Shofetim 9:21

21 And Yotam ran away, and escaped, and went to Be’er, and dwelt there, for fear of Avimelech his brother.

Shofetim 9:21 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 9:21

And Jotham ran away, and fled
Having delivered his fable, and the application of it, he made his escape, having the advantage of being on the top of a mountain, at some distance from the people, and perhaps they might not be inclined to do him any harm:

and went to Beer;
which some take to be the same with Baalathbeer in the tribe of Simeon, ( Joshua 19:8 ) Jerom ^F6 says, the village Bera, whither Jotham fled, is eight miles from Eleutheropolis to the north; but Mr. Maundrell ^F7, who was in those parts in 1697, gives us a better account of it; and, according to him, it is about two hours and a half's travel from Bethel to it, and three hours and one third from it to Jerusalem; Beer, he says, enjoys a very pleasant situation, on an easy declivity, fronting southward; at the bottom of the hill it has a plentiful fountain of excellent water, from which it had its name:

and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his brother;
how long he dwelt there is not certain, and we hear no more of him after this, Josephus says ^F8 he lay hid in the mountains three years for fear of Abimelech, which perhaps he concluded from Abimelech's reigning three years, as follows.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 De loc. Heb. fol. 89. I
F7 Journey from Aleppo p. 64, 66.
F8 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 7. sect. 2.

Shofetim 9:21 In-Context

19 If ye then have dealt b’emes and in good faith with Yerubaal and with his bais this day, then rejoice ye in Avimelech, and let him also rejoice in you;

20 But if not, let eish come out from Avimelech, and devour the ba’alei Shechem, and the Bais Millo; and let eish come out from the ba’alei Shechem, and from the Bais Millo, and devour Avimelech.

21 And Yotam ran away, and escaped, and went to Be’er, and dwelt there, for fear of Avimelech his brother.

22 When Avimelech had reigned shalosh shanim over Yisroel,

23 Then Elohim sent a ruach ra’ah between Avimelech and the ba’alei Shechem; and the ba’alei Shechem dealt treacherously with Avimelech;