Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Judges 5:11

11-14. 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... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 5:1-31

2. Deborah’s song of victory ch. 5One writer called this song "the finest masterpiece of Hebrew poetry" that "deserves a place among the best songs of victory ever written." [Note: Robert H. Pfeiffer, Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 326.] It is the equivalent of a victory celebration when the troops come home (cf. Exodus 15; Psalms 68)."Observe that each of the three major sections centers around a basic contrast: in Judges 5:2-11 c, the explosive God and humiliated people; in Judges 5:11... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 5:9-11

A renewed call to bless God 5:9-11Judges 5:9 is very similar to Judges 5:2. In Judges 5:10-11, Deborah urged all the Israelites to sing praises to God for His recent victory. Those who rode on white donkeys (Judges 5:10) were the upper classes, the rulers. Those who sat on (rich) carpets (Judges 5:10) may refer to the wealthy or perhaps those who stayed at home rather than participating in the fighting. [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 96, preferred the second view.] Those who traveled the roads... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 5:12-18

The faithful and unfaithful participants 5:12-18God had to rouse Deborah to oppose the Canaanites; she did not initiate this action. God also roused her to sing His praise after the victory. After God stimulated Deborah and Barak into action, several Israelite survivors of the oppression followed their lead into the Valley of Jezreel. They came from the tribe of Ephraim in the region Amalekites had formerly occupied (cf. Judges 12:15). They also came from Benjamin, western Manasseh (Machir),... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 5:1-31

Deborah’s Triumph SongThis song celebrates the victory of Judges 4 but from the point of view, not of a later annalist, but of a contemporary poet—very possibly (though see Judges 5:12) the prophetess herself. The lyric outburst is one of the finest in any language; its style (though many of the words are now very obscure) is typical of the best Hebrew poetry. Its independence of Judges 4 may be inferred from the variations it exhibits. Sisera is represented as king: the majority of the tribes,... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Judges 5:11

(11) They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water.—This is usually explained to mean that in the time of oppression the shepherds and the women could not go to the wells to draw water without being disturbed by the enemy’s archers; and the construction in that case is changed in the middle of the verse, to remind them that they can now sing God’s praises by the safe well-sides. The meaning is highly uncertain. The “they that are delivered” is a conjectural... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Judges 5:12

(12) Awake, awake, Deborah.—The prophetess rouses herself in this verse—which forms an introduction to the second section of the song—to describe the loyalty of the tribes and the grandeur of the victory.Lead thy captivity captive.—Lead in triumph thy long train of captives. For the expression, comp. Revelation 13:10. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Judges 5:13

(13) Then he made him that remaineth have dominion.—The translation, reading, and punctuation of this verse is uncertain. The MSS. of the LXX. vary, and the Vulgate merely gives a paraphrase. The Alexandrine MS. of the LXX. may be correct: “Then descended a remnant against the mighty.” Ewald renders it, “Then descended a remnant of the nobles of the people.” They were only “a remnant,” because at least six of the tribes—Judah, Simeon, Dan, Asher, Reuben, Gad—held aloof.The Lord made me have... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Judges 5:1-31

Judges 5:1 Of the three main branches of poetry, the only feminine one is the lyrical, not the objective lyrical poetry, like that of Pindar and Simonides, and the choric odes of the Greek tragedians, but that which is the expression of individual, personal feeling, like Sappho's. Of this class we have noble examples in the songs of Miriam, of Deborah, of Hannah, and of the Blessed Virgin. Hare, Guesses at Truth (2nd Series). Reference. V. 1. H. Henley Henson, The Value of the Bible, p. 53.... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Judges 5:1-31

DEBORAH’S SONG: A DIVINE VISIONJudges 5:1-31THE song of Deborah and Barak is twofold, the first portion, ending with the eleventh verse, a chant of rising hope and pious encouragement during the time of preparation and revival, the other a song of battle and victory throbbing with eager patriotism and the hot breath of martial excitement. In the former part God is celebrated as the Helper of Israel from of old and from afar; He is the spring of the movement in which the singer rejoices, and in... read more

Group of Brands