Man living before Israel's Monarchy
Gaal, the son of Ebed, led a revolt against Abimelech, the ruler of Shechem, but was defeated and driven out of the city.
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Gaal, the son of Ebed, appears in Judges 9 as the leader of a revolt against Abimelech, the ruler of Shechem. After Abimelech had ruled Shechem for three years, Gaal arrived in the city and gained the trust of the people (Jdg.9.26-29). He challenged Abimelech's authority and encouraged the people to follow him instead. When Abimelech was informed of Gaal's actions, he devised a plan to attack the city (Jdg.9.30-33). Gaal and his followers went out to fight against Abimelech but were defeated and driven out of Shechem (Jdg.9.34-41). Abimelech then destroyed the city and scattered salt over it, symbolizing its complete destruction (Jdg.9.45). The story of Gaal's failed revolt illustrates the internal conflicts and power struggles that occurred during the period of the judges in Israel.
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Loathing, the son of Ebed, in whom the Shechemites “placed their confidence” when they became discontented with Abimelech. He headed the revolution, and led out the men of Shechem against Abimelech; but was defeated, and fled to his own home (Judg. 9:26-46). We hear no more of him after this battle.
(contempt), son of Ebed, aided the Shechemites in their rebellion against Abimelech. (Judges 9:1) ... (B.C. 1206.)
GA'AL (loathing), the son of Ebed, led a revolt against Abimelech, king of the Shechemites. Jer Jud, 9:26-46. He was defeated and his partisans were scattered.
GA'AL (loathing), the son of Ebed, led a revolt against Abimelech, king of the Shechemites. Jer Jud, 9:26-46. He was defeated and his partisans were scattered.
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.
9 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1603
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.
When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountains!” But Zebul replied, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”
Then Gaal spoke up again, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming by way of the Divinersʼ Oak.”
So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem and fought against Abimelech,
Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.
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.