Judges 9 is about Abimelech. This is quite a complex story that reminds me of an Arthurian legend. Gideon had 70 children with many wives, and at least one with his concubine: Abimelech. Abimelech suggests that he should be king, and then to make sure that it stays that way, he goes ahead and kills the other 70 children of Gideon. Except Jotham, who escapes.
Then there is a complex series of battles between Abimelech and some rebels. He has victories including burning the occupants of a tower alive. He is ultimately mortally wounded by a woman at a city gate and quickly has his squire kill him so it can’t be said he was killed by a woman.
It really sounds like it jumped right out of Canterbury tales. Weirdly, it reads medieval with the towers and siege warfare etc. And, obviously I’m projecting my world view. In a way, it serves as a cautionary tale for me along those lines.
Interesting note: You may remember Schechem from earlier. He is the son of Hamor who either raped Dinah, per Gen. 34, or was Dinah’s true love, per Oprah book club certified The Red Tent. It appears the city came back from the attack. Lastly, you may remember a couple of other Abimelechs scattered through out Genesis. As my pastor informed me, the term just means “my father is the king.”