1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount 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 Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward 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 thine 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, then 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 the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called 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, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
12 And they showed 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 of Kishon.
14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, 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, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
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 when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
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 Again 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 nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he 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 when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail 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 prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
1 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 again H3254 did H6213 evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 when Ehud H164 was dead. H4191
2 And the LORD H3068 sold H4376 them into the hand H3027 of Jabin H2985 king H4428 of Canaan, H3667 that reigned H4427 in Hazor; H2674 the captain H8269 of whose host H6635 was Sisera, H5516 which dwelt H3427 in Harosheth H2800 of the Gentiles. H1471
3 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 cried H6817 unto the LORD: H3068 for he had nine H8672 hundred H3967 chariots H7393 of iron; H1270 and twenty H6242 years H8141 he mightily H2394 oppressed H3905 the children H1121 of Israel. H3478
4 And Deborah, H1683 a prophetess, H5031 the wife H802 of Lapidoth, H3941 she judged H8199 Israel H3478 at that time. H6256
5 And she dwelt H3427 under the palm tree H8560 of Deborah H1683 between Ramah H7414 and Bethel H1008 in mount H2022 Ephraim: H669 and the children H1121 of Israel H3478 came up H5927 to her for judgment. H4941
6 And she sent H7971 and called H7121 Barak H1301 the son H1121 of Abinoam H42 out of Kedeshnaphtali, H6943 and said H559 unto him, Hath not the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel H3478 commanded, H6680 saying, Go H3212 and draw H4900 toward mount H2022 Tabor, H8396 and take H3947 with thee ten H6235 thousand H505 men H376 of the children H1121 of Naphtali H5321 and of the children H1121 of Zebulun? H2074
7 And I will draw H4900 unto thee to the river H5158 Kishon H7028 Sisera, H5516 the captain H8269 of Jabin's H2985 army, H6635 with his chariots H7393 and his multitude; H1995 and I will deliver H5414 him into thine hand. H3027
8 And Barak H1301 said H559 unto her, If thou wilt go H3212 with me, then I will go: H1980 but if thou wilt not go H3212 with me, then I will not go. H3212
9 And she said, H559 I will surely H1980 go H3212 with thee: notwithstanding H657 the journey H1870 that thou takest H1980 shall not be for thine honour; H8597 for the LORD H3068 shall sell H4376 Sisera H5516 into the hand H3027 of a woman. H802 And Deborah H1683 arose, H6965 and went H3212 with Barak H1301 to Kedesh. H6943
10 And Barak H1301 called H2199 Zebulun H2074 and Naphtali H5321 to Kedesh; H6943 and he went up H5927 with ten H6235 thousand H505 men H376 at his feet: H7272 and Deborah H1683 went up H5927 with him.
11 Now Heber H2268 the Kenite, H7017 which was of the children H1121 of Hobab H2246 the father in law H2859 of Moses, H4872 had severed H6504 himself from the Kenites, H7017 and pitched H5186 his tent H168 unto the plain H436 of Zaanaim, H6815 which is by Kedesh. H6943
12 And they shewed H5046 Sisera H5516 that Barak H1301 the son H1121 of Abinoam H42 was gone up H5927 to mount H2022 Tabor. H8396
13 And Sisera H5516 gathered together H2199 all his chariots, H7393 even nine H8672 hundred H3967 chariots H7393 of iron, H1270 and all the people H5971 that were with him, from Harosheth H2800 of the Gentiles H1471 unto the river H5158 of Kishon. H7028
14 And Deborah H1683 said H559 unto Barak, H1301 Up; H6965 for this is the day H3117 in which the LORD H3068 hath delivered H5414 Sisera H5516 into thine hand: H3027 is not the LORD H3068 gone out H3318 before H6440 thee? So Barak H1301 went down H3381 from mount H2022 Tabor, H8396 and ten H6235 thousand H505 men H376 after H310 him.
