Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 9:13
And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
13. my wine ] must (Mic 6:15, Vulgate mustum), the unfermented juice as it comes from the wine-press 1 [41] ; but also the fermented juice, as is implied here and in Hos 4:11 (‘taketh away the heart’); cf. Gen 27:37, Zec 9:17.
[41] In 19 passages out of 38 trsh ‘must’ is associated with ‘corn and oil,’ i.e. threshed corn and oil freshly expressed (though these words are also used of corn in the ear and oil in the berry), hence by analogy ‘freshly expressed juice of the grape.’ See Driver, Joel and Amos, p. 79 f.
cheereth God and man ] or gods and men, cf. Jdg 9:9; the reference is to libations (Num 15:7; Num 28:7; Sir 50:15 ) and feasts (Psa 104:15). See Rob. Smith l. c. 213 f.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 13. Which cheereth God and man] I believe elohim here is to be taken in the same sense proposed on Jdg 9:9. Vast libations of wine, as well as much oil, were used in heathenish sacrifices and offerings; and it was their opinion that the gods actually partook of, and were delighted with, both the wine and oil. The pagan mythology furnishes the most exquisite wines to its gods in heaven, and hence the nectar and ambrosia so much talked of and praised by the ancients. It is not reasonable to suppose that Jotham makes any reference here to the sacrifices, oblations, and perfumes offered to the true God. This language the idolatrous Shechemites could scarcely understand. What could the worshippers of Baal-berith know of the worship of the God who gave his law to Moses? And it is not very likely that Jotham himself was well acquainted with the sacred rites of the Mosaic religion, as they had been little preached in his time.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Wherewith God is well-pleased, because it was offered to God, Num 15:5,7,10. See also Psa 104:15; Pro 31:6.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. wine, which cheereth God andmannot certainly in the same manner. God might be said to be”cheered” by it, when the sacrifices were accepted, as Heis said also to be honored by oil (Jud9:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the vine said unto them,…. By way of denial and refusal, as the other two:
shall I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man; which being used in the drink offerings was acceptable to God, and of a sweet savour to him, Nu 15:7 and being drank by than, revives, refreshes, and makes glad, when before sorrowful, drooping, faint, and weary, Ps 104:15 though some by Elohim, rendered God, understand great personages, as men of quality, magistrates, &c. and by man the common people, and so in Jud 9:9
and go to be promoted over the trees? all speak the same language, being of the same sentiment.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) My wine.The Hebrew word is tirsh which sometimes means merely grape-cluster.
Which cheereth God and man.For explanation, see Exo. 29:40; Num. 15:7; Num. 15:10, &c. If Elohim be here understood of God, the expression is, of course, of that simply anthropomorphic character which marks very ancient literature.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. The vine Palestine has ever been celebrated for the luxuriant growth, abundance, and excellence of its grape-vines, and also for the immense clusters of grapes which they produced. Compare what is said of the clusters of Eshcol, Num 13:23. The sap of the vine is sometimes used in the East as medicine; its ripe fruit, both fresh and in its dried state as raisins, is highly esteemed; but its chief use was for the production of wine.
Which cheereth God and man Wine was largely used in the sacred services of Jehovah, being poured out as a drink offering to him. Comp. Exo 29:40; Lev 23:13; Num 15:5. In this sense, like the olive-oil, it might be said to cheer and honour Him. So, too, libations of wine were offered in the heathen sacrifices. From its exhilarating qualities, wine was also said to gladden the heart of man. Psa 104:15; Pro 31:6. It was used as a common and highly esteemed beverage among the Israelites, and it is often spoken of in Scripture as one of God’s blessings, just as are corn and oil, and milk and honey. Its moderate use seems never to have been regarded dangerous or evil, though drunkenness is everywhere condemned. The importance of the modern “wine question,” and zeal for the doctrine of total abstinence, must not run us into false expositions of Scripture, or lead us to conceal or to evade the facts of sacred history. Customs and circumstances now seem clearly to make it a duty of Christians to abstain totally from wine; and self-denial, in whatever form it may serve to promote the cause of morality and religion, becomes always the bounden duty of the man of God. But abstinence and self-denial in this respect are always to be urged on the ground of Christian expediency, not of specific scriptural command.