Keraia
Judges 4

Judges 4:7

Deborah and Barak · Judges 4:1–16
Read Judges 4

Translations

Modern
And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”
Traditional
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.
Literal
…and I will draw out against you at the River Kishon Sisera, commander of the army of Jabin, and his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into your hand’?”
Latin
…ego autem adducam ad te in loco torrentis Cison, Sisaram principem exercitus Jabin, et currus ejus, atque omnem multitudinem, et tradam eos in manu tua.

Original

Hebrew
English
And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”

Notes

Judges 4:7

The Kishon River flows northwest into the Mediterranean Sea, just north of Mount Carmel, and shaped the Jezreel Valley.

Judges 4:4–7

Deborah was a prophet (Hebrew ’ishah nebi’a, meaning a female prophet), who served as a judge (shoptah, a feminine verb; see study note on Judges 2:16–19). She is the main character in this story, although much of the action involves her assistant, Barak. Unlike most characters in the book of Judges, Deborah acted as both a judge and a military leader. As a prophet, she predicted Samuel's later work (1 Samuel 7:15–17). Deborah called for a holy war where the Lord would fight for his people (Judges 4:6–7; see study notes on Deuteronomy 1:30; 2 Chronicles 20:20–21).

Judges 4:1–5:31

The story of Deborah and Barak, found in both prose (Judges 4) and poetry (Judges 5), describes a major military operation against a significant Canaanite enemy after the initial conquest. Another king named Jabin, who also ruled in Hazor, was defeated earlier by Joshua along with a large northern alliance, and Hazor was burned (see Joshua 11:1–15). Although Joshua 11 and Judges 4–5 are often compared, they have too many differences to be considered accounts of the same battle. Instead, Jabin is likely a dynastic name; it appears in the Mari texts for an even earlier king of Hazor, around 1800 BC.

Theme notes and profiles

Deborah

Events

People

Jabin: Canaanite king who oppressed Israel; defeated by Deborah and Barak Sisera: Canaanite commander defeated by Deborah and Barak

Places

Kishon: A river in northern Israel

Glossary

Abinoam Armageddon Asher (Tribe) Barak Deborah Family Life and Relations Harosheth-Haggoyim Hazor Ironsmith Jabin Judges, Book of Kishon Mount Tabor Palestine Sisera Song of Deborah Tribe of Naphtali Valley of Jezreel Woman Zebulun, Tribe of

Topics

Canaanites: Defeated by the Israelites Deborah: The Prophetess, a Judge of Israel: Inspires Barak to Defeat Sisera Jabin: Names of Two Kings of Hazor Kishon: Sisera Defeated At, and his Army Destroyed In