Judges 9:21
in Judges 9Then Jotham ran away, escaping to Beer, and he lived there for fear of his brother Abimelech.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
KJV
And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
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This verse in Judges 9
Commentary
4 notes on this verseWent to Beer - Mr. Maundrell, in his journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 64, 5th edit., mentions a place of this name, which he thinks to be that to which Jotham fled, and supposed to be the same as Mishmash, 1Sa 14:5, 1Sa 14:31. It is situated, he says, towards the south, on an easy declivity; and has a fountain of excellent water at the bottom of the hill from which it has taken its name.
This site's exposition
If ye then have dealt truly
on Judges 9:19-21
The curse is framed as a condition and it runs both ways, fire from Abimelech devouring Shechem and fire from Shechem devouring Abimelech. Both halves are reported as done by verse 49 and verse 53, and the narrator says so outright at verse 57. Jotham then runs to Beer and leaves the book, so the one survivor of the seventy never comes back to claim anything.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Jotham ran away, and fled,....
But the triumphing of the wicked is short. Within three years, as the years of a hireling, all this glory shall be contemned, and laid in the dust, Isa. xvi. The ruin of these confederates in wickedness was from the righteous hand of the God to whom vengeance belongs.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֣נָס | vaiyanos | and he fled | H5127 → | 159 times |
| יוֹתָ֔ם | yotam | Jotham | H3147 → | 24 times |
| וַיִּבְרַ֖ח | vaiyivrach | and he ran away | H1272 → | |
| וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּאֵ֑רָה | beerah | Beer towards | H876 → | |
| וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָׁ֔ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֖י | mipenei | [away] from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֲבִימֶ֥לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| אָחִֽיו׃ פ | ʾachiv | brother his | H251 → | 630 times |
וַיָּ֣נָסand he fled
vaiyanosH5127 →159 times
יוֹתָ֔םJotham
yotamH3147 →24 times
וַיִּבְרַ֖חand he ran away
vaiyivrachH1272 →
וַיֵּ֣לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּאֵ֑רָהBeer towards
beerahH876 →
וַיֵּ֣שֶׁבand he dwelt
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
שָׁ֔םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
מִפְּנֵ֖י[away] from before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
אֲבִימֶ֥לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
אָחִֽיו׃ פbrother his
ʾachivH251 →630 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 21:16From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people so that I may give them water.”
it leads to
- Numbers 20:8
“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from…
- Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,
- Isaiah 41:17–18
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in…
- Revelation 22:1
Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
- Numbers 20:8
Through
Joshua 19:8and all the villages surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah of the Negev). This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Simeon.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 4:33
and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record:
- 1 Chronicles 4:33
Through
2 Samuel 20:14Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah and through the entire region of the Berites, who gathered together and followed him.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…
- Numbers 21:16
From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people so that I may give them water.”
- 2 Kings 15:29
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.