1And Deborah will sing, and Barak, son of Abinoam, in that day, saying, 2In the leading on of the leaders in Israel, In the willingness of the people, praise ye Jehovah. 3Hear, ye kings; give ear ye princes; I, to Jehovah, will I sing; I will play to Jehovah, God of Israel. 4Jehovah, in thy going forth from Seir, In thy ascending from the field of Edom, The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, Also the clouds dropped water. 5The mountains flowed from before Jehovah, This Sinai from before Jehovah, the God of Israel 6In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, In the days of Jael, they left the ways; They went the by-ways; they will go the winding-ways. 7The rulers ceased in Israel: they ceased Till I, Deborah, arose: I arose a mother in Israel. 8He will choose new gods; Then war in the gates: If a shield was seen, and a lance, Among forty thousand in Israel 9My heart to the leaders of Israel, Those giving voluntarily among the people: Praise ye Jehovah. 10Ye riding upon white asses, Sitting upon jurisdiction, And going upon the way, speak ye. 11From the voice of arrows between the watering-troughs, There will they give the justices of Jehovah, The justices of his rule in Israel: Then will the people of Jehovah go down to the gates. 12Awake, awake! Deborah; Awake, awake! speak a song: Arise, Barak, and lead captive, thy captivity, son of Abinoam. 13Then the one left shall go down to the chiefs of the people: Jehovah will come down to me among the mighty. 14The fate of Ephraim uprooted them in Amalek; After thee, Benjamin, among thy tribes; From Machir the lawgivers came down, And from Zebulon they drawing with the rod of the scribe. 15And the chiefs in Issachar with Deborah; And Issachar, so Barak: In the valley sent he, upon his feet. In the divisions of Reuben, Great decrees of heart 16Wherefore didst thou dwell in the midst of the folds, To hear the pipings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben, great searching's of heart 17In Gilead beyond Jordan he dwelt; And Dan, wherefore will he sojourn in ships? Asher will dwell by the shore of the seas, And upon his harbors will he dwell. 18Zebulon a people reproached his soul to death, And Naphtali upon the heights of the field. 19Kings came: they fought: Then fought the kings of Canaan, Tanach, upon the water of Megiddo: Plunder of silver took they not 20From the heavens they fought; The stars from their raised ways fought with Sisera. 21The torrent Kishon snatched them away The torrent of ancient days, the torrent of Kishon. Thou wilt tread down strength, O my soul. 22Then were the horse heels smitten From the courses, the courses of his strong ones. 23Curse ye Meroz, said the messenger of Jehovah: Cursing, curse ye her inhabitants; For they came not to the help of Jehovah To the help of Jehovah against the mighty ones. 24Blessed shall be Jael above women, The wife of Heber the Kenite, Above women in the tent shall she be blessed. 25He asked water, she gave milk; In a prince's dish brought she curdled milk 26Her hand to the peg will she stretch forth, And her right hand to the hammer of labor, And she struck Sisera; she smote through his head, And she crushed and pierced through his temples. 27Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: Between her feet he bowed, he fell: Where he bowed, there he fell, destroyed. 28Through the window she looked forth and cried out, The mother of Sisera, through the lattice Why did his chariot delay to come? Why lingered the paces of his chariots? 29Her wise chiefs will answer, Surely, will she turn back words to herself, 30Will they not find? They will divide the spoil; He compassionated compassions to head of man; The spoil of dyed garments to Sisera, A spoil of dyed garments of variegation, Dyed of double variegation for the necks of the spoil. 31So shall all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah: And those loving him, as the going forth of the sun in his strength. And the land will rest forty years.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 DEBORAH AND BARAK'S SONG OF THANKSGIVING. (Jdg. 5:1-31)
Then sang Deborah and Barak . . . on that day--This noble triumphal ode was evidently the composition of Deborah herself.
2 The meaning is obscurely seen in our version; it has been better rendered thus, "Praise ye Jehovah; for the free are freed in Israel--the people have willingly offered themselves" [ROBINSON].
