Judges 5:2

5:2 “When the leaders took the lead ¹  in Israel,

When the people answered the call to war –

Praise the Lord!

Judges 5:11

5:11 Hear ²  the sound of those who divide the sheep ³  among the watering places;

there they tell of ⁴  the Lord’s victorious deeds,

the victorious deeds of his warriors ⁵  in Israel.

Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –

[5:2]  ¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹת (bifroa’ pÿra’ot) is uncertain. Numerous proposals are offered by commentators. (For a survey of opinions, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 223-27.) The next line refers to the people who responded to Barak’s summons to war, so a reference to the leaders who issued the summons would provide a natural poetic parallel. In v. 9 the leaders (חוֹקְקֵי, khoqÿqey) of the people and these same volunteers stand in poetic parallelism, so it is reasonable to assume that the difficult Hebrew term פְּרַעוֹת (pÿra’ot, v. 2a) is synonymous with חוֹקְקֵי (khoqÿqey) of v. 9 (see Lindars, 227).

[5:11]  ² tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:11]  ³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (HALOT 344 s.v. חצץ pi). For other options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 246-47.

[5:11]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “repeat.”

[5:11]  ⁵ tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.