Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 4:14
And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this [is] the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
14. is not the Lord gone out before thee? ] i.e. to battle. Jehovah was believed to ‘come forth’ from His place on Sinai to fight for Israel (Jdg 5:4 f.), or to march against Israel’s enemies with the ark as His symbol (Num 10:35), or to be Israel’s leader in battle (2Sa 5:24; cf. Hab 3:13; Zec 14:3; Psa 44:9). The belief in Jehovah as ‘a man of war’ was characteristic of this period, Exo 15:3; cf. Psa 24:8.
went down front mount Tabor ] The sudden rush down the hill threw Sisera’s forces into confusion and rendered his chariots useless. The Jews of a later day (a.d. 67) attempted by the same means to overwhelm the Roman cavalry dispatched by Vespasian, but without success; Jos., War iv. 1, 8. In the Song, the river Kishon plays a part in the tragedy not mentioned in the tradition as given here.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 14. Up; for this is the day] This is exactly the purpose for which the Septuagint state, Jdg 4:8, that Barak wished Deborah to accompany him. “I know not,” says he, “THE DAY in which God will send his angel to give me prosperity: come thou with we that thou mayest direct me in this respect.” She went, and told him the precise time in which he was to make the attack: Up, for THIS is the DAY in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand.
Went down from Mount Tabor] He had probably encamped his men on and near the summit of this mount. See Clarke on Jdg 4:6.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Up, Heb. arise, delay not, fall to thy work. Gone out before thee, to wit, as General of thine army, to fight for thee: see Jdg 5:20; 2Sa 5:24.
Barak went down from Mount Tabor he doth not make use of the advantage which he had of the hill, where he might have been out of the reach of his iron chariots, Jos 17:16, but boldly marcheth down into the valley, to give Sisera the opportunity of using all his horses and chariots, that so the victory might be more glorious and wonderful.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. Barak went down from mountTaborIt is a striking proof of the full confidence Barak andhis troops reposed in Deborah’s assurance of victory, that theyrelinquished their advantageous position on the hill and rushed intothe plain in face of the iron chariots they so much dreaded.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Deborah said unto Barak, up,…. Not go up higher for they were upon the top of a mountain; but rise, bestir thyself, prepare for battle, put the army in rank and file, and march and meet the enemy without delay:
for this [is] the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand; by a spirit of prophecy she knew this was the precise day, the exact time in which it was the will of God this deliverance should be wrought; and she speaks of it as if it was past, because of the certainty of it, and the full assurance she had of it, and Barak might have; nor is what she says any contradiction to what she had said before, that Sisera should be sold or delivered into the hands of a woman, Jud 4:9; for both were true, Sisera first fell into the hands of Jael, a woman, and then into the hands of Barak, and into the hands of both on the same day:
is not the Lord gone out before thee? it was manifest he was, at least to Deborah, who was fully assured of it, and therefore it became Barak and his men, and great encouragement they had, to follow, since as the Lord went before them as their Generalissimo, they might be sure of victory: perhaps there might be some visible appearance, some shining lustre and splendour of the Shekinah, or divine Majesty; the Targum is,
“is not the angel of the Lord gone out before thee, to prosper thee?”
so Barak went from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him; no mention is made of Deborah’s coming down with them, perhaps she stayed on the mountain till the battle was over: nor might Barak be urgent upon her now to go with him, being confident of success, and having all the ends answered by her presence he could wish for.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(14) This is the day.See the addition of the LXX. to Jdg. 4:8. The ancients attached the utmost importance to fortunate and unfortunate days, and Barak was guided by a prophetess, not by idle auguries.
Is not the Lord gone out before thee?Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle (Zec. 14:3; comp. Deu. 9:3).
Went down from mount Tabor.As he had neither cavalry nor chariots it required no little faith in Barak to abandon his strong post and assume the aggressive against the kind of forces which struck most terror into the Israelites (Heb. 11:32). Hence the emphatic addition, at his feet (Heb., and see Jdg. 4:10). If the beginning of the battle was at Taanach, the Israelites had to march thirteen miles along the caravan road. Probably the Canaanites watched this bold and unexpected movement with as much astonishment as the huge Persian host saw the handful of Athenians charge down from the hill-sides into the plain of Marathon.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘ And Deborah said to Barak, “Up, for this is the day in which Yahweh has delivered Sisera into your hand. Is not Yahweh gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten eleph men after him.’
The Canaanite army were gathered at the river Kishon, not expecting an attack. After all it was they who were the hunters. The last thing they expected was for the Israelites to come down to meet them, and they would be taken totally by surprise. It was probably the last thing that the Israelites had expected either. But at Deborah’s words, communicated to them by Barak, they responded. Was the Spirit of Yahweh not with her? And now she had promised that He would be with them.
“So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten eleph men after him.” At Deborah’s command the Israelite forces swept down the mountain – had she not promised that Yahweh had gone in front of them? – and attacked the Canaanite force, taking them by surprise.
“Is not Yahweh gone out before you?” In chapter 4 there is not a word to explain the significance of this, except as a general theological promise. Nothing is said about the rainstorm. But their victory proved it was true. Yahweh was there fighting for them. Had we not, however, had the song of Deborah we would not have had the full explanation which was that while the troops and chariots of Sisera waited by the banks of the river, heavy rains fell on the surrounding mountains causing flash floods and further heavy rains which swept down and flooded the plain (Jdg 5:21), which was already possibly soggy. As a result the chariot wheels were bemired in the mud. Clad in their iron weaponry and accoutrements the footsoldiers too would find the going heavy. The song puts it in terms reminiscent of the delivery from the soldiers of Pharaoh at the Sea of Reeds.
