Judges 4:8

Jdg 4:8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, [then] I will not go.

Ver. 8. If thou wilt go with me.] He is famous for his faith, {Heb 11:32-33} and yet here he showeth some unbelief. Let us be faithful in weakness, though but weak in faith, and pray, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" Albeit in some respects it was not amiss for Barak to desire Deborah’s company, viz., to advise him and pray for him, as being a prophetess. Neither fearful nor rash. Neque timide, neque temere, should be the soldier’s motto.

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 4:8. If thou wilt go with me, then I will go — No doubt he thought he had great reason for making this resolution, because he might want her advice in doubtful matters, and her authority also, both to raise men and to keep them together in good order, and likewise to inspire them with courage. His offer to go with her shows the truth of his faith, for which he is praised, Heb 11:32; but his refusal to go without her shows the weakness of his faith, that he could not trust God’s bare word, as he ought to have done, without the pledge of the presence of his prophetess.

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

Fearing his own weakness and his enemy’s power, he desireth the prophetess to go with him to assure him of God’s will from time to time.

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

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.

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

(8) If thou wilt go with me.—The enterprise seemed so daring and so hopeless, that if not for his own sake, yet for the sake of his army, Barak felt how much would be gained by the presence of the inspired prophetess. The LXX. has the remarkable addition, “Because I know not the day in which the Lord prospers the angel with me.” This is a sort of excuse for his want of perfect faith. He depends on Deborah to give him the immediate augury of victory. “In the Messenian war the soldiers fought bravely because their seers were present” (Pausan. iv. 16—Cassel).

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

8. If thou wilt go with me] By having the prophetess with him, Barak could count upon divine guidance, cf. Jdg_4:14. The LXX. cod. B and Luc. brings this out by adding ‘for I know not the day whereon the angel of the Lord may prosper me,’ which looks like the rendering of a Hebr. sentence, but is of questionable originality, and may be based on Jdg_5:23.

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 Barak said unto her,.... To Deborah, after she had delivered the words of the Lord unto him:

if thou wilt go with me, then I will go; which showed faith hi the word of the Lord, for which he is commended, and a readiness to do the will of God, and courage to engage in such a work with a powerful adversary, and is therefore reckoned among the heroes for faith, Heb 11:32,

but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go; which though it might discover some weakness in him, yet showed the high opinion he had of Deborah as a judge of Israel, and prophetess of the Lord; being desirous that he might have her with him to pray to God for him, to give him advice and counsel on any emergency, she being as the oracle God; and whereby he testified his regard to the Lord, and to his presence, which he concluded he should have, the prophetess being with him; and more especially his reason for insisting on her going with him might be to prevail upon the inhabitants of Naphtali and Zebulun to go with him, who he might fear would not believe him, or pay any regard to his words, and be in dread of engaging with the enemy, unless she was present; which he supposed would satisfy them as to the mind of God in it, and animate them, and give them heart and spirit.

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

Barak, like Gideon Jdg 6:15, Jdg 6:36, Jdg 6:40, and Abraham Gen 15:2-3; Gen 17:18, and Moses Exo 4:10, Exo 4:13, and Peter Mat 14:30-31, exhibited some weakness of faith at first. But this only makes his example more profitable for our encouragement, though he himself suffered some lost by his weakness Jdg 4:9.

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

Not go. Septuagint and St. Augustine (q. 26,) add, "because I know not when the Lord will send his angel to grant me success." St. Paul (Hebrews xi. 32,) praises the faith of Barac, so that he spoke thus out of prudence, that the people, seeing (Calmet) their revered prophetess in his company, (Haydock) might not condemn the undertaking as too rash and perilous. He therefore entreats her, in this earnest manner, to come with him, and point out the time when he must attack the enemy.

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).

His offer to go with her shows the truth of his faith, for which he is praised, Heb 11:32; but his refusal to go without her shows the weakness of his faith, that he could not trust God’s bare word, as he ought to have done, without the pledge of the presence of his prophetess, whom he thought God would preserve and deliver, and himself for her sake.

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

8. If thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go — The great general at once recognizes that Jehovah speaks in Deborah, and that as messenger of God she is not only his own superior, but her presence the pledge of his success. Pausanias says, that in the Messinian war “The soldiers fought bravely because their seers were present.”

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

HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY Vers. 8, 9. Deborah and Barak.

I THEY WHO UNDERTAKE TO ADVOCATE DIFFICULT TASKS SHOULD BE WILLING TO SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE EXECUTION OF THEM. Deborah urges Barak to fight; Barak will raise the standard only on condition that the prophetess will accompany him. There are prophets who sit with Deborah under the palm tree and advise noble deeds while they excuse themselves from facing the danger of achieving them. In the spiritual warfare of the Church we find critics who can see the defects of the work others are doing, and advise great improvements, yet who will never encounter the perils of the mission-field or the drudgery of more homely work. It is well to devise good measures, but it is better, like Deborah, to help in the execution of them.