15 And the LORD H3068 discomfited H2000 Sisera, H5516 and all his chariots, H7393 and all his host, H4264 with the edge H6310 of the sword H2719 before H6440 Barak; H1301 so that Sisera H5516 lighted down H3381 off his chariot, H4818 and fled away H5127 on his feet. H7272
16 But Barak H1301 pursued H7291 after H310 the chariots, H7393 and after the host, H4264 unto Harosheth H2800 of the Gentiles: H1471 and all the host H4264 of Sisera H5516 fell H5307 upon the edge H6310 of the sword; H2719 and there was not a man H259 left. H7604
17 Howbeit Sisera H5516 fled away H5127 on his feet H7272 to the tent H168 of Jael H3278 the wife H802 of Heber H2268 the Kenite: H7017 for there was peace H7965 between Jabin H2985 the king H4428 of Hazor H2674 and the house H1004 of Heber H2268 the Kenite. H7017
18 And Jael H3278 went out H3318 to meet H7125 Sisera, H5516 and said H559 unto him, Turn in, H5493 my lord, H113 turn in H5493 to me; fear H3372 not. And when he had turned in H5493 unto her into the tent, H168 she covered H3680 him with a mantle. H8063
19 And he said H559 unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little H4592 water H4325 to drink; H8248 for I am thirsty. H6770 And she opened H6605 a bottle H4997 of milk, H2461 and gave him drink, H8248 and covered H3680 him.
20 Again he said H559 unto her, Stand in H5975 the door H6607 of the tent, H168 and it shall be, when any man H376 doth come H935 and enquire H7592 of thee, and say, H559 Is there H3426 any man H376 here? H3426 that thou shalt say, H559 No.
21 Then Jael H3278 Heber's H2268 wife H802 took H3947 a nail H3489 of the tent, H168 and took H7760 an hammer H4718 in her hand, H3027 and went H935 softly H3814 unto him, and smote H8628 the nail H3489 into his temples, H7541 and fastened H6795 it into the ground: H776 for he was fast asleep H7290 and weary. H5774 So he died. H4191
22 And, behold, as Barak H1301 pursued H7291 Sisera, H5516 Jael H3278 came out H3318 to meet H7125 him, and said H559 unto him, Come, H3212 and I will shew H7200 thee the man H376 whom thou seekest. H1245 And when he came H935 into her tent, behold, Sisera H5516 lay H5307 dead, H4191 and the nail H3489 was in his temples. H7541
23 So God H430 subdued H3665 on that day H3117 Jabin H2985 the king H4428 of Canaan H3667 before H6440 the children H1121 of Israel. H3478
24 And the hand H3027 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 prospered, H3212 H1980 and prevailed H7186 against Jabin H2985 the king H4428 of Canaan, H3667 until they had destroyed H3772 Jabin H2985 king H4428 of Canaan. H3667
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.
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.
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.
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.
1 And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah when Ehud is dead,
2 and Jehovah selleth them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who hath reigned in Hazor, and the head of his host `is' Sisera, and he is dwelling in Harosheth of the Goyim;
3 and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, for he hath nine hundred chariots of iron, and he hath oppressed the sons of Israel mightily twenty years.
4 And Deborah, a woman inspired, wife of Lapidoth, she is judging Israel at that time,
5 and she is dwelling under the palm-tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-El, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel go up unto her for judgment.
6 And she sendeth and calleth for Barak son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and saith unto him, `Hath not Jehovah, God of Israel, commanded? go, and thou hast drawn towards mount Tabor, and hast taken with thee ten thousand men, out of the sons of Naphtali, and out of the sons of Zebulun,
7 and I have drawn unto thee, unto the brook Kishon, Sisera, head of the host of Jabin, and his chariot, and his multitude, and have given him into thy hand.'
8 And Barak saith unto her, `If thou dost go with me, then I have gone; and if thou dost not go with me, I do not go;'
9 and she saith, `I do certainly go with thee; only, surely thy glory is not on the way which thou art going, for into the hand of a woman doth Jehovah sell Sisera;' and Deborah riseth and goeth with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak calleth Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he goeth up -- at his feet `are' ten thousand men -- and Deborah goeth up with him.
