Judges 5:29

Jdg 5:29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

Ver. 29. Her wise ladies.] The wicked’s hopes fail them when at highest, and prove to be "as the giving up of the ghost." {Job 11:20}

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.

The princesses in attendance upon Sisera's mother sought to console her with the remark, that Sisera would have to gather together rich booty, and that his return was delayed in consequence. In the expression "the wisest of her princesses" (see Ges. 119, 2), the irony is very obvious, as the reality put all their wise conjectures to shame. תּעננּה, third pers. plur. fem. for תּענינה. The second hemistich of Jdg 5:29 contains a clause inserted as a parenthesis. אף־היא is adversative: "but she;" אף is only an emphatic copula; the antithesis lies in the emphatic change of subject indicated by היא. אמריה השׁיב, lit. to bring back her words, i.e., to repeat. להּ is used in a reflective sense, "to herself." The meaning is: But Sisera's mother did not allow herself to be quieted by the words of her wise princesses; on the contrary, she kept repeating the anxious question, Why does Sisera delay his coming? In Jdg 5:30 there follows the answer of the wise princesses. They imagine that Sisera has been detained by the large amount of booty which has to be divided. הלא, nonne, is he not, in the sense of lively certainty. They will certainly discover rich booty, and divide it. רחם, uterus, for puella. "A girl (or indeed probably) two girls to the head of the man," i.e., for each man. צבעים, coloured things, cloths or clothes. רקמה, worked stuff, or garments worked in divers colours (see the remarks on Exo 26:36), is attached without the vav cop. to צבעים, and is also dependent upon שׁלל. The closing words, שׁלל לצוּארי, "for the necks," or (as the plural is also frequently used to signify a single neck, e.g., Gen 27:16; Gen 45:14) "for the neck of the booty," do not give any appropriate sense, as שׁלל neither signifies animals taken as booty nor the taker of booty. The idea, however, that שׁלל is used for שׁלל אישׁ, like הלך in Sa2 12:4 for הלך אישׁ, viator, and חתף in Pro 23:28 for חתף אישׁ, seems inadmissible, since שׁלל ecni has just before been used three times in its literal sense. There is just the same objection to the application of שׁלל to animals taken as booty, not to mention the fact that they would hardly have thought of having valuable clothes upon the necks of animals taken as booty. Consequently the only explanation that remains, is either to alter לצוּארי into לצוּארו or לצוּאריו, or else to change שׁלל into שׁגל, the royal spouse. In the former case, שׁלל would have to be taken as in apposition to רקמתים צבע: a variegated cloth, two worked in divers colours for his (Sisera's) neck as booty, as the lxx have rendered it (τῷ τραχήλῳ αὐτοῦ σκῦλα). Ewald and Bertheau decide in favour of the second alteration, and defend it on the ground that שׁלל might easily find its way into the text as a copyist's error for שׁגל, on account of שׁלל having been already written three times before, and that we cannot dispense with some such word as שׁגל here, since the repetition of שׁלל three times, and the threefold use of ל, evidently show that there were three different kinds of people among whom the booty was to be distributed; and also that it was only a fitting thing that Sisera should set apart one portion of the booty to adorn the neck of his wife, and that the wisest of the noble ladies, when mentioning the booty, should not forget themselves.

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.)

That is, she comforted herself.

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

her wise ladies--maids of honor.

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

(29) Her wise ladies.—Literally, the wise of her princesses. There is unconcealed scorn in this, showing that the wisest were most utterly mistaken. Their “wisdom” is the seductive flattery of delusive hopes.

Answered her.—The verb is in the singular, implying that one spoke after another. The Vulgate renders it. “One of his wives, wiser than the rest, answered.”

Yea, she returned answer to herself.—The meaning of the clause is very uncertain. It may be, “yea, she repeats their answer to herself,” accepting their flattering surmises; or, on the contrary, “but she repeats her words to herself,” entirely unconsoled; or, again—but this is less likely—“yea, she retracted her own (anxious) words.” The anxious foreboding or the inextinguishable hope would be equally true to nature, according to the temperament of the Canaanite princess.

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

29. The queen-mother is surrounded by her princesses in the ḥarîm of the palace. The wisest of them will soon discover their folly! The mother ‘tries to silence her presentiment by the same kind of answer which her sage companions give her’ (Moore).

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.

Her wise ladies answered her,.... Every one in their turn endeavouring to comfort her and make her easy. The Vulgate Latin version is,"one that was wiser than the rest of his wives;''but they seem rather to be her maids of honour, or ladies of her acquaintance, who were come to pay her a visit, and share in the pleasing sight they expected to have of Sisera:

yea, she returned answer to herself; before they could well give theirs, she soon recollected herself what might be, and must be, the occasion of this delay; and this, according to the Targum, she made in her wisdom, what her great wisdom quickly suggested to her was certainly the case, and with which she comforted and quieted herself.

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

Wives. This is not expressed in Hebrew, "his wise ladies answered her," or joined in her lamentations. Then the mother comforted herself with the hope that they might possibly be employed in dividing the spoils. (Calmet) --- Hebrew, "yea she answered herself, Have they not gained the victory? have they divided the prey? to every man a damsel, yea two? to Sisara a booty of divers colours," &c. (Haydock) --- Perhaps instead of damsel, literally, "a belly or two," which occurs no where else, the Hebrew should be, "to the general a most beautiful embroidery work." (Calmet)

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).

29. The wise ones — Here is another touch of irony. What wisdom was in their counsels and hopes!

She also — She also falls in with the fond hopes of her wise ladies, and keeps murmuring the answer to herself.

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

wisest princesses

A "princess" is the daughter of a king, but a "princess" can also mean female advisers to the king's family. AT: "wisest ladies"

she gave herself the same answer

"she said to herself the same thing"

Have they not found and divided up the plunder?

The women use a question to emphasize that they believe this is what certainly happened. AT: "They must have so much plunder that it is taking a long time to divide it." (See: Rhetorical Question)

A womb, two wombs for every man ... of those who plunder?

The women use a question to emphasize that they believe this is what certainly happened. AT: "There must be a womb, two wombs for every man ... of those who plunder." (See: Rhetorical Question)

A womb, two wombs for every man

Here "womb" represents a woman. Sisera's mother believes Sisera's men have captured many women. AT: "Each soldier will receive a woman or two" (See: Synecdoche)

dyed fabric

"colored cloth" or "colored clothes"

embroidered

having designs made of colored threads

for the necks of those who plunder

Here "necks" represents Sisera's soldiers. AT: "for the soldiers who plunder to wear" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

wise

prince

womb

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

The wise among her ladies responded to her. The wise ones among her ladies. This is why the "ח" is vocalized with a "pasach". The plural noun, lit. "wisdoms" is vocalized with the half-kametz, as in "Wisdoms are remote gems to the foolish." Here, the vocalization is חַכְמוֹת. Similarly, "The wise among women has constructed her home." The wise one among the women.

Responded. The period punctuating the נ serves as a substitute for a third נ. Hence, the translation is "[the wise ones] responded 'to her.'" The period punctuating נ serves as a substitute for "her", as in "you shall bring 'her' scalded."

Indeed, she stated in reply. She consoled herself. Why should I keep wondering about my son's delay?

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Answer (plural): Each one of the wise ladies would answer her.

She, too: The mother of Sisera.

Answers her speech to herself: She herself. Just like the wise ladies would answer her, so too would she herself answer and say that it was because of this that the wheels of his chariots tarried.

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.