1. Judges 9:1–57 (ESV)
  2. Structure and outline

The account in Judges 9 as part of the Yahweh versus Baal narrative that began in Gideon’s story

Judges 9:1–57 (ESV)

1 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family,

There is much in this account that suggests it is part of the Yahweh vs. Baal narrative that began with Gideon.

  1. Gideon appears in Judges 9:1–57 only as “Jerubbaal”: Judges 9:1, Judges 9:2, Judges 9:5 (x2), Judges 9:16, Judges 9:19, Judges 9:24, Judges 9:28, Judges 9:57.

  2. Though Abimelech is the son of Jerubbaal (Judges 9:1), he allies himself with the Shechemites: I am your bone and flesh (Judges 9:2), he says to the baals (leaders = ba‘alim, Judges 9:2–3 [2x], Judges 9:6–7 [2x], Judges 9:18, Judges 9:20 [2x], Judges 9:23 [2x], Judges 9:24–26 [3x], Judges 9:39, Judges 9:46, Judges 9:47, Judges 9:51). They refer to Abimelech as our brother (Judges 9:3).1