people of Shechem and Abimelech. A similar hiatus occurred after the death of judge Jair (10:8). That son was Abimelech (Judges 8:31). Summary Judges. Summary of The Book of Judges Quick Overview of Judges. The story starts in a familiar fashion with the apostasy of … Widespread worship of the god Baal plagues Israel, and Gideon’s son Abimelech serves a violent three-year reign as Israel’s king. https://biblestudyministry.com/judges-chapter-9-summary-part-1 Abimelech (Judges 9) is never described in scripture as being one of the judges of ancient Israel. C. Jotham's warning fulfilled. – – 3-16 – – The sin of the Israelites and the oppression by their enemies, thirteen Hebrew judges and the deliverance they brought. Abimelech is made king and kills Gideon’s sons (1-6) Jotham uses a parable to call for God’s judgment against Abimelech and the people of Shechem. Summary Judges 9: Abimelech takes control of Shechem and kills his seventy brothers. He also attacks Thebaz, but a woman kills him by dropping a millstone on his head. Before Israel had a king, it had a series of tribal leaders called judges. 31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. When a rebellion led by Gaal precipitates, Abimelech kills the entire city. One of Gideon’s many sons, he was born to the concubine (a kind of “second-class” wife) Gideon had married in Shechem (Judges 8:30-31), and he seems to have been Gideon’s only son by this particular woman. God used these men and women to save the Israelites from their enemies and lead them back to him. Although this Abimelech appears in the era of the judges, he is not actually a judge but someone who rose to power due to the absence of an actual judge. (Jdg 9:22-24) Summary: God judges both the city of Shechem and Abimelech.