Judges 9:28
And Gaal the son of Obed cried: Who is Abimelech, and what is Sichem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerobaal, and hath made Zebul his servant ruler over the men of Emor the father of Sichem? Why then shall we serve him?
Open Judges 9:28 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- clamante Gaal filio Obed : Quis est Abimelech, et quæ est Sichem, ut serviamus ei ? numquid non est filius Jerobaal, et constituit principem Zebul servum suum super viros Emor patris Sichem ? cur ergo serviemus ei ?
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ εἶπεν Γάαδ υἱὸς Ἰώβηλ Τίς ἐστιν Ἀβειμέλεχ καὶ τίς ἐστιν υἱὸς Συχὲμ ὅτι δουλεύσομεν αὐτῷ; οὐχ υἱὸς Ἰεροβάαλ, καὶ Ζεβούλ, ἐπίσκοπος αὐτοῦ, δοῦλος αὐτοῦ σὺν τοῖς ἀνδράσιν Ἐμμὼρ πατρὸς Συχέμ; καὶ τί ὅτι δουλεύσομεν αὐτῷ ἡμεῖς;
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וַיֹּ֣אמֶר גַּ֣עַל בֶּן עֶ֗בֶד מִֽי אֲבִימֶ֤לֶךְ וּמִֽי שְׁכֶם֙ כִּ֣י נַעַבְדֶ֔נּוּ הֲלֹ֥א בֶן יְרֻבַּ֖עַל וּזְבֻ֣ל פְּקִיד֑וֹ עִבְד֗וּ אֶת אַנְשֵׁ֤י חֲמוֹר֙ אֲבִ֣י שְׁכֶ֔ם וּמַדּ֖וּעַ נַעַבְדֶ֥נּוּ אֲנָֽחְנוּ
Haydock's commentary
Sichem. Why should this ancient city be thus degraded? This son of Jerobaal deigns not to reside among us, but sets one of his servants over us! (Haydock)
He mentions Jerobaal instead of Gedeon, to remind the people of the indignity formerly offered to their great idol, by the father of their present ruler. (Menochius)
Hebrew may have another sense. "Who is Abimelech?....Is he not the son of Jerobaal, and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hemor," &c. It seems that Gaal was of the race of Chanaan, by the manner in which he speaks of Hemor, whose history is given, Genesis xxxiv. Many of the same nations might still inhabit Sichem, (Calmet) which made the people so bold and zealous in the adoration of Baal. (Haydock)
The insidious Gaal hence takes occasion to propose to his countrymen, that they had better acknowledge the authority of their ancient magistrates, who occupied the place of Hemor. (Calmet)
But he immediately insinuates, that the most effectual method to expel the tyrant, would be to vest him with the sovereign authority. (Haydock) (ver. 29.)
The party of Abimelech was now the weaker. (Calmet)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.