Judges 5
Judges 5 | |
---|---|
Book | Book of Judges |
Hebrew Bible part | Nevi'im |
Order in the Hebrew part | 2 |
Category | Former Prophets |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament (Heptateuch) |
Order in the Christian part | 7 |
Judges 5 is the fifth
Text
This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 31 verses.
Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).[7]
Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).[8][a]
Analysis
A linguistic study by Chisholm reveals that the central part in the Book of Judges (Judges 3:7–16:31) can be divided into two panels based on the six refrains that state that the Israelites did evil in Yahweh's eyes:[10]
Panel One
- A 3:7 ויעשו בני ישראל את הרע בעיני יהוה
- And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD (KJV)[11]
- B 3:12 ויספו בני ישראל לעשות הרע בעיני יהוה
- And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
- B 4:1 ויספו בני ישראל לעשות הרע בעיני יהוה
- And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
Panel Two
- A 6:1 ויעשו בני ישראל הרע בעיני יהוה
- And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD
- B 10:6 ויספו בני ישראל לעשות הרע בעיני יהוה
- And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
- B 13:1 ויספו בני ישראל לעשות הרע בעיני יהוה
- And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
Furthermore from the linguistic evidence, the verbs used to describe the Lord's response to Israel's sin have chiastic patterns and can be grouped to fit the division above:[12]
Panel One
- 3:8 וימכרם, "and he sold them," from the root מָכַר, makar
- 3:12 ויחזק, "and he strengthened," from the root חָזַק, khazaq
- 4:2 וימכרם, "and he sold them," from the root מָכַר, makar
Panel Two
- 6:1 ויתנם, "and he gave them," from the root נָתַן, nathan
- 10:7 וימכרם, "and he sold them," from the root מָכַר, makar
- 13:1 ויתנם, "and he gave them," from the root נָתַן, nathan
The victory song attributed to Deborah in this chapter is one of the oldest extant Israelite literary compositions dating to around the 12th century BCE, roughly contemporaneous with the period of time it depicts. Comparable to earlier works of the Canaanites discovered at Ugarit, the composition is characterized by a 'parallelistic variety of repetition whereby imagery unfolds in a beautifully layered or impressionistic style' so that 'the parallel line adds colour, nuance, or contrast to its neighbouring description'. The lines (in bicola or tricola) are generally about parallel in length. The content itself draws upon traditional Israelite media of expression, also employed by others in the biblical tradition.[13]
Title (5:1)
- Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,[14]
- "Sang": The Hebrew verb is in the form of singular feminine to indicate that the following ode was the composition of
Song of Deborah (5:2–31)
The structure of the Song of Deborah is as follows:[18]
Content | Verse(s) | Stanza |
---|---|---|
A. Prelude to the song
|
2 | IA |
(2) A call to bear the song | 3 | |
B. The coming of Yahweh the divine warrior
|
4–5 | |
C. Conditions prevailing before the battle | 6–8 | IB |
D. A call to participate in the battle | 9–13 | II |
E. The response of the tribes | 14–18 | III |
F. The battle itself | 19–23 | IV |
G. The death of Sisera | 24–27 | VA |
H. His mother waits in vain | 28–30 | VB |
I. Concluding invocation of Yahweh
|
31a |
The call to hear this song contains parallel terms and syntax with the formulaic introduction 'hear/give ear' (cf Deuteronomy 32:1; Isaiah 1:2), to state that
Verses 24–27 present another version of the tale of Jael in wonderfully economic style, with the repetition that underscores the violent turn in the action as Jael is described as one who strikes, crushes, shatters, and pierces, as she at the same time seduced and slaughtered the enemy.[19] In contrast to Jael as a tent-dwelling woman, the mother of Sisera is an noblewomen peering from a house with lattice-work windows (cf. 2 Kings 10:30), accompanied by ladies-in-waiting, but instead of expecting the coming of Sisera with the spoils of war, it was Sisera himself who has been despoiled at the hands of a warrior woman. [20]
Verse 6
- In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.[21]
- "
- "The highways were unoccupied": literally, "kept holiday", such as stated in Leviticus 26:22, that the grass grew on them; there was no one to occupy them or as in other parts of the Hebrew Bible: "the highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth" (Isaiah 33:8), "the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned" (Zechariah 7:14; cf. 2 Chronicles 15:5; Lamentations 1:4; Lamentations 4:18).[23]
Verse 31
- "Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun When it comes out in full strength."
