E² F 3:5-11. Chushan-rishathaim. (Othniel). G 3:12-30. Eglon. (Ehud). H 3:31. Shamgar. (Philistines). G 4:1–5:31. Jabin. (Barak). F 6:1–8:32. Midian. (Gideon).
F d 5-7. Evil commited. e 8-. Oppressor. (Cushan-rishathaim). f -8. Servitude. 8 years. d 9-. Evil repented of. e -9,10. Deliverer. (Othniel). f 11. Rest. 40 years.
5: And the sons of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites (not the Canaanites dwelling in Israel, but Israel dwelling among Canaanites, who were to be exterminated. Ex.3:8,17; 23:23-28. Deut.7:1-5), Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:
6: And they took their daughters to be their wives (contrary to Yehovah's express command. Ex.34:16. Deut.7:3), and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
7: And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord (Yehovah) (Heb. "the evil"; i.e. the special evil [idolatry] which had been forbidden as such), and forgot the Lord (Yehovah) their God (Elohim), and served Baalim and Asherim (see Deut. 34:13).
8: Therefore the anger of the Lord (Yehovah) was hot against Israel,
1431 to 1423 B.C.
and He sold them (cp. 2:14. 490 years since Abraham left Mesopotamia) into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim (= chief of two governments) king of Mesopotamia (= between the rivers): and the sons of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years. (#8 = new beginnings. A new beginning of servitudes for disobedience to God)
9: And when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord (Yehovah),
the Lord (Yehovah) raised up a deliverer (= saviour) to the sons of Israel, who saved them (cp. Luke 1:68-70), even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother (cp. Josh.15:16,17).
10: And the Spirit of the Lord (Yehovah) came upon him (bestowing gifts rather than power or might [Gen.1:2]. Cp. Isa.11:2; 61:1), and he ruled Israel, and went out to war: and the Lord (Yehovah) delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim.
1423 to 1383 B.C. 11: And the land had rest (repeated 4 times: 3:11,30; 5:31; 8:20, to prevent the periods of rest and servitude being "telescoped") forty yeras (#40 = probation). And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
G g 12-. Evil committed. h -12,13. Oppressor. (Eglon). i 14. Servitude. 18 years. g 15-. Evil repented of. h -15-30-. Deliverer. (Ehud). i -30. Rest. 80 years.
12: And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord (Yehovah):
and the Lord (Yehovah) strengthened Eglon (= calf-like) the king of Moab (= of his father) against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord (Yehovah).
13: And he gathered to him the sons of Ammon (= sons of renown, mountaineers) and Amalek (see Ex.17:16), and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees (cp. Deut.34:3).
14: So the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years (#18 = bondage).
1383 to 1365 B.C.
15: But when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord (Yehovah),
h j¹ -15-26. Assassination of Eglon. j² 27-30. Slaughter of Moabites.
j¹ k¹ l -15. Present sent. m 16. Dagger prepared. l 17,18. Present brought. k² n 19,20. Interview sought. o 21,22. Dagger used. n 23-26. Interview ended.
the Lord (Yehovah) raised them up a saviour, Ehud (= union) the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded:
and by him the sons of Israel sent a present to Eglon the king of Moab.
16: But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cut length (= a dirk, about 9 inches long); and he did gird it under his clothng upon his right thigh.
17: And he brought the admittance-offering (Heb. korban) to Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.
18: And when he had made an end to bring near the present, he sent away the people that bore the present.
19: But he himself turned again from the graven images that were by Gilgal (Heb. the same as at Gilgal), and said, “I have a secret errand to you, O king” (Heb. mouth. See note on "message", v.20): who said, “Keep silence.” And all that stood by him went out from him.
20: And Ehud came to him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour (coolng room), which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, “I have a message (= word; put by Fig., for what is meant by it: here it is the "errand" of v.19) from God (Elohim) to you.” And he arose out of his throne.
21: And Ehud put forth his left hand (note the 7 weak things in this Book, illustrating 1 Cor.1:27. 2 Cor.12:9: left hand [here]; ox goad [3:31]; a woman [4:4]; a nail [4:21]; piece of a millstone [9:53]; pitcher and trumpet [7:20]; jawbone of an ass [15:16]. So in later time. Luther [a miner's son], Calvin [a cooper's son], Zwingle [a shepherd's son], Melancthon [an armourer's son], John Knox [a plain burgess's son]), and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:
22: And the handle also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.
23: Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the cooling room upon him, and locked them.
24: When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the cooling room were locked, they said, “Surely he covers his feet in his cooling room chamber.” (a Euphemism for act performed while stooping, and causing feet to be covered, i.e. siting on toilet)
25: And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the cooling room; therefore they took the key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
26: And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and he passed beyond the graven images of Ehud, and escaped to Seirath.
27: And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
28: And he said to them, “Follow after me: for the Lord (Yehovah) has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
29: And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.
30: So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel.
And the land had rest fourscore years (the Sept. adds, "until he died").
