Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people who were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
Gaal was evidently a Canaanite who disliked Abimelech (Judges 9:28) because he was the son of Gideon. He also opposed him because Gideon had both destroyed the altar of Baal in Ophrah and reestablished the worship of Yahweh in Israel (Judges 6:27; Judges 8:23). Gaal, whose name connects with a Hebrew word meaning "loathsome," and whose father’s name means "servant," did not want Abimelech to continue ruling over that part of Canaan. He did not want Shechem to remain under Abimelech’s control either.