Lange Commentary - Judges 5:24

Lange Commentary - Judges 5:24 - 5:31

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Lange Commentary - Judges 5:24 - 5:31

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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

The Fate Of The Enemy

Jdg_5:24-31

²⁴Blessed among women be Jael,

The wife of Heber, the Kenite,

Blessed among women of the tents!

²⁵He asks for water, she gives him milk,

In a beautiful bowl she carries him cream.

²⁶With her left she takes the nail,

With her right the heavy hammer,

Swings it over Sisera, smites his head,

Crashes through, and transpierces his temples.

²⁷At her feet he curls himself and falls,

At her feet he lies, curls himself again, and falls,

And as he curls himself again, falls—dead!

Through the window she looks, at the lattice laments ²⁸the mother of Sisera:

Why lingers his car so long,

Why stay the steps of his chariots?

²⁹Wise ladies answer her,

Herself also refutes her own words:

³⁰Will they not find booty and divide it?

Two maidens for each man;

Booty of purple robes for Sisera,

Yea, booty of purple robes!

Color-embroidered vestments, two for each neck of the captured!

³¹So may all thy foes fall, O God,

But those who love thee rise as the sun in his strength!

And the land rested forty years.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

[¹ Jdg_5:26.—The rendering of éָøָäּ by “her left hand,”—if admissible at all,—must be justified by the assumption of an intended contrast with éְîִéðָäּ in the next line. The form úִּùְׁìַçְðָä , according to Gesenius, Gram. 47, 3, 3 is an improper use of the 3d plural for the 3d singular; according to Green, 88, p. 119, it stands for úִּùְׁìָçֶðָּä —“her hand, she puts it forth;” according to Ewald, 191 c, it is simply the 3d fem. sg. úִּùְׁìַç , with an additional feminine characteristic ( ðָä ) in order to distinguish it from the 3d masc. singular. Ewald’s view is also adopted by Bertheau, Keil, and (in the main, by) Bachmann, and is probably the true one.—Tr.]

[² Jdg_5:26.—Dr. Cassel’s rendering of the last two lines of this verse is as follows:—

Schwingt ihn auf Sisra, schlägt ihn an’s Haupt,

Schmettert nach und durchbohrt ihm die Schlafe.

We have endeavored to reproduce his alliteration as nearly as possible, but have nevertheless lost the paranomasia of äָìְîָä with çַìְîåּú , hammer, in the preceding line, for which our author has Schlägel, mallet, beetle. The awful energy of the lines, and their onomatopoetic character, may be distantly and somewhat inelegantly imitated in English, thus—

“She hammers Sisera, mashes his head,

Smashes (him), and crashes through his temples.”—Tr.]

[³ Jdg_5:27.—The above translation of this verse disregards the Masoretic text-division (according to which ùָׁëַë , “he lies,” belongs to the first line), and takes ëַּàֲùֶׁø in a temporal instead of local sense. The radical meaning of ëָּøַò is probably “to bend or contract one’s self” (cf. Ges. Lex., Keil, Bachmann), the usual sense “to kneel” being derivative. The mortally wounded Sisera, pinned to the ground (Jdg_4:21), involuntarily curls himself together, as Dr. Cassel says—i. e. brings his knees forward and upward. But Dr. Cassel’s idea that this involuntary muscular contraction was repeated three times is inconsistent with the proper local sense of áַּàֲùֶׁø , and with the repeated ðָôַì . Dr. Cassel, it is true, seeks to avoid the latter difficulty by supposing (see the com. below) that Sisera “seeks to rise, and falls back;” but how could he rise so as to fall back when his head was pinned to the ground? It is altogether more likely that in this song of victory, ðָôַì is used as in military language (and perhaps not without a touch of contemptuous irony), for “to die,” “to be slain,” in this sense, ðָôַì , like ðßðôåéí , cadere, and our “fall,” is frequently used, cf. the Lexica. The repetition of the idea of the first line in the second and third springs from the great interest of the singer in the destruction of the much-dreaded chieftain, and serves to intensify the impression to be produced on those who hear her. Accordingly, we would render:—

At her feet he curls himself, he falls, he lies.

