Judges 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.

Jud 9:15,20; Jud 9:16; 1Sa 16:14-16; 1Sa 18:9,10; 1Ki 12:15; 1Ki 22:22,23; 2Ch 10:15; 2Ch 18:19-22; Isa 19:2,14; Isa 33:1; Mt 7:2; 2Th 2:11,12

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.