Judges 5:15-17

5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,

the men of Issachar ¹  supported ²  Barak;

into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. ³ 

Among the clans of Reuben there was intense ⁴  heart searching. ⁵ 

5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, ⁶ 

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes ⁷  for their flocks? ⁸ 

As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart.

5:17 Gilead stayed put ⁹  beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? ¹⁰ 

Asher remained ¹¹  on the seacoast,

he stayed ¹²  by his harbors. ¹³ 

[5:15]  ¹ tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:15]  ² tn Or “was true to.”

[5:15]  ³ tn Heb “at his feet.”

[5:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “great was.”

[5:15]  ⁵ tc The great majority of Hebrew mss have “resolves of heart,” but a few mss read “searchings of heart,” which is preferable in light of v. 16.

[5:16]  ⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”

[5:16]  ⁷ tn Or “whistling.”

[5:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”

[5:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lived.”

[5:17]  ¹² tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ¹³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”