- So the land had rest for forty years.[24]
The abrupt burst by which the song ends depicts the completeness of the overthrow, causing it to be long remembered as an example of Israel's triumph over God's enemies (Psalm 83:9–10; Psalm 83:12–15).[23]
- "So the land had rest": This statement is not a part of the song, but concludes the whole story (cf. Judges 3:11; Judges 3:30; Judges 8:28). The account is the last of any attempt by the Canaanites to re-conquer the land they had lost.[23]
See also
- Abinoam
- Amalekite
- Anath
- Angel of the Lord
- Archery
- Assassination
- Butter
- Canaan
- Chariot
- Children of Israel
- City gate
- Donkey
- Edom
- Gilead
- Heber
- Idolatry
- Kenite
- Kishon River
- Land of Israel
- Machir
- Megiddo
- Meroz
- Milk
- Needlework
- Seir
- Shield
- Sinai
- Spear
- Taanach
- Tribe of Asher
- Tribe of Benjamin
- Tribe of Dan
- Tribe of Ephraim
- Tribe of Issachar
- Tribe of Naphtali
- Tribe of Reuben
- Tribe of Zebulun
Notes
- ^ The whole book of Judges is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus.[9]
References
- ^ Halley 1965, p. 172.
- ^ Talmud, Baba Bathra 14b-15a)
- ^ a b Gilad, Elon. Who Really Wrote the Biblical Books of Kings and the Prophets? Haaretz, June 25, 2015. Summary: The paean to King Josiah and exalted descriptions of the ancient Israelite empires beg the thought that he and his scribes lie behind the Deuteronomistic History.
- ^ Niditch 2007, p. 177.
- ^ Niditch 2007, p. 179.
- ^ Chisholm 2009, pp. 251–252.
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Codex Sinaiticus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Chisholm 2009, p. 251.
- ^ Judges 3:7 Hebrew Text Analysis. Biblehub
- ^ Chisholm 2009, p. 252.
- ^ a b c Niditch 2007, p. 181.
- ^ Judges 5:1 KJV
- ^ Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Judges 5". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.
- ^ Kennicott's Remarks on Select Passages of the Old Testament, p. 94. apud Benson, Judges 5
- ^ Benson, Joseph. Commentary on the Old and New Testaments: Judges 5, accessed 9 July 2019.
- ^ Webb 2012, p. 202.
- ^ Niditch 2007, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Niditch 2007, p. 182.
- ^ Judges 5:6 KJV
- ^ Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible. "Judges 5". Published in 1746-1763.
- ^ a b c Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905). Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers. Judges 5. London : Cassell and Company, Limited, [1905-1906] Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Judges 5:31 NKJV
Sources
- Chisholm, Robert B. Jr. (2009). "The Chronology of the Book of Judges: A Linguistic Clue to Solving a Pesky Problem" (PDF). Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. 52 (2): 247–55.
- ISBN 978-0-19-528881-0.
- ISBN 0-310-25720-4.
- Hayes, Christine (2015). Introduction to the Bible. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18827-1.
- Niditch, Susan (2007). "10. Judges". In ISBN 978-0-19-927718-6. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-8028-2628-2.
- ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- Younger, K. Lawson (2002). Judges and Ruth. The NIV Application Commentary. Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-20636-1.
External links
- Jewish translations:
- Shoftim - Judges - Chapter 5 (Judaica Press). Hebrew text and English translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
- Christian translations:
- Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
- Judges chapter 5. Bible Gateway