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Texts -- Judges 5:2-31 (NET)

Context
5:2 “When the leaders took the lead in Israel , When the people answered the call to war– Praise the Lord ! 5:3 Hear , O kings ! Pay attention , O rulers ! I will sing to the Lord ! I will sing to the Lord God of Israel ! 5:4 O Lord , when you departed from Seir , when you marched from Edom’s plains , the earth shook , the heavens poured down , the clouds poured down rain . 5:5 The mountains trembled before the Lord , the God of Sinai ; before the Lord God of Israel . 5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath , in the days of Jael caravans disappeared; travelers had to go on winding side roads . 5:7 Warriors were scarce , they were scarce in Israel , until you arose , Deborah , until you arose as a motherly protector in Israel . 5:8 God chose new leaders, then fighters appeared in the city gates ; but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found , among forty military units in Israel . 5:9 My heart went out to Israel’s leaders , to the people who answered the call to war. Praise the Lord ! 5:10 You who ride on light-colored female donkeys , who sit on saddle blankets , you who walk on the road , pay attention ! 5:11 Hear the sound of those who divide the sheep among the watering places ; there they tell of the Lord’s victorious deeds , the victorious deeds of his warriors in Israel . Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates – 5:12 Wake up , wake up , Deborah ! Wake up , wake up , sing a song ! Get up , Barak ! Capture your prisoners of war, son of Abinoam ! 5:13 Then the survivors came down to the mighty ones ; the Lord’s people came down to me as warriors . 5:14 They came from Ephraim , who uprooted Amalek , they follow after you, Benjamin , with your soldiers . From Makir leaders came down , from Zebulun came the ones who march carrying an officer’s staff . 5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah , the men of Issachar supported Barak ; into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command . Among the clans of Reuben there was intense heart searching . 5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds , listening to the shepherds playing their pipes for their flocks ? As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart . 5:17 Gilead stayed put beyond the Jordan River . As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards ? Asher remained on the seacoast , he stayed by his harbors . 5:18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives ; Naphtali charged on to the battlefields . 5:19 Kings came , they fought ; the kings of Canaan fought , at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo , but they took no silver as plunder . 5:20 From the sky the stars fought , from their paths in the heavens they fought against Sisera . 5:21 The Kishon River carried them off ; the river confronted them– the Kishon River . Step on the necks of the strong ! 5:22 The horses ’ hooves pounded the ground; the stallions galloped madly . 5:23 ‘Call judgment down on Meroz ,’ says the Lord’s angelic messenger ; ‘Be sure to call judgment down on those who live there, because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors .’ 5:24 The most rewarded of women should be Jael , the wife of Heber the Kenite ! She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents . 5:25 He asked for water , and she gave him milk ; in a bowl fit for a king , she served him curds . 5:26 Her left hand reached for the tent peg , her right hand for the workmen’s hammer . She “hammered ” Sisera , she shattered his skull , she smashed his head , she drove the tent peg through his temple . 5:27 Between her feet he collapsed , he fell limp and was lifeless ; between her feet he collapsed and fell limp , in the spot where he collapsed , there he fell limp – violently murdered ! 5:28 Through the window she looked ; Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice : ‘Why is his chariot so slow to return ? Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot-horses delayed ?’ 5:29 The wisest of her ladies answer ; indeed she even thinks to herself, 5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder – a girl or two for each man to rape! Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth , he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth , two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth , for the neck of the plunderer !’ 5:31 May all your enemies perish like this , O Lord ! But may those who love you shine like the rising sun at its brightest !” And the land had rest for forty years .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • WAR, MAN OF

    [isbe] WAR, MAN OF - ('ish milchamah): "Yahweh is a man of war: Yahweh is his name" (Ex 15:3). In early Israel the character of Yahweh as the war-God forms a prominent feature in the conception of God (Nu 10:35; 21:14; Josh 5:13; 1...

  • Villages

    [ebd] (Judg. 5:7, 11). The Hebrew word thus rendered (perazon) means habitations in the open country, unwalled villages (Deut. 3:5; 1 Sam. 6:18). Others, however, following the LXX. and the Vulgate versions, render the word "ruler...

