1And again, after Aod died, the children of Israel went back to doing evil things against Jehovah. 2So Jehovah sold them into the hands of JaBin (the king of CanaAn) who ruled from Asor. The leader of his army was SiSara, and he lived in ArisOth-of-the-Gentiles. 3Then the children of Israel started calling to [Jehovah again], because [SiSara] had nine hundred iron chariots, which [he used to] oppress Israel for twenty years. 4DeborAh (the wife of LapidOth) was a Prophetess, and she was the Judge of Israel at the time. 5For she would sit under [what came to be known as] ‘The Palm Tree of DeborAh’ (which was located between Rama and BethEl in the hills of EphraIm), and the children of Israel would go to her for judgment. 6Then DeborAh sent for BaRak (the son of AbineEm) who was in Cades of NaphTali, and she asked him, ‘Hasn’t Jehovah the God of Israel given you any instructions? Take ten thousand men from among the sons of NaphTali and ZebuLon, and go to Mount Tabor. 7There I will send SiSara (JaBin’s general) against you with his army and chariots at the Kison wadi, and I will give them into your hands.’ 8And BaRak replied, ‘If you’ll go with me, I will go. But if you won’t go, I’m not going; because I’m not sure which day Jehovah will bless me [by sending] His messengers.’ 9And she said, ‘Then I’ll go with you, but understand this: You won’t be honored by this expedition, for Jehovah will give SiSara into the hands of a woman.’ So DeborAh left Cades and went with BaRak… 10for he had called [for help from] ZebuLon and NaphTali there at Cades, and ten thousand men showed up, and they all left with DeborAh. 11Now, Heber (the Kenite) had moved away from the sons of Jobab (Moses’ father-in-law) at Cana, and pitched his tent beside the Oak-of-the-Envious, which is near KaDesh. 12And when SiSara was told that BaRak (the son of AbineEm) had left for Mount Tabor, 13he called for all his iron chariots (all nine hundred of them) and for all the people [who lived between] ArisOth-of-the-Gentiles and the Kison wadi. 14Then DeborAh told BaRak, ‘Now [get ready], for this is the day when Jehovah will give SiSara into your hands… because Jehovah will go ahead of you!’ So, BaRak descended Mount Tabor with ten thousand men, 15and Jehovah created problems for SiSara, his chariots, and his army; and BaRak cut them down with swords. Then SiSara jumped from his chariot and ran. 16Well, BaRak pursued the chariots and SiSara’s army [all the way] to ArisOth-of-the-Gentiles and cut them all down, leaving no survivors. 17Meanwhile, SiSara had run toward the tent of JaEl, the wife of Heber the Kenite (because [Heber] was his friend, and there was peace between JaBin the king of Asor and Heber’s family). 18So JaEl went out to meet SiSara, and said to him, ‘Hide here my lord… come here to me and don’t be afraid.’ So he turned to her and entered her tent, and then she covered him with a mantle. 19And SiSara said to her, ‘I’m very thirsty… please give me a little water to drink.’ So he opened a jar of milk, gave it to him to drink, and covered him again. 20Then SiSara said to her, ‘Now stand by the entrance to the tent, and if anyone comes and asks if you’ve seen me, tell him no.’ 21However, JaEl (the wife of Heber) took a tent pin and a hammer, then crept up to him and drove the pin through his temple… driving it all the way into the ground. Well, he passed out, everything went dark, and he died. 22And when JaEl saw that BaRak was pursuing SiSara, she went out to meet him and said, ‘Come here and I’ll show you the man you’re looking for.’ Then he entered [her tent] and saw SiSara dead with the pin through his temple. 23So God drove JaBin (the king of CanaAn) away from before the children of Israel that day, 24and they kept attacking JaBin until they had destroyed him.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 DEBORAH AND BARAK DELIVER ISRAEL FROM JABIN AND SISERA. (Jdg. 4:1-17)
The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead--The removal of the zealous judge Ehud again left his infatuated countrymen without the restraint of religion.