11 And Heber the Kenite hath been separated from the Kenite, from the sons of Hobab father-in-law of Moses, and he stretcheth out his tent unto the oak in Zaanaim, which `is' by Kedesh.
12 And they declare to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam hath gone up to mount Tabor,
13 and Sisera calleth all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who `are' with him, from Harosheth of the Goyim, unto the brook Kishon.
14 And Deborah saith unto Barak, `Rise, for this `is' the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand; hath not Jehovah gone out before thee?' And Barak goeth down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And Jehovah destroyeth Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the camp, by the mouth of the sword, before Barak, and Sisera cometh down from off the chariot, and fleeth on his feet.
16 And Barak hath pursued after the chariots and after the camp, unto Harosheth of the Goyim, and all the camp of Sisera falleth by the mouth of the sword -- there hath not been left even one.
17 And Sisera hath fled on his feet unto the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for peace `is' between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite;
18 and Jael goeth out to meet Sisera, and saith unto him, `Turn aside, my lord, turn aside unto me, fear not;' and he turneth aside unto her, into the tent, and she covereth him with a coverlet.
19 And he saith unto her, `Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water, for I am thirsty;' and she openeth the bottle of milk, and giveth him to drink, and covereth him.
20 And he saith unto her, `Stand at the opening of the tent, and it hath been, if any doth come in, and hath asked thee, and said, Is there a man here? that thou hast said, There is not.'
21 And Jael wife of Heber taketh the pin of the tent, and taketh the hammer in her hand, and goeth unto him gently, and striketh the pin into his temples, and it fasteneth in the earth -- and he hath been fast asleep, and is weary -- and he dieth.
22 And lo, Barak is pursuing Sisera, and Jael cometh out to meet him, and saith to him, `Come, and I shew thee the man whom thou art seeking;' and he cometh in unto her, and lo, Sisera is fallen -- dead, and the pin in his temples.
23 And God humbleth on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the sons of Israel,
24 and the hand of the sons of Israel goeth, going on and becoming hard on Jabin king of Canaan, till that they have cut off Jabin king of Canaan.
1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died.
2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sis'era, who dwelt in Haro'sheth-ha-goiim.
3 Then the people of Israel cried to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
4 Now Deb'orah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapp'idoth, was judging Israel at that time.
5 She used to sit under the palm of Deb'orah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of E'phraim; and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abin'o-am from Kedesh in Naph'tali, and said to him, "The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you, 'Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking ten thousand from the tribe of Naph'tali and the tribe of Zeb'ulun.
7 And I will draw out Sis'era, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.'"
8 Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go."
9 And she said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sis'era into the hand of a woman." Then Deb'orah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak summoned Zeb'ulun and Naph'tali to Kedesh; and ten thousand men went up at his heels; and Deb'orah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Ken'ite had separated from the Ken'ites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Za-anan'nim, which is near Kedesh.
12 When Sis'era was told that Barak the son of Abin'o-am had gone up to Mount Tabor,
13 Sis'era called out all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Haro'sheth-ha-goiim to the river Kishon.
14 And Deb'orah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sis'era into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
15 And the LORD routed Sis'era and all his chariots and all his army before Barak at the edge of the sword; and Sis'era alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.
16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Haro'sheth-ha-goiim, and all the army of Sis'era fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
17 But Sis'era fled away on foot to the tent of Ja'el, the wife of Heber the Ken'ite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Ken'ite.
18 And Ja'el came out to meet Sis'era, and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear." So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
19 And he said to her, "Pray, give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty." So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.
20 And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, 'Is any one here?' say, No."
21 But Ja'el the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, till it went down into the ground, as he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.
22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sis'era, Ja'el went out to meet him, and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking." So he went in to her tent; and there lay Sis'era dead, with the tent peg in his temple.
23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.
24 And the hand of the people of Israel bore harder and harder on Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
1 The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, when Ehud was dead.
2 Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
3 The children of Israel cried to Yahweh: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
5 She lived under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill-country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, Hasn't Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, [saying], Go and draw to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
7 I will draw to you, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.
8 Barak said to her, If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.
9 She said, I will surely go with you: notwithstanding, the journey that you take shall not be for your honor; for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 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.
