Judges 5:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.

NIV: Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.

NASB: The peasantry came to an end, they came to an end in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Until I arose, a mother in Israel.

CSB: Villages were deserted, they were deserted in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel.

NLT: There were few people left in the villages of Israel — until Deborah arose as a mother for Israel.

KJV: The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.

NKJV: Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel.

Deborah (Judges 4:4–5; 5:1) has described the dark days in northern Israel when the Canaanites were oppressing the people. The major highways were abandoned because they were too dangerous. People traveled by backroads and little-known routes to get around while avoiding trouble (Judges 5:2–6). The feared iron chariots of Sisera would have been a dangerous menace on large roads (Judges 4:1–3).

This verse adds that "the villagers ceased." Scholars debate the exact meaning of this phrase. One possibility is that those who lived in villages stopped traveling or working their fields for fear of harm (Judges 6:3–4, 11). Another option is that the people of local villages simply gave up—they "ceased"—and became unwilling to fight back against Canaanite oppression. Either way, the people of Israel suffered restrictions and lived in fear of Sisera and the Canaanites.

All of that began to change when Deborah rose to power in Israel. She describes her commissioning by the Lord to settle disputes as a judge over Israel. She was also a prophetess, delivering messages to His people through her. Deborah is not bragging; the purpose of her words is to show God's ability to work through His chosen instruments. This song is still about the victory over Canaan secured by the Lord. God's work through Deborah marked the end of His silence during the reign of the Canaanite conquerors.

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).