The place name Arumah is often connected to a root meaning 'height' or 'exaltation,' suggesting an elevated location. It appears as a city near Shechem where Abimelech, the self-proclaimed king of Israel, lived during his brutal three-year reign.
Arumah is historically significant as the base of Abimelech, the son of Gideon (Jerubbaal) who murdered seventy of his half-brothers to seize power. His story in Judges 9 is a cautionary tale against illegitimate kingship — the kind of rule built on violence rather than divine calling. Abimelech's gruesome end (a millstone dropped on his head by a woman) echoes Jotham's parable of the thornbush king, teaching that human pride and self-appointed leadership invite divine judgment.