“And would to God this people were under my hand. Then would I remove Abimelech.”
Now Gaal made his appeal to the chief men of Shechem, whether as a Habiru leader or as a descendant of Hamor. If only he was appointed chief he would soon get rid of Abimelech.
‘And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army, and come out.” '
We may see this as said to an absent adversary, spoken by a drunken leader from a distance into the air in the midst of the feast with a wave of the hand, but intended for Abimelech even though he could not hear it. It was a piece of impressive bravado. Its aim was to show that he was not afraid of Abimelech, even if he were to gather an even larger army. We must remember that they were all drunk.
The LXX changes to ‘I would say to Abimelech.' This means the same but without the dramatic touch.