Judges 5:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: "In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways.

NIV: "In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths.

NASB: 'In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the roads were deserted, And travelers went by roundabout ways.

CSB: In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the main roads were deserted because travelers kept to the side roads.

NLT: 'In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, and in the days of Jael, people avoided the main roads, and travelers stayed on winding pathways.

KJV: In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

NKJV: “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, In the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways.

This chapter is a poetic song of victory, composed by the prophetess and judge, Deborah (Judges 4:4–5; 5:1). She has described the greatness of the Lord God (Judges 5:2–5). Now she describes the desperate times out of which she was raised up as a prophetess.

She describes the dark days of Shamgar (Judges 3:31). Shamgar was mentioned in a single verse at the end of Judges 3. Extraordinarily little detail is given about him, other than He was used by God to kill 600 Philistines at a crucial moment. This may have happened during or shortly after Ehud's time as a judge over Israel. The description of Shamar as "son of Anath" might mean "servant of the goddess Anath," suggesting he was a non-Israelite nevertheless used by God.

Another non-Israeli who was part of God's plan is Jael, the wife of Heber, who deftly killed the Canaanite general Sisera while he slept in her tent (Judges 4:20–22). Deborah will describe her as "most blessed of women" for this act on Israel's behalf (Judges 5:24).

It is telling that Deborah mentions the Lord's use of two non-Israelites to save Israel. This reinforces Israel's faithlessness to the Lord. It also demonstrates that God is the one who saves Israel by any means He so chooses.

Though these were bright spots, they came during a time when Israel, especially in the north, was cruelly oppressed. It was not safe for the people of the Lord—or, perhaps, for anyone—to be out on the highways. Sisera's iron chariots likely had much to do with this threat (Judges 4:3). Instead, travelers during that time came and went by lesser-traveled roads to avoid danger.

Judges 5:1–11 begins a song composed by Deborah, the prophetess and judge of Israel (Judges 4:4–5). This segment introduces the troubles experienced by God's chosen people leading up to their battle against Canaan. Though Israel had been blessed by God and His miracles when they came out of Egypt, the nation had fallen under oppression. As explained in the prior chapter (Judges 4:1–10), the people responded to Deborah's call for action. What follows is a celebration of Israel's victory against Sisera, Jabin, and the Canaanite army (Judges 4:12–16).

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).