Jotham's Fable

Text and Content

The fable appears in Judges 9. Abimelech, the son of Gideon (Jerubbaal) by a concubine from Shechem, won the support of the men of Shechem. He killed his seventy brothers upon one stone and became king (Judges 9:1-6). Only Jotham, the youngest, survived by hiding. Jotham went up to the top of Mount Gerizim and cried out to the men of Shechem (Judges 9:7).

The story runs as follows. The trees set out to anoint a king over themselves and approach several trees in turn.

• The olive tree: declines, saying it cannot give up its oil, by which God and man are honored.
• The fig tree: declines, saying it cannot give up its sweetness and its good fruit.
• The vine: declines, saying it cannot give up its wine, which cheers God and man.
• The bramble: says that if the trees truly wish to make it king, they must come and take refuge in its shade. Otherwise, fire will come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

Jotham then applies the story to the situation at hand (Judges 9:16-20). If the men of Shechem had dealt truly with the house of Jerubbaal, they should rejoice in Abimelech. If not, Abimelech and the men of Shechem would consume one another with fire. Jotham afterward fled to Beer and lived there (Judges 9:21).

Background

In the period of the Judges, Israel had no king. Gideon had been asked to rule over Israel but refused, saying, "the LORD shall rule over you" (Judges 8:22-23). Abimelech, his son, made himself king. The Hebrew word atad, rendered "bramble," refers to a thorny shrub; scholars differ on the exact plant intended. The satire lies in a thornbush, which can provide no shade, promising shade to others. The image of a fire that starts in a dry thicket and spreads to consume great trees is commonly explained as reflecting the arid environment of the region.

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

Jotham's words later came true just as he had spoken them. After Abimelech had ruled over Israel for three years, God sent an evil spirit between him and the men of Shechem. Abimelech attacked Shechem and burned its tower, and he himself died at Thebez when a woman threw a millstone down on him (Judges 9:22-55). Scripture sums up these events: "upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal" (Judges 9:56-57).

The Old Testament contains one other story in which plants speak: the story of the thistle and the cedar that Jehoash, king of northern Israel, sent to Amaziah, king of Judah (2 Kings 14:9). The New Testament does not quote this fable directly. In preaching, however, the fable is often treated alongside Jesus' teaching on servant leadership (Matthew 20:25-28).

Interpretation and Debates

• Assessment of kingship: Scholars are divided over whether the fable criticizes monarchy itself or only the kingship of an unqualified person. It is sometimes read together with 1 Samuel 8, where Israel asks for a king.
• The three trees' refusal: Some interpreters see it as faithfulness to one's own calling. Others see it as an evasion of responsibility that left the position to the bramble.
• Symbolic interpretation: One tradition interprets the fable allegorically, noting that the olive tree, fig tree, and vine serve elsewhere in Scripture as symbols of Israel. The text itself, however, does not make such connections.
• Significance of the location: Some interpreters find significance in the fact that Mount Gerizim was the mountain from which blessings were proclaimed (Deuteronomy 27:12). This too is not stated directly in the text.

Jotham king of Judah, the son of Uzziah, bears the same name but is a different person from the Jotham of this fable.

In the Korean Church

This passage is often cited in sermons addressing the qualifications of church leaders, the election of church officers, and warnings against a craving for power.