avimelech · Abimelech

What it means

avimelech (אֲבִימֶלֶךְ) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “Abimelech”.

The name of Philistine kings of Gerar in the days of Abraham and of Isaac, and of other men, such as a son of Gideon. The name means "my father is king"; it may have been a title of the kings of that place.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×24
• Judges×40
• 2 Samuel×1
• 1 Chronicles×1
• Psalms×1

• Genesis 20:2

  Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

• Genesis 20:3

  But Elohim came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Look, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married to a husband.”

• Genesis 20:4

  Now Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, “Adonai, will you kill a nation, even one that is righteous?

• Genesis 20:8

  So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their ears; and the men were very afraid.

• Genesis 20:9

  Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? Deeds that ought not to be done you have done to me.”

• Genesis 20:10

  And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?”

• Genesis 20:14

  Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle, and male slaves and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and he returned to him Sarah his wife.

• Genesis 20:15

  And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever it is good in your eyes.”

• Genesis 20:17

  Then Abraham prayed to Elohim, and Elohim healed Abimelech, his wife, and his slave women, so that they bore children.

• Genesis 20:18

  For YHWH had completely closed every womb in the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

• Genesis 21:22

  It happened at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “Elohim is with you in all that you do.

• Genesis 21:25

  But Abraham reproached Abimelech about a well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized.

• Genesis 21:26

  Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; and you also did not tell me, and I too did not hear of it until today.”

• Genesis 21:27

  Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

• Genesis 21:29

  And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What are these seven ewe lambs that you have set by themselves?”

• Genesis 21:32

  So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

• Genesis 26:1

  There was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that there was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

• Genesis 26:8

  When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through the window and saw, and look, Isaac was caressing Rebekah his wife.

• Genesis 26:9

  Abimelech called Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said to myself, ‘I might die because of her.’”

• Genesis 26:10

  Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

• Genesis 26:11

  So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

• Genesis 26:16

  Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you have become much mightier than we.”

• Genesis 26:26

  Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol, the commander of his army.

• Judges 8:31

  His concubine who was in Shechem she also bore him a son, and he gave him the name Abimelech.

• Judges 9:1

  Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to the brothers of his mother, and spoke to them and to all the family of the house of the father of his mother, saying,

• Judges 9:3

  His mother’s brothers spoke about him in the ears of all the lords of Shechem all these words, and their heart inclined toward Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

• Judges 9:4

  They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, and with them Abimelech hired empty and reckless men, and they followed him.

• Judges 9:6

  All the lords of Shechem gathered, and all the house of Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king by the oak of the standing stone that is in Shechem.

• Judges 9:16

  Now then, if you have acted in truth and integrity in making Abimelech king, and if you have done well with Jerubbaal and with his house, and if you have done to him as his hands deserved —

• Judges 9:18

  but you have risen up against my father’s house today and killed his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and made Abimelech king, the son of his slave woman, over the lords of Shechem, because he is your brother —

• Judges 9:19

  if in truth and integrity you have acted with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.

• Judges 9:20

  But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem and from the house of Millo and consume Abimelech.”

• Judges 9:21

  Jotham fled and escaped, and he went to Beer and lived there because of Abimelech his brother.

• Judges 9:22

  Abimelech was prince over Israel three years.

• Judges 9:23

  Elohim sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem betrayed Abimelech,

• Judges 9:24

  so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

• Judges 9:25

  The lords of Shechem set against him men in ambush on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed everyone who passed by them on the road. And it was told to Abimelech.

• Judges 9:27

  They went out into the field and harvested their vineyards and trod the grapes, and they held a festival of praise; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.

• Judges 9:28

  Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem! And why should we serve him?

• Judges 9:29

  If only someone would put this people in my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out.”

And 27 more times.