Discovery BoxJudges 5:2-21
Context5:2 “When the leaders took the lead 1 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! 2
I will sing 3 to the Lord God of Israel!
5:4 O Lord, when you departed 4 from Seir,
when you marched from Edom’s plains,
the earth shook, the heavens poured down,
the clouds poured down rain. 5
5:5 The mountains trembled 6 before the Lord, the God of Sinai; 7
before the Lord God of Israel.
5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael caravans 8 disappeared; 9
travelers 10 had to go on winding side roads.
5:7 Warriors 11 were scarce, 12
they were scarce in Israel,
until you 13 arose, Deborah,
until you arose as a motherly protector 14 in Israel.
then fighters appeared in the city gates; 16
but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, 17
among forty military units 18 in Israel.
5:9 My heart went out 19 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, 20
you who walk on the road, pay attention!
5:11 Hear 21 the sound of those who divide the sheep 22 among the watering places;
there they tell of 23 the Lord’s victorious deeds,
the victorious deeds of his warriors 24 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, 25 son of Abinoam!
5:13 Then the survivors 26 came down 27 to the mighty ones; 28
the Lord’s people came down to me 29 as 30 warriors.
5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, 31
they follow 32 after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.
From Makir leaders came down,
from Zebulun came 33 the ones who march carrying 34 an officer’s staff.
5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,
the men of Issachar 35 supported 36 Barak;
into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. 37
Among the clans of Reuben there was intense 38 heart searching. 39
5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, 40
listening to the shepherds playing their pipes 41 for their flocks? 42
As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart.
5:17 Gilead stayed put 43 beyond the Jordan River.
As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? 44
Asher remained 45 on the seacoast,
he stayed 46 by his harbors. 47
5:18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; 48
Naphtali charged on to the battlefields. 49
5:19 Kings came, they fought;
the kings of Canaan fought,
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, 50
but 51 they took no silver as plunder.
5:20 From the sky 52 the stars 53 fought,
from their paths in the heavens 54 they fought against Sisera.
5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;
the river confronted them 55 – the Kishon River.
Step on the necks of the strong! 56
[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).
[5:3] 2 tn Heb “I, to the
[5:5] 6 tn Or “quaked.” The translation assumes the form נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) from the root זָלַל (zalal, “to quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). The LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum also understood the word this way. (See Isa 63:19 and 64:2 for other occurrences of this form.) Some understand here the verb נָזַל (nazul, “to flow [with torrents of rain water]”).
[5:5] 7 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the
[5:6] 8 tc The translation assumes the form אֳרְחוֹת (’orÿkhot, “caravans”) rather than אֳרָחוֹת (’orakhot, “roadways”) because it makes a tighter parallel with “travelers” in the next line.
[5:6] 10 tn Heb “Ones walking on paths.”
[5:7] 11 tn The meaning of the Hebrew noun פְרָזוֹן (fÿrazon) is uncertain. Some understand the meaning as “leaders” or “those living in rural areas.” The singular noun appears to be collective (note the accompanying plural verb). For various options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 237-38.
[5:7] 13 tn The translation assumes that the verb is an archaic second feminine singular form. Though Deborah is named as one of the composers of the song (v. 1), she is also addressed within it (v. 12). Many take the verb as first person singular, “I arose” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV).
[5:7] 14 tn Heb “mother.” The translation assumes that the image portrays Deborah as a protector of the people. It is possible that the metaphor points to her prophetic role. Just as a male prophet could be called “father,” so Deborah, a prophetess, is called “mother” (B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239).
[5:8] 15 tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.
[5:8] 16 tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)
[5:8] 17 tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).
[5:8] 18 tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (’elef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).
[5:9] 19 tn The words “went out” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[5:10] 20 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִדִּין (middin, “saddle blankets”) in this context is uncertain.
[5:11] 21 tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[5:11] 22 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] 23 tn Or perhaps “repeat.”
[5:11] 24 tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.
[5:12] 25 tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative here.)
[5:13] 26 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] 27 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] 28 sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.
[5:13] 29 sn The speaker may be Deborah here.
[5:13] 30 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] 31 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] 32 tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[5:14] 33 tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[5:14] 34 tn Or possibly “who carry.”
[5:15] 35 tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:15] 36 tn Or “was true to.”
[5:15] 37 tn Heb “at his feet.”
[5:15] 39 tc The great majority of Hebrew
[5:16] 40 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”
[5:16] 42 tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”
[5:17] 43 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
[5:17] 44 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] 46 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
[5:17] 47 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”
[5:18] 48 tn Heb “Zebulun was a people which despised its life even unto death.”
[5:18] 49 tn Heb “Naphtali was on the heights of the field.”
[5:19] 50 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[5:19] 51 tn The contrastive conjunction “but” is interpretive.
[5:20] 52 tn Or “from heaven.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[5:20] 53 tn The MT takes “the stars” with what follows rather than with the first colon of v. 20. But for metrical reasons it seems better to move the atnach and read the colon as indicated in the translation.
[5:20] 54 tn The words “in the heavens” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[5:21] 55 tn Possibly “the ancient river,” but it seems preferable in light of the parallel line (which has a verb) to emend the word (attested only here) to a verb (קָדַם, qadam) with pronominal object suffix.
[5:21] 56 tn This line is traditionally taken as the poet-warrior’s self-exhortation, “March on, my soul, in strength!” The present translation (a) takes the verb (a second feminine singular form) as addressed to Deborah (cf. v. 12), (b) understands נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in its well-attested sense of “throat; neck” (cf. Jonah 2:6), (c) takes the final yod (י) on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy) as an archaic construct indicator (rather than a suffix), and (d) interprets עֹז (’oz, “strength”) as an attributive genitive (literally, “necks of strength,” i.e., “strong necks”). For fuller discussion and various proposals, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 270-71.
