And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.
The verse is part of Jotham's parable of the trees holding an imagined council and election to seek a king, in which they make speeches and invite the fig tree to reign over them. It is personification in which trees that cannot speak or rule are pictured as reasoning and talking, a fictitious story whose imagined speech is a legitimate way to set truth before the mind in a vivid picture. The invited fig tree stands for upright, unselfish leaders such as Moses and Joshua, who claim no kingly honors and seek no rank or power but give themselves to bless others, in striking contrast to Abimelech the worthless bramble who grasped rule over Shechem by treachery, violence and bloodshed. Those doing the most valuable work do not seek authority over their brethren, and ambition to be exalted over others shows a person unfit to rule. The talking trees are figurative speech assigned to inanimate things, not proof that trees think or speak, just as the speaking dead in hades and the speech in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus do not prove that men go to their reward at death or are conscious in death.
Form and Historical Setting
Judges 9:10 belongs to Jotham's parable, apologue, or fable of the trees seeking a king. In that imagined scene the trees hold a council and an election, make speeches, and invite the fig tree to reign over them. The parable is said to tell of the work of a king.
The literary device at work is personification, in which inanimate objects are represented as animated and given personality and the powers of reason and speech. Trees, which are inanimate and cannot actually speak or rule, are represented as living beings that speak, hold an election, and ask the fig tree to rule them. Personification is the giving to an inanimate being the sentiments, actions, and language of a rational being.
As a fictitious story, this imagined speech of trees that cannot actually speak or reign does not make the words false. Such figurative speech is a legitimate feature of parables, an apologue or fictional device meant to impress a moral truth. This imagined speaking and choosing of a king conveys truth in a striking way, using a vivid picture to enforce a moral point.
In its setting the parable reproves the men of Shechem for choosing Abimelech as king. Abimelech, the son of Gideon's maid, had Gideon's sons slain so he himself might become ruler, gathered worthless followers, and utterly destroyed Shechem. Shechem was the very ancient stopping-point of Jacob when he returned from Padan-aram to Canaan.
Meaning and Moral Lesson
The fig tree invited to reign represents the unselfish, upright leaders who did not seek rank or power but lived to bless others. Its refusal represents noble, upright leaders such as Moses and Joshua, living illustrations of what a leader of Israel should be, who claim no kingly honors and do not aspire to rank or power but make it their work to bless their fellow men through self-sacrificing devotion. That devotion stands in striking contrast to Abimelech, the worthless bramble who grasped honor through treachery, violence and bloodshed, having his brothers slain and gathering worthless followers, at a time when Israel had fallen so low as to place a despot and murderer as commander-in-chief, exposing the folly of Shechem's choice.
Those doing the most valuable work in the Lord's cause do not seek authority over fellow believers, and ambition to be exalted over others shows a person is unfit to rule. The trees' search for a ruler is applied to churches competing to bear the best fruit rather than to be the most unprofitable, and the parable is said to tell of the work of a king. The fable contrasts people, who can choose and are accountable for their choices, with trees, which do not literally elect a ruler.
Light on State of Dead
The invitation to the fig tree to take kingship belongs to a parable in which trees speak, and speech put into the mouth of an inanimate object does not mean it has conscious intelligence. The scene is figurative rather than literal, not evidence that trees can think or speak, possess consciousness or human speech, or exercise rule. The trees are imagined as holding a council and speaking to teach a lesson, with personified trees acting and speaking as though alive, so their conversation is not an account of trees actually talking.
Scripture in this manner makes inanimate things speak and act as if they were alive. The trees hold an election, make speeches, and invite the fig tree to reign though trees cannot speak or rule, by giving to an inanimate being the sentiments, actions, and language of a rational being. The dead in hades are made to speak and act in the same way as though they were alive.
It is the same kind of figurative language as Christ used in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, or Dives and Lazarus, to rebuke covetousness and to urge heeding the word of God. Just as the speaking trees do not prove trees possess consciousness or human speech, so the speech of Dives and Lazarus does not prove that the dead are conscious. Such speech does not prove that men go to their reward at death or that the dead are conscious.
