Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 5:15
And the princes of Issachar [were] with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben [there were] great thoughts of heart.
15. the princes of Issachar were with Deborah ] This seems to be the meaning; if Deborah belonged to the tribe of Issachar we can understand why she accompanied it; contrast Jdg 4:5 n. Issachar is not mentioned in ch. 1 (see p. 3). The settlements of the tribe lay S.E. of the Plain, S. of Naphtali, and S.E. of Zebulun, to judge from Jos 19:17-23, which, however, defines the boundaries of a much later age. At this period Issachar had not earned the ignoble reputation with which it is taunted in Gen 49:14 f.
As was Issachar, so was Barak ] What can this mean? The construction of the sentence is harsh, and the second Issachar is omitted by LXX and Vulgate We should expect the name of another tribe here; in view of Jdg 5:18, cf. Jdg 4:6, Naphtali deserved honourable mention at this point.
Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet ] i.e. at his heels, after him, cf. Jdg 4:10, Jdg 8:5. The rendering they rushed is a questionable paraphrase of the verb which lit. = he was sent, i.e. according to usage was let go Gen 44:3, or dismissed Isa 50:1; the form must be incorrect. Winckler repeats the verb which he suggests for Jdg 5:14 a.
15 b 18. The reluctant and the ready.
By the watercourses of Reuben ] For the rendering watercourses cf. Job 20:17. But the territory of Reuben was dry rather than well-watered (like that of Gad); perhaps the old rendering divisions (LXX, Vulgate), i.e. sections of the tribe, is to be preferred; for this use of the word cf. 2Ch 35:5. Instead of resolves, lit. decisions, the form in Jdg 5:16 b is better, soundings, lit. investigations, cf. 1Sa 20:12 ‘when I have sounded my father.’ Transl. Among the divisions of Reuben great were the soundings of heart, i.e. to find out one another’s sentiments. Note the character of Reuben given in Gen 49:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Even Issachar … – i. e. and, as well as Issachar, Barak also with the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, rushed down on foot from Mount Tabor into the valley to attack the iron chariots of Sisera.
For the divisions – Better: among the brooks. Reuben ought to have followed in this catalogue of patriots, but with that abruptness for which this poem is so conspicuous, Deborah adverts to his absence instead.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. The princes of Issachar] They were at hand and came willingly forth, at the call of Deborah, to this important war.
Barak – was sent on foot] I have no doubt that , without regarding the points, should be translated with his footmen or infantry. Thus the Alexandrian Septuagint understood it, rendering the clause thus: , “Barak also sent forth his footmen into the valley.” Luther has perfectly hit the meaning, Barak mit seinen fussvoleke, “Barak with his footmen.”
For the divisions of Reuben] Either the Reubenites were divided among themselves into factions, which prevented their co-operation with their brethren, or they were divided in their judgment concerning the measures now to be pursued, which prevented them from joining with the other tribes till the business was entirely settled.
The thoughts of heart, and searchings of heart, might refer to the doubts and uneasiness felt by the other tribes, when they found the Reubenites did not join them; for they might have conjectured that they were either unconcerned about their liberty, or were meditating a coalition with the Canaanites.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Were with Deborah, i.e. ready to assist her. Even Issachar. Heb. and Issachar, i.e. the tribe or people of Issachar, following the counsel and example of their princes, and being now at their commandments, as they were afterwards upon another occasion, 1Ch 12:32.
And also Barak, or, even as Barak, i.e. they were as hearty and valiant as Barak their general; and as he marched on foot here and Jdg 4:10, against their enemies horses and chariots, and that
into the valley, where the main use of horses and chariots lies; so did they with no less courage and resolution.
The divisions, or separations; whereby they were divided or separated, not so much one from another in their thoughts, counsels, and carriage in this war, (for they seem to be all too well agreed in abiding at home with their sheep, as it follows,) as all from their brethren, from whom they were divided no less in their designs and affections, than in their situation by the river Jordan; and they would not join their interests and forces with them in this common cause.
Great thoughts, or, great searchings, as it is Jdg 5:16; great and sad thoughts, and debates, and perplexities of mind among the Israelites, to see themselves deserted by so great and potent a tribe as Reuben was.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. Then comes a reproachfulnotice of the tribes which did not obey the summons to take the fieldagainst the common enemy of Israel. By the
divisionsthat is, thewatercourses which descend from the eastern hills unto the Jordan andDead Sea.
