Judges 5:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The mountains quaked before the LORD, even Sinai before the LORD, the God of Israel.

NIV: The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.

NASB: The mountains flowed with water at the presence of the Lord, This Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

CSB: The mountains melted before the Lord, even Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.

NLT: The mountains quaked in the presence of the Lord, the God of Mount Sinai — in the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

KJV: The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.

NKJV: The mountains gushed before the Lord, This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.

Deborah is singing her song boldly to the Lord Himself (Judges 5:1–4). She is echoed by Barak and the people of Israel. She has described God as moving from outside of the land of Canaan into the land, bringing earthquakes and rainstorms with Him. This language likely was meant to directly counter the Canaanite false god, Baal, who was associated with storms. Now she refers to the quaking of Mount Sinai when the Lord came down to visit Moses and deliver the Law to Israel (Exodus 19:18).

Even mountains quake and tremble before the Lord, the God of Israel. Those who worship Baal could not say the same of him. God reigns as Lord over even the land of Canaan with real power that Baal could never deliver.

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).

Accessed 5/5/2024 6:05:04 AM