4 Allusion is here made, in general terms, to God's interposition on behalf of His people.
Seir . . . the field of Edom--represent the mountain range and plain extending along the south from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf.
thou wentest out--indicates the storm to have proceeded from the south or southeast.
6 The song proceeds in these verses to describe the sad condition of the country, the oppression of the people, and the origin of all the national distress in the people's apostasy from God. Idolatry was the cause of foreign invasion and internal inability to resist it.
9 expresses gratitude to the respective leaders of the tribes which participated in the contest; but, above all, to God, who inspired both the patriotic disposition and the strength.
10 Speak--that is, join in this song of praise.
white asses--Those which are purely white are highly prized, and being costly, are possessed only by the wealthy and great.
Ye that sit in judgment--has been rendered, "ye that repose on tapestries."
11 The wells which are at a little distance from towns in the East, are, in unsettled times, places of danger. But in peace they are scenes of pleasant and joyous resort. The poetess anticipates that this song may be sung, and the righteous acts of the Lord rehearsed at these now tranquil "places of drawing water." Deborah now rouses herself to describe, in terms suitable to the occasion, the preparation and the contest, and calls in a flight of poetic enthusiasm on Barak to parade his prisoners in triumphal procession. Then follows a eulogistic enumeration of the tribes which raised the commanded levy, or volunteered their services--the soldiers of Ephraim who dwelt near the mount of the Amalekites, the small quota of Benjamin; "the governors," valiant leaders "out of Machir," the western Manasseh; out of Zebulun.
15 Then comes a reproachful notice of the tribes which did not obey the summons to take the field against the common enemy of Israel. By the
divisions--that is, the watercourses which descend from the eastern hills unto the Jordan and Dead Sea.
For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart--They felt the patriotic impulse and determined, at first, to join the ranks of their western brethren, but resiled from the purpose, preferring their peaceful shepherd songs to the trumpet sound of war.
17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan--that is, Both Gad and the eastern half to Manasseh chose to dwell at ease in their Havoth-jair, or "villages of tents," while Dan and Asher, both maritime tribes, continued with their ships and in their "breaches" ("havens"). The mention of these craven tribes (
Judg 5:18) is concluded with a fresh burst of commendation on Zebulun and Naphtali.
19 describes the scene of battle and the issue. It would seem (
Judg 5:19) that Jabin was reinforced by the troops of other Canaanite princes. The battlefield was near Taanach (now Ta'annuk), on a tell or mound in the level plain of Megiddo (now Leijun), on its southwestern extremity, by the left bank of the Kishon.
they took no gain of money--They obtained no plunder.
20 the stars in their courses fought--A fearful tempest burst upon them and threw them into disorder.
21 the river of Kishon swept them away--The enemy was defeated near "the waters of Megiddo"--the sources and side streams of the Kishon: they that fled had to cross the deep and marshy bed of the torrent, but the Lord had sent a heavy rain--the waters suddenly rose--the warriors fell into the quicksands, and sinking deep into them, were drowned or washed into the sea [VAN DE VELDE].
22 Then were the horse hoofs broken by the means of the prancings--Anciently, as in many parts of the East still, horses were not shod. The breaking of the hoofs denotes the hot haste and heavy irregular tramp of the routed foe.
23 Curse ye Meroz--a village on the confines of Issachar and Naphtali, which lay in the course of the fugitives, but the inhabitants declined to aid in their destruction.
24 is a most graphic picture of the treatment of Sisera in the tent of Jael.
25 butter--curdled milk; a favorite beverage in the East.
28 In these verses a sudden transition is made to the mother of the Canaanite general, and a striking picture is drawn of a mind agitated between hope and fear--impatient of delay, yet anticipating the news of victory and the rewards of rich booty.
the lattice--a lattice window, common to the houses in warm countries for the circulation of air.
29 her wise ladies--maids of honor.
30 to every man a damsel or two--Young maidens formed always a valued part of Oriental conquerors' war-spoils. But Sisera's mother wished other booty for him; namely, the gold-threaded, richly embroidered, and scarlet-colored cloaks which were held in such high esteem. The ode concludes with a wish in keeping with the pious and patriotic character of the prophetess.