  • Songs

    [ebd] of Moses (Ex. 15; Num. 21:17; Deut. 32; Rev. 15:3), Deborah (Judg. 5), Hannah (1 Sam. 2), David (2 Sam. 22, and Psalms), Mary (Luke 1:46-55), Zacharias (Luke 1:68-79), the angels (Luke 2:13), Simeon (Luke 2:29), the redeemed...

  • SUCCOTH

    [smith] (booths). An ancient town, first heard of in the account of the homeward journey of Jacob from Padan-aram. (Genesis 35:17) The name is derived from the fact of Jacob?s having there put up "booths" (succoth) for his cattle as...

  • Reuben, Tribe of

    [ebd] at the Exodus numbered 46,500 male adults, from twenty years old and upwards (Num. 1:20, 21), and at the close of the wilderness wanderings they numbered only 43,730 (26:7). This tribe united with that of Gad in asking permi...

  • Poetry

    [ebd] has been well defined as "the measured language of emotion." Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man's relation to God. "Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon, redemption, repentance are the a...
    [nave] POETRY Lam. 1-5. Didactic Moses' song, Deut. 32. The Book of Job, the Proverbs, Solomon's Song, the books of prophecy. See: Psalms, Didactic. Elegy On the death of Saul, 2 Sam. 1:17, 19-27. Of Abner, 2 Sam. 3:33, 34. ...

  • Jabin

    [ebd] discerner; the wise. (1.) A king of Hazor, at the time of the entrance of Israel into Canaan (Josh. 11:1-14), whose overthrow and that of the northern chief with whom he had entered into a confederacy against Joshua was the ...

  • GOD, 2

    [isbe] GOD, 2 - II. The Idea of God in the Old Testament. 1. Course of Its Development: Any attempt to write the whole history of the idea of God in the Old Testament would require a preliminary study of the literary and historical...

  • Earthquake

    [ebd] mentioned among the extraordinary phenomena of Palestine (Ps. 18:7; comp. Hab. 3:6; Nah. 1:5; Isa. 5:25). The first earthquake in Palestine of which we have any record happened in the reign of Ahab (1 Kings 19:11, 12). Anoth...

  • Dwellings

    [ebd] The materials used in buildings were commonly bricks, sometimes also stones (Lev. 14:40, 42), which were held together by cement (Jer. 43:9) or bitumen (Gen. 11:3). The exterior was usually whitewashed (Lev. 14:41; Ezek. 13:...

  • Doors

    [ebd] moved on pivots of wood fastened in sockets above and below (Prov. 26:14). They were fastened by a lock (Judg. 3:23, 25; Cant. 5:5) or by a bar (Judg. 16:3; Job 38:10). In the interior of Oriental houses, curtains were frequ...

  • Deborah

    [ebd] a bee. (1.) Rebekah's nurse. She accompanied her mistress when she left her father's house in Padan-aram to become the wife of Isaac (Gen. 24:59). Many years afterwards she died at Bethel, and was buried under the "oak of we...
    [smith] (a bee). (B.C. 1857.) The nurse of Rebekah. (Genesis 35:8) Deborah accompanied Rebekah from the house of Bethuel, (Genesis 24:59) and is only mentioned by name on the occasion of her burial under the oak tree of Bethel, whic...
    [nave] DEBORAH 1. Nurse to Rebecca, Gen. 24:59. Buried beneath an oak under Beth-el, Gen. 35:8. 2. The prophetess, a judge of Israel, Judg. 4:4, 5; 5:7. Inspires Barak to defeat Sisera, Judg. 4:6-16. Triumphant song of, Judg. 5...

  • DRESS

    [ebd] (1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah's dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The Hebrews were early acquainted ...
    [smith] This subject includes the following particulars: Materials; Color and decoration; Name, form, and mode of wearing the various articles; Special usages relating thereto. Materials .--After the first "apron" of fig leaves, (Ge...

  • Casement

    [ebd] a barrier of open-work placed before windows (Prov. 7:6). In Judg. 5:28 the Hebrew word is rendered "lattice," in the LXX. "network," an opening through which cool air is admitted.

  • Camon

    [ebd] full of stalks, a place (Judg. 10:5) where Jair was buried. It has usually been supposed to have been a city of Gilead, on the east of Jordan. It is probably, however, the modern Tell-el-Kaimun, on the southern slopes of Car...