12 They told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to Mount Tabor.
13 Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles, to the river Kishon.
14 Deborah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Yahweh has delivered Sisera into your hand; hasn't Yahweh gone out before you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 Yahweh confused 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, to Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.
17 However 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 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; don't be afraid. He came in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
19 He said to her, Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 He said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man does come and inquire of you, and say, Is there any man here? that you shall say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck 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 Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. He came to 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 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.
1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of the Lord when Ehud was dead.
2 And the Lord gave them up into the hands of Jabin, king of Canaan, who was ruling in Hazor; the captain of his army was Sisera, who was living in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
3 Then the children of Israel made prayer to the Lord; for he had nine hundred iron war-carriages, and for twenty years he was very cruel to the children of Israel.
4 Now Deborah, a woman prophet, the wife of Lapidoth, was judge of Israel at that time.
5 (And she had her seat 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 to be judged.)
6 And she sent for Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, given orders saying, Go and get your force into line in Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
7 And I will make Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his war-carriages and his forces, come against you at the river Kishon, where I will give 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 I will not go.
9 And she said, I will certainly go with you: though you will get no honour in your undertaking, for the Lord will give Sisera into the hands of a woman. So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 Then Barak sent for Zebulun and Naphtali to come to Kedesh; and ten thousand men went up after him, and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, separating himself from the rest of the Kenites, from the children of Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses, had put up his tent as far away as the oak-tree in Zaanannim, by Kedesh.
12 And word was given to Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor.
13 So Sisera got together all his war-carriages, nine hundred war-carriages of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles as far as the river Kishon.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, Up! for today the Lord has given Sisera into your hands: has not the Lord gone out before you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and ten thousand men after him.
15 And the Lord sent fear on Sisera and all his war-carriages and all his army before Barak; and Sisera got down from his war-carriage and went in flight on foot.
16 But Barak went after the war-carriages and the army as far as Harosheth of the Gentiles; and all Sisera's army was put to the sword; not a man got away.
17 But Sisera went in flight on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the family of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to Sisera, and said to him, Come in, my lord, come in to me without fear. So he went into her tent, and she put a cover over him.
19 Then he said to her, Give me now a little water, for I have need of a drink. And opening a skin of milk, she gave him drink, and put the cover over him again.
20 And he said to her, Take your place at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and says to you, Is there any man here, say, No.
21 Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent-pin and a hammer and went up to him quietly, driving the pin into his head, and it went through his head into the earth, for he was in a deep sleep from weariness; and so he came to his end.
22 Then Jael went out, and meeting Barak going after Sisera, said to him, Come, and I will let you see the man you are searching for. So he came into her tent and saw, and there was Sisera stretched out dead with the tent-pin in his head.
23 So that day God overcame Jabin, king of Canaan, before the children of Israel.
24 And the power of the children of Israel went on increasing against Jabin, king of Canaan, till he was cut off.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Judges 4
Commentary on Judges 4 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Oppression of Israel by Jabin, and Deliverance by Deborah and Barak - Judges 4-5
This fresh oppression of the Israelites, and the glorious victory which they obtained over Sisera, Jabin's general, through the judge Deborah and the heroic warrior Barak, are so fully described in Deborah's triumphal song in Judg 5, that this song may be regarded as a poetical commentary upon that event. It by no means follows from this fact, however, that the historical account in Judg 4 was first of all founded upon the ode, and was merely intended to furnish an explanation of the song itself. Any such assumption is overthrown by the fact that the prose account in Judg 4, contains, as even Bertheau acknowledges, some historical details which we look for in vain in the song, and which are of great assistance in the interpretation of it. All that we can infer with any probability from the internal connection between the historical narrative and the Song of Deborah is, that the author of our book took both of them from one common source; though the few expressions and words which they contain, such as שׂמיכה in Judges 4:18, תּצנח in Judges 4:21, משׁכתּ in Judges 4:6, and ויּהם in Judges 4:15, do not throw any light upon the source from which they were derived. For, with the exception of the first, which is not met with again, the whole of them occur in other passages-the second in Judges 1:14 and Joshua 15:18, the third in the same sense in Judges 20:37, and the fourth in Exodus 14:24 and Joshua 10:10. And it by no means follows, that because in the passages referred to, “yaahom is found in close association with songs or poetical passages” ( Bertheau ), the word itself must be borrowed from the same source as the songs, viz., from the book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13). For המם is found in the same signification in 1 Samuel 7:10; Exodus 23:27, and Deuteronomy 2:15, where we look in vain for any songs; whilst it always occurs in connection with the account of a miraculous overthrow of the foe by the omnipotent power of God.
