Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 4:9
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.
9. notwithstanding ] Lest Barak’s hopes should soar too high, the prophetess foretells that the crowning glory shall not be his but Jael’s. It is doubtful whether any blame of Barak is implied: the words mean simply ‘thou wilt not gain the honours of the expedition.’
And Deborah arose to Kedesh ] From the neighbourhood of Beth-el the journey would take four or five days. But we have seen reason to doubt the existence of Deborah’s home in the S.; these words are perhaps a harmonizing addition; see notes on 5 and 6a.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mark the unhesitating faith and courage of Deborah, and the rebuke to Baraks timidity, the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman (Jael, Jdg 4:22). For a similar use of a weak instrument, that the excellency of the power might be of God, compare the history of Gideon and his 300, David and his sling, Shamgar and his ox-goad, Samson and the jawbone of the ass. (See 1Co 1:26, 1Co 1:31.) Barak would probably think the woman must be Deborah. The prophecy was only explained by its fulfillment. Her presence as a prophetess would give a divine sanction to Baraks attempt to raise the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. To Barak himself it would be a pledge of her truth and sincerity. She probably commissioned some chief to raise the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh (Jdg 5:14, compare Psa 80:2), while she went with Barak and mustered Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. The Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.] Does not this mean, If I go with thee, the conquest shall be attributed to me, and thou wilt have no honour? Or, is it a prediction of the exploit of Jael? In both these senses the words have been understood. It seems, however, more likely that Jael is intended.
The Septuagint made a remarkable addition to the speech of Barak: “If thou wilt go with me I will go; but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go; ‘ , because I know not the day in which the Lord will send his angel to give me success.” By which he appears to mean, that although he was certain of a Divine call to this work, yet, as he knew not the time in which it would be proper for him to make the attack, he wishes that Deborah, on whom the Divine Spirit constantly rested, would accompany him to let him know when to strike that blow, which he knew would be decisive. This was quite natural, and quite reasonable, and is no impeachment whatever of Barak’s faith. St. Ambrose and St. Augustine have the same reading; but it is found in no MS. nor in any other of the versions. See Jdg 4:14.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Notwithstanding the journey, Heb. the way, i.e. the course or practice, as the way is taken, Num 22:32.
A woman; either,
1. Jael; or rather,
2. Deborah, who being, as it were, the judge and chief commandress of the army, the honour of the victory would be ascribed to her. But for Jael, her fact would have been the same, though Barak had gone into the field without Deborah.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. the Lord shall sell Sisera intothe hand of a womanThis was a prediction which Barak could notunderstand at the time; but the strain of it conveyed a rebuke of hisunmanly fears.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And she said, I will surely go with thee, She made no hesitation about it, but agreed at once to go with him for his encouragement; perceiving some degree of weakness in him, and yet an hearty and sincere inclination to engage in the work proposed, and that this might be no hinderance, she readily assents to it: adding,
notwithstanding the journey thou takest; the way or course he steered, the methods he took in insisting on it that she should go with him:
shall not be for thine honour; as a general of an army, who is commonly solicitous to have the whole glory of an action:
for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman; meaning either herself, for she being judge of Israel, and going along with him, would have the glory of the victory ascribed to her, as usually is to the principal person in the army; and so it would be said in future time, that the Lord delivered Sisera and his army, not into the hand of Barak, but into the hand of Deborah, whereby he would not have all the honour which otherwise he would have, if she went not with him; or else Jael, Heber’s wife, is meant, into whose hands Sisera did fall, and by whom he was slain; but this seems to have no connection with Deborah’s going or not going with him, it did not depend upon that one way or another; unless it can be thought that thus it was ordered in Providence as a rebuke of his diffidence and weakness, that because he would not go without a woman, Sisera should fall not into his hands, but into the hands of a woman; and if so, this is a clear instance of Deborah’s having a spirit of prophecy, and of a prediction of a future contingent event:
and Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh; that is, they went together from the palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim, to Kedesh in Mount Naphtali, in order to raise the ten thousand men that were to fight with Sisera.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) I will surely go with thee.Literally-Going, I will go.
Shall not be for thine honour.Literally, thy pre-eminence (LXX. proterma; Luther, der Preis ) shall not be on the path which thou enterest.
