# Judges 04 📖: Deborah and Barak [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Judges Overview]] | [[Judges 03]] | [[Judges 05]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Deborah Summons Barak [[#Verse 01.]] The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight after Ehud’s death. [[#Verse 02.]] The Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.  [[#Verse 03.]] The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera had 900 chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, and he cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. [[#Verse 04.]] Now Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.  [[#Verse 05.]] She would sit under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. [[#Verse 06.]] She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun.  [[#Verse 07.]] I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. I will hand him over to you.”  [[#Verse 08.]] Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.”  [[#Verse 09.]] She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame on the expedition you are undertaking, for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.  [[#Verse 10.]] Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and 10,000 men followed him; Deborah went up with him as well.  [[#Verse 11.]] Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. [[#Verse 12.]] When Sisera heard that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, [[#Verse 13.]] he ordered all his chariotry—900 chariots with iron-rimmed wheels—and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.  [[#Verse 14.]] Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action, for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! Has the Lord not taken the lead?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.  [[#Verse 15.]] The Lord routed Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. Sisera jumped out of his chariot and ran away on foot.  [[#Verse 16.]] Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! [[#Verse 17.]] Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty.  [[#Verse 18.]] Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest, my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him.  [[#Verse 19.]] He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again.  [[#Verse 20.]] He said to her, “Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’”  [[#Verse 21.]] Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground while he was asleep from exhaustion, and he died.  [[#Verse 22.]] Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead with the tent peg through his temple. [[#Verse 23.]] That day God humiliated King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. [[#Verse 24.]] Israel’s power continued to overwhelm King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with him. [[#Verse 24]] Israel’s power continued to overwhelm King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with him. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24 ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Jabin's commander Sisera had 900 iron chariots (4:3), a massive military force for the time. 2. Deborah is the only judge in the book also called a prophetess (4:4). 3. Deborah's name means "bee," and Barak's name means "lightning." 4. Deborah held court under the Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel (4:5). 5. Mount Tabor (4:6) is a rounded mountain standing alone at the northeast edge of the Jezreel Valley. 6. The Kishon River (4:7, 13) runs through the Jezreel Valley. Heavy rain could turn the plain to mud and trap chariots (5:21). 7. Barak is listed in Hebrews 11:32 among the heroes of faith. 8. Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites and was at peace with Jabin (4:11, 17). 9. Setting up tents was usually women's work in nomadic culture, so Jael would have been skilled with a tent peg and hammer. 10. Hazor (4:2) was a large Canaanite city Joshua had burned (Joshua 11:10-11), so it had been rebuilt by this time. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the One who crushes the enemy's head. Jael's blow to Sisera's head (4:21) echoes the promise of Genesis 3:15, which God fulfills through Jesus as He crushes Satan under His people's feet (Romans 16:20). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Barak would not go unless Deborah went with him (4:8). Was this faith, fear, or both? 2. Deborah told Barak the Lord had already gone out ahead of him (4:14). How does knowing God goes before you change how you face challenges? 3. God used unexpected people, Deborah and Jael, to bring victory (4:9, 21). What does this teach about whom God chooses to use? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 4-5: Deborah, a prophetess, leads Israel and judges under the palm tree. - 📖 verse 14: The Lord has gone out ahead of Barak. - 📖 verse 23: That day God subdues Jabin, king of Canaan, before Israel. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Judges 05#Verse 20.|Judges 5:20-21]] - The stars fought and the Kishon swept the enemy away. - 🔗 [[Hebrews 11#Verse 32.|Hebrews 11:32-34]] - Barak among the faithful. - 🔗 [[Genesis 03#Verse 15.|Genesis 3:15]] - The serpent's head will be crushed. - 🔗 [[Romans 16#Verse 20.|Romans 16:20]] - God will crush Satan under your feet. - 🔗 [[Psalm 83#Verse 09.|Psalm 83:9-10]] - Do to them as You did to Sisera. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Judges 04 - SOAP|No More Training Wheels]] ## 📂 Internal Notes