Discovery BoxJudges 5:12-18
Context5:12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Get up, Barak!
Capture your prisoners of war, 1 son of Abinoam!
5:13 Then the survivors 2 came down 3 to the mighty ones; 4
the Lord’s people came down to me 5 as 6 warriors.
5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, 7
they follow 8 after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.
From Makir leaders came down,
from Zebulun came 9 the ones who march carrying 10 an officer’s staff.
5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,
the men of Issachar 11 supported 12 Barak;
into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. 13
Among the clans of Reuben there was intense 14 heart searching. 15
5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, 16
listening to the shepherds playing their pipes 17 for their flocks? 18
As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart.
5:17 Gilead stayed put 19 beyond the Jordan River.
As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? 20
Asher remained 21 on the seacoast,
he stayed 22 by his harbors. 23
5:18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; 24
Naphtali charged on to the battlefields. 25
[5:12] 1 tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative here.)
[5:13] 2 tn This probably refers to those who responded to the call for war. They were “survivors” of the Canaanite oppression (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 250).
[5:13] 3 tn The translation assumes a repointing of the verb as a perfect or imperfect/preterite form of יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”). The form as pointed in the MT appears to be from רָדָה (radah, “to rule”). See GKC 188 §69.g. The same form, translated “came down,” occurs in the next line as well.
[5:13] 4 sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.
[5:13] 5 sn The speaker may be Deborah here.
[5:13] 6 tn The translation assumes the preposition ב (bet) prefixed to “warriors” has the force of “in the capacity of.” For this use of the preposition, see GKC 379 §119.i.
[5:14] 7 tn Heb “From Ephraim their root in Amalek” (the words “they came” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons). Because of the difficulty of the MT, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For various proposals see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 252-53. The present translation repoints שָׁרְשָׁם (shorsham, traditionally translated “their root”) as a Piel verb form with enclitic mem (ם). The preposition ב (bet) on עֲמָלֵק (’amaleq) introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).
[5:14] 8 tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[5:14] 9 tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[5:14] 10 tn Or possibly “who carry.”
[5:15] 11 tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:15] 12 tn Or “was true to.”
[5:15] 13 tn Heb “at his feet.”
[5:15] 15 tc The great majority of Hebrew
[5:16] 16 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”
[5:16] 18 tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”
[5:17] 19 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
[5:17] 20 tn Heb “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb גּוּר (gur) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 262.
[5:17] 22 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
[5:17] 23 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”
[5:18] 24 tn Heb “Zebulun was a people which despised its life even unto death.”
[5:18] 25 tn Heb “Naphtali was on the heights of the field.”
