Judges 9:15

And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
bramble	הָאָטָד֮ ha.'a.Tad	H329	a thorn-tree (especially the buckthorn) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
trees	הָעֵצִים֒ ha.'e.Tzim	H6086	a tree (from its firmness) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
truth	בֶּאֱמֶ֣ת be.'e.Met	H571	stability · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
anoint	מֹשְׁחִ֨ים mo.she.Chim	H4886	to rub with oil · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
king	לְמֶ֙לֶךְ֙ le.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
come	בֹּ֖אוּ Bo.'u	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
trust	חֲס֣וּ cha.Su	H2620	to flee for protection · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
shadow	בְצִלִּ֑י ve.tzi.Li	H6738	shade · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
fire	אֵשׁ֙ 'esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
out	תֵּ֤צֵא Te.tze'	H3318	to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
bramble	הָ֣אָטָ֔ד ha.'a.Tad	H329	a thorn-tree (especially the buckthorn) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
devour	וְתֹאכַ֖ל ve.to.Khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal, 3rd person feminine singular
cedars	אַרְזֵ֥י 'ar.Zei	H730	a cedar tree (from the tenacity of its roots) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Lebanon	הַלְּבָנֽוֹן ha.le.va.Non	H3844	Lebanon · definite article + proper noun, a place name

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 30:2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the sh…
Judges 9:20 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 S…
Isaiah 2:13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
Hosea 14:7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine o…
Numbers 21:28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Ar…
2 Kings 14:9 And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon,…
Isaiah 37:24 By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, t…
Ezekiel 19:14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This i…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 9:7-21

We have here the only testimony that appears to have been borne against the wicked confederacy of Abimelech and the men of Shechem. It was a sign they had provoked God to depart from them that neither any prophet was sent nor any remarkable judgment, to awaken this stupid people, and to stop the progress of this threatening mischief. Only Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, who by a special providence escaped the common ruin of his family (Jdg 9:5), dealt plainly with the Shechemites, and his speech, which is here recorded, shows him to have been a man of such great ingenuity and wisdom, and really such an accomplished gentleman, that we cannot but the more lament the fall of Gideon's sons.…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 9:13

wine, which cheereth God and man--not certainly in the same manner. God might be said to be "cheered" by it, when the sacrifices were accepted, as He is said also to be honored by oil (Jdg 9:9).

John Gill on Judges 9:15

And the bramble said unto the trees,.... Accepting of their offer at once: if ye in trust anoint me king over you; suspecting they were not hearty and cordial in their choice and call to the kingly authority over them: then come and put your trust in my shadow; promising protection to them as his subjects, requiring their confidence in him, and boasting of the good they should receive from him, as is common with wicked princes at their first entering on their office; but, alas! what shadow or protection can there be in a bramble? if a man attempts: to put himself under it for shelter, he will find it will be of no use to him, but harmful, since, the nearer and closer he comes to it, the mo…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 9:7-15

When Jotham, who had escaped after the murder, was told of the election which had taken place, he went to the top of Mount Gerizim, which rises as a steep wall of rock to the height of about 800 feet above the valley of Shechem on the south side of the city (Rob. iii. p. 96), and cried with a loud voice, "Hearken to me, ye lords of Shechem, and God will also hearken to you." After this appeal, which calls to mind the language of the prophets, he uttered aloud a fable of the trees which wanted to anoint a king over them-a fable of true prophetic significance, and the earliest with which we are acquainted (Jdg 9:8-15). To the appeal which is made to them in succession to become king over the t…

Dictionary and topics

Atad — Buckthorn, a place where Joseph and his brethren, when on their way from Egypt to Hebron with the remains of their father Jacob, made for seven days a “great and very sore lamentation.” On this…
Fable — Applied in the New Testament to the traditions and speculations, “cunningly devised fables”, of the Jews on religious questions (1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16). In such…
Allegory · Of the trees seeking a king — Of the trees seeking a king
Anointing · .OF KINGS — .OF KINGS
Bramble · Allegory of — Allegory of
Cedar, The · Lebanon celebrated for — Lebanon celebrated for
Jotham · .Rebukes the Shechemites with the parable about the trees — .Rebukes the Shechemites with the parable about the trees
Lebanon · Cedars of — Cedars of
Parables · Of the trees — Of the trees
Pride · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Sarcasm · .By Jotham — .By Jotham

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 9:7-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 9:13

John Gill on Judges 9:15

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 9:7-15

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 9:7-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 9:13

John Gill on Judges 9:15

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 9:7-15

Dictionary and topics

Rashi on Judges 9:15