Commentaries, Commentary on Judges · Chapter 9 · Verses 26-29 – Verses 34-37
26 Then came Gaal the ſonne of Ebed & his brethren, & they went to Sechem: and the men of Sechem put their confidence in him.
27 Therfore they wēt out into the field, & gathered in their grapes, & trodde them, & made mery. And they went into the houſe of their God, and did eate and drinke, and curſed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the ſonne of Ebed ſayd: Who is Abimelech? & who is Sechē, that we ſhuld ſerue him? Is he not the ſonne of Ierubbaal, and Zebul is his hed officer? Serue rather the men of Hamor the father of Sechem. But why ſhall we ſerue hym?
29 And who will geue this people into myne hand, and I wil take awaye Abimelech? And he ſayde vntounto Abimelech: increaſe thyne army, and come out.
Here cōmeth an occaſion of the euils: one Gaal by chaunce trauailed that way: the Sechemites hired him to be their ruler and captayne: and therefore puttyng their confidence in him, they go out into theyr vineardes, gather the grapes, and treade them, with great ſecurity. What this Gaal was, it appeareth not by the Scriptures R. Salomon thinketh he was an Ethnike.R. Salomon. The Sechemites were ſo afeard of Abimelech, that they durſt not gather their grapes: wherfore they hired this man. Firſt, now they go forth into the fielde, whiche thyng before they durſt not doo: they make great ioye and mirthe. For in the olde tyme alſo (as it ſemeth) they vſed, as they do now a dayes,The wātōnes vſed at the gatheryng in of grapes. great wantōnes and liberty in the gathering in of the grapes: of whiche cuſtome ſprange the Comedyes and Tragedies with the Grecians. And when Bacchus returned a conquerer out of India, the people led daunces in honor of him at the wynepreſſes. Yea and the Chaldey paraphraſt maketh mention of daunces in this place.
They went into the temple. It was alſo the manner among the Ethnikes, to geue thankes vntounto God of their firſt fruites. But theſe men go into the temple of God, and rate, drinke, ſinge, and curſe their kyng: and whom before they had annoynted, hym now they rayle vponupon, and teare with reproches. And that in the temple, wherin before they had taken counſel for to make Abimelech their ruler. Such are the iudgementes of God. The place might hauehave admoniſhed them: for out of it they gaue him money: but forgettyng all thynges, they curſe him: Although the ſcripture expreſſedly declareth not, whether this tēple were that ſelfe ſame, where out they tooke the money in the beginning.
VVho is Abimelech? In the feaſtes of their wine gathering, they mocke theyr kyng, and that he beyng abſent, and aboue the reſt Gaal, much more greuouſly ſcorneth hym. Let vsus marke the peruerſenes of mans nature: if any ſinne be by chaunce committed, it addeth not a iuſt remedy, but healeth miſchief with miſchief, & cureth ſinne with ſinne. They ſhould hauehave called vponupon the Lord, & hauehave repented: but theſe do far otherwiſe, they ſe that they hauehave done noughtly, & yet they go farther to reproches. This is the manner of the frowardnes of man: yea and Dauid when he had committed aduoutry, did not ſtrayghtway repent, as he ſhould hauehave done, but ſlewe Vrias. Iudas whē he had betrayed Chriſt, would not repent, but went and hanged himſelfe, and ſo was author of hys owne death. So in a maner when we hauehave ſinned, we go to worſer ſinnes. They ought not in deede to hauehave choſen Abimelech: but when he had once gotten the dominion of things, they ſhould not ſo hauehave curſed him. Before the victory they ſing a ſong of victory. There is nothyng more fooliſhe, then to contemne an enemy: for an enemy is not to be contemned, vnles he be ouercome. But this Gaal goeth childiſhely to worke. He exhorteth and prayſeth the Sechemites, bycauſe they had ſhaked of their yoke. And he compoſeth his oration of thynges compared together.A cōparatis. He compareth Abimelech with Hamor the prince of that Citye, whom the ſonnes of Iacob ſlewe by guile.
VVho is Sechem? Sechem in this place is not the name of the City, but of the chief man, namely the ſonne of Hamor.
VVho is Abimelech? He is the ſonne of Ierubbaal. He hath in vsus neyther right, nor iuriſdiction. Let hym goo and bragge amonge his owne. Sechem was in the olde tyme Lorde of this Citye, hym we ought to hauehave obeyed. But we ſlewe hym, howe then can we obeye this man? This compariſon is nowe manifeſt youghe. But to increaſe the contempt more, Zebul (ſayeth he) is the ſeruaunt of Abimelech, knowen well ynough vntounto vsus, whome he hath made ruler ouer hys Citye. Therefore we ſhall hauehave two Lordes. And we whiche woulde not obey the Lord of Sechem, ſhall we nowe obeye a ſeruaunt? It is an vnworthy thyng.The ſēſe of the oratiō of Gaal. Wherefore this ſemeth to be the ſenſe of hys oration. If we ſhoulde hauehave ſerued, we ſhould rather hauehave ſerued Sechem. But we hauehave not ſerued him: therfore neither will we ſerue this Abimelech.
Serue the ſonnes of Hamor. As though he ſhould hauehave ſayd, ſerue them rather whiche were the auncient Lordes of this Citye: and if we hauehave not ſerued them, why ſhould we ſerue Abimelech &c.
