Judges 4:16

Jdg 4:16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; [and] there was not a man left.

Ver. 16. There was not a man left.] Heb., Unto one. Ne ignifer quidem relictus est, as the Latin proverb hath it, {a} scarce one left to bring the sad news of a πανολεθρια.

“ Desinat elatis quisquam confidere rebus:

Magna repente ruunt, summa cadunt subito. ”

{a} Claudian.

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 4:16-17. There was not a man left — In the field; for there were some who fled away, as Sisera did. The tent of Jael — For women had their tents apart from their husbands. And here he probably thought he would be more secret and secure than in her husband’s tent, or in any other place in that encampment, as it would have been a much greater insult to Heber for any Israelite to search for him there than in any other of his tents. For there was peace between Jabin and the house of Heber — Not a covenant of friendship, which they were forbidden to make with the Canaanites, but a cessation of hostilities, which Jabin granted them, because they were peaceable people, abhorring war, and wholly minding pasturage, and were not Israelites, with whom his principal quarrel was. Add to this, that God disposed his heart to favour those who were careful to shun idolatry, and other sins wherewith Israel had corrupted themselves.

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

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 Jdg 5:21).

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

(16) There was not a man left.—The massacre in all battles in which the fugitives have to escape over a river and contend with a storm is always specially fatal. The memory of this terrible carnage was preserved for years, together with the circumstance that the soil was enriched by the dead bodies (Psa_83:10). Similarly at Waterloo, the year after the battle a blaze of crimson poppies burst out over the plain, and the harvests of the subsequent years were specially rich.

“The earth is covered thick with other clay,

Which her own clay shall cover.”

The scene of the battle of Marius at Aquæ Sextiæ was long called Fourrières (a corruption of Campi Putridi) for the same reason; and the site of Cannæ is still known as Pezzo di Sangue.

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

16. The Canaanites fled in a westerly direction to their base, pursued by Barak, and not one escaped; cf. Exo_14:28.

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.

But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles,.... The place from whence they came, and to which they endeavoured to escape: but he followed them, so close all that way, and made such havoc of them, that

all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword, and there was not a man left; no, not one, excepting Sisera, as in Jdg 4:17; or "even to one" (l), as in the original text; not one escaped to Hazor to acquaint Jabin of the loss of his army. Philo Byblius says, that nine hundred and ninety seven thousand of Sisera's army were slain.

(l) "usque ad unum", Montanus.

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

What with the overflowing of the Kishon Jdg 5:21, by which numbers were drowned, and the panic which had seized the defeated army, and made them an easy prey to the sword of the pursuing Israelites, Sisera’s whole force was cut to pieces and broken up.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Multitude. Josephus allots Sisara the same number of horse and foot as he did to Jabin, whom Josue defeated and slew, chap. xi. 4. But instead of 20,000 chariots, he only gives Sisara 3000, which number appears to be far too great, and unauthorized by the Scripture. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

To wit, in the field; for there were some who fled away, as Sisera did.

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

16. Barak pursued — The footmen had the advantage of the enemy’s chariots, which, after the rain, must have stuck in the softened soil.

Not a man left — A hyperbolical expression to denote the utter ruin of Sisera’s army. Jdg_5:12, intimates that some captives were taken.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Barak pursued after the chariots. Barak, supposing Sisera still to be with the chariots, pursued after them, and seems to have overtaken them, as they were embarrassed in the rotten, boggy ground which had been suddenly overflowed by the swollen waters of Kishon. Many were swept away by the flood and drowned, the rest put to the sword while their horses were floundering in the bog. (Jud_1:5:21, 22) But Sisera had meanwhile escaped on foot unnoticed, and fled to the tents of the friendly Kenites.

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

Left - In the field; for there were some who fled away, as Sisera did.

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