Judges 4:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

NIV: When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

NASB: Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.

CSB: It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor.

NLT: When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

KJV: And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.

NKJV: And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.

After noting the presence of a Kenite (Judges 4:11), whose influence will only be understood later, the passage returns to the main storyline. The Lord had promised Barak that He would draw out Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, into a battle (Judges 4:4–7). That moment comes now.

Sisera learns that Barak has raised an army in defiance of Israel's oppressors, the Canaanites. He also learns that they have positioned themselves at Mount Tabor. This is exactly what God has told Barak to do. Sisera would have understood Mount Tabor as a tactical stronghold, giving an army the higher ground from which to do battle. Still, Sisera will not hesitate to take his own army out to confront this threat to Canaan's dominance over the Israelites. His 900 iron chariots would have been a considerable advantage in any fight against troops on foot (Judges 4:1–3; 5:6).

Later explanations show that God has a plan to undo this technological advantage (Judges 5:21).

Judges 4:11–16 tells how Israel's army, led by the prophetess Deborah and the judge Barak, defeat the Canaanite army of King Jabin. The following chapter implies that an unexpected flood may have disabled the enemy's iron chariots (Judges 5:21–22). The Canaanite commander, Sisera, flees on foot. He alone escapes, as the rest of his men are wiped out.

In response to their sin, God allows Israel to fall into oppression under Jabin, king of the Canaanites. Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, cruelly abuses the Israelites for twenty years. Through His prophetess Deborah, the Lord raises up Barak to lead a massive Israeli army. This force wipes out Canaan's army. Sisera flees on foot and hides in the tent of Heber's wife Jael. Once he is asleep, she kills him and then shows Barak the body. The Israelites soon destroy King Jabin and are freed from Canaanite oppression.

Judges 4 begins with the death of Ehud, the assassin-leader of chapter 3 who freed Israel from the Moabites. After the Israelite people return to wickedness, God submits them to Jabin and the Canaanites. After twenty years, the Lord raises up a deliverer called Barak through His prophetess Deborah. Israel obliterates the enemy army, and the general is slaughtered in his sleep by a woman. Jabin and the Canaanites are defeated. The next chapter poetically retells these events, followed by the introduction of an especially famous judge in chapter 6: Gideon.

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).

Accessed 4/29/2024 7:57:36 AM