שופטים, פרק ט׳, פסוק ל״ו

A sudden glimpse of movement on the mountain peaks surrounding the city sparks an immediate warning, but the alert is quickly met with a clever and mocking deception. When Gaal spots the suspicious activity, he announces that a large group of people is making its way down from the hilltops [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Because he notices these approaching forces early, he cautiously remains stationed right by the city gates, refusing to distance himself from safety [מלבי״ם].

However, the response he receives is carefully designed to mislead him. The primary approach among commentators is that Zebul intentionally distracts Gaal to make him doubt his own eyesight. His goal is to lull Gaal into a false sense of security so the attacking forces can arrive suddenly and catch him entirely unprepared [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

To make his lie convincing and dismiss the very real threat, Zebul takes advantage of a natural morning phenomenon. As the sun rises, the shadows cast between the mountains shift rapidly across the terrain. From a distance, this fast-moving play of light and shadow creates an optical illusion that closely resembles a living, moving crowd of people [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. By blaming the movement on the shifting mountain shadows, the deception perfectly masks the advancing army.