Of a woman.To enter into the force of this we must remember the humble and almost down-trodden position of women in the East, so that it could hardly fail to be a humiliation to a great warrior to be told that the chief glory would fall to a woman. He may have supposed that the woman was Deborah herself; but the woman was not the great prophetess, but Jael, the wife of the nomad chief (R. Tanchum, and Jos., Antt. v. 5, 4). Compare the feeling implied in Jdg. 9:24.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Not be for thine honour The honour would go to Jehovah as the author, and to a woman as the instrument. No one, indeed, could say, “No thanks to Barak,” for he bravely led the hosts to battle; but how immensely greater his honour had he gone without the prophetess, trusting solely in the word and power of his God!
Sell Sisera into the hand of a woman The victory will be ascribed to Deborah rather than to Barak, and Sisera will fall by a woman’s hand, even by the hand of Jael, the wife of Heber. Jdg 4:21. Thus Barak suffered loss of honour in that Deborah, in a general sense, and Jael more particularly, robbed him of this crown. This prophecy, that Sisera was to fall by a woman’s hand, was probably noised abroad, and reached the ears of Heber’s wife.
Went with Barak “For the sake of the great national cause she leaves her peaceful palm, and by her readiness to share in every danger evidences the truth of her announcements.” Cassel.
To Kedesh The house of Barak, and the rendezvous of the northern tribes. Jdg 4:6.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 4:9 a
‘And she said, “I will surely go with you. Except that now the journey you take will not be for your honour, for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”
Deborah’s confidence in Yahweh was total and she unhesitatingly agreed. But as a result of his unwillingness to trust God on his own Barak was now warned that the greatest honour of victory, the slaying of Sisera, would not be his. Instead it would be by a woman’s hand, although it would still be Yahweh’s doing. Barak was content. He probably thought she meant herself.
Like much prophecy her prophecy had a twofold fulfilment, a conscious one and an unconscious one. Possibly even Deborah did not know that. Yahweh gave her the words but the details of the fulfilment must await events. Firstly it would be because as judge of Israel she would now be commander-in-chief and when the battle was won the glory would go primarily to her. Barak had forfeited his chief place. But secondly it was because Yahweh had other plans for Sisera. Instead of a glorious death he would be humiliated.
“Yahweh will sell Sisera.” This indicates Yahweh’s complete control over Sisera. He had the right to ‘sell’ him. He would do to Sisera what He had previously done to the children of Israel (Jdg 4:2). He would be ‘sold off’, handed over like a bondservant who could not do anything about it.
Jdg 4:9 b
‘And Deborah rose and went with Barak to Kedesh.’
In accordance with her promise Deborah went with Barak to his home town (Jdg 4:6). Meanwhile, as the song of Deborah makes clear, the call went out to the tribes of the confederacy to come to the aid of their brothers. (The non-mention here demonstrates how careful we must be in interpreting the silences of Scripture. Writers were not giving an inclusive history but an outline of events that, while true, conveyed their spiritual message).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 4:9 And 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.
Ver. 9. Shall not be for thine honour. ] Because a weak woman shall share with thee therein. Although in some women, such as were Deborah, Jael, Artemisia, Zenobia, Blandina, Queen Elizabeth, besides their sex there was nothing womanlike, or weak.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
notwithstanding: 1Sa 2:30, 2Ch 26:18
sell Sisera: Jdg 2:14
into: Jdg 4:17-22, Jdg 5:24-27, Jdg 9:54, 2Sa 20:21, 2Sa 20:22
Reciprocal: Jdg 3:8 – he sold Jdg 7:10 – General Jdg 7:13 – a cake 1Ch 6:72 – Kedesh Joe 3:8 – I will
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 4:9. The journey thou takest Hebrew, the way thou takest, which may mean the course he had resolved upon, not to go without her. Shall not be for thine honour Though his faith was accepted, yet the weakness of it somewhat eclipsed his glory. The Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman It is greatly to the honour of a conqueror to take the general of the enemys army, or to kill him with his own hand; which, she tells him, should be denied him, as a small punishment for his diffidence and reluctance to comply with her directions; and as he would not go without a woman, so a woman should take away his honour from him.