Judges 9 (KJV With Strong's) - Bible Truth Library

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Verse 9

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Judges 9

Judg. 9:8 KJV (With Strong’s)

The treesn went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

2 Kings 14:9• ⁹And 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, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. (2 Kings 14:9)

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Olive, Olive Tree

Cross References

Ministry on This Verse

The trees.This is the most ancient fable or apologue extant; and is extremely beautiful, apposite, and intelligible.

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Ezek. 17:3‑10• ³And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
⁴He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
⁵He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
⁶And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
⁷There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.
⁸It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.
⁹Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.
¹⁰Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew. (Ezek. 17:3‑10)

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Dan. 4:10‑18• ¹⁰Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
¹¹The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
¹²The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
¹³I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
¹⁴He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
¹⁵Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
¹⁶Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
¹⁷This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
¹⁸This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. (Dan. 4:10‑18)

olive tree.The {zayith,} or olive tree, in the Linnean system, is a genus of the {diandra monogynia} class of plants.

It is of a moderate height, and grows best in sunny places.

Its trunk is knotty; bark smooth, of an ash colour:

wood solid and yellowish; leaves oblong, almost like those of the willow, of a dark green colour on the upper side, and whitish below.

In June it puts forth white flowers, growing in bunches, each of one piece, widening towards the top, and dividing into four parts.

After this succeeds the fruit, which is oblong and plump; first green, then pale, and when quite ripe, black. Within it is enclosed a hard stone, filled with oblong seeds. It was the most useful of all trees in the forest; as the bramble was the meanest and most worthless.Reign.

Judg. 8:22‑23• ²²Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
²³And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you. (Judg. 8:22‑23)

• In his recital, three trees refuse to be promoted over the other trees. They depict, according to the word, the different characteristics of Israel under the blessing of Jehovah. (“Fresh Declension and Fresh Revivals: Abimelech, or the Usurpation of Authority: Judges 9” by H.L. Rossier)

• The world is to the church, what the nations were to Israel. If we yield to its solicitations, we abandon our oil, our fruit, our new wine-that is to say, {oil} our spiritual power, {fig} the works which God has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10), {vine} and the joy of communion. (“Fresh Declension and Fresh Revivals: Abimelech, or the Usurpation of Authority: Judges 9” by H.L. Rossier)

J. N. Darby Translation

The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive-tree, Reign over us.