Judges 4

After Ehud died, the people of Israel again did what the LORD considered evil.

1And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

NoteEhud is the leader from the previous chapter, who killed the Moabite king Eglon and freed Israel. "Did evil in the sight of the LORD" is a set phrase that opens each cycle in the book of Judges: Israel turns away, a foreign power oppresses them, they cry out, a deliverer rises, and after his death the cycle begins again.

2So the LORD handed them over to Jabin, a king of Canaan, who ruled in the city of Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

2And 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.

Note"Handed them over" translates a Hebrew verb that literally means "sold", the picture is of a master transferring people into someone else's power. Canaan was not a single kingdom but the land west of the Jordan, divided among many walled city-states, each with its own king; Jabin is one of these local kings, not a ruler of the whole region. Hazor was the largest fortified city in the north, above the Sea of Galilee. "Harosheth of the Gentiles" means Harosheth "of the nations," probably a place with a mixed non-Israelite population; its exact site is unknown.

3The people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and for twenty years he had crushed the people of Israel harshly.

3And 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.

NoteChariots fitted or plated with iron were the heavy weapon of the age: fast and hard to stop on flat ground, though useless on steep hills and helpless in mud. Israel at this period fought on foot and had nothing comparable. Nine hundred is a very large chariot force.

4At that time Deborah, a prophetess and the wife of Lapidoth, was leading Israel as its judge.

4And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

NoteA prophetess is a woman who speaks messages received from God. "Judge" in this book does not mean only a courtroom official: the judges were leaders raised up in a crisis, who settled disputes and also rallied the tribes for war. "Wife of Lapidoth" is the usual reading, but the Hebrew phrase can also be read "woman of torches" or "fiery woman," and no one named Lapidoth appears anywhere else.

5She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel would come up to her to have their disputes settled.

5And 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.

NoteIsrael at this time had no capital and no central court. A well-known tree was a natural landmark where people gathered and where a recognized leader could hear cases. Ramah and Bethel lie in the central highlands, far to the south of the northern territory Sisera controlled.

6She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The LORD, the God of Israel, has given you this command: Go, march to Mount Tabor, and take ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun with you.

6And 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?

NoteKedesh in Naphtali lies in the far north, in Sisera's part of the country. Mount Tabor is a steep, isolated, dome-shaped hill rising about 1,300 feet above the plain of Jezreel, where the territories of Naphtali, Zebulun and Issachar meet; chariots cannot climb it. In Hebrew Deborah's words are phrased as a question, "Has not the LORD commanded you?", which takes for granted that Barak already knows the order.

7And I will draw Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, out to the Kishon River, along with his chariots and his troops, and I will hand him over to you."

7And 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.

NoteThe Kishon runs through the plain of Jezreel; for much of the year it is a small stream or dry bed, but heavy rain turns it into a torrent and the flat ground beside it into mud. The verb translated "draw" means to drag or pull along, luring an enemy out of a strong position into open ground.

8Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go."

8And 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"I will certainly go with you," she said, "but the road you are taking will bring you no honor, because the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

9And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

NoteThe honor in question is the credit for killing the enemy commander, which normally went to the general who won the battle. "Hand Sisera over" uses the same "sell" verb as verse 2, now turned against Israel's oppressor.

10Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men marched up behind him, and Deborah went up with him.

10And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

NoteThe King James "ten thousand men at his feet" reflects a Hebrew idiom meaning troops marching in someone's train, under his command. The Hebrew word for "thousand" can also mean a military unit or clan contingent, so the total may be a count of units rather than of individual men.

11Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the rest of the Kenites, who were descendants of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses. He had set up his tent by the great tree of Zaanaim, near Kedesh.

11Now 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.

NoteThe Kenites were a wandering herding and metalworking clan associated with Midian, tied to Israel through Moses' marriage but belonging to no Israelite tribe; they camped among various peoples and kept their own agreements. Hobab is called Moses' father-in-law here, while elsewhere that is Jethro (also called Reuel) and Hobab is Jethro's son, the Hebrew term covers in-laws broadly, and the accounts are not easily reconciled. The point of the verse is that Heber had pitched his tents far from his own people and close to Sisera's ground.

12Someone told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor.

12And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.

13So Sisera called out all his chariots, all nine hundred iron chariots, and all the men who were with him, and moved them from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the Kishon River.

13And 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.

14Then Deborah said to Barak, "Get up! This is the day the LORD has handed Sisera over to you. Has the LORD not gone out ahead of you?" So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men behind him.

14And 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.

Note"Gone out ahead of you" is battle language: a commander marching onto the field in front of his troops.

15The LORD threw Sisera, all his chariots, and his whole army into confusion, and they fell to the sword as Barak advanced. Sisera climbed down from his chariot and fled on foot.

15And 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.

NoteThe King James "discomfited" translates a Hebrew verb meaning to throw an army into panic and disorder, so that it breaks apart and runs. That a chariot commander abandoned his vehicle and ran on foot signals that the chariots had become worthless where they stood.

16But Barak chased the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Gentiles. Sisera's entire army was killed by the sword, and not one man was left.

16But 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.

17Meanwhile Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite were at peace with each other.

17Howbeit 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.

Note"At peace with each other" means a formal treaty between Jabin's kingdom and Heber's clan, so Sisera was heading for allied ground. A married woman's tent was private space that a man from outside her family did not enter, which made it a place no pursuer would think to search, and makes Jael's invitation in the next verse a striking break with custom.

18Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come in, my lord. Come in here with me. Do not be afraid." So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

18And 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.

Note"My lord" here is ordinary polite address to a person of higher rank, not a religious title.

19He said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again.

19And 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.

NoteThe King James "bottle" is a bag made of animal skin. Milk stored that way soured quickly into something like thick yogurt, a normal drink to set before a guest. Under the customs of the region, feeding a guest and taking him into your tent placed him under your protection.

20Then he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, 'Is there a man here?' say no."

20Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

21Then Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand. She went quietly over to him and drove the peg through the side of his head and into the ground, while he was fast asleep and worn out. So he died.

21Then 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.

NoteIn nomadic camps, pitching and striking the tents was women's work, so a tent peg and mallet were tools Jael handled every day and could carry without arousing suspicion. The "temple" is the flat side of the head above the ear.

22Just then Barak came by, still chasing Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and said, "Come, and I will show you the man you are looking for." He went into her tent, and there lay Sisera, dead, with the tent peg through the side of his head.

22And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

23So on that day God brought Jabin, a king of Canaan, down before the people of Israel.

23So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

24The power of the people of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had destroyed him.

24And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Note"The hand of the people of Israel", hand stands for power or force, the same image used through the chapter when Sisera is given "into the hand" of Barak and of a woman.