Thus when the army of Barak, fervent and more lightly clad, and therefore more capable of dealing with the mud, suddenly and unexpectedly swept down on them they were thrown into even more confusion. Their chariots were useless, their leadership caught up in them, and the unexpected attack caught them unprepared.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Oh! what lively faith did this animated woman possess! Observe the expression, Is not the Lord gone out before thee? Reader! what may we not insure to ourselves of success, in all the battles of our enemies, when we can see Jesus going before us, and leading on to victory? This is the apostle’s direction, under the Holy Ghost, looking unto Jesus. Heb 12:2 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 4:14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this [is] the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
Ver. 14. Is not the Lord gone out before thee? ] As general of the army: yea, he alone is a whole army of men, van and rear both. Isa 52:12
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
is not . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a Woman Executioner
Jdg 4:14-24
The Lord discomfited Sisera and all his host. When General Gordon rode off alone on his camel to break up the camps of the Arab slave-drivers, he realized, as he went over the desert with Thomas Kempis immortal book in his hand, that God was already discomfiting them; and as he rode into their midst, he discovered that God had made the way perfectly clear. Yes, it is as Deborah sang, in words afterward quoted by our Lord, They that love Him are as the sun when he goeth forth in his might, Jdg 5:31; Mat 13:43. The soul that is united to Christ is irresistible.
Jaels deed is narrated at length again in Jdg 5:24. It was a most unusual breach of Arab hospitality. Was it that she was aggrieved by Siseras treatment of her sex, Jdg 5:30? Or was it the expression of her faith in Jehovah and of her identification with His people? If the latter, may we not believe that then, as always, the Almighty understood the impulse that lay beneath the crude expression? How often we give blundering expression to noble impulses, which Jesus interprets truly! Ah, how blessed it is to have a Savior who understands the motives of our hearts!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Up: Jdg 19:28, Gen 19:14, Gen 44:4, Jos 7:13, 1Sa 9:26
for this: This is exactly the purpose for which the Septuagint states, Jdg 4:8, that Barak wished Deborah to accompany him: “Because I know not the day in which God will send his angel to give me prosperity.”
is not: Deu 9:3, 2Sa 5:24, Psa 68:7, Psa 68:8, Isa 52:12, Mic 2:13
mount: Mount Tabor, called by the Arabs Djebel Tour, is almost entirely insulated, and rises up in the plain of Esdraelon, about six miles from Nazareth, in a conical form, somewhat like a sugar-loaf. Josephus states its height to be thirty stadia, with a plain of 26 stadia in circumference on its top, on which was formerly a city, which was used as a military post. It is described as an exceedingly beautiful mountain, having a rich soil, producing excellent herbage, and adorned with groves and clumps of trees.
Reciprocal: Jos 10:8 – General Jdg 4:7 – deliver Jdg 5:14 – after Jdg 5:15 – Barak Jdg 5:18 – in the high Jdg 7:9 – I have delivered Jdg 7:15 – Arise 1Sa 14:12 – Come up after me 1Ch 14:15 – then thou 1Ch 22:16 – Arise
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 4:14. Deborah said unto Barak, Up Hebrew, Arise, Delay not. If we have ground to believe that God goes before us, we may well go on with courage and cheerfulness. Is not the Lord gone before thee? Namely, as general of thine army, to fight for thee. So Barak went down He did not make use of the advantage which he had of the hill, where he might have been out of the reach of Siseras iron chariots, but boldly marched down into the valley, to give him the opportunity of using all his horses and chariots, that so the victory might be more glorious. Jdg 4:15. The Lord discomfited Sisera The particulars of the battle are not recorded in the sacred text; but it evidently appears from thence that there was something extraordinary and miraculous in this defeat of Jabins host. The Hebrew word , jaham, imports that they were discomfited with great terror and noise, probably with thunder, lightning, and hail- stones, poured upon them from heaven, as is implied Jdg 5:20; and as the same word is used Jos 10:10; and 1Sa 7:10. Josephus confirms this opinion, assuring us that as soon as the armies were engaged, there arose a prodigious tempest of hail and rain, which drove in the faces of the Canaanites, and occasioned a total rout of them. Antiq., lib. 5. cap. 5. The heavens, therefore, had the principal share in this great overthrow. With the edge of the sword That is, by the sword of Barak and his army, whose ministry God used; but so, it seems, that they had little else to do but to kill those whom God, by more powerful arms, had put to flight. And fled away on his feet He thought his chariot not swift enough to carry him out of danger, and imagined he should be less exposed to observation, and less liable to be discovered, when he fled like a common soldier. To which we may add, that in ancient times valiant men were wonderfully swift of foot; as is observed of Asahel, 2Sa 2:18; and every one knows it was the character of Achilles among the Greeks.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 4:14-23. The Battle of the Kishon and the Death of Sisera.The Galilean highlanders rushed like a torrent down the slope of Mt. Tabor, and swept the enemy before them. When Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot (Jdg 4:15), he made westward for Harosheth. The tent of Jael was pitched somewhere in the Great Plain, not (as Jdg 4:11; Jdg 4:17 would imply) away north in the neighbourhood of Kedesh or Hazor. The account of Siseras death given in this chapter differs materially from the representation in the triumphal Ode. Jael covers him with a rug, or perhaps the word (which is found only here) means a tent curtain; she opens her milk-skin, and bids him drink; she apparently agrees to stand at the tent door and put his pursuers off the scent; and she waits till he has fallen into a deep sleep before she lifts her hammer and drives a tent-pin through his temples. Contrast with this the older account which is found in Jdg 5:24-27. We cannot doubt for a moment which of these versions is to be accepted. Criticism has vindicated a womans honour.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
4:14 And Deborah said unto Barak, {g} Up; for this [is] the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
(g) She still encourages him to this enterprise by assuring him of God’s favour and aid.