At her feet he curls himself, he falls!

Where he curls himself, there he falls—destroyed.

So also Bertheau, Keil, Bachmann. For áֵּéï , in the sense of “at” cf. remarks of Hengstenberg on Zec_13:6, in Christol. iv. 106, Edinb. edition.—Tr.]

[⁴ Jdg_5:29.—The above translation neglects both the suffix in ùָׂøåִúֶéäָ , and the construct state of çַëְîåֹú (fem. of çָëָí ). In úַּòֲðֶðָּä Dr. Cassel apparently finds the 3d fem. sing. imperf. with the suffix of the 3d fem. sing. But as the subject is plural, it is better to take úַּòֲðֶðָּä as standing for úַּòֲðֶéðָä . The accented é in the latter form seeks to strengthen itself by doubling the following consonant, in which case the é naturally falls away, although it may also remain, as in Mic_7:10. Cf. Ewald, Gram. 17 c. The true rendering of the second line of this verse is much disputed. According to Keil the sense of the line is: “Sisera’s mother, however, does not allow herself to be quieted by the speeches of her wise ladies, but repeats the anxious question, Why does Sisera delay to come?” He and Bachmann translate the verse thus:—

“The wise ones of her princesses answer:

—But she repeats to herself her words—”.—Tr.]

[⁵ Jdg_5:30.—On our author’s text-division in this verse, see the Commentary below. Bachmann, who adheres to the Masoretic punctuation, translates as follows:—

“Will they not find, divide booty?

A maiden, two maidens for the head of a man,

Booty of colored garments for Sisera,

Booty of colored garments, (of) variegated work,

A colored garment, two variegated for the neck of the booty.”—Tr.]

EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL

The closing part of Deborah’s Song has justly been regarded as a specimen of poetical representation that cannot be surpassed. In it the singer shows that she is a woman. The triumph with which Jael’s deed is praised and Sisera’s mother mocked, evinces an almost passionate mental exaltation. The picture of Sisera’s death is drawn with startling vividness. On the back ground of a divine enthusiasm, there rises an ecstatic delight in the deed of one woman, and in the misery of another, such as springs up in none but a woman’s heart. That which in heathen female characters becomes demoniac in its nature, is in Deborah purified by the divine thoughts which animate her. No subjective interest, no private feeling, no personal passion, influences her; the highest interests of her God and people fill her soul. It is not her triumph, but that of her ever-living Maker, that she celebrates; and yet at the height of its exultation her Song breaks out in a mood by which the woman might be recognized, even if neither name nor other information on the authorship had been handed down to us. That which especially gives to the conclusion of the Song its great value and attractiveness, is the fact that from it the genuineness of the whole becomes even more psychologically than grammatically evident—that the mantic power of a prophetic woman, unweakened and in the full glow of its burning ecstasy, is nowhere else filled and controlled as it is here, by rational enthusiasm born of an objective, divinely-given truth. How well it was said of her, that she was a “woman of a fiery spirit” (Jdg_4:4), becomes here most manifest. The more terrible the tyranny, the more common-place the enemy, the more intensely burns her soul in her song of victory. The glowing heat of her prophetic enthusiasm shines through the irony, with which she places the vain pride of unbelieving enemies over against the almighty power of God. It is not an irony of hatred, disfiguring the face with scornful smiles, but such as springs from the consciousness that God’s wisdom and power are superior to all heroes and heathen. Verse 23, pronouncing the ban against Meroz, says, “thus proclaims the messenger of God.” The name of God is the source of all power and authority. Apostasy from God incurs the ban; whoever helps to advance his works, is blessed.

