1. King of Gerar, who, believing Sarah to be Abraham’s sister, took her into his harem, but being warned by God he returned Sarah, calling Abraham her brother, as a rebuke (Gen. 20).
2. A similar thing happened with Isaac and Rebecca under another king of the same name — the name being a title of the kings of the Philistines, as Pharaoh was that of the kings of Egypt (Gen. 26:1-16).
3. Son of Gideon by a Shechemite concubine. He induced the men of Shechem to choose him as ruler and then slew 70 of his brethren. Jotham alone escaped, who pronounced a curse upon the murderers. This was fulfilled by many of the men of Shechem being killed, and Abimelech being mortally wounded by a piece of a millstone cast upon him by a woman at the attack upon Thebez. (See Judg. 8:31; 9; 2 Sam. 11:21).
4. Priest in the time of David (1 Chron. 18:16): also called AHIMELECH in 2 Samuel 8:17. See ABIATHAR.