For the divisions of Reubenthere were great thoughts of heartThey felt the patrioticimpulse and determined, at first, to join the ranks of their westernbrethren, but resiled from the purpose, preferring their peacefulshepherd songs to the trumpet sound of war.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah,…. On Mount Tabor, whither they came to offer themselves to join in the war against Jabin; or to assist with their counsels, the men of this tribe being understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 1Ch 12:32
even Issachar: not the princes only, but the whole tribe also; so the Targum paraphrases it,
“the rest of the tribe of Issachar:”
and also Barak, he was sent on foot into the valley; which was at the bottom of Mount Tabor, from whence he was sent down by Deborah, when Sisera’s army was come thither; and where he went cheerfully on foot at the head of his 10,000 men, to engage Sisera with his horse and chariots; and which latter were capable of doing great execution in the valley, by running among the foot, and cutting them in pieces with the scythes at the side of them; but Barak, fearless of danger, readily obeyed the command of the judge and prophetess, believing it was of God: or the words may be rendered, as by Noldius h
as Issachar, so Barak; he was sent, c. the one as the other, with equal readiness and cheerfulness, courage and intrepidity, descended the mountain, at the order of Deborah, and took the field in the open plain, to engage with Sisera and his numerous host:
for the division of Reuben [there were] great thoughts of heart either for their divisions among themselves in their own councils, some being for going over Jordan to assist their brethren the Israelites against Jabin, and free them from his yoke, pitying their distressed state and condition; and others were for keeping at home, and taking care of their flocks, and not intermeddle in the quarrel; judging it to be most for their worldly peace and profit to observe a neutrality: by reason of which divisions no assistance was given. Or for their divisions and separations from their brethren the Israelites, from whom they were not only separated by the river Jordan, but in their affections to them, and regards for them; keeping at a distance from them, when their help was required: and this conduct of theirs caused many thoughts of heart in Deborah and Barak, in the princes and people of Israel, who could not well understand the reason of it; and which caused much grief and uneasiness of mind, that so powerful a tribe, and who had been assisting to them in the conquest of the land, and lay convenient to help them, yet should be so very indifferent to them.
h “sicut Issachar sic Barach”, Concord. Ebr. part. p. 305. No. 1214. So Belg.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
, “ my princes,” does not furnish any appropriate meaning, as neither Deborah nor Barak was of the tribe of Issachar, and it is not stated anywhere that the Issacharites gathered round Deborah as their leaders. The reading ( stat. constr.), adopted by the old versions, must be taken as the correct one, and the introduction of the preposition does not preclude this (compare , 2Sa 1:21, and Ewald, 289, b.). , which is used to denote an outward equality, as in 1Sa 17:42, and is substantially the same as the which follows (“ just as ”), is construed without in the first clause, as in Psa 48:6. : into the valley of Jezreel, the plain of Kishon. , as in Job 18:8, to be sent off, i.e., incessantly impelled, through his feet; here it is applied to an irresistible force of enthusiasm for the battle. The nominative to is Issachar and Barak.
15 b At the brooks of Reuben were great resolutions of heart.
16 Why remainest thou between the hurdles,
To hear the piping of the flocks?
At the brooks of Reuben were great projects of heart.
17 Gilead rests on the other side of the Jordan;
And Dan … why tarries he by ships?
Asher sits on the shore of the sea,
And by his bays he reposes.
18 Zebulun, a people that despises its soul even to death,
And Naphtali upon the heights of the field.
In this strophe Deborah first of all mentions the tribes which took no part in the conflict ( Jdg 5:15-17), and then returns in Jdg 5:18 to the Zebulunites, who staked their life along with Naphtali for the deliverance of Israel from the yoke of the enemy. The enumeration of the tribes who remained at a distance from the conflict commences with Reuben ( Jdg 5:15 and Jdg 5:16). In this tribe there did arise a lively sympathy with the national elevation. They held meetings, passed great resolutions, but it led to no practical result; and at length they preferred to remain quietly at home in their own comfortable pastoral life. The meaning brooks for is well established by Job 20:17, and there is no reason whatever for explaining the word as equivalent to , , divisions (2Ch 35:5, 2Ch 35:12; Ezr 6:18). The territory of Reuben, which was celebrated for its splendid pastures, must have abounded in brooks. The question, Why satest thou, or remainedst thou sitting between the hurdles? i.e., in the comfortable repose of a shepherd’s life, is an utterance of amazement; and the irony is very apparent in the next clause, to hear the bleating of the flocks, i.e., the piping of the shepherds, instead of the blast of the war-trumpets.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(15) And the princes of Issachar.The ordinary reading of the Hebrew gives the meaning, And my princes in Issachar (came down to battle) with Deborah. If this be the right reading, Deborah calls them my princes with a touch of pride, and hence some have assumed that she belonged to the tribe of Issachar, not to that of Ephraim. But a very slight change gives the meaning of the princes in Issachar. Deborah did not take actual part in the battle, like Boadicea or Joan of Arc, but seems to have been close at hand, in the rear, to encourage the combatants, as the ancient British and German women used to do, and as Arab women do to this day.
Even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley.Rather, even Issachar, as well as Barak, rushed down at his feet (i.e., after Barak) into the plain (emek). It is a pity that the verse does not end here, for the next clause begins the description of the malingerers, whose cowardice or selfishness is triumphantly contrasted with the heroic daring of Zebulon and Naphtali in Jdg. 5:18.
