Judges 4:1-6

Deborah and Barak

1 ¹And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died.

2 And the LORD ²sold them into the hand of ³Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in ⁴Hazor. The commander of his army was ⁵Sisera, who lived in ⁶Harosheth-hagoyim.

3 Then the people of Israel ⁷cried out to the LORD for help, for he had chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in ⁸the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6 She sent and summoned ⁹Barak the son of Abinoam from ¹⁰Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, "Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, 'Go, gather your men at Mount ¹¹Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun.

Judges 4:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 4

This chapter shows how that Israel sinning was delivered into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, by whom they were oppressed twenty years, Jud 4:1-3; and that Deborah and Barak consulted together about their deliverance, Jud 4:4-9; and that Barak, encouraged by Deborah, gathered some forces and fought Sisera the captain of Jabin's army, whom he met, and obtained a victory over, Jud 4:10-15; who fleeing on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, was received into it, and slain by her while asleep in it, Jud 4:16-22; which issued in a complete deliverance of the children of Israel, Jud 4:23,24.

Cross References

• 1. See Judges 2:19
• 2. Judges 2:14
• 3. [Joshua 11:1, 10]
• 4. [Joshua 11:1, 10]
• 5. 1 Samuel 12:9; Psalms 83:9
• 6. ver. 13, 16
• 7. See Judges 3:9
• 8. ver. 13; [Judges 1:19]
• 9. See Joshua 24:33
• 10. Hebrews 11:32
• 11. Joshua 19:37
• 12. Judges 8:18