Judges 4:6

And she sent and called Barak continues Judges 4:4. Barak = -lightning"; the name is found in Phoenician, e.g. Barcas the father of Hannibal, and in Palmyrene and Sabaean (NSI., p. 299).

out of Kedesh-naphtali also called K. in Galilee (Joshua 20:7) to distinguish it from other places of the same name; it is mentioned in the Amarna letters and in Egypt, documents; the modern Ḳades 4 m. N.W. of the lake of Ḥûleh represents the ancient site. But the presence of Kedesh in this chapter raises serious difficulties; the town was too near Hazor, and too far from the scene of the conflict with Sisera, for the muster of Barak's troops. Probably, therefore, Kedesh is an element in the Jabin-tradition, though how much of the present narrative belongs to that tradition cannot be exactly determined.

mount Tabor Now Jebel eṭ-Ṭûr, 1843 ft., a prominent feature in the landscape of S.E. Galilee, remarkable for its dome-like shape and apparent isolation. It was the natural rallying-place for Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, whose settlements were in the neighbourhood (cf. Joshua 19:12; Joshua 19:22; Joshua 19:34, which, however, describes the boundaries of a later age); while the position of the mountain, commanding the N.E. quarter of the Great Plain and one of the main outlets to the Jordan, afforded obvious advantages for a descent upon an enemy advancing from the W. across the Plain. A further reason for Barak's muster on Tabor has been suggested; apparently Issachar and Zebulun had a religious centre there, Deuteronomy 33:19 (the mountainis prob. Tabor); the holy war would begin with a sacrifice at the tribal sanctuary (cf. 1 Samuel 13:9-12). This is possible.

Naphtali … Zebulun The restriction of the combatants to these two tribes seems to agree better with the Jabin- than with the Sisera-story; in ch. 5 not two, but six tribes take part in the battle.