For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.The word for divisions (pelagoth) might mean families or clans, as the LXX., or factions, as the Vulgate seems to have understood it; but it almost certainly means streams, as in Job. 20:17 (margin, streaming brooks), where alone it recurs. The allusion is to the Jabbok and its numerous affluents. Thoughts of heart only occurs elsewhere in Isa. 12:1. where it is rendered decrees, with the epithet empty, or vain. Possibly, therefore, an ironic contrast is intended between the magnanimous decisions (chikekey lbh) of Reuben and his evanescent projects( chikerey lbh). The play of words is almost certainly contemptuous, and there may be some lurking scorn in the word pelagoth to imply either rivers or factions. Reuben debated and stayed at home on frivolous pretences, as Sparta did in the days of Marathon. But even then the sting of the reproach lies in the taunting question of the next verse.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Was he sent at his feet This was the way in which Issachar was Barak’s support. Obedient to orders he followed at his feet (that is, immediately after him, as in Jdg 4:10) in the valley of the Kishon, and assisted Barak in the fight.
Determinations of heart This must be taken in connexion with deliberations of heart in the next verse, when this whole reference to Reuben will appear as a masterpiece of irony. They heard the call of Deborah, and at once began to make great plans and lofty resolutions and determinations to give their help to the war; but, as if charmed by the pipings among the flocks, all their great resolutions end in deliberations!
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 5:15-18. And the princes of Issachar Mr. Green, transposing the concluding word of the last verse, seper, to the beginning of this, reads, The princes of Issachar were numbered with Deborah and Barak, when Barak was sent on foot into the valley. See ch. Jdg 4:10. After having commended those who gloriously engaged in this war, Deborah proceeds to express her disapprobation of those who withheld themselves from it. She in a beautiful manner apostrophises the Reubenites, (Jdg 5:16.) whose unhappy divisions prevented them from joining with their brethren in the common cause, and, as she finely repeats, occasioned great searchings of heart. Gilead, i.e. the Gadites, Jdg 5:17 abode inactive beyond Jordan; those of Dan continued intent upon their merchandises, while their brethren hazarded their lives in the field: Asher too (which tribe, like that of Dan, was situated on the sea shore,) refused to join their brethren in the common cause, intent upon their mercantile affairs, and buried in their several ports and havens; while Zebulun and Naphtali, with a most heroic courage, engaged as one man to hazard their lives and fortunes for the recovery of their liberty.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jdg 5:15 And the princes of Issachar [were] with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben [there were] great thoughts of heart.
Ver. 15. For the divisions of Reuben. ] Who deserted their brethren in this war, there were great thoughts of heart, that is, great heart burnings and inward turmoil of discontent against them: they were very ill thought of, and hardly censured. Others, reading the words thus, In the divisions of Reuben, make this the sense, That the Reubenites are so divided among themselves, and cannot agree upon it to help their brethren against the common enemy; the true cause is their pride and haughtiness of spirit. The truth is, pride is a dividing distemper. Gouty swollen legs keep at a distance. Bladders blown up with wind spurt else from another, they will not close; but if you prick them, you may pack a thousand in a little room. a
a Burr’s Heart Divisions.
And = But.
Even = Yea.
He was sent, &c. = into the valley they rushed at his feet.
For = among.
the princes: 1Ch 12:32
Barak: Jdg 4:6, Jdg 4:14
foot: Heb. his feet, Beraglaiv, rather, “with his footmen,” so LXX Alex. , and Luther, mit feinem Fubvolt. Act 20:13
For the: or, In the divisions, etc. Act 15:39
thoughts: Heb. impressions, Pro 22:13, 2Co 11:2
Reciprocal: Gen 49:14 – General Jdg 4:10 – at his Jdg 5:16 – For Luk 2:35 – that
Jdg 5:15. He was sent on foot Or, when he was sent, with his foot, into the valley. This is not an immaterial remark of the prophetess. It expresses that the tribe or people of Issachar, following the counsel and example of their princes, were as hearty and valiant in the cause as Barak their general; and as he marched on foot to attack Sisera with his horses and nine hundred armed chariots, and that into the valley or plain, where horses and chariots are chiefly useful, so did they, with no less courage and resolution. This she said to show that the battle was Jehovahs, and that he saveth not by horses, nor by chariots. For the divisions of Reuben Or, separations, not so much of one from another, (for they seem to have been all well agreed in abiding at home with their sheep,) as of all from their brethren, from whom they were divided no less in their designs and affections than in their situation by the river Jordan: and they would not join their interests and forces with them in this common cause. Great thoughts Or, great searchings, great and sad thoughts, and debates, and perplexities of mind among the Israelites, to see themselves deserted by so great and potent a tribe as Reuben was.
5:15 And the princes of Issachar [were] with Deborah; even {l} Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben [there were] great {m} thoughts of heart.
(l) Even the whole tribe.
(m) They marvelled that they did not cross the Jordan to help them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes