Discovery BoxJudges 4:6-16 
Context4:6 She summoned 1 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 ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun! 4:7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. 2 I will hand him over to you.” 4:8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 4:9 She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame 3 on the expedition you are undertaking, 4 for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” 5 Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 4:10 Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; 6 Deborah went up with him as well. 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away 7 from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived 8 near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
4:12 When Sisera heard 9 that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 4:13 he 10 ordered 11 all his chariotry – nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels – and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the River Kishon. 4:14 Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action, 12 for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! 13 Has the Lord not taken the lead?” 14 Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 4:15 The Lord routed 15 Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. 16 Sisera jumped out of 17 his chariot and ran away on foot. 4:16 Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died 18 by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! 19
1 tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
2 tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”
3 tn Or “honor.”
4 tn Heb “on [account of (?)] the way which you are walking.” Another option is to translate, “due to the way you are going about this.” In this case direct reference is made to Barak’s hesitancy as the reason for his loss of glory.
5 tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the
6 tn Heb “went up at his feet.”
7 tn Or “separated.”
8 tn Heb “pitched his tent.”
9 tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”
10 tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
11 tn Or “summoned.”
12 tn Heb “Arise!”
13 tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the
14 tn Heb “Has the
15 tn Or “caused to panic.”
16 tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 tn Heb “got down from.”
18 tn Heb “fell.”
19 tn Heb “was left.”
