Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Judges 8:31 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 31. 31And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse introduces Abimelech through Gideon's secondary wife in Shechem.
Read It With
- Judges 8:29–35
Read Judges 8:29–35 together. This verse introduces Abimelech through Gideon's secondary wife in Shechem. Gideon's retirement, many wives and sons, Shechemite concubine and Abimelech naming, death and burial, Israel's renewed Baal worship, forgotten deliverance, and ingratitude to Gideon's house form one transition; chapter 9 follows Abimelech.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The transition shows that the rejected dynasty already exists socially in Gideon's polygynous household and royal naming, making Abimelech's claim an outgrowth rather than a surprise. Within that movement, introduces Abimelech through Gideon's secondary wife in Shechem.
Read Judges 8:29–35 together
Why these verses belong together: Gideon's retirement, many wives and sons, Shechemite concubine and Abimelech naming, death and burial, Israel's renewed Baal worship, forgotten deliverance, and ingratitude to Gideon's house form one transition; chapter 9 follows Abimelech.
Verse 29. 29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
Verse 30. 30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.
Verse 31. 31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
Verse 32. 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
Verse 33. 33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.
Verse 34. 34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
Verse 35. 35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.
Follow the Context
- Gideon lives at home with seventy sons through many wives.
- His Shechemite concubine bears a son named Abimelech, and Gideon dies after a long life.
- Israel returns to Baal-berith, forgets the LORD's rescue, and does not show loyal kindness to Gideon's house.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he…”
In plain language: introduces Abimelech through Gideon's secondary wife in Shechem
Gideon lives with seventy sons from many wives, and a Shechemite concubine bears Abimelech—'my father is king.' After Gideon's death Israel returns to Baal worship and forgets both the LORD's rescue and Gideon's household kindness. Within that movement, this wording introduces Abimelech through Gideon's secondary wife in Shechem.
Why it matters: This wording carries a material narrative, textual, historical, violence, vulnerable-person, land, leadership, or misuse boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Judges 8:31 does not stand alone from 8:29–35. The concubine must not be blamed for Abimelech's violence. Its verse-specific role is: introduces Abimelech through Gideon's secondary wife in Shechem.
What Remains True
Introduces Abimelech through Gideon's secondary wife in Shechem. Private household arrangements can carry public power consequences long after a leader's admirable words are remembered.
How It Can Shape Life
- Because Judges 8:31 introduces Abimelech through Gideon's secondary wife in Shechem, review succession, family power, and vulnerable partners before praising a leader's legacy as complete.
Teach It Back
Explain Judges 8:31's precise role in Judges 8:29–35. Include the scene's ancient covenant setting, one material uncertainty, the affected people, and one conclusion or violent imitation the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Judges 8:29–35 — Gideon's household prepares the next disasterSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Readers differ over whether Abimelech's name was intentionally royal and how strongly the narrator critiques Gideon's polygyny. The household-to-kingship transition is narratively strong.
The exact social status of the Shechemite woman and who named Abimelech are not stated. The name's royal resonance and household scale are materially important.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Judges 8:29–35, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Judges
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clause relationships, repeated terms, wordplays, and translation control.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Judg.xml, 8:29–35
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Judges with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, poetic, geographical, social, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Judges PDF, printed pp. 465-467, translation and notes on 8:29–35
Open source ↗