Judges 8:31

31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called 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 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten, for he had many wives.
31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the sepulcher of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again and went a whoring after the Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.