II IN THE BATTLE OF LIFE A GREAT VARIETY OF SERVICE IS REQUISITE FOR FINAL SUCCESS. Deborah cannot lead the army, but she can inspire it. Barak cannot prophesy, but he can fight. Thus Deborah cannot secure victory without Barak, nor Barak without Deborah. We are members one of another, and all the members have not the same office. There is work for the seer and work for the warrior. The world always needs its prophets and its heroes. The worker without the thinker will blunder into confusion; the thinker without the worker will fail for want of power to execute his designs. Brain work is at least as important as mechanical work. It is therefore foolish for practical men to despise the men of thought as mere theorists, and foolish for the thinkers to treat the active men of business with philosophical contempt. It is peculiarly woman"s work to cheer and encourage those who are called to the dangerous tasks of life. Wives and mothers who dissuade their husbands and sons from their duty because it appears to be dangerous are indulging in weak and foolish affection. The highest love will seek to encourage those who are loved in all that is great and noble.

III IN THE SERVICE OF GOD THE FIRST REQUISITE FOR SUCCESS IS THE INSPIRING AID OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD. Deborah is a prophetess. She is gifted with the wisdom and enthusiasm of direct inspiration, and thus becomes the inspirer of Barak and his troops. Barak feels that if Deborah goes with him God"s counsel and encouragement will be given him. Do we not trust too much to the mere machinery of our Church organisations in the execution of our work? One prophet in our midst is worth a thousand dull, earthly-minded men The great need of the Church in her battle with the evil of the world is the presence of the Spirit of God in light and power, to guide and to energise her dark and weak efforts. It is foolish to go up to our spiritual warfare without seeking the presence of God to accompany us. (Exo_33:15) If God go with us we shall need no special order of prophets, for then every soldier of Christ will be a prophet. A. (Joe_2:28)

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

I will not go - His offer to go with her, shews the truth of his faith, for which he is praised, Hebrew xi, 32, but his refusal to go without her, shews the weakness of his faith, that he could not trust God's bare word, as he ought to have done, without the pledge of the presence of his prophetess.

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

Barak replied that he would not go unless she would go with him - certainly not for the reason suggested by Bertheau, viz., that he distrusted the divine promise given to him by Deborah, but because his mistrust of his own strength was such that he felt too weak to carry out the command of God. He wanted divine enthusiasm for the conflict, and this the presence of the prophetess was to infuse into both Barak and the army that was to be gathered round him. Deborah promised to accompany him, but announced to him as the punishment for this want of confidence in the success of his undertaking, that the prize of victory - namely, the defeat of the hostile general - should be taken out of his hand; for Jehovah would sell (i.e., deliver up) Sisera into the hand of a woman, viz., according to Jdg 4:17., into the hand of Jael. She then went with him to Kedesh, where Barak summoned together Zebulun and Naphtali, i.e., the fighting men of those tribes, and went up with 10,000 men in his train ("at his feet," i.e., after him, Jdg 4:14; cf. Exo 11:8 and Deu 11:6) to Tabor ("went up:" the expression is used here to denote the advance of an army against a place). Kedesh, where the army assembled, was higher than Tabor. זעק, Hiphil with acc., to call together (cf. Sa2 20:4-5). Before the engagement with the foe is described, there follows in Jdg 4:11 a statement that Heber the Kenite had separated himself from his tribe, the children of Hobab, who led a nomad life in the desert of Judah (Jdg 1:16), and had pitched his tents as far as the oak forest at Zaanannim (see at Jos 19:33) near Kedesh. This is introduced because of its importance in relation to the issue of the conflict which ensued (Jdg 4:17 ff). נפרד with Kametz is a participle, which is used in the place of the perfect, to indicate that the separation was a permanent one.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

General Information:

Barak has a discussion with Deborah.

Barak

See how you translated this man's name in Judges 4:6.

the road on which you are going will not lead to your honor

The choice Barak makes is spoken of as if Barak were choosing a road on which to travel. And, "honor" is spoken of as if it were a destination to which one travels. AT: "no one will honor you for what you do" (See: Metaphor)

for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman

Here "hand" refers to her power to kill him. AT: "for Yahweh will cause a woman to defeat Sisera" (See: Metonymy)

Sisera

See how you translated this man's name in Judges 4:2.

Deborah

See how you translated this woman's name in Judges 4:4.

translationWords

honor

Yahweh

Kedesh

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