Man living before Israel's Monarchy
Ebed was the father of Gaal, who led a rebellion against Abimelech, the son of Gideon, in Shechem.
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Ebed is mentioned in the book of Judges as the father of Gaal, a man who opposed Abimelech's rule over Shechem. Abimelech was a son of Gideon, the judge who had delivered Israel from the Midianites.
After Gideon's death, Abimelech killed his seventy brothers and established himself as king over Shechem (Jdg.9.1-6). However, Gaal son of Ebed arrived in Shechem and gained the trust of the people (Jdg.9.26). Gaal openly challenged Abimelech's authority, questioning his claim to rule over the city (Jdg.9.28).
When Zebul, the ruler of the city and a supporter of Abimelech, heard of Gaal's words, he sent messengers to warn Abimelech (Jdg.9.30-31). Abimelech then devised a plan to attack the city and confront Gaal and his followers (Jdg.9.32-33).
In the ensuing battle, Abimelech defeated Gaal and his supporters, driving them out of the city (Jdg.9.35-41). Abimelech later destroyed the city and sowed it with salt, symbolizing its complete destruction (Jdg.9.45).
While Ebed himself is not mentioned beyond being identified as Gaal's father, his son's actions played a significant role in the narrative of Abimelech's reign and downfall. The story of Gaal's rebellion highlights the tensions and power struggles that existed during the period of the judges, as well as the consequences of Abimelech's ruthless ambition.
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Slave, the father of Gaal, in whom the men of Shechem “put confidence” in their conspiracy against Abimelech (Judg. 9:26, 26, 30, 31).
E'BED (slave). 1. The father of Gaal, who conspired with the Shechemites against Abimelech. Jud 9:26, Acts 20:28, Jud 9:30-31, Ex 28:35.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
5 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5651
Meanwhile, Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem put their confidence in him.
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?
When Zebul the governor of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he burned with anger.
So he covertly sent messengers to Abimelech to say, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you.
Now Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate just as Abimelech and his men came out from their hiding places.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.