Songs of the Bible: Song of Deborah

Song of Deborah — Judges 5

V. 1-11 Appearance of God, suffering of Israel V. 12-23 Israelite warriors compared to Canaanite kings V. 24-31 Jael vs Sisera’s mother

V. 1-11

• Nature trembles and quakes at the coming of Yahweh
  • v. 6-8 — The suffering of Israel came from the gods they chose to follow.
• Deborah — seen as a mother and deliverer of Israel.
• The sound of victory will be greater than:
  • archers or
  • shepherds driving flocks
• Deliverance still points back to God.

V. 12-23

• Only Zebulun and Naphtali are mentioned in the narrative but in the poem 3 seem to respond:
  • Ephraim/Manasseh, Benjamin, Issachar
• Reuben, Gad, Dan, Asher didn’t respond
• Judah/Simeon — not mentioned
• Meroz — Naphtali town

V. 24-31

V. 24-27 Jael

• The death of a warrior like Sisera at the hands of a woman would have been most embarrassing.
  • v. 27 The slow motion death personifies this.

V. 28-30 Sisera’s mother

• Considered wise but is foolish.
• She is focused on spoils and she may not care about his death.

V. 31 God’s enemies will perish but those that are loyal are like the sun. They rise in victory.