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 9:13. Wine, which cheereth God and man It has been objected, that Scripture here suggests false and unworthy notions of the Supreme Being: but we are to remember, that the words are part of a parable. In a parable, or fiction, every word or sentence is not to be interpreted with the utmost rigour, unless we are to take it to be Scripture doctrine that trees could talk. Jotham, to represent the forwardness and self-assurance of foolish persons in undertaking high things, which wiser and better men would decline, brings in a fable, setting forth how the olive-tree, the fig-tree, and the vine, and all the choice trees, had modestly refused a province not proper for them; but that the bramble, the unfittest of all, had accepted it notwithstanding, and was likely to perform accordingly. Now the words here cited are the words of the vine, and perhaps run upon a pagan hypothesis, allowable in a fable or apologue. So Castalio, Le Clerc, and others, interpret the place; and they render the words, not God and man, but gods and men, which is better. Perhaps, in such a kind of fiction, though it had a serious moral, it might be thought more decent to use the pagan style of gods and men, than to introduce the true God, either by name or implication: or Jotham, speaking to the idolatrous Shechemites, might adapt his speech to their notions, the better to be understood by them. There is another construction which some have recommended, namely, that “Wine cheereth both high and low, elohim and anashim, princes and peasants; or else, princes and persons of quality.” This last construction is maintained by Le Clerc, and his translator Ross. But I prefer the interpretation of Le Clerc abovementioned, as being confirmed by the following ingenious remark of Bishop Warburton: “Jotham,” says he, “did not mean God the governor of the universe; but all must see his meaning is, that wine cheereth hero-gods, and common men; for Jotham is here speaking to an idolatrous city, which ran a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god: a god sprung from among men, as may partly be collected from his name, as well as from divers other circumstances of the story. This expression, which is very beautiful, contains one of the finest strokes of ridicule in the whole apologue, so much abounding with them; and insinuates to the Shechemites the vanity and pitiful original of their idolatrous gods, who were thought to be, or really had been, refreshed with wine.” Div. Leg. vol. 3: p. 104.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jdg 9:13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
Ver. 13. Should I leave my wine? ] This is the drunkard’s motto, Malle so, vitam quam vinum eripi. a Take away my liquor, you take away my life. Ambrose reporteth of one Theotimus (too good a name for such a wretch), that, having a disease upon his body, and told by the physician that unless he did abstain from wine he was like to lose his eyes, Vale lumen amicum, said he, If they will not away with wine, they are no eyes for me. He would rather lose his sight than his sin. So will many their souls. Woe to those drunkards of Ephraim!
Which cheereth God and man.
a Aug., De Temp. Serm., 131.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
leave. Same Hebrew as “forsake” (Jdg 9:11).
wine = new wine. Hebrew. tirosh. App-27.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
cheereth: Num 15:5, Num 15:7, Num 15:10, Psa 104:15, Pro 31:6, Ecc 10:19
Reciprocal: Luk 22:18 – the fruit
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 9:13. Wine which cheereth God and man It has been objected, says Dr. Dodd, that Scripture here suggests false and unworthy notions of the Supreme Being; but we are to remember that the words are part of a parable. In a parable or fiction, every word or sentence is not to be interpreted with the utmost rigour, unless we are to take it to be Scripture doctrine that trees could talk. Jotham, to represent the forwardness and self-assurance of foolish persons in undertaking high things, which wiser and better men would decline, brings in a fable, setting forth how the olive- tree, the fig-tree, and the vine, and all the choice trees, had modestly refused a province not proper for them; but that the bramble, the unfittest of all, had accepted it notwithstanding, and was likely to perform accordingly. Now the words here cited arc the words of the vine, and perhaps run upon a pagan hypothesis, allowable in a fable or apologue. So Castalio, Le Clerc, and others, interpret the place; and they render the words, not God and man, but gods and men, which is better. There is another construction which some have recommended, namely, that wine cheereth both high and low, princes (who are sometimes called elohim, gods) and peasants. But I prefer the interpretation of Le Clerc above mentioned, says Dr. Waterland, Scrip. Vind., p. 80. And his interpretation is confirmed by the following ingenious remark of Bishop Warburton: Jotham did not mean God the governor of the universe; but all must see his meaning is, that wine cheereth hero-gods and common men; for Jotham is here speaking to an idolatrous city, which ran a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god; a god sprung from among men, as may partly be collected from his name, as well as from divers other circumstances of the story. This expression, which is very beautiful, contains one of the finest strokes of ridicule in the whole apologue, so much abounding with them; and intimates to the Shechemites the vanity and pitiful original of their idolatrous gods, who were thought to be, or really had been, refreshed with wine. Div. Leg., vol. 3. p. 104.