Judges 9:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’

NIV: Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'

NASB: Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You, come, reign over us!’

CSB: Finally, all the trees said to the bramble, "Come and reign over us."

NLT: 'Then all the trees finally turned to the thornbush and said, ‘Come, you be our king!’

KJV: Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

NKJV: “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’

Shouting from a mountain to the town crowning his murderous brother, Abimelech, Jotham continues his fable (Judges 9:6–13). Jotham's fable has followed the trees as they look for a king. They have been turned down by the olive tree, who refuses to stop producing its abundant and honored oil. They have been rejected by the fig tree who will not leave behind its sweetness and good fruit. Even the grape vine refused to give up the wine business to "hold sway" over the trees. All three are valuable and capable, so they don't seek power over others.

Since they can't convince a "good" plant to be king, the trees turn to something wretched: the bramble.

This plant is identified with a Hebrew word that literally means "piercing" or "thorns." Scholars associate this with a genus known as lycium, which often have thin stems, bothersome thorns, and little useful fruit. In the context of Jotham's era, these were weeds. Unlike the other trees, the bramble produces nothing good or positive or healthy. It yields only irritating spikes. Modern persons might see such a plant and call it a "thornbush" or "pricker bush;" these plants have more aggressive spikes than the fuzzy irritants on thistles and nettles. They're also prone to drying out and becoming a fire hazard.

Unlike the other trees, the bramble is not productive or useful, or valuable. It has nothing better to do, so it will say yes to an offer of power over others. Clearly, Jotham is making a point about Abimelech and the terrible mistake being made by Shechem. Here, that message starts to materialize.

Judges 9:6–21 contains a parable and prophecy spoken by the sole surviving son of Gideon. Jotham was the only one missed in a massacre orchestrated by his half-brother, Abimelech (Judges 9:1–6). During the coronation ceremony making Abimelech a local ruler, Jotham shouts out a curse against Abimelech and Shechem's leaders. This takes the form of a fable about trees making a bramble bush their king. The prediction intended by Jotham's declaration is that Shechem's leaders did not act in integrity, so they and Abimelech will destroy each other. Jotham then flees the area.

Shechem's leaders conspire with a concubine's son to kill Gideon's other seventy sons. They make this man, Abimelech, their ruler. Gideon's youngest son survives, however, and delivers a curse. Using a fable, he says Abimelech and Shechem's leaders will destroy each other. God causes a division between Shechem's leaders and Abimelech. The noblemen attempt to kill Abimelech and unite behind a new leader. Abimelech discovers the plot and kills everyone in Shechem, destroying the city. When attacking a tower in a nearby town, however, Abimelech's skull is crushed by a thrown millstone. The curse is fulfilled.

Gideon successfully defeated Midianite raiders but declined to become Israel's official king. His sons, however, were held in high esteem during his remaining years (Judges 8). After Gideon's death, ambitious men conspire to kill almost all those heirs. This results in a series of bloody events. Eventually, judgment comes on those responsible. Israel fails to learn from the tragedies. Chapter 10 explains further idolatry and sin, before introducing the next major judge, Jephthah, in chapter 11.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).