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Judges 4

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Israel Oppressed by Jabin and Sisera 1–3

1
And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, when Ehud was dead. ​
2
And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. ​
3
And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. ​

Deborah the Judge Commissions Barak 4–11

4
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time. ​
5
And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill-country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. ​
6
And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not Jehovah, the God of Israel, commanded, saying, Go and draw unto mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? ​
7
And I will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thy hand.
8
And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go; but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go. ​
9
And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding, the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for Jehovah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. ​
10
And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11
Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh. ​

God Delivers Israel at the Kishon 12–16

12
And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.
13
And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles, unto the river Kishon.
14
And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath delivered Sisera into thy hand; is not Jehovah gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. ​
15
And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot, and fled away on his feet. ​
16
But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.

Jael Kills Sisera 17–24

17
Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. ​
18
And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And he turned in unto her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
19
And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. ​
20
And he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21
Then Jael Heber’s wife took a tent-pin, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died. ​
22
And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And he came unto her; and, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent-pin was in his temples.
23
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. ​
24
And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Judges 4

Verse 1

again did evil — 'Again' is yasaph, to add: Israel added to its evil, as in 3:12. The relapse comes 'when Ehud was dead', the pattern given in 2:19, 'when the judge was dead'. Under Ehud 'the land had rest fourscore years' (3:30).

Verse 2

sold them — Makar, the verb of 2:14, 'he sold them into the hands of their enemies'. Jabin reigns in Hazor, the city Joshua had burned (Josh 11:1, 10–11), and his captain Sisera lives at Harosheth of the Gentiles. Samuel later names Sisera in the same account of the LORD's selling (1 Sam 12:9).

Verse 3

nine hundred chariots of iron — Chariots of iron had kept Judah from the valley (1:19), and Joshua had told the house of Joseph that they should drive out the Canaanites 'though they have iron chariots' (Josh 17:18). Israel 'cried unto the LORD', as at 3:9, where the LORD answered by raising up a deliverer.

Verse 4

a prophetess — Nebiah, the feminine of nabi, a prophet. Scripture gives the title to Miriam (Ex 15:20), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) and Anna (Luke 2:36). Deborah both speaks the LORD's word (vv.6–7, 9) and judges: 'she judged Israel at that time'.

Verse 5

for judgment — Mishpat, a legal decision. The people 'came up' to her, as the law told them to go up with a matter 'too hard for thee in judgment' (Deut 17:8). She sat under a palm tree in mount Ephraim, between Ramah and Bethel.

Verse 6

Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded — Deborah delivers the LORD's command to Barak, in the form of Josh 1:9, 'Have not I commanded thee?' 'Draw' is mashak, to pull or lead on; in v.7 the LORD says 'I will draw unto thee… Sisera'. Heb 11:32 names Barak among the men of faith.

Verse 8

If thou wilt go with me — Barak will go if Deborah, who speaks for the LORD, goes with him. Hebrews names him among those 'who through faith subdued kingdoms' (Heb 11:32–33). Deborah agrees in v.9 and adds what the journey will bring.

Verse 9

into the hand of a woman — 'Sell' is makar, the verb of v.2, where the LORD sold Israel into Jabin's hand; now Sisera is sold. 'Honour' is tiphereth, glory. The woman proves to be Jael, praised in 5:24, 'Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be'.

Verse 11

Heber the Kenite — The Kenites descend from Hobab, 'the father in law of Moses' (Num 10:29 calls him Moses' father in law), and a company of them had gone up with Judah (1:16). Heber had 'severed himself' (parad) from them and pitched near Kedesh, in the territory of Naphtali (Josh 19:33, 37).

Verse 14

is not the LORD gone out before thee? — The same assurance was given at the Jordan, 'the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee' (Deut 9:3), and to David, 'then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines' (2 Sam 5:24). 'Up' (qum) is the single word of command.

Verse 15

the LORD discomfited Sisera — Hamam, the verb of Josh 10:10, 'the LORD discomfited them before Israel', and the verb also of Ex 14:24, where the LORD 'troubled the host of the Egyptians'. Judg 5:20–21 tells how: 'The river of Kishon swept them away'. Sisera left his chariot and fled 'on his feet'.

Verse 17

fled away on his feet — Sisera had gathered 'nine hundred chariots of iron' (v.13) and now flees without one. The reason he goes to Jael's tent is given: 'there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite'.

Verse 19

a bottle of milk — The 'bottle' is no'd, a skin bag for liquids. He asked for water, 'and she gave him milk' (5:25). She 'covered him' (kasah), and in v.20 he tells her to answer 'No' to anyone who asks whether a man is there.

Verse 21

took a nail of the tent — The 'nail' (yathed) is a tent peg; Jael takes it and a hammer and drives it through his temples. Deborah had said the LORD would sell Sisera 'into the hand of a woman' (v.9), and the song of ch.5 recounts the act (5:26). 'Fast asleep' is radam, a deep sleep.

Verse 23

God subdued — Kana, to bring low, the verb used when Moab was 'subdued that day under the hand of Israel' (3:30) and Midian 'subdued before the children of Israel' (8:28). The same verb occurs in Neh 9:24, 'thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land'. The victory is credited to God.