Bible Figure
Jotham
son of Gideon
Jotham was Gideon's youngest son and the sole surviving brother after Abimelech murdered Gideon's other sons.
Biography
Judges 9 says Abimelech killed Gideon's sons on one stone, but Jotham escaped because he hid. When the leaders of Shechem made Abimelech king, Jotham stood on Mount Gerizim and delivered the parable of the trees seeking a king. The worthy trees declined, while the bramble accepted and threatened destructive fire. Jotham applied the parable to Shechem's choice of Abimelech and then fled. The later destruction of Abimelech and Shechem fulfilled his warning.
Biblical Significance
Jotham's parable is one of Scripture's earliest extended political fables. It exposes the folly of elevating a violent opportunist and frames Abimelech's downfall as just recompense for the murder of Gideon's sons.