Judges 9:27-29

9:27 They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, ¹  squeezed out the juice, ²  and celebrated. They came to the temple ³  of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech. 9:28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? ⁴  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ⁵  9:29 If only these men ⁶  were under my command, ⁷  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ⁸  “Muster ⁹  your army and come out for battle!” ¹⁰ 

[9:27]  ¹ tn Heb “vineyards.”

[9:27]  ² 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.

[9:27]  ³ tn Heb “house.”

[9:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

[9:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  ⁸ 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…’”

[9:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ¹⁰ tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.