Judges 9:1

1 and Abimelech son of Jerubbaal goeth to Shechem, unto his mother's brethren, and speaketh unto them, and unto all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

Judges 9:1 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 9:1

And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, unto
his mother's brethren
It seems that though the mother of Abimelech lived at Shechem, he was taken and brought up in his father's house at Ophrah, where he was when he died; and from hence he came to Shechem, to pay a visit to his uncles there; whether his mother was now living, is not certain:

and communed with them;
about the death of his father, the state of his family, and the government of Israel:

and with all the family of the house of his mother's father;
that descended from his grandfather, the several branches of them, and of the family, the heads of them at least:

saying,
as follows.

Judges 9:1 In-Context

1 and Abimelech son of Jerubbaal goeth to Shechem, unto his mother's brethren, and speaketh unto them, and unto all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

2 `Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the masters of Shechem, Which [is] good for you -- the ruling over you of seventy men (all the sons of Jerubbaal), or the ruling over you of one man? -- and ye have remembered that I [am] your bone and your flesh.'

3 And his mother's brethren speak concerning him, in the ears of all the masters of Shechem, all these words, and their heart inclineth after Abimelech, for they said, `He [is] our brother;'

4 and they give to him seventy silverings out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hireth with them men, vain and unstable, and they go after him;

5 and he goeth into the house of his father at Ophrah, and slayeth his brethren, sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone; and Jotham, youngest son of Jerubbaal, is left, for he was hidden.