There are several individuals named Abimelech in the Hebrew Bible, however the most prominent is the violent and power-hungry, Abimelech, son of Gideon (Judges 8-9). After Gideon died, Abimelech killed seventy of his brothers in order to become king. He ruled over Israel for just three years from Shechem before destroying the city and its inhabitants due to seditious sentiment. He went on to set fire to a local stronghold, killing 1,000 people. While seeking to destroy another tower in Thebez, a woman threw a millstone from a window and it crushed Abimelech’s skull. In order to avoid a legacy of defeat by a woman, he immediately ordered his armor-bearer to kill him, who drove Abimlech through with his sword.

In Genesis 20, readers encounter Abimelech, King of Gerar, who takes Sarah into his harem after Abraham claims that she is his sister, but then returns her after God comes to him in a dream. And in Genesis 26, Isaac claims that Rebekah is his sister while in Gerar, and then is reprimanded by King Abimelech (presumably a successor to the Abimelech of Abraham’s time) when he discovers the truth.