1365 to 1285
31: And after him was Shamgar (= sword. Cp. 5:6-8) the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred(#600 = warfare) men with an ox goad (see 3:21. No weapons. Cp.5:8. 1 Sam.13:19-22): and he also delivered Israel.
G J¹ 4:1-3. Oppression by Jabin. J² 4:4–5:31. Deliverance by Barak.
J¹ p 1. Evil wrought. q 2. Oppression. p 3-. Evil repented of. q -3. Oppression.
2: And the Lord (Yehovah) sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan (Heb. = whom God observes. Another king. Cp. Josh.11:1-10), that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, and he dwelt in Harosheth (= workmanship) of the Gentiles.
3: And the sons of Israel cried to the Lord (Yehovah): for he had nine hundred chariots of iron;
and twenty years he mightily oppressed the sons of Israel (A long time to wait for deliverance. #20 = redemption).
J² K 4:4,5. Deliverer raised up. L 4:6-24. Deliverance. K 5:1-31-. Deliverer's song. L 5:-31. Rest.
1285 to 1265 B.C.
4: And Deborah (= a bee, i.e. like a queen bee), a prophetess (not therefore a "ruler" in the strict sense of the title. Like Miram, Ex.15:20; Huldah, 2 Kings 22:14. Cp. her prophecy in vv.7,9), the wife of Lapidoth, and she (note the 2 women connected with Barak, Deborah and Jael, vv.17-21. See note on v.17, and cp. 5:7,11,24,30) ruled Israel at that time (yet Israel was "mightily oppressed", contrary to 2:18. The words "she ruled" state a fact: but do they imply a Divine appointment to the office? She was a "prophetess", but was she "a ruler" in the proper sense of the word? ).
5: And she sat (as ruler: near where her namesake, Rebekah's nurse, died. Gen.35:8) under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.
L M 6. Command given by Yehovah. N r 7-. Place of battle. s -7. Victory promised. t 8,9. Instruments. Barak and a woman. N r 10-13. Place of battle. s 14-16. Victory. Promise fulfilled. t 15-22. Instuments. Barak and a woman. M 23,24. Victory given by Yehovah.
6: And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali (= sanctuary-wrestling), and said to him, “Has not the Lord God (Yehovah Elohim) of Israel commanded, saying, ‘Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun?
7: And I will draw to you to the river Kishon Sisera (cp. Ps.83:9,10), the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude;
and I will deliver him into your hands.’ ”
8: And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go: but if you will not go with me, then I will not go.”
9: And she said, “I will surely go with you: notwithstanding the journey that you take shall not be for your honour; for the Lord (Yehovah) shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10: And Barak called (i.e. by proclomation) Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11: Now Heber the Kenite (this refers to a geographical location only. Heber was NOT a Kenite = a son of Cain), which was of the sons of Hobab the father in law of Moses (cp. Num.10:29), had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent to the plain of Zaanaim (or, at the oak. Josh.19:33), which is by Kedesh.
12: And they shewed Sisera (Heb. = battle array) that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.
13: And Sisera gathered together all his chariots (i.e. by proclomation. Cp. v.10), even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the river of Kishon.
14: And Deborah said to Barak, “Up; for this is the day in which the Lord (Yehovah) has delivered Sisera into your hand: is not the Lord (Yehovah) gone out before you?” So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15: And the Lord (Yehovah) discomfited Sisera (cp. Ps.83:9. The word implies supernatural phenomena. Cp. 5:20-22. Ex.14:24. Josh.10:10. 2 Sam.22:15. Ps.18:15), and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
16: But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, to Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
t u 17. Flight of Sisera. v 18-. Jael meeting Sisera. w -18-20. Concealment. x 21. Sisera slain. u 22-. Pursuit of Barak. v -22-. Jael meeting Barak. w -22-. Discovery. x -22. Sisera dead.
17: However Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite (note, not of Heber: the woman's tent, which itself brought Sisera under the death penalty. But there is nothing to apologize for here. The Author and Giver of life came to Jael as on Ehud, and enabled her to have the daughters of Israel from a fate worse than death. Cp. 5:7,11,24,30): for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite (cp. v.11).
18: And Jael (= mountain goat) went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not.”
And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a rug (Heb. semîkãh occ. only here).
19: And he said to her, “Give me, I pray you, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” And she opened a skin of buttermilk (much used in the East), and gave him drink, and covered him.
20: Again he said to her, “Stand in the entrance of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of you, and say, ‘Is there any man here?’ that you shall say, ‘There is not.’ ”
21: Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent peg (constanly tents are taken down and put up by women to the present day), and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the tent peg into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died (the first of 10 recorded death at the hands of women: Sisera [here]; Abimelech [Judg.9:53. 2 Sam.11:21]; Sheba [2 Sam.20:22]; the harlot's child [1 Kings 3:19]; prophets [1 Kings 18:4]; Naboth [1 Kings 21:9,10]; a son by his mother [2 Kings 6:29]; seed royal [2 Kings 11:1. 2 Chron.22:10]; Haman's son [Est.9:13,14]; John Baptist [Matt.14:8]. #10 = testmony, law and responsibility).
22: And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera,
Jael came out to meet him, and said to him,
“Come, and I will shew you the man whom you seek.”
