Judges 9:6

9:6 All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled and then went and made Abimelech king by the oak near the pillar ¹  in Shechem.

Judges 9:14

9:14 “So all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be our king!’ ² 

Judges 8:31

8:31 His concubine, ³  who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. ⁴ 

¹ tc The translation assumes that the form in the Hebrew text (מֻצָּב, mutsav) is a corruption of an original מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “pillar”). The reference is probably to a pagan object of worship (cf. LXX).

² tn Or “and rule over us!”

³ sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).

⁴ sn The name Abimelech means “my father is king.”