Judges 4:4-5 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 4:4-9

The year of the redeemed at length came, when Israel was to be delivered out of the hands of Jabin, and restored again to their liberty, which we may suppose the northern tribes, that lay nearest to the oppressors and felt most the effects of his fury, did in a particular manner cry to God for. For the oppression of the poor, and the sighing of the needy, now will God arise. Now here we have, I. The preparation of the people for their deliverance, by the prophetic conduct and government of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 4:4

And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth ,.... Deborah was a name common to women with the eastern people, see Genesis 35:8 ; as Melissa, which is of the same signification with the Greeks, and both signify a "bee"; and to which Deborah answered in her industry, sagacity, and sweetness of temper to her friends, and sharpness to her enemies: she was a "prophetess", and foretold things to come, as the drawing of Sisera and his army to a certain place named by her, the victory that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 4:5

And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah ,.... Her dwelling house was under a palm tree, or rather she sat under one, in the open air, when the people came to her with their cases, and it was called from hence after her name; though some, as Abarbinel observes, think it was so called, because Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, was buried here, and which was near Bethel, one of the places next mentioned, see Genesis 35:8 , between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim ; which places were in... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 4:4

Deborah , a prophetess - One on whom the Spirit of God descended, and who was the instrument of conveying to the Israelites the knowledge of the Divine will, in things sacred and civil. She judged Israel - This is, I believe, the first instance of gynaecocrasy, or female government, on record. Deborah seems to have been supreme both in civil and religious affairs; and Lapidoth, her husband, appears to have had no hand in the government. But the original may as well be translated... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 4:5

The palm tree of Deborah - It is common for the Hindoos to plant trees in the names of themselves and their friends; and some religious mendicants live for a considerable time under trees. - Ward. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 4:4

Deborah, a prophetess - Her name, meaning a bee, is the same as that of Rebekah’s nurse (marginal reference). The reason of her preeminence is added. She was “a woman, a prophetess,” like Miriam Exodus 15:20; Huldah 2 Kings 22:14, etc. In Judges 4:6, Judges 4:9,Judges 4:14, we have examples of her prophetic powers, and in Judg. 5 a noble specimen of prophetic song. Though the other Judges are not called prophets, yet they all seem to have had direct communications from God, either of knowledge... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 4:5

She dwelt - Rather, “she sat,” namely, to judge the people Judges 4:10, but not in the usual place, “the gate” Ruth 4:1-2; Proverbs 22:22. It suited her character, and the wild unsafe times better, that she should sit under a palm-tree in the secure heights of Mount Ephraim, between Ramah and Bethel (Judges 20:33 note). This verse shows that the Judges exercised the civil as well as military functions of rulers 1 Samuel 7:15-17. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 4:4

Judges 4:4. A prophetess Such a one as Miriam, Exodus 15:23; Huldah, 2 Kings 22:14, and divers others; but the word prophets, or prophetesses, is ambiguous, sometimes being meant of persons extraordinarily inspired by God, and endowed with the power of working miracles, and foretelling things to come; and sometimes of persons endowed with special gifts or graces, for the better understanding and discoursing about the word and mind of God. Of this sort were the sons of the prophets, or... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 4:5

Judges 4:5. And she dwelt Or, as the Septuagint and Vulgate understand it, she sat: she had her judgment-seat in the open air, under the shadow of that tree, which was an emblem of the justice she administered there: thriving and growing against opposition, as the palm-tree does under pressures. Came to her To have their suits and causes determined by her sentence. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Judges 4:1-24

Deliverance under Deborah (4:1-5:31)Hazor, chief city of the north, had been conquered and burnt by Joshua (Joshua 11:10-13). However, not all the people had been destroyed. Having rebuilt Hazor, they now took revenge on the northern tribes, especially Zebulun and Naphtali, and ruled them cruelly for twenty years (4:1-3). (To understand fully how God saved Israel at this time, we must read the historical outline in Chapter 4 together with the song of victory in Chapter 5.)Israel’s deliverer on... read more