Zebul

Person Name

Name meaning: "a habitation"

Zebul was the ruler (governor or prefect) of Shechem under Abimelech during the latter's short-lived kingship (Judges 9:28–41). When Gaal son of Ebed stirred up the Shechemites against Abimelech, Zebul sent a secret warning to Abimelech advising him to march against the city at night. The next morning, Zebul taunted Gaal — Where is your mouth now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?' — as Abimelech's forces appeared. When Gaal and his brothers fled, Zebul expelled them from Shechem. He disappears from the narrative after this episode, which ended with Abimelech destroying Shechem and killing its inhabitants.