9:8 trees went forth. This parable of the trees is not only the first parable in the Bible but probably also the first fable or parable recorded in all ancient literature. The olive tree was considered the most fruitful of all the trees of the land, the bramble the most painful, yet it has often been true–just as in the ancient reign of Abimelech–that national leadership is assumed by the most ruthless of men rather than the best of men.