Judges 4

Judges 4 contains the story of Deborah, the deliverer narrative of the period of the judges that follows the account of Ehud in Judges 3. It is paired with Judges 5, which celebrates the same victory in poetry.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 After Ehud dies, Israel again does evil. The LORD gives them into the hand of Jabin, the Canaanite king of Hazor. With his army commander Sisera and nine hundred chariots of iron, Jabin oppresses Israel for twenty years, and Israel cries out to the LORD.
• Verses 4–5 Deborah, a prophetess and the wife of Lapidoth, becomes a judge and decides cases beneath a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel.
• Verses 6–10 Deborah summons Barak and instructs him to lead ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun to Mount Tabor. Barak replies that he will go only if Deborah goes with him. Deborah agrees to go but declares that Sisera will be delivered into the hand of a woman.
• Verse 11 Heber the Kenite pitches his tent near Kedesh.
• Verses 12–16 Sisera gathers his chariots and troops at the river Kishon. When Barak descends from Mount Tabor, the LORD routs Sisera's army. Sisera flees on foot, and his entire army falls, with not one man left.
• Verses 17–22 Sisera takes refuge in the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber. Jael gives him milk to drink and, while he sleeps, drives a tent peg into his temple. Barak, arriving in pursuit, finds Sisera dead.
• Verses 23–24 Israel at last destroys Jabin.

Key Verses

• Judges 4:4 "And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time." This is the only instance in Scripture of a woman serving as a judge.
• Judges 4:9 "For the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." This anticipates what will be accomplished through Jael's deed.
• Judges 4:14 "Is not the LORD gone out before thee?" This identifies the LORD as the author of the victory.

Characters and Places

• Deborah: The wife of Lapidoth, both a prophet and a judge.
• Barak: The son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali.
• Jabin: A Canaanite king who reigned in Hazor.
• Sisera: Jabin's army commander, who lived in Harosheth.
• Jael: The wife of Heber the Kenite.
• Mount Tabor and the river Kishon: The mountain where Barak assembled his army and the river where Sisera gathered his chariots.

Points for Reflection

• Barak's hesitation: Interpreters differ over Barak's request that Deborah accompany him. Some see it as a lack of faith; others see it as a desire to be accompanied by God's servant. Hebrews 11:32 names Barak among the people of faith.
• Jael's deed: Killing a man after receiving him as a guest is ethically controversial. Nevertheless, Judges 5:24 praises Jael.
• Deborah and female leadership: Deborah is frequently cited in debates over the ordination of women. Proponents regard her as an example of God raising up a woman as a leader, while opponents regard her case as an exceptional circumstance.
• Hobab's relationship: The text calls Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. However, Numbers 10:29 presents Hobab as the son of Reuel, so some interpreters understand him to be Moses' brother-in-law.
• Differences between chapters 4 and 5: The description of the stars and the river Kishon fighting appears only in the poem of chapter 5; it is absent from the narrative of chapter 4.