Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Judges 5, Deborah's Song

Deborah has defeated Sisera and his army. Like Moses and Miriam before her, she sings praises to her God.

Judges 5: 1-3, Sing praises!
On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
"When the princes in Israel take the lead, 
when the people willingly offer themselves-- praise the LORD!

"Hear this, you kings! 
Listen, you rulers! 
I will sing to the LORD, I will sing; 
I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.

Deborah and Barak sing a song of praise to YHWH who has led them out of oppression. A song of praise will always be a deep, important part of Hebrew worship, with the Old Testament songbook, The Psalms, as its high point.

Judges 5: 4-6, YHWH marched out and the earth shook!
"O LORD, when you went out from Seir, 
when you marched from the land of Edom, 
the earth shook, 
the heavens poured, 
the clouds poured down water.

The mountains quaked before the LORD,
 the One of Sinai, 
before the LORD, the God of Israel.

"In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, 
in the days of Jael, 
the roads were abandoned; 
travelers took to winding paths.

It is God that marched out, not just Deborah and her soldiers. Briefly, Shamgar is mentioned again.  (He is mentioned earlier, briefly, in Judges 3: 31.)

Judges 5: 7-9, A mother of Israel goes to war
"Village life in Israel ceased,
 ceased until I, Deborah, arose, 
arose a mother in Israel.

When they chose new gods,
 war came to the city gates, 
and not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

My heart is with Israel's princes, 
with the willing volunteers among the people. 
Praise the LORD!

As the enemy takes over Israel, Israel's villages become quiet.  But then a mother takes a stand with Israel's princes.

Judges 5: 10-12, Wake up and sing!
"You who ride on white donkeys, 
sitting on your saddle blankets, 
and you who walk along the road, 
consider the voice of the singers at the watering places. 
They recite the righteous acts of the LORD, 
the righteous acts of his warriors in Israel. 

"Then the people of the LORD went down to the city gates.
`Wake up, wake up, Deborah! 
Wake up, wake up, break out in song! 
Arise, O Barak! 
Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.'

Both the rich who comfortably ride, seated on soft blankets on white donkeys, and the poor ,who walk along the road, both rich and poor, everyone is to rejoice and sing! The people congregate at the city gates to rejoice, shout and sing.

Judges 5: 13-15a, Tribes rise up
"Then the men who were left came down to the nobles;
 the people of the LORD came to me with the mighty.
Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek; 
Benjamin was with the people who followed you. 
From Makir captains came down, 
from Zebulun those who bear a commander's staff.
The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; 
yes, Issachar was with Barak, rushing after him into the valley. 

Volunteers from numerous tribes joined Deborah and Barak. These tribes include Ephraim, Benjamin, Mannaseh, Zebulun and Issachar. (Makir is another name for Manasseh; Makir was Manasseh's son.)

Judges 5: 15b-18, Various clans react
In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks? 
In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. 
And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? 
Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves.
The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; 
so did Naphtali on the heights of the field.

Not everyone volunteers to fight. The people of Reuben have mixed reactions to the call to war. The people of Gilead (most likely Manasseh) east of the Jordan stay at home. Dan and Asher also stay at home. 

But Zebulun and Naphtali, already led by Deborah and Barak, are in the center of the fight.

Judges 5: 19-22, Sisera is swept away
"Kings came, they fought; 
the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, 
but they carried off no silver, no plunder.

From the heavens the stars fought, 
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
The river Kishon swept them away, 
the age-old river, the river Kishon. 
March on, my soul; be strong!
Then thundered the horses' hoofs-- 
galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.

Even the stars fight on YHWH's side, says Deborah. The river Kishon, running across the Jezreel valley, sweeps away Sisera's men.

Judges 5: 23-27, Curse Meroz, bless Jael
`Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the LORD. 
`Curse its people bitterly, 
because they did not come to help the LORD, 
to help the LORD against the mighty.'

"Most blessed of women be Jael, 
the wife of Heber the Kenite, 
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.

He asked for water, 
and she gave him milk; 
in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.

Her hand reached for the tent peg, 
her right hand for the workman's hammer. 
She struck Sisera, 
she crushed his head, 
she shattered and pierced his temple.

At her feet he sank, 
he fell; 
there he lay. 
At her feet he sank, 
he fell; 
where he sank, 
there he fell--
dead.

Jael's killing is described in song.  There are two women of valor in this story and Jael is praised as "most blessed." We note that Jael, used by YHWH to bring victory, is a Kenite, not an Israelite.

Little is known of Meroz. Possibly this was a clan of Israel that refused to battle Sisera. 

A poetic repetition ("sank ... fell ... lay ... sank ... fell ... sank ... fell ... dead!") ends this account of Sisera's death.

Judges 5: 28-30, Sisera's mother waits
"Through the window peered Sisera's mother; 
behind the lattice she cried out, 
`Why is his chariot so long in coming? 
Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?'

The wisest of her ladies answer her; 
indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
`Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: 
a girl or two for each man, 
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, 
colorful garments embroidered, 
highly embroidered garments for my neck--
 all this as plunder?'

There is no happiness for the supporters of Sisera. Sisera's mother is pictured as peering through a window lattice, waiting for her son. Less we have any sympathy for Sisera's mother, longing for a son who will not come home, we are reminded that had Sisera been victorious, there would have been many Jewish mothers waiting for sons that did not return.

The expected plunders of Sisera include "a girl of two for each man". This callous description of girls as spoils of war includes an interesting Hebrew word for girl: racham. This word is sometimes used to indicate strong emotion, lovingkindness, or mercy but has the same root as rechem, which is literally "womb". Commentators Wolf and Webb suggest that the sexual nature of womb is indeed intended here -- Sisera's plunder would include "a womb or two for each man". We are to have no sympathy for Sisera!

As we saw in Deuteronomy, colorfully dyed garments were very precious and valuable.  They too would be spoils of war and the lady-in-waiting imagines a precious embroidered garment around her neck. 

Judges 5: 31, YHWH rules in Israel
"So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! 
But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength." 

Then the land had peace forty years.

Deborah, like Jewish women before her (eg. Miriam) praises God in song.  The song ends with a brief summary of peace for a generation.

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