Judges 4

[Judges 4:1] AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AGAIN DID EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE
LORD, WHEN EHUD WAS DEAD.
"Ehud" connotes "sympathize, like, admire"..

[Judges 4:2] AND THE LORD SOLD THEM INTO THE HAND OF JABIN KING OF CANAAN,
THAT REIGNED IN HAZOR; THE CAPTAIN OF WHOSE HOST WAS SISERA, WHICH DWELT IN
HAROSHETH OF THE GENTILES.                 >>JABIN>> also pronounced as
"Yavin" and meaning literally "He who will understand". Hazor had been
destroyed and many of its people fled to HAROSHETH OF THE GENTILES then
after the Israelites had taken a conciliatory attitude towards the
Canaanites they had been allowed to return and rebuild it. The King moved
his residence to Hazor while the bulk of his people remained in HAROSHETH
OF THE GENTILES.  The Israelites had been aiming for peace and
reconciliation with the Canaanites who however were striving to return the
situation to how it was before the Israelites came on the scene. The
situation was similar to how it is at present with the Palestinians. The
difference however was that at that time the Canaanites were culturally and
otherwise in certain ways more advanced than the Israelites and had a
natural edge over them.

This present chapter describes events that are also spoken of in chapter
five and the two sources should be considered together to understand fully
what really did happen.
I have utilized the studies of Elchanan Bin Nun ("Harari Oz"), and Yigal
Ariel (Oz veAnava) and  Yehudah Elitzur ("Sefer Shoftim" -Daat Mikra).

[Judges 4:3] AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CRIED UNTO THE LORD: FOR HE HAD
NINE HUNDRED CHARIOTS OF IRON; AND TWENTY YEARS HE MIGHTILY OPPRESSED THE
CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.

[Judges 4:4] AND DEBORAH, A PROPHETESS, THE WIFE OF LAPIDOTH, SHE
JUDGED ISRAEL AT THAT TIME.
DEBORAH pronounceable as 'Devorah' and meaning "bee". A bee is always
humming and busy and produces sweet honey so I guess that is why it became
a girls name.
LAPIDOTH means "flames" or more preciously "torches".

[Judges 4:5] AND SHE DWELT UNDER THE PALM TREE OF DEBORAH BETWEEN RAMAH AND
BETHEL IN MOUNT EPHRAIM: AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CAME UP TO HER FOR
JUDGEMENT.

[Judges 4:6] AND SHE SENT AND CALLED BARAK THE SON OF ABINOAM OUT OF
KEDESHNAPHTALI, AND SAID  UNTO HIM, HATH NOT THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL
COMMANDED, SAYING, GO AND DRAW TOWARD MOUNT  TABOR, AND TAKE WITH THEE TEN
THOUSAND MEN OF THE CHILDREN OF NAPHTALI AND OF THE CHILDREN OF  ZEBULUN
BARAK means lightning. A Midrash claims that Barak and Lapidoth (THE
HUSBAND OF Deborah) were one and the same person under different names who
was also known as Michael. Michael was considered a king of guardian angel
for all Israel (Daniel 10:21 12:1, Esther Rabah 7, etc). Michael was also
once considered the "patron saint" of England until "Saint George" replaced
him.

[Judges 4:7] AND I WILL DRAW UNTO THEE TO THE RIVER KISHON SISERA, THE
CAPTAIN OF JABIN'S ARMY, WITH HIS CHARIOTS AND HIS MULTITUDE; AND I WILL
DELIVER HIM INTO THINE HAND.

[Judges 4:8] AND BARAK SAID UNTO HER, IF THOU WILT GO WITH ME, THEN I WILL
GO: BUT IF THOU WILT NOT GO WITH ME, THEN I WILL NOT GO..

[Judges 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
Kedesh was a Naphtalite center. Kedesh could also be pronounced Kades.
Later in Scythian a people known as the Naphtalites were also referred to
as the "Kadussi" ands as the Gaeli and were considered according to the
Aphocrythical Book of Tobias were descended from Israelites exiled by the
Assyrians.

[Judges 4:10] AND BARAK CALLED ZEBULUN AND NAPHTALI TO KEDESH; AND HE WENT
UP WITH TEN THOUSAND MEN AT HIS FEET: AND DEBORAH WENT UP WITH
HIM.

[Judges 4:11] NOW HEBER THE KENITE, WHICH WAS OF THE CHILDREN OF HOBAB THE
FATHER IN LAW OF  MOSES, HAD SEVERED HIMSELF FROM THE KENITES, AND PITCHED
HIS TENT UNTO THE PLAIN OF ZAANAIM, WHICH IS BY KEDESH.

