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Judges 9:28

in Judges 9

Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve ye the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: but why should we serve him?

KJV

And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?

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This verse in Judges 9

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

This he might speak sincerely, as being himself a Canaanite and Shechemite, and possibly came from one of those little ones whom Simeon and Levi spared when they slew all the grown males, Gen. xxxiv, 29. And it may be that he was one of the royal blood, a descendent of Hamor, who hereby sought to insinuate himself into the government, as it follows, ver. 29.

This site's exposition

Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem

on Judges 9:28-29

Gaal tells the town to go back to its old line, serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, which names Genesis 33:19 and Genesis 34 out loud. Hamor's house is the family Simeon and Levi destroyed after Dinah, so the appeal reaches past Israel altogether to the Canaanite city Jacob camped beside. He also calls Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal, the Baal-fighting name given at 6:32, and turns it into a reason for a Baal-berith town to be rid of him.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

on Judges 9:28-29

(2.) Of his good father likewise, Gideon: Is not he the son of Jerubbaal? So he calls him, perhaps in an impious indignation at his name and memory for throwing down the altar of Baal, turning that to his reproach which was his praise.

The words behind it

24 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀and he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • גַּ֣עַלGaal

    gaalH1603 →9 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • עֶ֗בֶדEbed

    ʾevedH5651 →6 times

  • מִֽי־who?

    mi-H4310 →423 times

  • אֲבִימֶ֤לֶךְ[is] Abimelech

    ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times

  • וּמִֽי־and who?

    umi-H4310 →423 times

  • שְׁכֶם֙[is] Shechem

    shekhemH7927 →63 times

  • כִּ֣יthat

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • נַעַבְדֶ֔נּוּwe will serve him

    naavdenuH5647 →288 times

  • הֲלֹ֥א¿ not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • בֶן־[is he] [the] son of

    ven-H1121 →4930 times

  • יְרֻבַּ֖עַלJerub-Baal

    yerubaalH3378 →14 times

  • וּזְבֻ֣לand [is] Zebul?

    uzevulH2083 →6 times

  • פְּקִיד֑וֹdeputy his

    pekidoH6496 →

  • עִבְד֗וּserve

    ʾivduH5647 →288 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אַנְשֵׁ֤י[the] men of

    ʾansheiH582 →566 times

  • חֲמוֹר֙Hamor

    chamorH2544 →

  • אֲבִ֣י[the] father of

    ʾaviH1 →1212 times

  • שְׁכֶ֔םShechem

    shekhemH7927 →63 times

  • וּמַדּ֖וּעַand why?

    umadua'H4069 →72 times

  • נַעַבְדֶ֥נּוּwill we serve him

    naavdenuH5647 →288 times

  • אֲנָֽחְנוּ׃we

    ʾanachenuH587 →120 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

7 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 25:10But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.5 worksGenesis 34:2When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.5 worksGenesis 34:6Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob.4 works1 Kings 12:16When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home,3 worksPsalms 78:9The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle.3 works2 Samuel 20:1Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
Judges 9:41Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 20:1

    Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son.…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 12:16

      When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Deuteronomy 13:13

      that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),

  • Through

    1 Kings 12:16

    When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your…

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 10:16

      When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Samuel 20:1

      Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son.…

    • Jeremiah 23:5–6

      Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

    • 1 Kings 22:36

      As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army: “Every man to his own city, and every man to his own land!”

    • Jeremiah 33:15–16

      In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout for David a righteous Branch, and He will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

  • Through

    Genesis 34:2

    When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 5:28

      But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

About Judges

The Death of Gideon's Sons — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Death of Gideon's Sons — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 9 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Judges 9 →