Footnotes

1. Judges 9:26 sn The name Gaal derives from, or at least sounds like, a Hebrew verb meaning “to abhor, loathe.” His father’s name, Ebed, means “servant.” Perhaps then this could be translated, “loathsome one, son of a servant.” This individual’s very name (which may be the narrator’s nickname for him, not his actual name) seems to hint at his immoral character and lowly social status.
2. Judges 9:26 tn Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance with Gaal and were now trusting him for protection in return for their loyalty (and probably tribute).
3. Judges 9:27 tn Heb “vineyards.”
4. Judges 9:27 tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-14.
5. Judges 9:27 tn Heb “house.”
6. Judges 9:28 tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”
7. Judges 9:28 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8. Judges 9:29 tn Heb “people.”
9. Judges 9:29 tn Heb “in my hand.”sn If only these men were under my command. One might assume from v. 26b that the men were already at his disposal, but perhaps that was not one of the terms of the agreement. Another possibility is that v. 26 is a general summary statement, with vv. 27-29 then detailing how the alliance with Gaal came about.
10. Judges 9:29 tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech….’”
11. Judges 9:29 tn Heb “Make numerous.”
12. Judges 9:29 tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.
13. Judges 9:30 tn Heb “his anger burned.”
14. Judges 9:31 tn The form בְּתָרְמָה (b^etormah) in the Hebrew text, which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from II רָמָה (ramah, “to deceive”). Some interpreters object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The present translation assumes an emendation to “in Arumah” (בָּארוּמָה, baʾrumah), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of ʾalef and tav in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.
15. Judges 9:31 tn Heb “Look!”
16. Judges 9:31 tn The participle, as used here, suggests Gaal and his brothers are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, Abimelech, when he was informed, might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.
17. Judges 9:31 tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “to instigate; to incite; to provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178).
18. Judges 9:32 tn Heb “arise.”
19. Judges 9:32 tn Heb “you and the people who are with you.”
20. Judges 9:32 tn The words “outside the city” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
21. Judges 9:33 tn Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds [to do].”
22. Judges 9:34 tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”
23. Judges 9:34 tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
24. Judges 9:36 tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.
25. Judges 9:36 tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”
26. Judges 9:37 tn Heb “navel.” On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 178-79.
27. Judges 9:37 tn Heb “head.”
28. Judges 9:37 tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.
29. Judges 9:38 tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”
30. Judges 9:38 tn Heb “the people.”
31. Judges 9:38 tn Or “despised.”
32. Judges 9:39 tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”
33. Judges 9:40 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gaal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
34. Judges 9:40 tn The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.
35. Judges 9:41 tc Heb “stayed.” Some scholars revise the vowel pointing on this verb from that of the MT, resulting in the translation “and he returned to.” The Lucianic recension of the LXX understands the word in this way.
36. Judges 9:41 tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”