2 Jabin king of Canaan--"Jabin," a royal title (see on
Josh 11:1). The second Jabin built a new capital on the ruins of the old (
Josh 11:10-
Josh 11:11). The northern Canaanites had recovered from the effect of their disastrous overthrow in the time of Joshua, and now triumphed in their turn over Israel. This was the severest oppression to which Israel had been subjected. But it fell heaviest on the tribes in the north, and it was not till after a grinding servitude of twenty years that they were awakened to view it as the punishment of their sins and to seek deliverance from God.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess--A woman of extraordinary knowledge, wisdom, and piety, instructed in divine knowledge by the Spirit and accustomed to interpret His will; who acquired an extensive influence, and was held in universal respect, insomuch that she became the animating spirit of the government and discharged all the special duties of a judge, except that of military leader.
the wife of Lapidoth--rendered by some, "a woman of splendors."
5 she dwelt under the palm tree--or, collectively, "palm-grove." It is common still in the East to administer justice in the open air, or under the canopy of an umbrageous tree.
6 she sent and called Barak--by virtue of her official authority as judge.
Kedesh-naphtali--situated on an eminence, little north of the Sea of Galilee, and so called to distinguish it from another Kedesh in Issachar.
Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded?--a Hebrew form of making an emphatic communication.
Go and draw toward mount Tabor--an isolated mountain of Galilee, northeast corner of the plain of Esdraelon. It was a convenient place of rendezvous, and the enlistment is not to be considered as limited to ten thousand, though a smaller force would have been inadequate.
8 Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go--His somewhat singular request to be accompanied by Deborah was not altogether the result of weakness. The Orientals always take what is dearest to the battlefield along with them; they think it makes them fight better. The policy of Barak, then, to have the presence of the prophetess is perfectly intelligible as it would no less stimulate the valor of the troops, than sanction, in the eyes of Israel, the uprising against an oppressor so powerful as Jabin.
9 the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman--This was a prediction which Barak could not understand at the time; but the strain of it conveyed a rebuke of his unmanly fears.
11 Now Heber the Kenite . . . pitched his tent--It is not uncommon, even in the present day, for pastoral tribes to feed their flocks on the extensive commons that lie in the heart of inhabited countries in the East (see on
Judg 1:16).
plain of Zaanaim--This is a mistranslation for "the oaks of the wanderers." The site of the encampment was under a grove of oaks, or terebinths, in the upland valley of Kedesh.
13 the river of Kishon--The plain on its bank was chosen as the battlefield by Sisera himself, who was unconsciously drawn thither for the ruin of his army.
14 Barak went down from mount Tabor--It is a striking proof of the full confidence Barak and his troops reposed in Deborah's assurance of victory, that they relinquished their advantageous position on the hill and rushed into the plain in face of the iron chariots they so much dreaded.
15 the Lord discomfited Sisera--Hebrew, "threw his army into confusion"; men, horses, and chariots being intermingled in wild confusion. The disorder was produced by a supernatural panic (see on
Judg 5:20).
so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet--His chariot being probably distinguished by its superior size and elegance, would betray the rank of its rider, and he saw therefore that his only chance of escape was on foot.
16 But Barak pursued . . . unto Harosheth--Broken and routed, the main body of Sisera's army fled northward; others were forced into the Kishon and drowned (see on
Judg 5:21).
17 Sisera fled . . . to the tent of Jael--According to the usages of nomadic people, the duty of receiving the stranger in the sheik's absence devolves on his wife, and the moment the stranger is admitted into his tent, his claim to be defended or concealed from his pursuers is established.
19 she . . . gave him drink, and covered him--Sisera reckoned on this as a pledge of his safety, especially in the tent of a friendly sheik. This pledge was the strongest that could be sought or obtained, after he had partaken of refreshments, and been introduced in the inner or women's apartment.
20 he said unto her, . . . when any man doth come and enquire of thee and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No--The privacy of the harem, even in a tent, cannot be intruded on without express permission.
21 Then Jael took a nail of the tent--most probably one of the pins with which the tent ropes are fastened to the ground. Escape was almost impossible for Sisera. But the taking of his life by the hand of Jael was murder. It was a direct violation of all the notions of honor and friendship that are usually held sacred among pastoral people, and for which it is impossible to conceive a woman in Jael's circumstances to have had any motive, except that of gaining favor with the victors. Though predicted by Deborah [
Judg 4:9], it was the result of divine foreknowledge only--not the divine appointment or sanction; and though it is praised in the song [
Judg 5:24-
Judg 5:27], the eulogy must be considered as pronounced not on the moral character of the woman and her deed, but on the public benefits which, in the overruling providence of God, would flow from it.