Chapter Four

1–3. The oppression by Canaanites. 5–10. Deborah and Barak as deliverers of Israel. 11–16. The overthrow of Canaanite oppression. 17–22. The death of Sisera by the hand of Jael. 23–24. Conclusion.

Judges 4:1. And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. Judges 4:2. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles. Judges 4:3. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years. After the death of Ehud the Israelites, on account of their wicked deeds, were delivered into the power of Jabin, the Canaanite king, who oppressed them for twenty years. The residence of Jabin was the city of Hazor, lying in the northern part of Palestine, which was burned by Joshua (Josh 11:11), but was later restored by the Canaanites (cf. 1 Kgs 9:15; 2 Kgs 15:29) and was probably located on the site of the modern Tell Hazor, midway between Bahr-el-Huleh (Lake Merom) and the Mediterranean Sea. Jabin had nine hundred chariots, which were commanded by his military commander Sisera, who resided in Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles, on the site of which now lies the village of Harith (in northern Palestine, in Wadi-el-Melikh). This city formed a strong and strategically important base for Sisera: by occupying it, Sisera separated the Israelite tribes from one another and prevented them from acting against the Canaanites together and decisively. From here the Canaanite warriors made destructive raids on Israelite cities and villages, using their chariots for this purpose. In general, the oppression by the Canaanites was grievous for the Israelites (cf. Judg 5:6-8).

Judges 4:4. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. Judges 4:5. And she lived under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel, in the hill country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. When the Israelites, repenting of their sins, turned to God with prayer for mercy, then God chose as an instrument for their salvation the prophetess Deborah, wife of Lapidoth, who came from the tribe of Ephraim, to whom the people came to settle their lawsuits. A Talmudic tradition numbers Deborah among the seven prophetesses of the Old Testament (Megillah, f. 14a). Saint Theodoret says that Deborah was endowed with the gift of prophecy to convict the men of her time (eis elegchon ton toie andron).

Judges 4:6. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? Judges 4:7. And I will draw toward you to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand. By divine inspiration, Deborah chose Barak son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali (still Qedesh, to the west of Lake Merom), as commander for the overthrow of Canaanite oppression. To him she delivered God’s command to gather ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, as the ones most suffering from Canaanite oppression, and advised him to station this force on Mount Tabor (Jebel-et-Tur, on the border of the territories of Issachar and Zebulun, to the northeast of the Esdraelon Valley), while at the same time promising in God’s name that God would bring here, to the river Kishon (Nahr-Muqatta), and deliver into Barak’s hands Sisera with his chariots and army.

Judges 4:8. And Barak said to her, If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go. Judges 4:9. And she said, I will surely go with you; nevertheless the journey that you take shall not be for your honor, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. Judges 4:10. And Barak called together Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men at his feet; and Deborah went up with him. Barak asked Deborah to go with him to war, and after she first made a prediction about the outcome of the war and consented. After that Barak turned to the inhabitants of the tribe of Zebulun and Naphtali with an appeal, and Deborah turned to the other tribes (Judg 5:14-15), and in this way an Israelite force of about ten thousand men from the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali assembled at Barak in Kedesh, with which he set out toward Mount Tabor. With Barak in the camp was also Deborah.

Judges 4:11. Now Heber the Kenite, who was of the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent by the oak of Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. It should be noted that near Kedesh, at the oak of Zaanannim (according to the Targum — in the plain of swamps), there lived at this time Heber the Kenite (cf. Josh 19:33), who had moved here from southern Palestine, and who was in alliance with the Israelites.

Judges 4:12. And they informed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. Judges 4:13. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the river Kishon. Judges 4:14. And Deborah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand; is not the Lord gone out before you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. Judges 4:15. And the Lord threw into confusion Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera got down off his chariot, and fled away on foot. Judges 4:16. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, to Harosheth of the Gentiles; and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left. When Sisera learned of the Israelite force assembled on Mount Tabor, he gathered all nine hundred chariots and troops (according to Josephus, three hundred thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and three thousand chariots. Ant V, 51) and stationed himself in the Esdraelon Valley, by the river Kishon, where he could have necessary food and water for his people and horses and at the same time could always threaten the Israelites both in the north and in the south. At such a position Sisera could hold out for a long time, waiting for the supplies of Barak’s force to be exhausted and for it to be forced to leave the position on Mount Tabor, after which, as it seemed to Sisera, it would not be difficult to defeat him. But the Israelites forestalled Sisera. As soon as he took his position, Deborah ordered Barak to make a swift attack on him. Sisera’s force, whose chariots could not operate properly because of the uneven terrain, came into confusion and took to flight. Josephus says that during the battle there was a violent storm with hail and rain, and the wind blew in the face of the Canaanites and at the back of the Israelites, which significantly hindered the Canaanites’ operations (Ant. V, 5, 4). One part of Sisera’s force fled to the north, trying to reach Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles, but was cut down by the pursuing Israelites; another part fled south, across the river Kishon, and was swept away by the swollen Kishon, probably from the heavy rain, (Judg 5:19), so that Sisera’s force perished.

Judges 4:17. Howbeit Sisera fled away on foot 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 to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. Judges 4:19. And he said to her, Give me, please, 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 to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man comes and asks you and says, Is there any man here? that you shall say, No. Judges 4:21. Then Jael Heber’s wife took a peg of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and drove the peg into his temples, and fastened it into the ground; for he was in deep sleep and weary. So he died. Sisera himself, seeing the flight of his force, got off his chariot and fled from the field of battle, going to the north. He safely reached the dwelling place of Heber the Kenite, where he was met by Heber’s wife Jael, who invited him into the tent, assuring him of safety. Sisera went in and, tired from his journey, asked to drink. Jael gave him milk (probably sour milk, similar to what is still used by Bedouins under the name leben), after which Sisera fell asleep. During his sleep Jael killed him, piercing his temple with a tent peg.

Judges 4:22. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. And he went in to her; and, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the peg was in his temples. Meanwhile Barak, pursuing Sisera, came near to Jael’s tent, and Jael, seeing Barak, went out to him and told him of Sisera’s death.

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 grew stronger and stronger over Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The defeat of Sisera and his force led to the complete triumph of the Israelites over the Canaanites and Jabin king of Hazor. After this defeat the Canaanites are no longer mentioned among the oppressors of Israel.