And the hand of the children of Israel, prospered and prevailed against Jabin, the king of Canaan ,.... They continued their wars with him, in which they were successful: until they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan ; took him, and put him to death, and took his cities, and destroyed the inhabitants of them, and so acted more agreeably to the declared will of God, that they should not spare the Canaanites, but destroy them. read more
The hand of the children of Israel prospered - הלוך ותלך vattelech haloch , it went, going - they followed up this victory, and the consequence was, they utterly destroyed Jabin and his kingdom. It will naturally be expected that something should be said to justify the conduct of Jael: it must be owned that she slew Sisera in circumstances which caused the whole transaction to appear exceedingly questionable. They are the following: - There was peace between her family... read more
See the margin. The meaning is, that Barak’s great victory was the beginning of a successful resistance to Jabin, by which the Israelites recovered their independence, and finally broke the Canaanite power. Accordingly, we hear no more of Canaanite domination in the Book of Judges. read more
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
prospered. Figure of speech Polyptoton Hebrew going on went on. Revised Version = prevailed more and more. read more
1. The victory over Jabin and Sisera ch. 4 read more
This victory broke the back of Canaanite domination at this period in Israel’s history. The Israelites continued to put pressure on the Canaanites until they finally destroyed Jabin and his kingdom. This may have taken several years. [Note: For a very helpful exposition of this chapter with emphasis on its chiastic literary structure, see John H. Stek, "The Bee and the Mountain Goat: A Literary Reading of Judges 4," in A Tribute to Gleason Archer, pp. 53-86.] The Canaanites never oppressed... read more
Deborah and BarakThis deliverance is described a second time in the early poem in Judges 5 (see on Judges 5:1). No other narrative describes more clearly the religious gathering of the clans, and the prowess of the hardy mountaineers when united. The plain of Esdraelon (see Intro. § 5) is one of the famous battle-fields of history. It drives like a wedge from the coast within 10m. of the Jordan; but it is dominated by hills on all sides, and is almost closed by them at its western end. In... read more
(24) The hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed.—Literally, as in the margin, The hand. . . . going went, and was hard—i.e., “became heavier and heavier in its pressure.” The battle of the Kishon was the beginning of a complete deliverance of Israel from the yoke of the Canaanites. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 4:17-24
We have seen the army of the Canaanites totally 3434 routed. It is said (Ps. 83:9, 10, where the defeat of this army is pleaded as a precedent for God's doing the like in after times) that they became as dung for the earth. Now here we have, I. The fall of their general, Sisera, captain of the host, in whom, it is likely, Jabin their king put an entire confidence, and therefore was not himself present in the action. Let us trace the steps of this mighty man's fall. 1. He quitted his chariot,... read more