  • By-ways

    [ebd] only in Judg. 5:6 and Ps. 125:5; literally "winding or twisted roads." The margin has "crooked ways."

  • Barak

    [ebd] lightning, the son of Abinoam (Judg. 4:6). At the summons of Deborah he made war against Jabin. She accompanied him into the battle, and gave the signal for the little army to make the attack; in which the host of Jabin was ...
    [isbe] BARAK - ba'-rak (baraq, "lightning flash"): The name occurs in Sabeanbarqac, in Palmyrene baraq, and in Punic Barcas, as surname of Hamilcar; and as Divine name in Assyrian Ramman-Birqu and Gibil-Birqu (Del. Assyrian, HWB, 1...
    [nave] BARAK, a judge in Israel, Judg. 4; 5; Heb. 11:32.

  • Armies

    [nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...

  • Ammonite

    [ebd] the usual name of the descendants of Ammon, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:38). From the very beginning (Deut. 2:16-20) of their history till they are lost sight of (Judg. 5:2), this tribe is closely associated with the Moabites (J...

  • Amasiah

    [ebd] burden of (i.e., "sustained by") Jehovah, the "son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the Lord," a captain over thousands under Jehoshaphat (2 Chr. 17:16; comp. Judg. 5:9).

Hymns

(Note: In "active" or "on" condition, the hymns music will be played automatically when mouse hover on a hymns title)
  • Dalam Rumah Yang Gembira [KJ.447]
  • [Jdg 5:3] Singing I Go
  • [Jdg 5:31] I’ll Be A Sunbeam
  • [Jdg 5:31] Jesus, Let All Thy Lovers Shine
  • [Jdg 5:31] We’ll Outshine The Sun

