Judg 9:1-3 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Judg 9:1-57: 9:1-57 The reign of Abimelech was the turning point between the comparative rest of the early period of judges (3:7–8:35 ) and the decline of the later years (10:1–16:31 ). Summary for Judg 9:1-3: 9:1-3 Abimelech , son of a concubine (8:31 ; see study note on 19:1), now argued that he could fulfill Israel’s desire for the kind of royal dynasty rejected by his father. • The lack of any account of a conquest of Shechem, despite Israel’s covenant activities in the city (Josh 24 ), suggests that Shechem’s inhabitants were assimilated into Israel. Abimelech’s uncles and his mother might thus have been of non-Israelite heritage.

a9:1-57►

b3:7–8:35►

c10:1–16:31►

fJosh 24►

‏ Judges 9:1-3

Summary for Judg 9:1-57: 9:1-57 ^a The reign of Abimelech was the turning point between the comparative rest of the early period of judges (3:7–8:35 ^b) and the decline of the later years (10:1–16:31 ^c).
Summary for Judg 9:1-3: 9:1-3 ^d Abimelech, son of a concubine (8:31 ^e; see study note on 19:1), now argued that he could fulfill Israel’s desire for the kind of royal dynasty rejected by his father.

• The lack of any account of a conquest of Shechem, despite Israel’s covenant activities in the city (Josh 24 ^f), suggests that Shechem’s inhabitants were assimilated into Israel. Abimelech’s uncles and his mother might thus have been of non-Israelite heritage.
Summary for Judg 9:3-5: 9:3-5 ^g Abimelech’s appeal raised funding from the local temple of Baal-berith, the worship center for a mixed Canaanite-Israelite religious cult.