² sn The psalmist alludes here to Gideon’s victory over the Midianites (see <data ref="Bible:Jdg 7-8">Judg 7-8data>) and to Barak’s victory over Jabin’s army, which was led by his general Sisera (<data ref="Bible:Jdg 4-5">Judg 4-5data>).

² tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn <i>Hebi> “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.

² tc The MT has <span class="hebrew">בְּדָןspan> (<span class="translit">B<sup>esup>danspan>, “Bedan”) here (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). But a deliverer by this name is not elsewhere mentioned in the OT. The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “Barak.”

³ tc In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the particular names selected for mention and with regard to the order in which they are listed. For example, the LXX has “Jerub Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel.” But the Targum has “Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel,” while the Syriac Peshitta has “Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson.”

¹ sn <i>Endori> is not mentioned in the accounts of Gideon’s or Barak’s victories, but both battles took place in the general vicinity of the town. (See Y. Aharoni and M. Avi-Yonah, <i>The Macmillan Bible Atlasi>, 46, 54.) Because Sisera and Jabin are mentioned in v. <data ref="Bible:Ps 83:9">9bdata>, many understand them to be the subject of the verbs in v. <data ref="Bible:Ps 83:10">10data>, though they relate v. <data ref="Bible:Ps 83:10">10data> to Gideon’s victory, which is referred to in v. <data ref="Bible:Ps 83:9">9adata>, <data ref="Bible:Ps 83:11">11data>. (See, for example, Y. Aharoni, <i>The Land of the Biblei>, 263.)

² tn <i>Hebi> “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb <span class="hebrew">גּוּרspan> (<span class="translit">gurspan>) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, <i><data ref="Bible:Jdg 1-5">Judges 1-5data>i>, 262.

¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression <span class="hebrew">בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹתspan> (<span class="translit">bifroaʿ p<sup>esup>raʿotspan>) is uncertain. Numerous proposals are offered by commentators. (For a survey of opinions, see B. Lindars, <i><data ref="Bible:Jdg 1-5">Judges 1-5data>i>, 223-27.) The next line refers to the people who responded to Barak’s summons to war, so a reference to the leaders who issued the summons would provide a natural poetic parallel. In v. <data ref="Bible:Jdg 5:9">9data> the leaders (<span class="hebrew">חוֹקְקֵיspan>, <span class="translit">khoq<sup>esup>qespan>) of the people and these same volunteers stand in poetic parallelism, so it is reasonable to assume that the difficult Hebrew term <span class="hebrew">פְּרַעוֹתspan> (<span class="translit">p<sup>esup>raʿotspan>, v. <data ref="Bible:Jdg 5:2">2adata>) is synonymous with <span class="hebrew">חוֹקְקֵיspan> (<span class="translit">khoq<sup>esup>qespan>) of v. <data ref="Bible:Jdg 5:9">9data> (see Lindars, 227).