Abimelech: A Power Hungry Ruler

Rise To Leadership

Abimelech, from the tribe of Manasseh, was the son of Gideon who was a judge, prophet and military leader. In

around the time of 12th Century BCE, Abimelech was determined to become the ruler over the city of Shechem, and would do anything to get it. He hired a pack of “worthless and reckless fellows” (9:4) who helped him murder 69 of his 70 brothers to eliminate any other possible competition for the leadership of Shechem; “And he went to his father’s house, to Oprah, and killed his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal.” It is said that the reason why the Manassites submitted to him, although he forced his dictator-like leadership upon them, was because of his lineage to Gideon, a honourable leader. Only one of his brothers, Jotham, escaped his wrath and hid away.

All the men in Shechem assembled together and made him king, by the terebinth of the pillar that was in Shechem. He reigned for 3 years – forcefully and arrogantly (Rashi). Previously, in the time of Gideon’s rule the Israelites sinned. They worshipped the G-ds of the Amorites even though G-d told them not to.

Enemies

Abimelech’s brothers posed a threat to his opportunity for kingship and that was the ultimate reason for their massacre. He initiated many conflicts among his own people due to his arrogance and forceful nature. Conflicts arose between Abimelech and and “lords of Shechem” who had chosen him as their leader. At this time, Abimelech wanted to increase his power at the expense of the other leaders/rulers in Shechem. This made them very angry. Zebul was a prominent supporter of Abimelech and protected his interests in becoming the “ruler of the city” in Shechem. Despite this fact, Zebul went behind Abimelech’s back and teamed up with Gaal who gathered an army in Shechem and challenged Abimelech. “Lords of Shechem” placed “men in ambush against Abimelech on the mountain tops” (9:25). They did this to prove he was an incompetent leader and to try to remove him from his power position as he was becoming too greedy. Abimelech lost support from the people because of the “lords of Shechem.”

Power

In this story, there is no acts of G-d/divine intervention, the events are caused and acted upon by the people. They fight against each other and respond to their mistreatment by Abimelech as king.

Overall, Abimelech’s main goal and motivation is power. According to Elie Assis, unlike this father Gideon, Abimelech is portrayed as a man who knows no other motive than selfishness. Gideon was against the idea of kingship, whereas Abimelech seeks it at whatever the cost. His overly ambitious personality ultimately chronicles his rise, reign, and fall – it benefits him and hurts him in the end. His egoism rules his behaviour and as a result, destruction always follows him.

According to Gila Ramras-Rauch, Abimelech was not biblically chosen. He was the son of one of the judges, who was one of the chosen leaders. His mother was an unnamed concubine from the Canaanite city of Shechem. He was a self-“chosen” man. The Old Testament portrays him as cruel and ruthless, exercising his self-acclaimed power.

Role of Women

Abimelech’s attitude towards women, shows his old-fashioned, dictator-like personality. At the end of the story in Judges chapter 9, Abimelech takes his army to Thebez to conquer it just like he did in Shechem. This is after he overruns Shechem, destroys the crops, and kills everyone except for those that were in hiding. In Thebez, he tries to burn and destruct the tower that people were hiding in because of their fear of him. Just as he tries to, a woman drops a heavy stone off of the tower and onto his head and crushes his skull. He doesn’t want to be killed by the “hands of a woman”, so he orders his servant to stab him instead; “draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘a woman killed him.'” His arrogant nature becomes exposed here, as his pride is too important to him in a moment where he is dying.

Samson’s Unique Personality

It is interesting to compare the leadership style, personality and achievements of judge Samson to Abimelech. Samson was an unusual leader, as he was born as a Nazir and Judge. He was stuck with the acclaimed role from birth, as well as with remarkable physical strength from a very young age. He was unlike other leaders and possessed an unusual personality. He mostly kept to himself, and was independent, not really involving the Israelites in his battles. He fought battles against the Philistines for himself as he was determined to defeat them. He was also easily mesmerized and influenced by women. He appears to be a promising leader due to his strength and determination, but proves to be a failure in the end, only achieving partial victories. He ends up turning to G-d in the end and gets his strength restored after breaking the Nazarite vow. He did accomplish things as a leader; he decided to rescue the Israelites from the oppression of the Philistines, and in the end dies with only partial victories. He proves to be capable as he rips a lion apart, uproots the gates of Gaza and makes the temple collapse, but his issue is that he is ruled by his women at the same time. He is weakened by a woman, not physically but because he fell victim to her manipulation and she ends up betraying him to the Philistines in the end – he was too trusting.

Self-acclaimed Leader

Unlike Samson, Abimelech possessed a self-acclaimed leadership role. He is referred to as the “self-appointed judge”, and according to the bible, he was an unprincipled, ambitious ruler who often engaged in war with his own subjects. He chased after the role as king as he was power hungry and ruled over the people of Shechem forcefully. According to W.J. Dumbrell, “in those days, everyone did what was right in his own eyes, and Israel faced an extremely anarchic situation.” Due to Abimelech’s forceful rule, he came to acquire many enemies after ruling over Israel for 3 years (forcefully and arrogantly -Rashi). He is a negative example of a leader as he led by force, murdered his opposition, and made his subjects want to to overtake him. He was focused on his own agenda, very different to his father Gideon.

Power of Language and Strategy

Abimelech was strategic because he possessed a very charismatic personality, and knew how to sweet talk and convince others to perform his dirty work. This is shown when he gets his army of men to help him kill his brothers and bring him to kingship. He wasn’t looking to help the greater good and help the city people, he wanted power for power’s sake (unlike Samson who tried to defeat the Philistines). Abimelech led out of greed rather than our of service to G-d. He had no real positive achievements due to his greedy nature. He was focused on attaining more and more power, not creating justice and good for the people of Shechem like a leader should do. He massacred his brothers to defeat any threats to his kingship, and created battles and wars among his own people as a result of his actions. He destroyed crops and killed people in Shechem before he ran off to conquer and do the same to Thebez. Overall, his power hungry personality and nature led to his rise, reign and fall. He created his own destruction and his story can teach a lesson about the consequences of being overambitious and greedy.