Log inSign up

Judges 9 · a question people ask

Was Jotham a prophet? Did God answer his curse?

In the text

The text doesn't call Jotham a prophet, and he doesn't speak in the LORD's name. He speaks his fable and his conditions in his own voice (9:7-20), and then "Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother" (9:21). But he opens by asking the men of Shechem to listen "that God may listen to you" (9:7), and the chapter's last words are "the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came on them" (9:57). The text sets that beside "God repaid" (9:56-57): the curse came, and it was God who repaid. Judges doesn't name him again after 9:57.

The verses

“When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice, cried out, and said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.”
Judges 9:7 · World English Bible
“Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father in killing his seventy brothers; and God repaid all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads; and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came on them.”
Judges 9:56-57 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Judges 9

Judges 9: The bramble king

Judges 9 never names the LORD, yet it ends "Thus God repaid" (9:56). Abimelech asked to "rule" with the very verb Gideon refused (8:23; 9:2), and in Jotham's fable only the bramble will reign, offering its "shade" (9:15): the word Zebul uses for the "shadows" that are Abimelech's army coming (9:36).

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

Start your free weekJudges 9 Bible study

First week free, then $10 a month per person

More questions about Judges 9

All questions about Judges →

The best way to learn the Bible

Favor opens up every chapter as you read.

Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.

  • Every chapter explains itself

    As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.

  • The Hebrew and Greek behind it

    Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.

  • Every page leads to Jesus

    Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.

  • Better together

    Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.

  1. 1

    Start your free week

    Sign up in a minute with your email.

  2. 2

    Read a few minutes a day

    Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.

  3. 3

    Bring your people, if you like

    Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person

Questions like this, in every chapter

The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.

There's a seat for you at the table.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions