Judges 9:21

21 And Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abim'elech his brother.

Judges 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.


FOOTNOTES:

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

Judges 9:21 In-Context

19 if you then have acted in good faith and honor with Jerubba'al and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abim'elech, and let him also rejoice in you;
20 but if not, let fire come out from Abim'elech, and devour the citizens of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abim'elech."
21 And Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abim'elech his brother.
22 Abim'elech ruled over Israel three years.
23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abim'elech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abim'elech;
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.