Jdg_5:24-25. Blessed among women be Jael. Meroz did not come to the help of the people of God. Jael came, though a woman; and not of Israel, but a dweller in tents. The name of her husband is mentioned to distinguish her from others of the same name, and also to give him an interest in the fame of his wife. Accordingly, for her sake, he also has obtained a place in the records of history. The blessing which she enjoys before all women “in the tent,” i.e. before all who like herself and the Kenites wandered about in tents, after the manner of nomads, she did not win by accident. She made an energetic use of her opportunity. She deceives the flying Sisera by the signs of homage which she presents to him. He asks only for water; she offers him milk, and, as was befitting with such a guest, ëְּñֵôֶì àַøּéøִéí , in a bowl such as princes use. She takes the handsome show-bowl, not used on ordinary occasions, and hands him úֶîְàָä . This word, which also signifies butter, expresses in general the more solid forms of milk. Here, where it stands parallel with úָìָë , it signifies, in harmony with the “show-bowl,” the best milk, the cream. There is absolutely nothing to suggest the opinion of older expositors (Schnurrer, p. 83, received by Herder also) that she wished to intoxicate him with the milk. Moreover, we need not assume that the milk was camel-milk; and, at all events, the intoxicating property of that milk must have been known to Sisera. Before Bochart (cf. Serarius, p. 145), Junius and Tremellius had already expressed the opinion, approved by Scaliger, that in ñֵôֶì the Latin simpulum reappears. But saph, sephel, are Hebrew forms of a widely-diffused term for round, scooped-out vessels, whether of larger or smaller size, and may be recognized in the Greek óêÜöç , bowl, trough, tub, Latin scaphium, and in the German Schaff (tub, pail), Scheffel (modius), a round measure). It is true, however, that sephel continued to be used among the Jews (in the Talmud) and Syrians, and that the shape of the vessel may be most nearly expressed by simpulum, which, as Cicero’s proverb, “fluctus in simpulo”—a tempest in a nutshell—proves, was a smaller drinking-vessel.

Jdg_5:26-27. The first of these verses shows that the narrator in Judges 4 was in possession of traditional information beside that furnished by this Song. The prophetess passes over intermediate, self-evident matters. Sisera, of course, must lie down and sleep, before a woman can approach his head with hammer and nail. The verse depicts the dreadful work and vigor of Jael, as she approaches and drives the nail into Sisera’s head. The terms employed ( äָìַí , îָúַ÷ , îָúַõ ) are such as cause us to hear the blows of the hammer, sounding repeatedly, till she finishes her work. What a terrible picture! Before the warrior stands the kindled woman—the heavy hammer (as Herder finely translated äַìְîåּú òֲîֵìִéí , for òַîֵì is one who works hard or heavily, a toiler) in her right hand. The smitten chieftain draws himself together, he seeks to rise, and falls back. Twice more he writhes convulsively, and dies. There he lies, the haughty warrior, who thought to destroy the People of God—slain by a woman in disgraceful flight, far from his kindred, alone and unlamented, an example to conquerors of human weakness and divine power. ( ùָׁãåּã is the condition of utter lifelessness, when every sound and motion has ceased; hence it stands in contrast with ëָּøַò , which describes the wounded man instinctively bending and drawing himself together, as if about to rise.)

