Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 9:12
Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and] reign over us.
12. the vine ] The old phrase ‘to sit each under his vine and fig-tree,’ denoting peaceful occupation of the land, shews how widely spread and ancient was the cultivation of the vine in Palestine; 1Ki 4:25, Mic 4:4 etc.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then said the trees unto the vine,…. Another emblem of good and useful men; and it may be observed, that Jotham takes no notice of any trees but fruitful ones till he comes to the bramble, and them only such as were well known, and of the greatest use, in the land of Judea, as olives, figs, and vines, see De 8:8
come thou, and reign over us; this Jarchi applies to Gideon; but since there are three sorts of trees brought into the fable, and when the kingdom was offered to Gideon, it was proposed to him, and to his son, and his son’s son, and refused, some reference may be had unto it in this apologue. Abarbinel thinks three sorts of men are intended as proper persons for rule and government, as honourable ones, such as are wealthy and rich, and also of good behaviour to God and man, as Gideon’s sons were; but Abimelech was all the reverse.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) Unto the vine.We might have felt surprise that the vine was not the first choice, but the low-growing, trellised vine, which needs support for its own tendrils, might seem less suitable. Indeed, ancient nations talked of the female vine
Or they led the vine
To wed her elm; she round about him flings
Her marriageable arms, &c.Milton.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the vine said to them, ‘Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?’ ”
Wine was offered as a drink offering to Yahweh (Lev 23:13; Num 15:5-10) and gave men great joy and pleasure (see Psa 104:15). Thus the vine also would not leave its useful function to futilely and uselessly lord it over the trees
So Jotham took three examples of trees which were fruitful, which comprised part of the blessings of the promised land (Deu 8:8), and stressing their usefulness both to God and man, compared them with the uselessness of kingship. They were self-giving and provided blessing, in contrast with kingship which was a useless exercise and self-grasping while making a great parade of itself. Thus they would not leave their useful function to become mere parasites.
While we must not overpress the points, for good management is not a useless exercise, his words clearly revealed a poor view of kingship. In his eyes kingship should be left to God and all men’s efforts to be king were like branches waving to and fro, lording it over the trees, and accomplishing nothing. There is the hint here that, like their father before them, the sons of Gideon would not have ruled in a way that was autocratic, they would have followed the customs of their fathers, and have done so under the tribal covenant and in league with the tribal confederacy. It would be very different with Abimelech.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 9:12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and] reign over us.
Ver. 12. Then said the trees unto the vine. ] So fond they were of a king, howsoever it went. When the Romans offered the Capadocians to make them a free state, they refused it, saying they could not live without a king.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the vine = Israel’s spiritual privileges (Isa 5. John 15).