Discovery BoxJudges 9:38-42 
Context9:38 Zebul said to him, “Where now are your bragging words, 1 ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the men 2 you insulted? 3 Go out now and fight them!” 9:39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out 4 and fought Abimelech. 9:40 Abimelech chased him, and Gaal 5 ran from him. Many Shechemites 6 fell wounded at the entrance of the gate. 9:41 Abimelech went back 7 to Arumah; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem. 8
9:42 The next day the Shechemites 9 came out to the field. When Abimelech heard about it, 10
1 tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”
2 tn Heb “the people.”
3 tn Or “despised.”
4 tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gaal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.
7 tc Heb “stayed.” Some scholars revise the vowel pointing on this verb from that of the MT, resulting in the translation “and he returned to.” The Lucianic recension of the LXX understands the word in this way.
8 tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”
9 tn Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “And they told Abimelech.”
