Judges 4:14

Jdg 4:14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this [is] the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

Ver. 14. Is not the Lord gone out before thee?] As general of the army: yea, he alone is a whole army of men, van and rear both. {Isa 52:12}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 4:14. Deborah said unto Barak, Up — Hebrew, Arise, Delay not. If we have ground to believe that God goes before us, we may well go on with courage and cheerfulness. Is not the Lord gone before thee? — Namely, as general of thine army, to fight for thee. So Barak went down — He did not make use of the advantage which he had of the hill, where he might have been out of the reach of Sisera’s iron chariots, but boldly marched down into the valley, to give him the opportunity of using all his horses and chariots, that so the victory might be more glorious. Jdg 4:15. The Lord discomfited Sisera — The particulars of the battle are not recorded in the sacred text; but it evidently appears from thence that there was something extraordinary and miraculous in this defeat of Jabin’s host. The Hebrew word יהם, jaham, imports that they were discomfited with great terror and noise, probably with thunder, lightning, and hail- stones, poured upon them from heaven, as is implied Jdg 5:20; and as the same word is used Jos 10:10; and 1Sa 7:10. Josephus confirms this opinion, assuring us that “as soon as the armies were engaged, there arose a prodigious tempest of hail and rain, which drove in the faces of the Canaanites, and occasioned a total rout of them.” — Antiq., lib. 5. cap. 5. The heavens, therefore, had the principal share in this great overthrow. With the edge of the sword — That is, by the sword of Barak and his army, whose ministry God used; but so, it seems, that they had little else to do but to kill those whom God, by more powerful arms, had put to flight. And fled away on his feet — He thought his chariot not swift enough to carry him out of danger, and imagined he should be less exposed to observation, and less liable to be discovered, when he fled like a common soldier. To which we may add, that in ancient times valiant men were wonderfully swift of foot; as is observed of Asahel, 2Sa 2:18; and every one knows it was the character of Achilles among the Greeks.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

She still encourageth him to this enterprise by assuring him of God’s favor and aid.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. Up; for this is the day] This is exactly the purpose for which the Septuagint state, Jdg 4:8, that Barak wished Deborah to accompany him. "I know not," says he, "THE DAY in which God will send his angel to give me prosperity: come thou with we that thou mayest direct me in this respect." She went, and told him the precise time in which he was to make the attack: Up, for THIS is the DAY in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand.

Went down from Mount Tabor] He had probably encamped his men on and near the summit of this mount. See Clarke on Jdg 4:6.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) This is the day.—See the addition of the LXX. to Jdg_4:8. The ancients attached the utmost importance to fortunate and unfortunate days, and Barak was guided by a prophetess, not by idle auguries.

Is not the Lord gone out before thee?—“Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle” (Zec_14:3; comp. Deu_9:3).

Went down from mount Tabor.—As he had neither cavalry nor chariots it required no little faith in Barak to abandon his strong post and assume the aggressive against the kind of forces which struck most terror into the Israelites (Heb_11:32). Hence the emphatic addition, “at his feet” (Heb., and see Jdg_4:10). If the beginning of the battle was at Taanach, the Israelites had to march thirteen miles along the caravan road. Probably the Canaanites watched this bold and unexpected movement with as much astonishment as the huge Persian host saw the handful of Athenians charge down from the hill-sides into the plain of Marathon.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. is not the Lord gone out before thee?] i.e. to battle. Jehovah was believed to ‘come forth’ from His place on Sinai to fight for Israel (Jdg_5:4 f.), or to march against Israel’s enemies with the ark as His symbol (Num_10:35), or to be Israel’s leader in battle (2Sa_5:24; cf. Hab_3:13; Zec_14:3; Psa_44:9). The belief in Jehovah as ‘a man of war’ was characteristic of this period, Exo_15:3; cf. Psa_24:8.

went down front mount Tabor] The sudden rush down the hill threw Sisera’s forces into confusion and rendered his chariots useless. The Jews of a later day (a.d. 67) attempted by the same means to overwhelm the Roman cavalry dispatched by Vespasian, but without success; Jos., War iv. 1, 8. In the Song, the river Kishon plays a part in the tragedy not mentioned in the tradition as given here.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Deborah said unto Barak, up,.... Not go up higher for they were upon the top of a mountain; but rise, bestir thyself, prepare for battle, put the army in rank and file, and march and meet the enemy without delay:

for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand; by a spirit of prophecy she knew this was the precise day, the exact time in which it was the will of God this deliverance should be wrought; and she speaks of it as if it was past, because of the certainty of it, and the full assurance she had of it, and Barak might have; nor is what she says any contradiction to what she had said before, that Sisera should be sold or delivered into the hands of a woman, Jdg 4:9; for both were true, Sisera first fell into the hands of Jael, a woman, and then into the hands of Barak, and into the hands of both on the same day:

is not the Lord gone out before thee? it was manifest he was, at least to Deborah, who was fully assured of it, and therefore it became Barak and his men, and great encouragement they had, to follow, since as the Lord went before them as their Generalissimo, they might be sure of victory: perhaps there might be some visible appearance, some shining lustre and splendour of the Shekinah, or divine Majesty; the Targum is,"is not the angel of the Lord gone out before thee, to prosper thee?"

so Barak went from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him; no mention is made of Deborah's coming down with them, perhaps she stayed on the mountain till the battle was over: nor might Barak be urgent upon her now to go with him, being confident of success, and having all the ends answered by her presence he could wish for.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Up, Heb. arise, delay not, fall to thy work. Gone out before thee, to wit, as General of thine army, to fight for thee: see Jdg 5:20; 2Sa 5:24.

Barak went down from Mount Tabor he doth not make use of the advantage which he had of the hill, where he might have been out of the reach of his iron chariots, Jos 17:16, but boldly marcheth down into the valley, to give Sisera the opportunity of using all his horses and chariots, that so the victory might be more glorious and wonderful.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And Deborah, etc. Observe how throughout Deborah takes the lead as the inspired prophetess.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Up - Hebrew. arise, delay not. If we have ground to believe, that God goes before us, we may well go on with courage and cheerfulness. Gone before thee - Namely, as general of thine army, to fight for thee. Went down - He doth not make use of the advantage which he had of the hill, where he might have been out of the reach of his iron chariots, but boldly marcheth down into the valley, to give Sisera the opportunity of using all his horses and chariots, that so the victory might he more glorious.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Yahweh has given you victory

Because Deborah is certain of victory, she speaks as if Barak had already won the battle. AT: "Yahweh will give you victory" (See: Predictive Past)

Is not Yahweh leading you?

Deborah asks this question to remind Barak that they fight on the side of Yahweh. AT: "Remember, Yahweh is leading you." (See: Rhetorical Question)

with ten thousand

"with 10,000" (See: Numbers)

translationWords

Yahweh

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Has not the Lord gone out before you: It is like its translation (in the Targum) - "did not the angel of the Lord go out before you to make you successful."

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.