[Judges 4:12] AND THEY SHEWED SISERA THAT BARAK THE SON OF ABINOAM WAS GONE
UP TO MOUNT  TABOR.

[Judges 4:13] AND SISERA GATHERED TOGETHER ALL HIS CHARIOTS, EVEN NINE
HUNDRED CHARIOTS OF IRON, AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WERE WITH HIM, FROM
HAROSHETH OF THE GENTILES UNTO THE RIVER OF KISHON.

[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.
Rabbi Elchanan bin Nun understands all the sources taken together as saying
that 10, 000 warriors from Naphtali and Zebulon under the command of Barak
were on Mount Tabor, somewhere on the plain just below the mountain acting
as a kind of "bait" were 30,000 probably from Issachar and backing them up
while also diverting other forces were men from Ephraim, Benjamin, and
Menasseh at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo in the southwest waiting in
the "wings" as it were. Yavin however foresaw the situation and set those
kings allied with him to hold back the Israelite Tribes at Megiddo which
they did until being overcome. The Canaanites used iron chariots and wished
to give battle in the plain where they had the strategic advantage.
The Canaanites under Sisera approached but due to "cosmic" disturbances and
the movements of stars in the sky the iron was heated (Judges 5:20 Talmud,
Pesachim 18;b) and they were forced to cool their chariots and weapons in
the waters of the Kishon River. There was a rainstorm which caused the
river to flood and sweep away some the chariots and disabled the others by
turning the ground into a muddy mess (Josephus). It was at that point that
the forces of Barak struck and scattered them, every men fleeing for his life.

[Judges 4:15] AND THE LORD DISCOMFITED SISERA, AND ALL HIS CHARIOTS, AND
ALL HIS HOST, WITH THE EDGE OF THE SWORD BEFORE BARAK; SO THAT SISERA
LIGHTED DOWN OFF HIS CHARIOT, AND FLED AWAY ON HIS FEET.

[Judges 4:16] BUT BARAK PURSUED AFTER THE CHARIOTS, AND AFTER THE HOST,
UNTO HAROSHETH OF THE GENTILES: AND ALL THE HOST OF SISERA FELL UPON THE
EDGE OF THE SWORD; AND THERE WAS NOT A MAN LEFT.

[Judges 4:17] HOWBEIT SISERA FLED AWAY ON HIS FEET TO THE TENT OF JAEL THE
WIFE OF HEBER THE KENITE: FOR THERE WAS PEACE BETWEEN JABIN THE KING OF
HAZOR AND THE HOUSE OF HEBER THE    KENITE.

[Judges 4:18] AND JAEL WENT OUT TO MEET SISERA, AND SAID UNTO HIM, TURN IN,
MY LORD, TURN IN TO  ME; FEAR NOT. AND WHEN HE HAD TURNED IN UNTO HER INTO
THE TENT, SHE COVERED HIM WITH A MANTLE.

[Judges 4:19] AND HE SAID UNTO HER, GIVE ME, I PRAY THEE, A LITTLE WATER TO
DRINK; FOR I AM THIRSTY AND SHE OPENED A BOTTLE OF MILK, AND GAVE HIM
DRINK, AND COVERED HIM.

[Judges 4:20] AGAIN HE SAID UNTO HER, STAND IN THE DOOR OF THE TENT, AND IT
SHALL BE, WHEN ANY MAN DOTH COME AND ENQUIRE OF THEE, AND SAY, IS THERE ANY
MAN HERE? THAT THOU SHALT SAY, NO.


[Judges 4:21] THEN JAEL HEBER'S WIFE TOOK A NAIL OF THE TENT, AND TOOK AN
HAMMER IN HER HAND AND WENT SOFTLY UNTO HIM, AND SMOTE THE NAIL INTO HIS
TEMPLES, AND FASTENED IT INTO THE GROUND: FOR HE WAS FAST ASLEEP AND WEARY.
SO HE DIED.
[Judges 4:22] AND, BEHOLD, AS BARAK PURSUED SISERA, JAEL CAME OUT TO MEET
HIM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, COME, AND I WILL SHEW THEE THE MAN WHOM THOU
SEEKEST. AND WHEN HE CAME INTO HER TENT,  BEHOLD, SISERA LAY DEAD, AND THE
NAIL WAS IN HIS TEMPLES.
[Judges 4:23] SO GOD SUBDUED ON THAT DAY JABIN THE KING OF CANAAN BEFORE
THE CHILDREN OF  ISRAEL.

[Judges 4:24] AND THE HAND OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL PROSPERED, AND
PREVAILED AGAINST JABIN THE  KING OF CANAAN, UNTIL THEY HAD DESTROYED JABIN
KING OF CANAAN.                      


Judges Index
HOme