And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent peg was in his temples.
23: So God )Elohim) subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel.
24: And the hand of the sons of Israel prospered (Heb. going on went on. R.V. = prevailed more and more), and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
K O 1,2-. Praise of Yehovah. Avenging of Israel. P y -2,3. Israel. People's voluntary service. z 4-8. Contrasted states of the country. y 9. Israel. Leaders' voluntary service. Q 10,11. Contrasted states of the country. Q 12-18. Contasted conduct of the tribes. P a 19-22. Enemy. Battle and defeat. b 23-27. Contrasted succour for Israel. a 28-30. Enemy. Presumption and defeat. O 31-. Praise to Yehovah. Avenging of Israel.
5)
1: Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day (no singing until after the victory. Cp. Ex.15:1.Only weeping before. Cp. 2:4 with Ex.2:23,24. See Ex. 15:1 for the 10 songs), saying,
2: “Praise you all the Lord (Yehovah) for the avenging of Israel,
when the People willingly offered themselves.
3: Hear, O all you kings; give ear, O all you princes; I, even I, will sing to the Lord (Yehovah); I will sing praise to the Lord God (Yehovah Elohim) of Israel.
4: The Lord (Yehovah), when You went out of Seir (cp. Ex. 19:18), when You marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dripped, the clouds also dripped water.
5: From the mountains flowed down streams from before the Lord (Yehovah), even that Sinai from before the Lord God (Yehovah Elohim) of Israel.
6: In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath (cp. 3:21), in the days of Jael, the highways were closed, and the travellers walked through byways.
7: The inhabitants of the villages ceased to be (why not supply the Ellipsis by the words "the women", considering the objects of Jabin's oppression? see 4:4,17; 5:7,11,24,30), they ceased to be in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
8: They chose new gods (cp. Deut.32:16); then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
9: My heart says to the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the People. Bless you all Yehovah.
10: Speak, all you that ride on white asses, all you that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.
11: They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water (i.e. where the women were found. See 4:4,17; 5:7,30. Cp. Gen.24:11. Ex.2:15-19.), there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of Yehovah, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of His villages in Israel: then shall the People of Yehovah go down to the gates. (Translate v.11 thus: Instead of the shouting of the archers among the wells, there they laud the righteous acts of Yehovah, the righteous acts of His rule over Israel. Then the People of Yehovah hastened to the gates.)
Q c 12-15-. Warriors. d -15-17. Absentees. c 18. Warriors.
12: Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead captive your captive train, you son of Abinoam.
13: Then He made him that remains have dominion over the nobles among the People: Yehovah made me have dominion over the mighty. (Some codices and the Sept. divide the two lines thus: Then came down a remnant of the nobles, And the Peoples of Yehovah came down with me against the mighty ones)
14: Out of Ephraim was there came down whose root was Amalek (cp. 12:15. Or, according to Sept., "they who rooted them out in Amalek."); after you, Benjamin, among your people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that draw (in the sense of numbering, enrolling, or mustering, as in 4:6) the rod (used in numbering. Lev.27:32.Ezek.20:37. Nowhere else rendered pen) of the numberer (Heb. sãphar, translated scribe. Cp. 2 Kigs 25:19. 2 Chron.26:11).
15: But the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes Issachar, and also Barak: into the valley they rushed at his feet.
Among the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.
16: Why abodest you among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
17: Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his creeks (or bays).
18: Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their souls to the death in the high places of the field.
19: The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no plunder of money.
20: They fought from heaven (cp. Josh.10:11); the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
21: The torrent of Kishon swept them away (swollen by the heavy rains, v.4), that ancient river, the river Kishon (rising in Mount Tabor and running into the Mediterranean near Mount Carmel). O my soul, you have trodden down strength.
22: Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
b e 23-. Curse. f -23. Reason. e 24. Blessing. f 25-27. Reason.
23: ‘Curse you all Meroz’, said the Angel of the Lord (Yehovah), ‘Curse you all bitterly the inhabitants thereof;
because they came not to the help of the Lord (Yehovah), to the help of the Lord (Yehovah) against the mighty.’
24: Blessed above women (cp. Luke 1:28, "amomg". See 4:4,17; 5:7,11,30) shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be (see note on 1:16), blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
25: He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth buttermilk in a lordly dish (see 4:19).
26: She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
27: At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down destroyed.
28: The mother of Sisera looked out at a window (a women active on each side, with other women involved, v.30), and cried through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?’
29: Her wise ladies answered her, yes, she returned answer to herself,
30: ‘Have they not found? (i.e. the damsels they were fighting for: and while doing so they were defeated by a woman) have they not divided the prey; to every head of a strong man ("head" put for the whole person) a damsel or two (Heb. womb. Put by Fig., for the whole person, to emphasise the motive underneath. This was the object of Jabin's oppression. See 4:4,7; 5:7,11,24); to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?’
31: So let all Your enemies perish, O Lord (Yehovah): but let them that love Him be as the sun when he goes forth in his might.”
And the land had rest forty years.
1265-1225 B.C.