Jdg_5:28-31. But the fall of Sisera in the tent of a woman does not complete the picture of the extraordinary triumph. The prophetess shows yet another view. She carries her hearers to a distant scene. While Sisera lies here in ignominious death, what takes place in the palace of his capital? The return of the chieftain, accustomed to victory, has already been long expected. His mother stands at the window above, in the airy upper room. Her view commands the road to a great distance. She peers and listens; but still the rolling of the victorious chariots is not heard. No triumphal procession, with Sisera at its head, gorgeously attired and proud of victory, lights up the horizon. A sad presentiment steals over her heart: Why does his chariot delay? she cries, wailingly; why does he tarry so long? Is there no car coming, to bring tidings at least?—Who should first suffer anxiety, if not a mother? Of a wife, nothing is said; such love thrives not in the harem of a prince. He is his mother’s pride, the great hero, who had hitherto been invincible. What she has in him, and what she loses, concerns no other woman. With this pride, her women, noble ladies, whom her high rank as mother of the all-powerful commander draws around her, comfort her. Victory, they say, has also its occupations. If he has not come yet, it is because these detain him. No other explanation of his non-arrival is possible. Anxiety, therefore, is improper. For it is precisely victory that delays him. This is what her women say to her; the flattered mother admits the justness of their observations, and with them confutes her own foreboding questions. The prophetess, with delicate irony, calls the women who thus counsel, “wise ones.” It is the wisdom of a pride that deems it inconceivable that Sisera should not have been victorious; how could he prove unfortunate against this insignificant people! What to them is the God of Israel! It is the booty that hinders his coming. Booty, of course, delays the victor; for he must cause it to be divided. The mother and her women naturally think first of the booty; to them, that is the pith of all victories. Their fancy then proceeds to picture at pleasure the conquered treasures. How much time must it take, before every soldier has the two maidens whom he obtains as booty, assigned to him! And then the heap of costly clothing. The purple garments fall naturally to Sisera, for they are suitable only for princes. But each of the others also obtains embroidered garments, always two for each maiden that fell to his share. In this strain they talk with each other, and already imagine themselves to be looking over the goods which Sisera is bringing with him. But all at once the message comes: No booty, no victory—the hero is dead, the army is shattered! All is lost—the castle falls…. So perish they who set themselves against God. Fearful sorrow breaks their pride. But they who love God conquer. Their type is the sun, who like a fame-crowned victor, every morning, every spring, triumphs gloriously, with hero-like power, over clouds and darkness.

Account must here be given for departures from the ordinary division and translation in Jdg_5:30. That verse, like several others in Deborah’s Song, has undergone an incredible amount of conjecture and emendation. It reads as follows:—

äֲìֹà

éִîְöְàåּ éְúַìְּ÷åּ ùָׁìָì 1.

øַçַí øַçֲîָéִí ìְøֹàùׁ âֶּëֶø 2.

ùְׁìַì öְáָöִéí ìְñִéñְøָà 3.

ùְׁìַì öְáָòִéí 4.

øִ÷ְîָä öֶáַò øִ÷ְîָúַéִí ìְöַåְּàøֵé ùָׁìָì . 5.

Victors found their greatest satisfaction and joy in the booty. Hence, Moses also makes Pharaoh say (Exo_15:9): “I will pursue, I will divide the spoil.” The women took for granted that Sisera will find ( éִîְöְàåּ ) much booty, and that consequently a division will commence. Lines 2–5 point out the method of the division. First (line 2) each man gets two maidens, or women. Then the garments are divided. But how this was done, depends upon the explanation of line 5, particularly of the words ìְöַåּàøֵé ùָׁìָì . The difficulty under which expositors labored, originated in their failing to perceive that ùָׁìָì means the booty of maidens mentioned in line 2. It cannot be denied that ùָׁìָì is booty of persons as well as of things, cf. Num_31:11. Zec_2:13 (9) says, “They become a spoil to those who have served them.” In Isa_10:2, widows are called ùָׁìָì , cf. Jer_21:9, as also Jer_1:10, where the Chaldeans are spoken of as booty. An entirely analogous error used to be made in interpreting the celebrated chorus in the Antigone of Sophocles:—

