Bible Strands
Judges 9:37
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 Diviners’ Oak.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Gaal speaks again to Zebul, reporting a fresh military approach from the central highlands and the Diviners’ Oak. This occurs immediately after Zebul’s mockery, as Gaal attempts to redirect the defense against Abimelech’s forces.
The words — The phrase וַיֹּסֶף לְדַבֵּר עוֹד (va.i.Yo.sef le.da.Ber od) literally means “he repeated to speak again,” highlighting Gaal’s persistent escalation. הִנֵּה עָם יוֹרְדִים (hi.neh 'am yor.Dim) translates directly to “look, a people are coming down,” marking his second claim of advancing troops.
The thread — The mention of the Diviners’ Oak links to Deuteronomy 18:14, which prohibits the divinatory customs associated with such sites. This geographical marker reappears in Judges 9 as a strategic waypoint and a symbol of syncretic practice.
Why it lands — The text reports a second, unverified sighting that intensifies the immediate crisis. It asks a reader to weigh repeated claims against observable reality before acting on them.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 18:14 Though these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to conjurers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.