Judges 9:23-26

9:23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility 1  between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal 2  to Abimelech. 9:24 He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech, their half-brother 3  who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them. 4  9:25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting 5  bandits in 6  the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it. 7 

9:26 Gaal son of Ebed 8  came through Shechem with his brothers. The leaders of Shechem transferred their loyalty to him. 9 

1 tn Heb “an evil spirit.” A nonphysical, spirit being is in view, like the one who volunteered to deceive Ahab (1 Kgs 22:21). The traditional translation, “evil spirit,” implies the being is inherently wicked, perhaps even demonic, but this is not necessarily the case. The Hebrew adjective רָעַה (ra’ah) can have a nonethical sense, “harmful; dangerous; calamitous.” When modifying רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) it may simply indicate that the being in view causes harm to the object of God’s judgment. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 253) here refers to a “mischief-making spirit.”

2 tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

3 tn Heb “their brother.”

4 tn Heb “so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal might come, and their blood might be placed on Abimelech, their brother, who murdered them, and upon the leaders of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to murder his brothers.”

5 tn Heb “set against him bandits.”

sn Putting bandits in the hills. This piracy certainly interrupted or discouraged trade, and probably deprived Abimelech of tariffs or tribute. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 277; G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 253.

6 tn Heb “on the tops of.”

7 tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”

8 sn The name Gaal derives from, or at least sounds like, a Hebrew verb meaning “to abhor, loathe.” His father’s name, Ebed, means “servant.” Perhaps then this could be translated, “loathsome one, son of a servant.” This individual’s very name (which may be the narrator’s nickname for him, not his actual name) seems to hint at his immoral character and lowly social status.

9 tn Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance with Gaal and were now trusting him for protection in return for their loyalty (and probably tribute).