Questions

  • It seems to me that the key to the answer to your question is to understand the unique role of the Book of Judges. The statement that is repeated in this book is, "there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in ...
  • The great songs of the Old Testament, besides the Psalms and certain metrical passages in Job, are: Lantech's Sword Song, Gen. 4:23,24; Noah's Song, Gen. 9:25-27; Moses' and Miriam's Song, Ex. 15:1-19,21; War Songs, etc., Num...
  • "What symbols are used for both Christ and his people?" is a frequent question. There are six symbols used for both Christ and his people.1. A BRANCH. For Christ, in Isa. 11:1-4, "A branch out of his roots shall bear fruit," ...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Jacob blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to...
  • "The song is composed of three gradually increasing strophes, each of which commences with the praise of Jehovah, and ends with a description of the overthrow of the Egyptian host (vv. 2-5, 6-10, 11-18). The theme announced i...
  • "As the laws increase and the constraints grow, the people seem less willing or less capable of following them. At this point in the narrative we see that the whole order of the priesthood is thrown open to direct confrontati...
  • Another instance of incomplete obedience followed the great victory God gave His people and the military commanders' sacrificial, voluntary worship of Yahweh.32:1-19 Maybe the leaders of Reuben and Gad concluded that their br...
  • Joshua reveals that victory, success, and progress result when God's people trust and obey Him consistently. Judges shows that defeat, failure, and retrogression follow when they fail to trust and obey consistently. In this r...
  • I. The reason for Israel's apostasy 1:1-3:6A. Hostilities between the Israelites and the Canaanites after Joshua's death 1:1-2:51. Initial successes and failures ch. 12. The announcement of God's discipline 2:1-5B. Israel's c...
  • The first major section in the book (1:1-3:6) explains very clearly why the period of the judges was a dark chapter in Israel's history. God revealed the reasons for Israel's apostasy and consequent national problems in terms...
  • Israel's JudgesJudgeScriptureIsrael's OppressorsLength in YearsNation(s)King(s)OppressionJudgeshipPeaceOthniel3:7-11MesopotamiaCushan-rishathaim8(ca. 1358-1350 B.C.)40(ca. 1350-1310 B.C.)Ehud3:12-30Moab (with Ammon & Amal...
  • Several factors suggest that Shamgar's victory took place sometime during the 98 years described in the previous section (vv. 12-30). First, 4:1 refers to Ehud, not Shamgar. Second, there is no reference to Israel doing evil ...
  • Chapters 4 and 5 are complementary versions of the victory God gave Israel over the Canaanites, first in prose and then in poetry (cf. Exod. 14-15).91...
  • 4:1-3 As long as Ehud lived he kept Israel faithful to God (v. 1). However after he died, God's people again turned from the Lord. In discipline God allowed the Canaanites in the North to gain strength and dominate the Israel...
  • One writer called this song "the finest masterpiece of Hebrew poetry"that "deserves a place among the best songs of victory ever written."116It is the equivalent of a victory celebration when the troops come home (cf. Exod. 1...
  • The writer credited Deborah with composing this song (cf. v. 7) even though he wrote that both Deborah and Barak sang it (v. 1).118"It is important to notice that Deborah sang this song of praise on the same day God gave His ...
  • Deborah called all people of consequence to pay attention to the record of God's greatness that follows. "Kings"may refer to pagan kings and "rulers"to Israel's leaders. She compared God's revelation at Sinai, when He gave th...
  • Verse 9 is very similar to verse 2. In verses 10 and 11 Deborah urged all the Israelites to sing praises to God for His recent victory. Those who rode on white donkeys (v. 10) were the upper classes, the rulers. Those who sat...
  • God had to rouse Deborah to oppose the Canaanites; she did not initiate this action. God also aroused her to sing His praise after the victory. After God stimulated Deborah and Barak into action, several Israelite survivors o...
  • The great victory was due to God's supernatural intervention for Israel. He increased the effectiveness of the Israelite soldiers. The kings in verse 19 are probably all Canaanite kings, as the NIV translation suggests. Taana...
  • Meroz (v. 23) may refer to Merom, an Israelite village in Naphtali west of Hazor, the Canaanite stronghold. Evidently out of fear of reprisals the Israelites who lived there did not join their brethren in fighting their foe. ...
  • Deborah put herself in the shoes of Sisera's mother (cf. v. 7) and imagined what she must have been thinking as she anticipated his victorious return. However, deep in her heart the mother of the commander wondered if he woul...
  • The song concludes with a reminder that those who oppose Yahweh will perish. Those who love Him will prosper, as Israel did in this battle through His intervention for her.130Following this victory and the battles that follow...
  • The writer of Judges structured this book so the story of Gideon would be its focal center."Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between th...
  • ". . . the heroic women of the song [of Deborah, ch. 5] give way to an unheroic man of Israel' (7:14) who not only does all he can to evade the call of Yahweh but in the end abandons God. . . . In the person of Gideon the nar...
  • Gideon had not invited the men of Ephraim to join him when he recruited the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulon, and Naphtali (6:35). I assume he did this at the Lord's command since he did not need more soldiers. The men of E...
  • The supernatural victory God had given His people elevated Gideon into national recognition. Some of the men of Israel invited Gideon to be their king and to begin a dynasty of rulers (v. 22). Perhaps they were from the north...
  • The following two extended incidents (ch. 17-21) differ from the records of the judges just completed (chs. 3-16). They are not accounts of the activities of any of Israel's judges. They are the record of events that took pla...
  • The Danites' defeat of the inhabitants of Laish appears cruel and unjustified (cf. 9:45-49). The town that seemed so desirable to the spies was really vulnerable and isolated. Its advantages proved to be weaknesses. Since God...