And who wyll geue thys people into my hande? The other parte of the oration contayneth an exhortation, wherein he exhorteth them, to make hym ruler ouer the people. VVho will geue? This forme of ſpeakyng expreſſeth an affection of one yt wiſheth. I (ſayth he) if I were your ruler, would eaſely take away Abimelech. All the Sechemites were not of one opinion.Hereby it appeareth yt al the Sechemites were not of one opinion▪ There were many which thē alſo wer on Abimeleches ſide. Wherfore, I would to God ſayth he, yt all you were of one mynd, I would thē eaſely take away the tyranne.
foreign is a turnyng of a ſpeache to ſome perſon.And he ſayd vntounto Abimelech: Increaſe thyne army. He vſeth an Apoſtrophe to Abimelech beyng abſent: for it is eaſy to rayle vponupon one being abſent. He ſpeaketh very Thraſo lyke. It is as thoughe he ſhould hauehave ſayd: increaſe thy power how thou wilt, I ſet nothing at all by it.
30 And when Zebul the ruler of the Citye hearde the wordes of Gaal the ſonne of Ebed, he was very angry.
31 And he ſent meſſangers vntounto Abimelech guilefully, ſaying: Behold Gaal the ſonne of Ebed and his brethren be come to Sechem, and beholde they fortefy the City agaynſt thee.
32 Nowe therfore aryſe by night, thou and thy people that is with thee, and lye in wayte in the fielde.
33 And ryſe vp early in the mornyng as ſoone as the Sunne is vp, and thou ſhalt aſſaulte the Citye, and when he and the people that is with hym, ſhall come out agaynſt thee, do vntounto them what thyne hande can finde.
Zebul was ruler vnderunder Abimelech, & when he heard theſe reproches agaynſt his Lorde, he could not ſuffer them. Hereby let vsus marke how fooliſhly the Sechemites behaued themſelues, when they go about to fall from Abimelech, they retayne yet ſtill his ruler in the City. So god oftētymes ſtriketh men with madnes. Neither want there exemples of this thing euen in our tyme.
He ſent meſſangers guilefully. The Hebrew word is Miremah or Tomah: and it ſignifieth nothyng els, but that he ſent letters priuely, the ſumme whereof was: Gaal is choſen captayne agaynſt thee, the Sechemites fence the City, that they may both defend thēſelues within, and alſo exclude thee without. And ſuch is the ſubtility of Zebul, that he not onelyonly telleth what was done in the City, but alſo geueth Counſell what Abimelech ſhould doo.
VVhen it is mornyng. The Hebrewe worde Tiſchim in the coniugation Hiphil from the roote Schacham ſignifieth to ryſe early, the Grecians ſay foreign. And where in Luke the 21. chap. toward the end it is ſayd, Turba mane conueniebat ad eum: that is: The people gathered vntounto him in the morning: the old tranſlation was (as Auguſtine alſo hath noted vponupon this place of the Iudges (Populus manicabat ad eum. But that worde is barbarous and ſtraunge.Auguſtine. Manicare. In Greeke it is rede, foreign.
And aſſalte the City. This is the Counſell of the ruler, that early in the mornyng he ſhould beſiege and aſſaulte the City by guile.
Do as thine hand ſhal find. By this Hebrewe phraſe is ſignified nothyng els, but that ſo do thou as occaſion ſhall ſerue.
34 And Abimelech roſe vp early, and all the people that were with hym by nyght: and they laye in wayte agaynſte Sechem in foure bandes.
35 Then Gaal the ſonne of Ebed came out, and ſtoode in the entryng of the gate of the City. And Abimelech roſe vp and the people that were with him, from lying in wayte.
36 And when Gaal ſawe the people, he ſayde to Zebul: Beholde there come people downe from the toppes of the mountaynes. To whome Zebul aunſwered: The ſhadowe of the mountaynes ſemeth men vntounto thee.
37 And Gaal ſpake agayne and ſayde: Beholde there come people down from the nauel of ye earth, and one Captaine commeth by the waye of the playne of Moonenim.
Their lying in wayte was diſtributed into foure bandes, & when Gaal ſhould go forth of the city, Zebul was together with him, & as far as we may coniecture, Zebul vſed double fraude: for firſt he ſent a meſſanger vntounto Abimelech, & ſignified vntounto him, what he thought good to be done: & afterward he ioyneth himſelfe deceatfully vntounto Gaal, as though he would be on his ſide, that he might the ſafelyer do thoſe thynges whiche he thought to doo, & that Gaal ſhould not miſtruſt hym, Wherfore Gaal goeth forth, being nothing afeard of priuy enbuſhements, and together with hym went Zebul.
Thou ſeeſt the ſhadow of montaynes. Zebul derideth him, ſaying: They be ſhadowes whiche thou thinkeſt to be men.
Out of the nauel of the earth. This is a metaphoricall kynde of ſpeache, for as the nauell appeareth aboue the belye, ſo are the mountaynes aboue the earth. Wherefore by the nauell he vnderſtandeth the mountaynes from whence Abimelech deſcended with his company. And when he came from the mountaynes, it is very lykely (whiche thyng yet is not here mentioned) that he ouercame the guarriſons, whiche the Sechemites had put in thoſe places.