אֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ H0040
Abimelech -- 'my father is king,' a proper name borne by Philistine kings, Gideon's son, and a priest
Abimelech (avimelekh, 'my father is king') is a theophoric proper name shared by several Old Testament figures. The most prominent are the Philistine king of Gerar who interacts with both Abraham (Gen 20-21) and Isaac (Gen 26), and the ambitious son of Gideon who massacred his seventy brothers to seize power at Shechem (Judg 9). A third bearer appears in the psalm superscription of Psalm 34:1, likely a throne-name substituted for Achish the Philistine. The name's structure -- 'my father is king' -- may echo a dynastic title rather than a personal name in the Gerar narratives, much as 'Pharaoh' functioned in Egypt. Cross-lingual renderings are almost perfectly uniform: Spanish Avimelekh, French Abimelech, German Abimelech.
Senses
1. Abimelech (proper name) — The proper name Abimelech, borne by at least three distinct figures: the Philistine king of Gerar in the Abraham and Isaac narratives (Gen 20-21, 26), the ruthless son of Gideon who made himself king of Shechem before his ignominious death by a millstone (Judg 9), and a priestly figure in 1 Chr 18:16 (likely a scribal variant of Ahimelech). Spanish Avimelekh, French and German Abimelech all preserve the name unchanged, confirming its status as a non-translatable proper noun across all 67 occurrences. 67×
AR["أبيمالِكَ", "أبيمالِكُ", "أَبِيمَالِك", "أَبِيمَالِكَ", "أَبِيمَالِكُ"]·ben["অবীমলক", "অবীমেলক", "অবীমেলকের"]·DE["Abimelech", "Abimelechs"]·EN["Abimelech"]·FR["Abimelech"]·heb["אבימלך", "אבימלך"]·HI["अबीमेलेक", "अबीमेलेक-के", "अबीमेलेक-ने", "अविमेलेख", "अविमेलेख-के", "अविमेलेख-ने"]·ID["Abimelekh"]·IT["Abimelec"]·jav["Abimèlèk", "Abimèlèkh"]·KO["아비멜렉", "아비멜렉에게", "아비멜렉을", "아비멜렉의", "아비멜렉이"]·PT["'Avimelekh", "Avimelekh", "rei-de"]·RU["Авимелех", "Авимелеха", "Авимелеху"]·ES["Avimelekh"]·SW["Abimeleki", "asubuhi", "juu", "na-mke-wako"]·TR["Avimelek", "Avimelek'e", "Avimelek'i", "Avimelek'in"]·urd["ابیملک", "ابیملک-نے", "ابیملک-کے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ n.pr.m. (Melek (= Malik, Molech) is father)—אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ Gn 20:18 +— 1. king of Gerar Gn 20:2, 3, 4 +, 21:22, 25(×2) +, 26:1, 8 (24 times Gn). †2. king of Gath ψ 34:1 error for אָכִישׁ, cf. 1 S 21:11f;—a better known Philist. name substituted for a less known (Hup3). > Others (Thes Ol De MV) think a title of Philist. kings, cf. Pharaoh. 3. son of Gideon Ju 8:31; 9:1, 3, 4 +, 10:1 (40…