Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 9:21
And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
21. Beer ] Unknown; a common name = a well.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 21. Went 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He might easily flee, having the advantage of the hill and other accommodations for flight, and because the people were not forward to pursue a man whom they knew to have such just cause and great provocation to speak, and so little power to do them any hurt.
Beer; a place remote from Shechem, and out of Abimelechs reach. There were divers places of that name.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. Joatham . . . went to Beerthemodern village El-Bireh, on the ridge which bounds the northernprospect of Jerusalem.
Jud9:22-49. GAAL’SCONSPIRACY.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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, Jos 19:8 Jerom f says, the village Bera, whither Jotham fled, is eight miles from Eleutheropolis to the north; but Mr. Maundrell g, 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 h he lay hid in the mountains three years for fear of Abimelech, which perhaps he concluded from Abimelech’s reigning three years, as follows.
f De loc. Heb. fol. 89. I g Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 64, 66. h Antiqu. l. 5. c. 7. sect. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But Jotham fled to Beer, after charging the Shechemites with their iniquity, and dwelt there before his brother Abimelech (“before,” i.e., “for fear of.” – Jerome). Beer in all probability is not the same place as Beeroth in the tribe of Benjamin (Jos 9:17), but, according to the Onom. ( s. v. ), a place eight Roman miles to the north of Eleutheropolis, situated in the plain; at present a desolate village called el Breh, near the mouth of Wady es Surr, not far from the former Beth-shemesh ( Rob. Pal. ii. p. 132).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(21) Went to Beer.Since Beer means a well, it. was naturally a very common name in Palestine. There is nothing to show with certainty whether this Beer is Beeroth in Benjamin (Jos. 9:17), now el Bireh, about. six miles north of Jerusalem (see my Life of Christ, i. 73), or the el Bireh which lies on the road from Shechem to Askalon, or the el Bireh near Endor. Probably Jotham would be safe anywhere in the territories of Judah or Benjamin, without going, as Ewald supposes, to the Beer of Num. 21:16, on the frontiers of Moab, an ancient sanctuary on the other side of the Jordan, possibly the Beer-elim (palm-well) of Isa. 15:8.
For fear of Abimelech.Literally, from the face of Abimelech.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. Jotham ran away After such a burning application of his fable he knew that his only safety was in flight. The precipice from the top of which he spoke enabled him to get the start of any who might be disposed to pursue him.
Beer The locality of this town is uncertain. There was a place of this name east of the Dead Sea, in the confines of Moab, where the Israelites were encamped, (Num 21:16,) and possibly this was the very spot to which Jotham fled. Some identify it with Beeroth, the modern el-Bireh, seven miles north of Jerusalem. Jos 9:17.
Dwelt there Probably in obscurity and sorrow. Nothing more is heard of him in Scripture. Thus many of earth’s noblest natures, like the lone desert flower, are doomed to pine in obscurity and neglect.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his brother.’
Having delivered his curse Jotham fled for his life. He journeyed to Beer, which means ‘a well’ and there he lived for fear of Abimelech ‘his brother’. The last words are sardonic. A brother indeed! But he found refreshment, while finally his brother would receive none. The place is unknown and was probably intended to remain unknown. (‘Beer’ would normally have another name attached e.g Beer-sheba). What mattered was that he had found refuge.
We are intended to see in this curse the hand of Yahweh. He was not pleased with the course that events had taken and would act accordingly. He was not powerless to act like Baal (Jdg 6:31-32). But the writer does not want to mention His name in such a passage. He wants us to recognise that Abimelech was God-forsaken.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
It was prudent to hasten away, when he had delivered his message in such faithfulness. How few are there that can be found faithful to God and souls!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 9:21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
Ver. 21. And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went. ] It was but high time to fly, Cito, citius, citissime, whence all this heap of words in the text. So fled Jacob from Esau, David from Saul, Paul from his persecutors. Act 9:23-25 It is not unlawful in some cases to save ourselves by flight. Tertullian was too rigid in this point. God hath not set us as standing marks or butts to be shot at.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Beer: Probably the Beer mentioned by Mr. Maundrell, three hours and a half, or about ten miles, north of Jerusalem, towards Shechem. It is situated toward 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. Close to the well are the mouldering walls of a ruined khan; and on the summit of the hill two large arches still remain of a ruined convent. Dr. Richardson says, that it seems to have been once a place of considerable consequence. Num 21:16, Jos 19:8, 2Sa 20:14
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 9:21. Jotham ran away and fled Which he might easily do, having the advantage of the hill, and because the people were not forward to pursue a man whom they knew to have such just cause to speak, and so little power to do them hurt. To Beer A place remote from Shechem, and out of Abimelechs reach.