The verse is part of Jotham's parable of the trees holding an imagined council and election to seek a king, in which they make speeches and invite the fig tree to reign over them. It is personification in which trees that cannot speak or rule are pictured as reasoning and talking, a fictitious story whose imagined speech is a legitimate way to set truth before the mind in a vivid picture. The invited fig tree stands for upright, unselfish leaders such as Moses and Joshua, who claim no kingly honors and seek no rank or power but give themselves to bless others, in striking contrast to Abimelech the worthless bramble who grasped rule over Shechem by treachery, violence and bloodshed. Those doing the most valuable work do not seek authority over their brethren, and ambition to be exalted over others shows a person unfit to rule. The talking trees are figurative speech assigned to inanimate things, not proof that trees think or speak, just as the speaking dead in hades and the speech in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus do not prove that men go to their reward at death or are conscious in death.
Form and Historical Setting
Judges 9:10 belongs to Jotham's parable, apologue, or fable of the trees seeking a king. In that imagined scene the trees hold a council and an election, make speeches, and invite the fig tree to reign over them. The parable is said to tell of the work of a king.
The literary device at work is personification, in which inanimate objects are represented as animated and given personality and the powers of reason and speech. Trees, which are inanimate and cannot actually speak or rule, are represented as living beings that speak, hold an election, and ask the fig tree to rule them. Personification is the giving to an inanimate being the sentiments, actions, and language of a rational being.
As a fictitious story, this imagined speech of trees that cannot actually speak or reign does not make the words false. Such figurative speech is a legitimate feature of parables, an apologue or fictional device meant to impress a moral truth. This imagined speaking and choosing of a king conveys truth in a striking way, using a vivid picture to enforce a moral point.
In its setting the parable reproves the men of Shechem for choosing Abimelech as king. Abimelech, the son of Gideon's maid, had Gideon's sons slain so he himself might become ruler, gathered worthless followers, and utterly destroyed Shechem. Shechem was the very ancient stopping-point of Jacob when he returned from Padan-aram to Canaan.
Meaning and Moral Lesson
The fig tree invited to reign represents the unselfish, upright leaders who did not seek rank or power but lived to bless others. Its refusal represents noble, upright leaders such as Moses and Joshua, living illustrations of what a leader of Israel should be, who claim no kingly honors and do not aspire to rank or power but make it their work to bless their fellow men through self-sacrificing devotion. That devotion stands in striking contrast to Abimelech, the worthless bramble who grasped honor through treachery, violence and bloodshed, having his brothers slain and gathering worthless followers, at a time when Israel had fallen so low as to place a despot and murderer as commander-in-chief, exposing the folly of Shechem's choice.
Those doing the most valuable work in the Lord's cause do not seek authority over fellow believers, and ambition to be exalted over others shows a person is unfit to rule. The trees' search for a ruler is applied to churches competing to bear the best fruit rather than to be the most unprofitable, and the parable is said to tell of the work of a king. The fable contrasts people, who can choose and are accountable for their choices, with trees, which do not literally elect a ruler.
Light on State of Dead
The invitation to the fig tree to take kingship belongs to a parable in which trees speak, and speech put into the mouth of an inanimate object does not mean it has conscious intelligence. The scene is figurative rather than literal, not evidence that trees can think or speak, possess consciousness or human speech, or exercise rule. The trees are imagined as holding a council and speaking to teach a lesson, with personified trees acting and speaking as though alive, so their conversation is not an account of trees actually talking.
Scripture in this manner makes inanimate things speak and act as if they were alive. The trees hold an election, make speeches, and invite the fig tree to reign though trees cannot speak or rule, by giving to an inanimate being the sentiments, actions, and language of a rational being. The dead in hades are made to speak and act in the same way as though they were alive.
It is the same kind of figurative language as Christ used in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, or Dives and Lazarus, to rebuke covetousness and to urge heeding the word of God. Just as the speaking trees do not prove trees possess consciousness or human speech, so the speech of Dives and Lazarus does not prove that the dead are conscious. Such speech does not prove that men go to their reward at death or that the dead are conscious.