Judges 9:8

8 One day the trees decided to appoint a king to rule over them. They said to the olive tree, 'You be king over us!'

Judges 9:8 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 9:8

The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them
This is an apologue or fable, and a very fine and beautiful one; it is fitly expressed to answer the design, and the most ancient of the kind, being made seven hundred years before the times of Aesop, so famous for his fables, and exceeds anything written by him. By the trees are meant the people of Israel in general, and the Shechemites in particular, who had been for some time very desirous of a king, but could not persuade any of their great and good men to accept of that office:

and they said unto the olive tree, reign thou over us;
a fit emblem of a good man, endowed with excellent virtues and qualifications for good, as David king of Israel, who is compared to such a tree, ( Psalms 52:8 ) , Jarchi applies this to Othniel the first judge; but it may be better applied to Gideon, an excellent good man, full of fruits of righteousness, and eminently useful, and to whom kingly government was offered, and was refused by him; and the men of Shechem could scarcely fail of thinking of him, and applying it to him, as Jotham was delivering his fable.

Judges 9:8 In-Context

6 Then all of the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree standing in Shechem. There they made Abimelech their king.

7 When Jotham heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He shouted to the people: "Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, so that God will listen to you!

8 One day the trees decided to appoint a king to rule over them. They said to the olive tree, 'You be king over us!'

9 "But the olive tree said, 'Men and gods are honored by my oil. Should I stop making it and go and sway over the other trees?'

10 "Then the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be king over us!'