The Victory over Jabin and His General Sisera . - Judges 4:1-3. As the Israelites fell away from the Lord again when Ehud was dead, the Lord gave them into the hand of the Canaanitish king Jabin , who oppressed them severely for twenty years with a powerful army under Sisera his general. The circumstantial clause, “when Ehud was dead,” places the falling away of the Israelites from God in direct causal connection with the death of Ehud on the one hand, and the deliverance of Israel into the power of Jabin on the other, and clearly indicates that as long as Ehud lived he kept the people from idolatry (cf. Judges 2:18-19), and defended Israel from hostile oppressions. Joshua had already conquered one king, Jabin of Hazor , and taken his capital (Joshua 11:1, Joshua 11:10). The king referred to here, who lived more than a century later, bore the same name. The name Jabin , “the discerning,” may possibly have been a standing name or title of the Canaanitish kings of Hazor, as Abimelech was of the kings of the Philistines (see at Genesis 26:8). He is called “king of Canaan,” in distinction from the kings of other nations and lands, such as Moab, Mesopotamia, etc. (Judges 3:8, Judges 3:12), into whose power the Lord had given up His sinful people. Hazor , once the capital of the kingdoms of northern Canaan, was situated over (above or to the north of) Lake Huleh, in the tribe of Naphtali, but has not yet been discovered (see at Joshua 11:1). Sisera, the general of Jabin, dwelt in Harosheth of the Goyim , and oppressed the Israelites most tyrannically ( Mightily : cf. Judges 7:1; 1 Samuel 2:16) for twenty years with a force consisting of 900 chariots of iron (see at Joshua 17:16). The situation of Harosheth , which only occurs here (Judges 4:2, Judges 4:13, Judges 4:16), is unknown; but it is certainly to be sought for in one of the larger plains of Galilee, possibly the plain of Buttauf , where Sisera was able to develop his forces, whose strength consisted chiefly in war-chariots, and to tyrannize over the land of Israel.
At that time the Israelites were judged by Deborah , a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, who dwelt under the Deborah-palm between Ramah (er Rגm: see at Joshua 18:25) and Bethel (Beitin: see at Joshua 7:2) in the tribe of Benjamin, upon the mountains of Ephraim. Deborah is called נמיאה אשּׁה on account of her prophetic gift, like Miriam in Exodus 15:20, and Hulda the wife of Shallum in 2 Kings 22:14. This gift qualified her to judge the nation (the participle שׁפטה expresses the permanence of the act of judging), i.e., first of all to settle such disputes among the people themselves as the lower courts were unable to decide, and which ought therefore, according to Deuteronomy 17:8, to be referred to the supreme judge of the whole nation. The palm where she sat in judgment (cf. Psalms 9:5) was called after her the Deborah -palm. The Israelites went up to her there to obtain justice. The expression “ came up ” is applied here, as in Deuteronomy 17:8, to the place of justice, as a spiritual height, independently of the fact that the place referred to here really stood upon an eminence.
