The word is the same as what is often translated as baals.
Though the term is usually neutral in Scripture, in Judges it is always a charged word, and especially in the Abimelech narrative. Except for three scattered appearances, its usage is limited to this chapter, and it appears thirteen times here. The rest of the book of Judges uses the words such as men, princes, elders, and judges to denote leaders of a city. The point is, then, that in Shechem we have a lingering outpost of Canaanite culture, baalistic in character.
1 And Abimelech will be associated with the baalim, in one way or another.
2 “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”