Judges 5:13

_THEN HE MADE HIM THAT REMAINETH HAVE DOMINION OVER THE NOBLES AMONG THE PEOPLE: THE LORD MADE ME HAVE DOMINION OVER THE MIGHTY._ The rod of the numberers - those who made up and kept the muster-rolls; and the princes who, with impetuous alacrity, rushed on with Barak to the charge in the plain....

12-23 Deborah called on her own soul to be in earnest. He that will set the hearts of other men on fire with the love of Christ, must himself burn with love. Praising God is a work we should awake to, and awake ourselves unto. She notices who fought against Israel, who fought for them, and who kept away. Who fought against them. They were obstinate enemies to God's people, therefore the more dangerous. Who fought for them. The several tribes that helped are here spoken of with honour; for though God is above all to be glorified, those who are employed must have their due praise, to encourage others. But the whole creation is at war with those to whom God is an enemy. The river of Kishon fought against their enemies. At most times it was shallow, yet now, probably by the great rain that fell, it was so swelled, and the stream so deep and strong, that those who attempted to pass, were dro...

Verse Judges 5:13. _MAKE HIM THAT REMAINETH_] This appears to be spoken of _Barak_, who is represented as being only a _remnant_ of the people....

This verse is otherwise rendered: “then a remnant of the nobles came down; the people of the Lord came down for me against the mighty.” The following verses mention in detail who this “remnant” were....

EXPOSITION JUDGES 5:1 THEN SANG DEBORAH, etc. The ode which follows was doubtless the composition of Deborah the prophetess, and was sung by her (as the gender of the Hebrew verb indicates), assisted by Barak, who perhaps sang the antistrophe (cf. Exodus 15:1, Exodus 15:21). It is a song of wonderful beauty and lyric power, somewhat difficult, as all Hebrew poetry is. JUDGES 5:2 Her first feeling was one of patriotic joy that her countrymen had been roused to the venture of war, and of gratitude to God that it was so. "For the bold leading of the leaders of Israel, for the

THEN HE MADE HIM THAT REMAINETH,.... The people of Israel that remained, who had been under the yoke of Jabin king of Canaan, under which many of the Israelites very probably died; but now the few mean and miserable that remained were raised to an high estate, and made to HAVE DOMINION OVER THE NOBLES AMONG THE PEOPLE; that is, over the Canaanitish nobility, that were among the people under Jabin; but he being conquered by the Israelites, his people and even his nobles became subject to them; and this was the Lord's doing, as the following words show: THE LORD MADE ME HAVE DOMINION OVER THE MIGHTY; that is, Deborah, to whom God gave dominion either over the mighty ones of Israel, being raised up to be their judge; or over the mighty Canaanites, she having a concern in the conquest of them and triumph over them, through her direction, advice, command, and presence, though a woman....

CHAPTER 5 The Song of Deborah and Barak _ 1. The praise of Jehovah (Judges 5:1)_ 2. The condition of the people and their deliverance (Judges 5:6) 3. The celebration of the victory and the victors (Judges 5:12) 4. The fate of the enemy (Judges 5:23) This is one of the prophetic songs of the Bible. It is full of the fire of passion and enthusiasm, reflecting the character of the woman through whom the deliverance had been wrought. It has been classed with the barbaric outbursts of the battle-hymns and odes of triumph of heathen nations, likened to some wild chant of a victor, whose blood-thirst has been que

GLORY AND SHAME. Deborah and Barak are apostrophised. She is called to awake and utter a battle-song, such as will arouse a slumbering people like the sound of a trumpet; a _Men of Harlech_ or a _Marseillaise_, that summons heroes to victory or death; not a song _after_ battle, like the pæ an we are interpreting. Judges 5:13. Read, Then came down Israel like noble ones, the people of Yahweh came down for Him like heroes. Judges 5:14. The response to the martial call is varied. Some of the tribes, leaping to arms, achieve deathless honour; others, lagging at home, are covered with eternal shame and contempt. Phrase after phrase seizes the reader's memory. How striking is the contrast between shirkers and heroes Reuben sitting among the sheep-folds, listening to the calling

Some codices and Septuagint divide the two lines thus: Then came down. remnant of the nobles, And the People of Jehovah [came down] with me against the mighty ones....

_Then came down a remnant_ The Massoretic scribes intended the verb to mean -then may the remnant (i.e. of Israel) rule over the noble ones," a prayer; but _the noble ones_like _the mighty_are most naturally Israelites, and after _then_the LXX and other Verss. give a perfect. With a slight change of pronunciation the RV. renders -Then came down a remnant of the nobles _and_the people," inserting _and_without any right. The word for _remnant_means, not -a mere handful," but _survivors_from a battle, a sense unsuitable here; we may perhaps correct the form to _Israel_(Budde, Moore), and thus obtain a good parallelism to _the people of the Lord_, as the words are to be read (LXX. B). The whole verse may be restored: _Then came down Israel like noble ones_, _The people of the Lord came down for Him as heroes_. _For Him_(LXX) is preferable to _for me_in the text....