Judges 5:11

Another most obscure verse.

Far from The prep. (a single letter in Hebr.) is suspicious; omitting it we may render The voice of the archers …!, or Hark! the archers…, resting after battle by the cool, shaded wells which are a favourite place of resort in the East. The word for archers, however, is uncertain; Budde conjectures Hark! how merry they are …!(the word as in Exodus 32:6); places of drawing wateras well as archers, only here.

There shall they rehearse i.e. where the people congregate: the verb occurs once again with a somewhat similar meaning in Judges 11:40 of celebratingthe daughter of Jephthah.

the righteous acts of the Lord His justicedisplayed in delivering His people; Mic 6:5; 1 Samuel 12:7, cf. Psalms 103:6.

of his rule See on Judges 5:7.

went down The word is used of the advance of the Israelite army (Judges 5:13), hence the gateswill be those of the enemy. But the whole clause anticipates the description of the campaign, which does not begin till Judges 5:12; it closely resembles the first half of Judges 5:13, and may safely be expunged as a doublet, to the great improvement of rhythm and thought.