Judges 5

Judges 5 is a chapter in the early part of the Book of Judges. It retells, in the form of a song, the battle against Sisera that Judges 4 narrates in prose.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 Deborah and Barak praise the LORD for the people's willing self-offering. They sing that when the LORD went out from Seir and marched from the field of Edom, the earth trembled and Sinai quaked.
• Verses 6–11 In the days of Shamgar and Jael, the highways were deserted and the leaders ceased. Then Deborah arose as "a mother in Israel." When the people chose new gods, war came to the gates, and the song calls for the righteous acts of the LORD to be rehearsed.
• Verses 12–18 Opening with a cry to rouse Deborah and Barak, this section contrasts the tribes that came to the battle with those that did not. Ephraim, Benjamin, Machir, Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali went to war, while Reuben, Gilead, Dan, and Asher stayed away.
• Verses 19–23 The kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but the stars fought from heaven and the river Kishon swept them away. A curse is pronounced on Meroz for failing to help.
• Verses 24–27 Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, gives Sisera curdled milk and kills him with a tent peg and a hammer.
• Verses 28–30 Sisera's mother waits at the window for her son and imagines the spoils of war.
• Verse 31 The song ends with a prayer that the enemies perish and that those who love the LORD rise like the sun, and the text records that the land had rest for forty years.

Key Verses

• Judges 5:2 "Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves." — establishes the people who volunteered as the theme of the entire song.
• Judges 5:7 "… until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel." — summarizes the leadership of Deborah, who rose up in a time of crisis.
• Judges 5:31 "Let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might." — the prayer that concludes the song.

People and Places

• Deborah: A prophetess and judge who sings this song.
• Barak: The son of Abinoam and the commander who led the army in chapter 4.
• Jael: The wife of Heber the Kenite, who kills Sisera.
• Sisera: The commander of the Canaanite army.
• Shamgar: The son of Anath, who appears in Judges 3:31.
• Zebulun, Naphtali, and others: Named as tribes (see twelve tribes of Israel).
• Megiddo, Taanach, and the river Kishon: The sites of the battle.
• Meroz: A place cursed for not helping in the battle. Its exact location is unknown.
• Edom and Mount Sinai also appear in the passage depicting the LORD's coming.

Points for Reflection

• Differences from chapter 4 Chapter 4 mentions only two tribes, whereas chapter 5 lists many more. Jael's deed is also described differently in the language of poetry. Interpreters read the two chapters together as prose and poetic accounts of the same event.
• The imagery of stars and river Some interpreters regard the statements in verses 20–21 that "the stars fought" and "the river Kishon swept them away" as poetic expressions. Others connect them with the rain in verse 4 and take them to refer to a torrential downpour and flooding.
• Assessing Jael The text praises Jael. Interpreters differ, however, on how to evaluate her act of deceiving and killing a guest.
• The debate over women's leadership Deborah's leadership is frequently cited in discussions of women's ordination. Some see it as a basis for women's leadership, while others regard it as an exceptional case.
• Comparable passages As a victory song, the chapter is often compared with the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15.
• Connections to the New Testament Hebrews 11 names Barak among the figures of faith. Some interpreters also read verse 24 alongside Elizabeth's words to Mary in Luke 1:42, "Blessed art thou among women."