4 and 5. _Deborah and Barak deliver Israel from the Canaanites_ The account of the deliverance exists in two versions, one in prose (ch. 4), the other in poetry (ch. 5). The two agree in the main: the chief actors are the same, Deborah, Barak, Sisera, Jael; the Canaanites are defeated with Jehovah'... [ Continue Reading ]
_again did that which was evil_ The compiler's formula; see Judges 2:11; Judges 2:14 _n._ when Ehud was dead According to Rd the Israelites remained faithful so long as the judge was alive to keep them in check. The verse is a continuation of Judges 3:30, Shamgar (Judges 3:31) being passed over.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor_ Hazor, already a royal city in the 15 cent. b.c. (Amarna Tablets 154, 41), lay in the neighbourhood of Kedesh-naphtali (Joshua 19:36 f., 2 Kings 15:20) and to the S. of it (1Ma 11:63; 1Ma 11:67 ff.); the name (_enclosure_) is preserved in Jebel Ḥaḍîreh ... [ Continue Reading ]
_Deborah, a prophetess_ i.e. a woman inspired to declare the divine will, and on this occasion to deliver her country from oppression; as a prophetess she announces the command of Jehovah (Judges 4:6) and the moment for action (Judges 4:14). We are reminded of Joan of Arc; Moore also compares the Ge... [ Continue Reading ]
_dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah_ The marg. SAT is better, cf. Judges 6:11 1 Samuel 14:2; 1 Samuel 22:6, lit. _she was sitting_, i.e. to declare the divine will in disputes and cases of difficulty; hence, it is implied, _the palm tree of Deborah_between Ramah (er-Râm) and Beth-el (Beitin), 5 an... [ Continue Reading ]
_And she sent and called Barak_ continues Judges 4:4. Barak = -lightning"; the name is found in Phoenician, e.g. Barcas the father of Hannibal, and in Palmyrene and Sabaean (_NSI_., p. 299). _out of Kedesh-naphtali_ also called K. in Galilee (Joshua 20:7) to distinguish it from other places of the... [ Continue Reading ]
The overthrow of the enemy is predicted with prophetic authority; cf. Exodus 14:4. _the river Kishon_ Judges 4:13; Judges 5:21, now called Nahr el-Muḳaṭṭa-, rises from the hills near Jenin (En-gannim), and flows "in a muddy trench, unseen five yards away" (G. A. Smith, _Hist. Geogr._, p. 382), para... [ Continue Reading ]
_If thou wilt go with me_ By having the prophetess with him, Barak could count upon divine guidance, cf. Judges 4:14. The LXX. cod. B and Luc. brings this out by adding -for I know not the day whereon the angel of the Lord may prosper me," which looks like the rendering of a Hebr. sentence, but is o... [ Continue Reading ]
_notwithstanding_ Lest Barak's hopes should soar too high, the prophetess foretells that the crowning glory shall not be his but Jael's. It is doubtful whether any blame of Barak is implied: the words mean simply -thou wilt not gain the honours of the expedition." _And Deborah arose … to Kedesh_ Fr... [ Continue Reading ]
See notes on Judges 4:6. _and Deboṛah went up with him_ i.e. to mount Tabor, Judges 4:12; the clause seems to belong to the story of Sisera. _at his feet_means _following him_, cf. Judges 8:5; 1 Samuel 25:27; 1 Kings 20:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now Heber the Kenite_ The verse explains, with a view to Judges 4:17 ff., how the Kenites, who belonged properly to southern Palestine (see on Judges 1:16), came to be in this region: the family of Heber had _branched off_(cf. Genesis 10:5; Genesis 10:32) from the main clan, and pitched their tents... [ Continue Reading ]
_Harosheth of the Gentiles_ See on Judges 4:2; _of the Gentiles_(_goyim_) perhaps on account of the non-Jewish population in the district, cf. _Gělîl hag-goyim_, -the Circle" or -District of the Gentiles" in N. Palestine, Isaiah 9:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
_is not the Lord gone out before thee?_ i.e. to battle. Jehovah was believed to -come forth" from His place on Sinai to fight for Israel (Judges 5:4 f.), or to march against Israel's enemies with the ark as His symbol (Numbers 10:35), or to be Israel's leader in battle (2 Samuel 5:24; cf. Habakkuk 3... [ Continue Reading ]
_discomfited_ lit. -confused," -threw into a panic." The word, not a common one, occurs again in the prose counterpart to the Song of Moses (Exodus 14:24), and in Joshua 10:10 just before the poetic fragment Judges 4:12; cf. 1 Samuel 7:10. The words _with the edge of the sword_do not go well with _t... [ Continue Reading ]
The Canaanites fled in a westerly direction to their base, pursued by Barak, and not one escaped; cf. Exodus 14:28.... [ Continue Reading ]
Clause a taken with Judges 4:22 implies that Sisera, as he fled from the battle, found a place of refuge close by; but according to clause b taken with Judges 4:11 Jael's tent was in the north, near Kedesh-naphtali, 40 or 50 miles from the Kishon valley. The inconsistencies of the narrative can only... [ Continue Reading ]
_Turn in_ TURN ASIDE, cf. Judges 19:12; Genesis 19:2-3 etc. _rug_ Only hereere. The exact meaning is unknown; no help is afforded by the versions.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a bottle of milk_ THE MILK-SKIN, the goat-skin in which the Bedouin still keep water, milk etc.; cf. Joshua 9:4 (used for wine). From Judges 5:25 we gather that Jael poured the milk into a bowl. Her hospitality gave Sisera a feeling of security. Note the contrast with Judges 5:25-27; here Sisera as... [ Continue Reading ]
_a tent-pin_ a wooden peg, used for fastening the ropes, and driven in with THE MALLET, both of them instruments which Bedouin women are accustomed to use. _and it pierced through_ AND IT DESCENDED; the verb only again in Judges 1:14; Joshua 15:18, where it means _alight, descend from_. _for he was... [ Continue Reading ]
_And, behold, as Barak pursued_ hardly does justice to the original, -lo Barak, in pursuit of Sisera"; a remarkable coincidence! cf. Judges 11:34; Genesis 29:6. According to Judges 4:16 Barak with his tribesmen pursued the Canaanites to Harosheth; Sisera's hiding-place must have lain more or less on... [ Continue Reading ]