But in order to secure the rights of her people against their outward foes also, she summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh, in the tribe of Naphtali, on the west of the Huleh lake (see at Joshua 12:22), and made known to him the commands of the Lord: “ Up and draw to Mount Tabor, and take with thee 10,000 men of the children of Naphtali and Zebulun; and I will draw to thee into the brook-valley of Kishon, Sisera the captain of Jabin's army, and his chariots, and his multitude (his men of war ), and give him into thy hand. ” משׁכתּ has been explained in different ways. Seb . Schmidt , Clericus , and others supply הקּרן or השּׁופר , draw with the trumpet (cf. Exodus 19:13; Joshua 6:5), i.e., blow the trumpet in long-drawn tones, upon Mount Tabor, and regard this as the signal for convening people; whilst Hengstenberg (Diss. ii. pp. 76, 77) refers to Numbers 10:9, and understands the blowing of the horn as the signal by which the congregation of the Lord made known its need to Him, and appealed to Him to come to its help. It cannot indeed be proved that the blowing of the trumpet was merely the means adopted for convening the people together; in fact, the use of the following משׁכתּי , in the sense of draw, is to be explained on the supposition that משׁכתּ is used in a double sense. “The long-drawn notes were to draw the Lord to them, and then the Lord would draw to them Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army. Barak first calls the helper from heaven, and then the Lord calls the enemy upon earth.” Nevertheless we cannot subscribe to this explanation, first of all because the supposed ellipsis cannot be sustained in this connection, when nothing is said about the blowing of a trumpet either in what precedes or in what follows; and secondly , because Numbers 10:9 cannot be appealed to in explanation, for the simple reason that it treats of the blowing of the silver trumpets on the part of the priests, and they must not be confounded with the shopharoth . And the use made of the trumpets at Jericho cannot be transferred to the passage before us without some further ground. We are disposed therefore to take the word משׁך in the sense of draw (intransitive), i.e., proceed one after another in a long-drawn train (as in Judges 20:37 and Exodus 12:21), referring to the captain and the warriors drawing after him; whilst in Judges 4:7 it is to be translated in the same way, though with a transitive signification. Mount Tabor, called Ἰταβύριον by the Greeks (see lxx Hosea 5:1), the mountain of Christ's transfiguration according to an early tradition of the church, the present Jebel et Tur , is a large truncated cone of limestone, which is almost perfectly insulated, and rises to the height of about a thousand feet, on the north-eastern border of the plain of Jezreel. The sides of the mountain are covered with a forest of oaks and wild pistachios, and upon its flat summit, which is about half an hour in circumference, there are the remains of ancient fortifications (see Robinson , Pal. iii. pp. 211ff., and v. Raumer , Pal. pp. 37, 38). The words “and take with thee 10,000 men” are not to be understood as signifying that Barak was to summon the people together upon the top of Mount Tabor, but the assembling of the people is presupposed; and all that is commanded is, that he was to proceed to Mount Tabor with the assembled army, and make his attack upon the enemy, who were encamped in the valley of Kishon, from that point. According to Judges 4:10, the army was collected at Kedesh in Naphtali. Nachal Kishon is not only the brook Kishon , which is formed by streams that take their rise from springs upon Tabor and the mountains of Gilboa, flows in a north-westerly direction through the plain of Jezreel to the Mediterranean, and empties itself into the bay of Acca, and which is called Mukatta by the natives (see Rob . iii. pp. 472ff., and v. Raumer , pp. 39, 50), but the valley on both sides of the brook, i.e., the plain of Jezreel (see at Joshua 17:16), where the greatest battles have been fought for the possession of Palestine from time immemorial down to the most recent times (see v. Raumer , pp. 40ff.).
