---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Judges 4"
description: "CHAPTER 4   :-. DEBORAH AND
BARAK DELIVER
ISRAEL FROM JABIN
AND SISERA. 1. The children of Israel again did
evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was d"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4"
---

CHAPTER 4

. DEBORAH AND
BARAK DELIVER
ISRAEL FROM JABIN
AND SISERA.

**1. The children of Israel again did
evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead**—The removal
of the zealous judge Ehud again left his infatuated countrymen
without the restraint of religion.

**2, 3. Jabin king of Canaan**—"Jabin,"
a royal title (see on ). The
second Jabin built a new capital on the ruins of the old ([Joshua 11:10](../../../kjv/joshua/11/10);
[Joshua 11:11](../../../kjv/joshua/11/11)). The northern
Canaanites had recovered from the effect of their disastrous
overthrow in the time of Joshua, and now triumphed in their turn over
Israel. This was the severest oppression to which Israel had been
subjected. But it fell heaviest on the tribes in the north, and it
was not till after a grinding servitude of twenty years that they
were awakened to view it as the punishment of their sins and to seek
deliverance from God.

**4. And Deborah, a prophetess**—A
woman of extraordinary knowledge, wisdom, and piety, instructed in
divine knowledge by the Spirit and accustomed to interpret His will;
who acquired an extensive influence, and was held in universal
respect, insomuch that she became the animating spirit of the
government and discharged all the special duties of a judge, except
that of military leader.
**the wife of Lapidoth**—rendered
by some, "a woman of splendors."

**5. she dwelt under the palm tree**—or,
collectively, "palm-grove." It is common still in the East
to administer justice in the open air, or under the canopy of an
umbrageous tree.

**6. she sent and called Barak**—by
virtue of her official authority as judge.
**Kedesh-naphtali**—situated
on an eminence, little north of the Sea of Galilee, and so called to
distinguish it from another Kedesh in Issachar.
**Hath not the Lord God of
Israel commanded?**—a Hebrew form of making an emphatic
communication.
**Go and draw toward mount
Tabor**—an isolated mountain of Galilee, northeast corner of the
plain of Esdraelon. It was a convenient place of rendezvous, and the
enlistment is not to be considered as limited to ten thousand, though
a smaller force would have been inadequate.

**8. Barak said unto her, If thou wilt
go with me, then I will go**—His somewhat singular request to be
accompanied by Deborah was not altogether the result of weakness. The
Orientals always take what is dearest to the battlefield along with
them; they think it makes them fight better. The policy of Barak,
then, to have the presence of the prophetess is perfectly
intelligible as it would no less stimulate the valor of the troops,
than sanction, in the eyes of Israel, the uprising against an
oppressor so powerful as Jabin.

**9. the Lord shall sell Sisera into
the hand of a woman**—This was a prediction which Barak could not
understand at the time; but the strain of it conveyed a rebuke of his
unmanly fears.

**11. Now Heber the Kenite . . .
pitched his tent**—It is not uncommon, even in the present day,
for pastoral tribes to feed their flocks on the extensive commons
that lie in the heart of inhabited countries in the East (see on ).
**plain of Zaanaim**—This
is a mistranslation for "the oaks of the wanderers." The
site of the encampment was under a grove of oaks, or terebinths, in
the upland valley of Kedesh.

**13. the river of Kishon**—The
plain on its bank was chosen as the battlefield by Sisera himself,
who was unconsciously drawn thither for the ruin of his army.

**14. Barak went down from mount
Tabor**—It is a striking proof of the full confidence Barak and
his troops reposed in Deborah's assurance of victory, that they
relinquished their advantageous position on the hill and rushed into
the plain in face of the iron chariots they so much dreaded.

**15. the Lord discomfited
Sisera**—*Hebrew,* "threw his army into confusion";
men, horses, and chariots being intermingled in wild confusion. The
disorder was produced by a supernatural panic (see on ).
**so that Sisera lighted down
off his chariot, and fled away on his feet**—His chariot being
probably distinguished by its superior size and elegance, would
betray the rank of its rider, and he saw therefore that his only
chance of escape was on foot.

**16. But Barak pursued . . . unto
Harosheth**—Broken and routed, the main body of Sisera's army
fled northward; others were forced into the Kishon and drowned (see
on [Judges 5:21](../../../kjv/judges/5/21)).

**17, 18. Sisera fled . . . to the
tent of Jael**—According to the usages of nomadic people, the
duty of receiving the stranger in the sheik's absence devolves on his
wife, and the moment the stranger is admitted into his tent, his
claim to be defended or concealed from his pursuers is established.

**19. she . . . gave him drink, and
covered him**—Sisera reckoned on this as a pledge of his safety,
especially in the tent of a friendly sheik. This pledge was the
strongest that could be sought or obtained, after he had partaken of
refreshments, and been introduced in the inner or women's apartment.

**20. he said unto her, . . . when any
man doth come and enquire of thee and say, Is there any man here?
that thou shalt say, No**—The privacy of the harem, even in a
tent, cannot be intruded on without express permission.

**21. Then Jael took a nail of the
tent**—most probably one of the pins with which the tent ropes
are fastened to the ground. Escape was almost impossible for Sisera.
But the taking of his life by the hand of Jael was murder. It was a
direct violation of all the notions of honor and friendship that are
usually held sacred among pastoral people, and for which it is
impossible to conceive a woman in Jael's circumstances to have had
any motive, except that of gaining favor with the victors. Though
predicted by Deborah [[Judges 4:9](../../../kjv/judges/4/9)],
it was the result of divine foreknowledge only—not the divine
appointment or sanction; and though it is praised in the song [[Judges 4:9](../../../kjv/judges/4/9)], the eulogy must be considered as pronounced not on the
moral character of the woman and her deed, but on the public benefits
which, in the overruling providence of God, would flow from it.

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","width":640,"height":370,"caption":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Judges 4"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Judges 4","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4#primaryimage"},"datePublished":null,"dateModified":null,"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"CHAPTER 4   :-. DEBORAH AND\nBARAK DELIVER\nISRAEL FROM JABIN\nAND SISERA. 1. The children of Israel again did\nevil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","name":"Commentaries"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges","name":"Judges"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/4","name":"4"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]}
```