Judges 9:26

26–41. Gaal stirs up the Shechemites: Abimelech defeats them

26. Gaal the son of Ebed] i.e. of a slave; but pronounce throughout Obed, with LXX. cod. B (Ιωβηλ for Ιωβηδ) and Vulgate; a common name. Gaal is described as a new-comer, whether an Israelite or a Canaanite is not clear. Jdg_9:26-33 seem to be parallel to Jdg_9:22-25; both narrate the rise of treason in Shechem, and both lead up to parallel accounts of Abimelech’s retaliation.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 9:26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

Ver. 26. And Gaal the son of Ebed.] This thrasonical fellow, no less ambitious, subtle, and seditious than Abimelech, offereth to head the Shechemites, whom he saw to be at this time in a disorder, and to lead them against Abimelech.

Put their confidence in him.] As before they had done in Abimelech, {Jdg 9:15} and were now grown no whit wiser by what they had suffered, but ripened apace for utter ruin.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 9:26. Gaal — It is not known who he was; but it is evident he was a man very considerable for wealth, and strength, and interest, and that he was ill pleased with Abimelech’s power. Went to Shechem — By his presence and counsel to animate and assist them against Abimelech.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gaal . . . came with his brethren . . ., and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him--An insurrection of the original Canaanites, headed by this man, at last broke out in Shechem.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 26. Gaal the son of Ebed] Of this person we know no more than is here told. He was probably one of the descendants of the Canaanites, who hoped from the state of the public mind, and their disaffection to Abimelech, to cause a revolution, and thus to restore the ancient government as it was under Hamor, the father of Shechem.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) Gaal the son of Ebed.—We are not told any further who he was; but the context leads us to infer that he was one of these freebooters, and probably belonged to the Canaanite population. His “brethren” may have formed the nucleus of a marauding band. Josephus says he was “a certain chief, with his soldiers and kinsmen.” For Ebed some MSS. and versions read Eber, and some Jobel. “Gaal Ben-Ebed” (“loathing son of a slave “) sounds like some contemptuous distortion of his real name.

Went over to Shechem.—Possibly he had been practising brigandage on the other side of the Jordan.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Before they kept within the city, and durst not stir out to gather in the vintage, the time being come, for fear of the troops of Abimelech; for their lying in wait for him, and the robberies committed being made known to him, he had prepared to raise some forces, and attack them, of which they had had information; but now being encouraged with the protection of Gaal, they ventured out to gather their grapes in their vineyards without fear:

and trode the grapes, and made merry: sung songs and danced, as was usual at the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and treading the winepress, Isa 16:10 though Abendana thinks this joy and merriment were made to their idol, to whom they gave the praise of their vintage, they should have done to the true God, and what follows may seem to confirm it:

and they went into the house of their god; the temple of Baalberith, Jdg 9:5.

and did eat and drink; in their idol temple, as was the manner of idolaters to do, bringing their firstfruits to rejoice, and make glad with:

and cursed Abimelech; wished they had never seen him and known him, hoped they should be rid of him in a little time, and that he would meet with his deserved disgrace and punishment; and this they did in that very temple from whence they had taken money to assist him in making way for his government of them; so fickle and changeable were they.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

It does not appear who Gaal, son of Ebed, was; he may have been an officer sent by Abimelech with a force to bring the men of Shechem back to their allegiance, but who tried to turn the rebellion to his own account. He got into Shechem with a band of men, “his brethren,” unopposed by Zebul, Abimelech’s officer, and soon gained the confidence of the Shechemites,

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It is not known who or of what tribe

Gaal was; but it is evident that he was a man very considerable for wealth, and strength, and counsel, and interest, and ill-pleased with Abimelech’s power.

Went over to Shechem, by his presence and counsel to animate and assist them against Abimelech.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

26. Put their confidence in him — Entrusted him with the command of the rebellion, which he was but too ready to accept. Gaal seems to have been, as Keil expresses it, a sort of “knight-errant, who went about the country with his brethren, that is, as captain of a company of freebooters, and was welcomed in Shechem, because the Shechemites, who were dissatisfied with the rule of Abimelech, hoped to find in him a man who would be able to render them good service in their revolt from Abimelech.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gaal the son of Ebed. Who he was, or of what tribe or race he and his brethren were, we have no means of knowing; he seems to have been an adventurer who sought to turn the growing disaffection of the Shechemites to his own advantage by offering himself as a leader of the malcontents. Several MSS. and editions and versions read Eber for Ebed.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gaal - It is not known who he was; but it is evident, he was a man very considerable for wealth, and strength and interest; and ill-pleased with Abimelech's power. Went to Shechem - By his presence and council to animate and assist them against Abimelech.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Gaal ... Ebed

These are names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)

had confidence in him

The word "confidence" is an abstract noun that can be stated with the verb "trust." AT: "trusted him" (See: Abstract Nouns)

They went out into the field

Here "They" refers to Gaal and his relatives and the men of Shechem.

they trampled on them

They did this to squeeze out the grape juice to make wine with it. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

trampled

"crushed" or "stomped"

in the house

Here "house" represents a temple. (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

Shechem

confidence

grape

vineyard

festival

house

false god

curse

Abimelech

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Ga'al ben Eved. He was from another nation.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.