Was Abimelech Technically the First King of Israel?

To answer this question, let’s consider the key verses:

Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.

Judges 9:6

After Abimelech had governed Israel three years,

Judges 9:22

Abimelech (or Abimelek) was one of the sons of Gideon, who infamously slew his 70 brothers with only Jotham escaping (Judges 9:5). The two verses above suggest that Abimelech was the first king of Israel 247 years before the LORD chose Saul to be the Hebrew king at the stubborn request of the Israelites (1 Samuel 9:17 & 13:1).

However, verse 6 shows that it wasn’t all of Israel that crowned Abimelech king, but rather the citizens of the city & district of Shechem, located in the hill country of Ephraim in north-central Israel (Beth Millo was part of Shechem, possibly the fortress guarding it). Furthermore, the book of Judges repeatedly reveals that “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6); this includes the final verse of the book (21:25) (see also 18:1 & 19:1).

So, yes, Abimelech was king over an area in the heart of Israel for three years during the era of the judges, which lasted about 410 years. But he wasn’t a king over all of Israel in the sense of Saul or David 250-300 years later, nor was he appointed by the LORD, but merely by the citizens of Shechem, which doesn’t include the entire tribe of Ephraim or Manasseh, aka Joseph.

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