of any goods or money headed to Abimelech and steal everything. Then Gaal Son of Ebed went to Shechem and drunkenly bragged that he would remove Abimelech from the throne. Zebul, ruler of Shechem, sent word to Abimelech along with a battle strategy. Once Zebul taunted Gaal into fighting Abimelech, he shut Gaal and his brethren out of the city. Abimelech then slew the field workers that came out of the city of Shechem the next day. When he heard that the people of Shechem had locked themselves in a strong tower, he and his men set fire to it, killing about a thousand men and women. After this, Abimelech went to Thebez and camped against it. When he went close to the tower in Thebez to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech's head. He did not want to be known as having been killed by a woman, so he asked his armour bearer to run him through with a sword. His place of death is cited as being Thebez. Other people with this name Apart from the king (or kings) of Gerar, the Bible also records this name for: The father of Abiathar, and high priest in the time of David. In the parallel passage, the name is given as Ahimelech; most authorities consider this the more correct reading. The king of Gath better known as Achish, referred to as Abimelech or Achimelech in the title of Psalm 34. The husband of Naomi, and father of Mahlon and Chilion who leaves Bethlehem and dies in the land of Moab, in the Hebrew, his name is given as Elimelek, which is likely the correct reading. Other literary references include: Abimélech, Satrap of Gaza is a character baritone in Camille Saint-Saëns' Samson and Delilah. See also Abimelech (oratorio) Wife–sister narratives in the Book of Genesis References Philistines Philistine kings Torah monarchs Set index articles on Hebrew Bible people Vayeira