Judges 5:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil? — A womb or two for every man; spoil of dyed materials for Sisera, spoil of dyed materials embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’

NIV: ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a woman or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck— all this as plunder?’

NASB: ‘Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoils? A concubine, two concubines for every warrior; To Sisera a spoil of dyed cloth, A spoil of dyed cloth embroidered, Dyed cloth of double embroidery on the neck of the plunderer?’

CSB: "Are they not finding and dividing the spoil— a girl or two for each warrior, the spoil of colored garments for Sisera, the spoil of an embroidered garment or two for my neck?"

NLT: ‘They must be dividing the captured plunder — with a woman or two for every man. There will be colorful robes for Sisera, and colorful, embroidered robes for me. Yes, the plunder will include colorful robes embroidered on both sides.’

KJV: Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?

NKJV: ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil: To every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed, Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’

Sisera was brutally killed by a woman named Jael as he slept (Judges 4:19–21; 5:24–27). As Deborah sings a celebration of Israel's victory (Judges 5:1), she depicts Sisera's mother fearfully wondering why her son is delayed. The other noble women—or, possible, Sisera's harem—assure her he has so much loot and slaves to sort through that he's running late. They imagine Sisera and his soldiers ransacking enemy camps and towns, perhaps, after routing the Israelites in battle.

The heartless description of what they will be taking is chilling—and partly reveals the Israeli perspective on Sisera's cruelty. Concepts such as this might have been part of Jael's motivation to mangle the general's skull with a wooden spike (Judges 4:22). The reference to "a womb or two for every man" can imply the taking of captive wives in battle. However, the coarse language, and the context of a territory already under Canaanite control, suggest something even less savory. Deborah poetically imagines Sisera's mother callously assuming the soldiers are enjoying—brutally—the defeated women of Israel. This has always been an all-too-common reality of war. To hear Sisera's mother describe it so bluntly is meant, in part, to steal away sympathy for her.

Sisera's mother is imagined assuming, just as arrogantly, that her son is sorting through massive plunder such as clothes and fabrics. It's likely Sisera and his soldiers had taken such goods from the Israelites many times during their oppression of the previous twenty (Judges 4:1–3) years. Deborah's song uses this reality to sharpen her focus on divine justice. This came through Israel's victory and the death of Sisera at the hands of a woman while he slept helplessly.

Judges 5:24–31 completes a song of victory celebrating the defeat of the Canaanites (Judges 4:12–16). This especially notes the slaying of Sisera, Canaan's general, by the woman Jael. Her brutally efficient methods were described in the prior chapter (Judges 4:17–21). Sisera's death is given an especially dramatic, poetic treatment—the ancient written equivalent of a slow-motion sequence. The passage also imagines the surprise which will accompany Sisera's death, depicting it from the view of his mother and servants. The song ends with a plea that God would extend the same defeat to all His enemies. The peace won by Barak and Deborah (Judges 4:4–7) will last forty years.

Deborah and Barak sing a victory song she has written. This celebrates all the Lord accomplished through Israel's victory in battle over Sisera and Canaan. She praises God for willing volunteers and calls for everyone to pass along the story. She tells of the torrent of water that flowed down the Kishon River and swept away the enemy. She describes in detail the death of Sisera at the hands of a woman and even shows his mother crying for his return. Her song emphasizes that credit for success goes to the Lord.

Judges 5 follows the narrative-style account of the battle between Sisera and Barak, as instigated by the prophetess Deborah in chapter 4. This chapter is a song, poetically depicting the same series of events. Deborah describes Sisera's defeat in battle, Jael's bold killing of the cruel general Sisera, and the tears of his mother as she waits for him at home. The following chapter shows that Israel—once again—responds to this hard-won peace with another cycle of idolatry, sin, and oppression (Judges 6:1).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).