Gaal
가알
Named at Judges 9:26 as “Gaal the son of Ebed”: he comes with his brothers and goes over to Shechem, and the men of Shechem put their trust in him. At 9:28 he says, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him?” At 9:35–40 he goes out and stands in the entrance of the gate of the city, and says to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains”; he goes out before the men of Shechem and fights with Abimelech, and Abimelech chases him, and he flees before Abimelech. At 9:41 Zebul drives out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
Direct relationships 3
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Source-backed narrative relations; not independent historical verification. Legacy dates and coordinates are outside this review.
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- JDG 9:26–29, engwebp
26Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.
27They went out into the field, harvested their vineyards, trod the grapes, celebrated, and went into the house of their god and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
28Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal? Isn’t Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, but why should we serve him?
29I wish that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech.” He said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out!”
- JDG 9:30–33, engwebp
30When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger burned.
31He sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and behold, they incite the city against you.
32Now therefore, go up by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field.
33It shall be that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early and rush on the city. Behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as you shall find occasion.”
- JDG 9:34–41, engwebp
34Abimelech rose up, and all the people who were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
35Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from the ambush.
36When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” Zebul said to him, “You see the shadows of the mountains as if they were men.”
37Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down by the middle of the land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Meonenim.”
38Then Zebul said to him, “Now where is your mouth, that you said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Isn’t this the people that you have despised? Please go out now and fight with them.”
39Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
40Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many fell wounded, even to the entrance of the gate.
41Abimelech lived at Arumah; and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
AI-assisted, human review pending, 2026-09-26
Machine comparison on 2026-10-07: the wording raised none of the 3 rules against the passages this entry cites. No person has read it.
All 3 relationships: AI-assisted, human review pending
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Ebed — Father of — Gaal
Evidence: Judges 9:26–29, Judges 9:30–33, Judges 9:34–41
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Took part in (2) — The words of Gaal the son of Ebed, in whom the men of Shechem put their trust, Gaal chased by Abimelech, and driven out by Zebul
A relationship with an event rests on the passages the event cites: each event’s page has them.
Verses tagged with this entry
Names in the World English Bible text that carry this entry’s tag. They are carried over from the tags on the Korean Revised Version, which are matched by name inside chapters that already have collected evidence, and a verse where the English says “he” carries none. All await human review. They are a separate list from the source passages above. An empty list does not mean the entry is absent from the text.
Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.
Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal? Isn’t Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, but why should we serve him?
When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger burned.
He sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and behold, they incite the city against you.
Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from the ambush.
When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” Zebul said to him, “You see the shadows of the mountains as if they were men.”
Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down by the middle of the land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Meonenim.”
Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
Abimelech lived at Arumah; and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
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[Bibliadatum entry report] Entry: Gaal (person-gaal) Address: https://bibliadatum.org/en/wiki/person/gaal Current wording: Named at Judges 9:26 as “Gaal the son of Ebed”: he comes with his brothers and goes over to Shechem, and the men of Shechem put their trust in him. At 9:28 he says, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him?” At 9:35–40 he goes out and stands in the entrance of the gate of the city, and says to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains”; he goes out before the men of Shechem and fights with Abimelech, and Abimelech chases him, and he flees before Abimelech. At 9:41 Zebul drives out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem. Cited evidence: JDG 9:26–29, engwebp / JDG 9:30–33, engwebp / JDG 9:34–41, engwebp Review state: ai-assisted / human-review-pending What looks wrong: (not written yet) --- This collection records what the text says and does not settle interpretation. A report about a reading that divides opinion may be registered as an unresolved issue rather than corrected.