  • The phrase "from Dan to Beersheba"(v. 1) became a common expression during the united monarchy indicating the whole of Israel. Gilead refers to the part of Israel east of the Jordan River. The Mizpah referred to here (v. 1) w...
  • The Book of Joshua recorded Israel's victory over her enemies through trust in and obedience to God. The Book of Judges shows the defeat of the nation by its enemies from without and within due to refusal to trust and obey Go...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. Land of the Bible. Phildelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The...
  • The writer explained the military disaster that resulted from Saul's disobedience in verses 16-18. Saul's army dwindled and the enemy continued to move around his capital city freely.Saul evidently led his troops from Gilgal ...
  • "These things"(v. 1) refers to the events of the first return that the writer described in chapters 1-6.Ezra's genealogy (vv. 1-5) shows that he was a man of importance whom his fellow Jews would have respected. He was a desc...
  • Verse 16 pictures the wicked eating his delicacies but finding that they have turned to poison in his stomach and are killing him (v. 14). Ancient Near Easterners considered honey and curds (the part of milk from which cheese...
  • 68:7-10 The Canaanites also credited Baal with lightning, thunder, rain, and earthquakes. However Yahweh sent these to confirm His presence among His people in their wilderness wanderings and to provide for them. In the Penta...
  • 68:19-23 David moved from a historical review of God's giving Israel victory to confidence that He would continue to do so daily. Any who resist Yahweh can count on His powerful opposition and their own inevitable defeat. Add...
  • 110:3 When Messiah comes to rule over His enemies His people will willingly join in His reign (cf. Judg. 5:2). They will be holy in contrast to the unholy whom Messiah will subdue. They will be as youthful warriors, namely st...
  • 144:3-4 The exalted description of God in verses 1 and 2 led David to reflect in amazement that God would take interest in mere mortals. Man's existence is very brief compared to God who abides forever.144:5-8 The psalmist de...
  • There is general correspondence between this sixth "woe"and the third one (29:15-24), but this one deals more with application and the third one more with principles. It is the most eschatological of the "woes,"though it cont...
  • 64:1 The prophet called on God to make another appearance among His people, as He had done at Mt. Sinai and at other times (cf. Exod. 19:18-20; Judg. 5; Ps. 18; Mic. 1:3-4; Hab. 3). The Israelites' condition was so desperate ...
  • 35:1 This oracle came to Jeremiah during King Jehoiakim's reign (609-598 B.C.) after the Babylonians had begun to invade Judah (v. 11). Second Kings 24:1-2 reads, "In his [Jehoiakim's] days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came...
  • This warning confronted the tribe of Ephraim, or perhaps all Israel, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.5:8 Blowing trumpets in cities announced the coming of an invader. Throughout Israel's towns the sentries would blow alarm...
  • 2:10 The earth trembles as this army advances. The heavens also tremble. The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars fade from view. Cosmic disturbances like these are common in biblical descriptions of Yahweh waging war (c...
  • 7:14 Amos replied that he was not a prophet by his own choosing; he did not decide to pursue prophesying as a career. Neither had he become a prophet because his father had been one. In Amos' culture it was common and expecte...
  • This opening pericope sets the tone and forms the backdrop for the rest of the book. All people were to hear God's indictment against His people (v. 2). Punishment was coming (vv. 3-4) that would be both reasonable (v. 5) and...
  • "This text is one of the most messianically significant passages of all the Bible, in both the Jewish and Christian traditions. Judaism sees in it a basis for a royal messianic expectation, whereas the NT and Christianity see...
  • 12:1 "The burden . . . concerning Israel"introduces chapters 12-14 as "The burden . . . against the land of Hadrach"(9:1) did chapters 9-11. By describing Yahweh as the creator of the heavens, earth, and man, Zechariah remind...
  • 21:1-2 Jesus and his disciples travelled the 17 miles from Jericho to Bethany along the Roman road. They climbed about 3,000 feet in elevation between those towns. Bethphage ("house of figs") lay slightly farther west than Be...
  • A. Women served in the doorway of the Tabernacle (Exod. 38:8; 1 Sam. 2:22).The same word (saba) is used of their work as that of the Levites. These women were probably widows who devoted themselves to the service of God.B. Mi...
  • The writer shifted again from exposition to exhortation. The hook word "speak"(Gr. lalountiand lalounta) in verses 24 and 25 ties the two sections together.12:25 The One speaking probably refers to God. "Him who warned them o...
  • John turned to see the person who had given him his commission. These verses describe what he saw.1:12 When John turned to see the person who spoke to him he saw a majestic figure clothed in a long robe standing among seven l...
  • The scene continues to be on earth.7:1 The phrase "after this"(Gr. meta touto) indicates that what follows is a new vision (cf. 4:1). The general chronological progression of the visions suggests that the events John saw now ...
  • The final three bowl judgments all have political consequences.16:12 The problem that this judgment poses for earth-dwellers is not a result of the judgment itself but its consequences, namely, war. It does not inflict a plag...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Judges 5:16
  • Judges 5:20, Job 5:23.These two poetical fragments present the same truth on opposite sides. The first of them comes from Deborah's triumphant chant. The singer identifies God with the cause of Israel, and declares that heave...
  • Judges 5:31These are the closing words of Deborah, the great warrior-prophetess of Israel. They are in singular contrast with the tone of fierce enthusiasm for battle which throbs through the rest of the chant, and with its s...
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