Barak replied that he would not go unless she would go with him - certainly not for the reason suggested by Bertheau , viz., that he distrusted the divine promise given to him by Deborah, but because his mistrust of his own strength was such that he felt too weak to carry out the command of God. He wanted divine enthusiasm for the conflict, and this the presence of the prophetess was to infuse into both Barak and the army that was to be gathered round him. Deborah promised to accompany him, but announced to him as the punishment for this want of confidence in the success of his undertaking, that the prize of victory - namely, the defeat of the hostile general - should be taken out of his hand; for Jehovah would sell (i.e., deliver up) Sisera into the hand of a woman, viz., according to Judges 4:17., into the hand of Jael. She then went with him to Kedesh, where Barak summoned together Zebulun and Naphtali, i.e., the fighting men of those tribes, and went up with 10,000 men in his train (“at his feet,” i.e., after him, Judges 4:14; cf. Exodus 11:8 and Deuteronomy 11:6) to Tabor (“went up:” the expression is used here to denote the advance of an army against a place). Kedesh, where the army assembled, was higher than Tabor. זעק , Hiphil with acc., to call together (cf. 2 Samuel 20:4-5). Before the engagement with the foe is described, there follows in Judges 4:11 a statement that Heber the Kenite had separated himself from his tribe, the children of Hobab, who led a nomad life in the desert of Judah (Judges 1:16), and had pitched his tents as far as the oak forest at Zaanannim (see at Joshua 19:33) near Kedesh. This is introduced because of its importance in relation to the issue of the conflict which ensued (Judges 4:17 ff). נפרד with Kametz is a participle, which is used in the place of the perfect, to indicate that the separation was a permanent one.
As soon as Sisera received tidings of the march of Barak to Mount Tabor, he brought together all his chariots and all his men of war from Harosheth of the Goyim into the brook-valley of the Kishon. Then Deborah said to Barak, “ Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand. Yea ( הלא , nonne , as an expression indicating lively assurance), the Lord goeth out before thee ,” sc., to the battle, to smite the foe; whereupon Barak went down from Tabor with his 10,000 men to attack the enemy, according to Judges 5:19, at Taanach by the water of Megiddo.
“ And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak. ” ויּהם , as in Exodus 14:24 and Joshua 10:10, denotes the confounding of the hostile army by a miracle of God, mostly by some miraculous phenomenon of nature: see, besides Exodus 14:24; 2 Samuel 22:15; Psalms 18:15, and Psalms 144:6. The expression ויּהם places the defeat of Sisera and his army in the same category as the miraculous destruction of Pharaoh and of the Canaanites at Gibeon; and the combination of this verb with the expression “with the edge of the sword” is to be taken as constructio praegnans , in the sense: Jehovah threw Sisera and his army into confusion, and, like a terrible champion fighting in front of Israel, smote him without quarter, Sisera sprang from his chariot to save himself, and fled on foot; but Barak pursued the routed foe to Harosheth, and completely destroyed them. “ All Sisera's army fell by the edge of the sword; there remained not even to one, ” i.e., not a single man.
Sisera took refuge in the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, to escape the sword of the Israelites, as king Jabin lived at peace with the house of Heber, i.e., with this branch of the Kenites.
Judges 4:18
Jael received the fugitive into her tent in the usual form of oriental hospitality ( סוּר , as in Genesis 19:2-3, to turn aside from the road and approach a person), and covered him with a covering ( שׂמיכה , ἁπ. λεγ. , covering, or rug), that he might be able to sleep, as he was thoroughly exhausted with his flight.
Judges 4:19
On his asking for water to drink, as he was thirsty ( צמתּי , defective form for צמאתּי ), she handed him milk from her bottle, and covered him up again. She gave him milk instead of water, as Deborah emphatically mentions in her song in Judges 5:25, no doubt merely for the purpose of giving to her guest a friendly and hospitable reception. When Josephus affirms, in his account of this event (Ant. v. 5, 4), that she gave him milk that was already spoiled ( διεφθορὸς ἤδη ), i.e., had turned sour, and R. Tanchum supposes that such milk intoxicated the weary man, these are merely later decorations of the simple fact, that have no historical worth whatever.
