Text -- Judges 9:7-21 (NET)

Jotham’s Parable

9:7 When Jotham heard the news, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you! 9:8 “The trees were determined to go out and choose a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’ 9:10 “So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’ 9:11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my sweet figs, my excellent fruit, just to sway above the other trees!’ 9:12 “So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king!’ 9:13 But the grapevine said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my wine, which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees!’ 9:14 “So all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be our king!’ 9:15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! Otherwise may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’ 9:16 “Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, if you have properly repaid repaid him– 9:17 my father fought for you; he risked his life and delivered you from Midian’s power. 9:18 But you have attacked my father’s family today. You murdered his seventy legitimate sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative. 9:19 So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub-Baal and his family today, then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness! 9:20 But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!” 9:21 Then Jotham ran away to Beer and lived there to escape from Abimelech his half-brother.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jdg 9:7

¹ tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

² tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:8

¹ tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”

² tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”

³ tn Or “Rule over us!”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:9

¹ tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

NET Notes: Jdg 9:10

¹ tn Or “and rule over us!”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:11

¹ tn Heb “Should I stop my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees? The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

NET Notes: Jdg 9:12

¹ tn Or “and rule over us!”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:13

¹ tn Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

NET Notes: Jdg 9:14

¹ tn Or “and rule over us!”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:15

¹ tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”

² tn Heb “in my shade.”

³ tn Heb “If not.”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:16

¹ tn Heb “house.”

² tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:17

¹ tc Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” The MT form מִנֶּגֶד (minneged, “from before”) should probably be read as מִנֶּגְדּוֹ (minnegdo, “from before him”); haplography of vav has likely occurred here in the MT.

² tn Heb “hand.”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:18

¹ tn Heb “have risen up against.”

² tn Heb “house.”

³ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁴ tn Heb “your brother.”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:19

¹ tn Heb “house.”

² tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”

NET Notes: Jdg 9:21

¹ tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”

² tn Heb “from before.”

³ tn Heb “his brother.”