Charles Ellicott Commentary Judges 9:26

"And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him." — Judges 9:26 (ASV)

Gaal the son of Ebed. —We are not told any further who he was; but the context leads us to infer that he was one of these raiders, and probably belonged to the Canaanite population. His “brothers” may have formed the nucleus of a marauding band. Josephus says he was “a certain chief, with his soldiers and kinsmen.” For Ebed some manuscripts and versions read Eber, and some Jobel. “Gaal Ben-Ebed” (“loathing son of a slave”) sounds like some contemptuous distortion of his real name.

Went over to Shechem. —Possibly he had been engaging in banditry on the other side of the Jordan.