Judges 4:20-21
In order to be quite sure, Sisera entreated his hostess to stand before the door and turn any one away who might come to her to seek for one of the fugitives. עמד is the imperative for עמדי rof , as the syntax proves that the word cannot be an infinitive. The anomaly apparent in the use of the gender may be accounted for on the ground that the masculine was the more general form, and might therefore be used for the more definite feminine. There are not sufficient grounds for altering it into עמוד , the inf . abs . Whether Jael complied with this wish is not stated; but in the place of anything further, the chief fact alone is given in Judges 4:21, namely, that Jael took a tent-plug, and went with a hammer in her hand to Sisera, who had fallen through exhaustion into a deep sleep, and drove the plug into his temples, so that it penetrated into the earth, or the floor. The words ויּעף והוּא־נרדּם are introduced as explanatory of the course of the events: “ but he was fallen into a deep sleep, and exhausted, ” i.e., had fallen fast asleep through exhaustion. “ And so he died .” ויּמת is attached as a consequence to וגו התּצנח ... ותּתקע , whereas ויּעף belongs to the parenthetical clause נרדּם והוּא . This is the explanation adopted by Rosenmüller , and also in the remark of Kimchi : “the words ויּעף נרדּם indicate the reason why Sisera neither heard Jael approach him, nor was conscious of the blow inflicted upon him.” For the combination of ויּעף with ויּמת , “then he became exhausted and died,” which Stud . and Bertheau support, does not give any intelligible thought at all. A man who has a tent-peg driven with a hammer into his temples, so that the peg passes through his head into the ground, does not become exhausted before he dies, but dies instantaneously. And ויּעף , from עוּף , equivalent to עיף (Jeremiah 4:31), or יעף , and written with Patach in the last syllable, to distinguish it from עוּף , volare , has no other meaning than to be exhausted, in any of the passages in which it occurs (see 1 Samuel 14:28, 1 Samuel 14:31; 2 Samuel 21:15). The rendering adopted by the lxx, ἐσκοτώθη , cannot be grammatically sustained.
Judges 4:22
When Barak, who was in pursuit of Sisera, arrived at Jael's tent, she went to meet him, to show him the deed which he had performed. Thus was Deborah's prediction to Barak (Judges 4:9) fulfilled. The Lord had sold Sisera into the hand of a woman, and deprived Barak of the glory of the victory. Nevertheless the act itself was not morally justified, either by this prophetic announcement, or by the fact that it is commemorated in the song of Deborah in Judges 5:24. Even though there can be no doubt that Jael acted under the influence of religious enthusiasm for the cause of Israel and its God, and that she was prompted by religious motives to regard the connection of her tribe with Israel, the people of the Lord, as higher and more sacred, not only than the bond of peace, in which her tribe was living with Jabin the Canaanitish king, but even than the duties of hospitality, which are so universally sacred to an oriental mind, her heroic deed cannot be acquitted of the sins of lying, treachery, and assassination, which were associated with it, by assuming as Calovius, Buddeus, and others have done, that when Jael invited Sisera into her tent, and promised him safety, and quenched this thirst with milk, she was acting with perfect sincerity, and without any thought of killing him, and that it was not till after he was fast asleep that she was instigated and impelled instinctu Dei arcano to perform the deed. For Jehovah, the God of Israel, not only abhors lying lips (Proverbs 12:22), but hates wickedness and deception of every kind. It is true, He punishes the ungodly at the hand of sinners; but the sinners whom He employs as the instruments of His penal justice in carrying out the plans of His kingdom, are not instigated to the performance of wicked deeds by an inward and secret impulse from Him. God had no doubt so ordered it, that Sisera should meet with his death in Jael's tent, where he had taken refuge; but this divine purpose did not justify Jael in giving to the enemy of Israel a hospitable reception into her tent, making him feel secure both by word and deed, and then murdering him secretly while he was asleep. Such conduct as that was not the operation of the Spirit of God, but the fruit of a heroism inspired by flesh and blood; and even in Deborah's song (Judges 5:24.) it is not lauded as a divine act.
“ So God subdued at that time Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel; and the hand of the Israelites became heavier and heavier in its pressure upon him, until they had destroyed him. ” וקשׁה הלוך ... יד ותּלך , “the hand ... increased more and more, becoming heavy.” הלך , used to denote the progress or continual increase of an affair, as in Genesis 8:3, etc., is connected with the infinitive absolute, and with the participle of the action concerned. קשׁה is the feminine participle of קשׁה , like גּדל in Genesis 26:13 (see Ges . §131, 3, Anm. 3). The overthrow of Jabin and his rule did not involve the extermination of the Canaanites generally.