Judges 9:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him.

NIV: Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his clan into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him.

NASB: Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his relatives, and crossed over into Shechem; and the leaders of Shechem trusted him.

CSB: Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the citizens of Shechem trusted him.

NLT: One day Gaal son of Ebed moved to Shechem with his brothers and gained the confidence of the leading citizens of Shechem.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

The leaders of Shechem supported Abimelech in his quest to become their king (Judges 9:1–6). They helped him kill all but one of Gideon's other sons so no one could challenge his status as heir to Gideon's influence. But God turned the leaders of Shechem and Abimelech against each other (Judges 9:22–24). The ones who made Abimelech ruler are living in rebellion against him. That begins by causing civil disruption: arranging bandits to plague the trade routes in and out of Shechem (Judges 9:25).

Betrayal becomes tangible when Shechem's elders accept a new leader to stand for them and against Abimelech. Gaal, son of Ebed, moves into Shechem with his relatives. Some scholars suggest the term "brothers," in this case, means Gaal's fellow scoundrels, as well as his family. He may have been moving back home, while others think of him and his family as settling in Shechem after living elsewhere. In any case, Gaal soon gains the confidence of the apparently fickle city leaders and noblemen. They recruit him to their side in the conflict with their king Abimelech.

More noteworthy is the poetic nature of this new rival's name: the words in Ga'al bēn 'Ebed literally mean "loathing," "son of" and "servant." Abimelech's name means "the king is my father." However, when Jotham delivered his condemnation (Judges 9:7), he made a point of calling Abimelech the son of a servant (Judges 9:18). At least in a poetic sense, Gaal's name can be interpreted as "loathing the son of the servant."

Judges 9:22–57 describes the brutal fulfillment of Jotham's curse against his brother, Abimelech, and the leaders of the city of Shechem. God allows the two sides to be split by an evil spirit. First, Shechem's leaders attempt to kill Abimelech. Then they plot with a man named Gaal to overthrow him. Helped by his officer in the city, Abimelech and his men ambush Gaal and Shechem. They kill all the people and destroy the city. They then move on to the town of Thebez to do the same, but Abimelech is killed. Jotham's prediction of divine vengeance (Judges 9:19–20) comes true.

Shechem's leaders conspire with a concubine's son to kill Gideon's other seventy sons. They make this man, Abimelech, their ruler. Gideon's youngest son survives, however, and delivers a curse. Using a fable, he says Abimelech and Shechem's leaders will destroy each other. God causes a division between Shechem's leaders and Abimelech. The noblemen attempt to kill Abimelech and unite behind a new leader. Abimelech discovers the plot and kills everyone in Shechem, destroying the city. When attacking a tower in a nearby town, however, Abimelech's skull is crushed by a thrown millstone. The curse is fulfilled.

Gideon successfully defeated Midianite raiders but declined to become Israel's official king. His sons, however, were held in high esteem during his remaining years (Judges 8). After Gideon's death, ambitious men conspire to kill almost all those heirs. This results in a series of bloody events. Eventually, judgment comes on those responsible. Israel fails to learn from the tragedies. Chapter 10 explains further idolatry and sin, before introducing the next major judge, Jephthah, in chapter 11.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).