Hebrew word · H40
אֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ
'avimelekh
Abimelech
A personal name: "my father is king," or "Milk/the King [a god] is my father." Used for the king of Gerar in Gen 20, 21 and 26, for Gideon's son in Judges 9, and in the heading of Psalm 34 for the Philistine king the narrative calls Achish.
Appears 67 times in 62 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
A man living before Israel's Monarchy, first mentioned at Jdg.8.31;
son of: Gideon (H1439);
brother of: Jether (H3500) and Jotham (H3147)
§ Abimelech = "Melek is father" or "my father is king"
1) king of Gerar in Abraham's time
2) king of Gath in David's time; maybe title of Philistine kings
3) son of Gideon by a concubine
4) priest, son of Abiathar
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Genesis 20:2
- Range of meaning
A personal name: "my father is king," or "Milk/the King [a god] is my father." Used for the king of Gerar in Gen 20, 21 and 26, for Gideon's son in Judges 9, and in the heading of Psalm 34 for the Philistine king the narrative calls Achish.
- Against the English
English versions just transliterate it. Readers do not see that the name itself announces royal standing, and possibly that it was passed down in a dynasty.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Abi-milki, ruler of Tyre, wrote several of the 14th-century BC Amarna letters to Pharaoh (EA 146–155), which shows the name was used by Canaanite city-kings. The fact that the same name appears for Abraham's host and Isaac's host (ch. 26) has led many to think it was a throne name or dynastic name.
Where it appears
Genesis · 24
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Judges · 40
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2 Samuel · 1
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1 Chronicles · 1
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Psalms · 1
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Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.