Albert Barnes Commentary Judges 9:8-20

"The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive-tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? And the trees said unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and uprightly, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands (for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: and ye are risen up against my father`s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother); if ye then have dealt truly and uprightly with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech." — Judges 9:8-20 (ASV)

This fable and the one mentioned in the margin are the only two of their kind found in Scripture. The parables of the Old Testament are somewhat different (2 Samuel 12:1–4; 2 Samuel 14:5–11; 1 Kings 20:39–40).

Honour God and man (Judges 9:9) — This alludes to the constant use of oil in the meat-offerings (Leviticus 2:1–16) and in the holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:24–25). In like manner, the allusion in Judges 9:13 is to the drink-offerings of wine (Numbers 15:10).

The bramble (Judges 9:14) — This is said to be the Rhamnus Paliurus of Linnaeus, otherwise called Spina-Christi, or Christ’s Thorn, a shrub with sharp thorns. The application is obvious. The noble Gideon and his worthy sons had declined the proffered kingdom. The vile, base-born Abimelech had accepted it, and his act would turn out to the mutual ruin of himself and his subjects.

If in truth (Judges 9:15) — that is, consistently with truth, honor, and uprightness, as explained in the interpretation in Judges 9:16 and Judges 9:19.

Let fire come out ... — The propriety of the image is strictly preserved, for even the thorns of the worthless bramble might kindle a flame which would burn the stately cedars to the ground .

Judges 9:16–20 contains the interpretation of the fable. In these verses, Jotham points out the base ingratitude of the people in raising Abimelech upon the ruin of Gideon’s house and foretells the retribution which would fall upon both parties.