̓́ Åñùò ἀíßêáôå ìÜ÷áí ,

̓́ Åñùò , ὅò ἐí êôÞìáóé ðßðôåéò ·

the word êôÞìáóé being understood, not of “the unfree,” but always of things (cf. Weimar. Jahrbuch fur Deutsche Lit., ii. 359). The “unfree” booty consists of men, animals, and things. So here, öַåְּàøֵé ùָׁìָì are the necks of the women taken as booty. For each neck two cloths are allowed. Thus the øִ÷ְîָä øִ÷ְîָúַéִí of line 5 corresponds to the øָçַí øַçֲîָúָéִí of line 2. The division was thus systematized. As many women as each had, so many times did he receive two cloths (for doubtless the dual form here really signifies the dual number). Now, it must not be overlooked that øִ÷ְîָä is used only in connection with the division of the cloths according to the number of maidens. Elsewhere also (Eze_26:16, excepted) øִ÷ְîָä appears as an article of female adornment, cf. Psa_45:15, for instance; also in Eze_16:13, the figure is that of a woman. This confirms the above division, and explains the expression of line Judges 3 : ùְׁìַì öְøָòִéí ìְñִéñְøָà . The øּ÷ְîָúַéí , which the chieftain is to receive, are distinguished from the øּ÷ְîָúַéִí , which fall to the maidens. The latter are beautifully-colored female dress-cloths; the former belong to Sisera, and are therefore to be taken as purple garments. It is true, öָáַò , in itself, means only to dip, i.e. to dye; but the spirit of the passage invites us to think not of merely colored, but of purple-colored garments, êáô ̓ ἐîé÷Þí . Such garments were worn by princes in battle (cf. Jdg_8:26), and distinguished kings and rulers; by reason of which it was an honor for Mordecai to wear them (Est_8:15; cf. Rosenmüller, Morgenland, iii. 37). It is a proud thought for Sisera’s mother, that the princely garments belong to her son. The repetition of the words ùְׁìַì öְáָòִéí (line 4) is to be taken as expressive of this her joy. The women do not speak, as has perhaps been supposed, of what they themselves shall receive, but simply represent to themselves how much time must be consumed in dividing so much booty among so many persons, in order to explain that which so greatly needed explanation—the delay of Sisera.

We omit recounting the various different expositions of this section. Nor is room allowed us to notice the manifold endeavors that have been made to analyze the arrangement of the whole Song. Neither Köster’s, nor Ewald’s, nor Bertheau’s division holds good. Le Clerc attempted to arrange the Song according to endings of similar sound,—an attempt that must necessarily fail. On the other hand, alliteration is of such frequent occurrence, as to betray more than anything else the presence of conscious art. Since the Song, however, is not built up of regular strophes, it of course cannot be subject to the same regular laws which govern the Scandinavian poems. But the alliterative form, in its perfect freedom, enhances the power of the Song to an extraordinary degree. It resembles in its effects the pebble-stones of the brook, over which the current flows with augmented force. It would transcend the limits of our present task to institute a comparison between the various productions of the Hebrew muse with reference to this alliterative form. Let it suffice, that in the rendering of the original we have endeavored to give prominence to the delicacy of the alliteration as it appears in this Song of Deborah.

And the land rested forty years. These words do not belong to the Song; but connect themselves with the prose narrative, at Jdg_4:24, into which the poem was inserted.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Deborah, the prophetic Singer. After the victory, Deborah sings a noble song, and thereby enables us to recognize that the spirit which animates her is the spirit of prophecy. The other Judges conquer like herself, but they have left us no songs of victory. But, indeed, they are not said to have been prophets. Only prophetic tongues can sing. True poetry is a sacred art. For that reason, all prophecy is a sublime hymn on judgment and divine redemption. Whatever the prophet sees, he proclaims and sings to the harp of faith. What they believed, that they spake. The wonderful works of God are always spoken of and preached with other tongues and in ecstatic song. Thus, from David’s time till now, the church of God has sung. Hallelujah is the keynote of all church-hymns.

But, just as Deborah, like Moses and Miriam, sang among the people, so the prophecy of song is not confined within the limits of the church. All popular poetry is the product of popular faith. The decay of literature is bound up in the decay of prophetic inspiration. Rhymes and verbal decorations do not rouse the masses. But when the jubilant heart, redeemed, strikes up its Easter-song, then every pulse will beat responses.

Starke: Although God has not committed the regular office of preaching to women, he has nevertheless many times imparted his prophetic Spirit to them, and through them has spoken great things.—The same: All who share in the benefits of God, should also join in bringing Him praise and thanksgiving.—Gerlach: An age in which this sublime, high-wrought, and spirited song could be composed, though full of restless and wildly antagonistic movements, was certainly not without deep and living consciousness of the high and glorious calling of the covenant-people.

[Wordsworth: We have a song of victory in Exodus; we have a song of victory in Numbers; we have a song of victory in Deuteronomy; we have this song of victory in Judges; we have a song of victory in the first of Samuel; we have a song of victory in the second of Samuel; we have the song of Zacharias, and the Magnificat, or Song of the Blessed Virgin, and the song of Simeon, in the Gospel; and all these songs are preludes to the new song, the song of Moses and of the Lamb, which the Saints of the Church glorified, from all nations, will sing, at the crystal sea, with the harps of God, when all the enemies of Christ and his Church will have been subdued, and their victory will be consummated forever (Rev_14:1-3; Rev_15:2-4).—The same (on Jdg_5:17): Here, in Dan and Asher, is the second hindrance to zeal for God’s cause; the other was that in the case of Reuben—comparative distance from the scene of danger, and rural occupation (see Jdg_5:15-16). They who live in commercial and maritime cities, engaged in worldly business, are tempted to prefer their own worldly interest to the cause of God and his Church. They who thus act, imitate Dan, and forfeit the blessing of Deborah. They also who live in country villages, removed from the din of controversy, and engaged in farming and other rural occupations, have strong temptations to live merely to themselves, and to stand aloof from their brethren, and not to listen to Deborah’s voice, and not to flock to Barak’s standard, and fight God’s battle together with them against the heresy and infidelity which assail his Church.—The same (on Jdg_5:18): Zebulun and Naphtali, in “Galilee of the Gentiles,” sent forth champions to the Lord’s battle against the enemies of the Hebrew Church; and their land was afterwards honored as the scene of Christ’s preaching (see Mat_4:13), and gave birth to many of the Apostles, the first champions of the Christian Church against the spiritual Siseras of this world.—The same (on Jdg_5:31): After the stirring emotions of the tempest of the elements, and the rush of the combatants, and the din of arms, and shock of battle, described with wonderful energy in this divine poem, the land had rest; a beautiful contrast, and an emblem of the peaceful calm which will prevail when the storms of this world will be lulled in the Sabbath of Eternity.—Henry: And well had it been if, when the churches and the tribes had rest, they had been edified, and had walked in the fear of the Lord.—Tr.]

Footnotes:

[Jdg_5:26.—The rendering of éָøָäּ by “her left hand,”—if admissible at all,—must be justified by the assumption of an intended contrast with éְîִéðָäּ in the next line. The form úִּùְׁìַçְðָä , according to Gesenius, Gram. 47, 3, 3 is an improper use of the 3d plural for the 3d singular; according to Green, 88, p. 119, it stands for úִּùְׁìָçֶðָּä —“her hand, she puts it forth;” according to Ewald, 191 c, it is simply the 3d fem. sg. úִּùְׁìַç , with an additional feminine characteristic ( ðָä ) in order to distinguish it from the 3d masc. singular. Ewald’s view is also adopted by Bertheau, Keil, and (in the main, by) Bachmann, and is probably the true one.—Tr.]

[Jdg_5:26.—Dr. Cassel’s rendering of the last two lines of this verse is as follows:—

Schwingt ihn auf Sisra, schlägt ihn an’s Haupt,

Schmettert nach und durchbohrt ihm die Schlafe.

We have endeavored to reproduce his alliteration as nearly as possible, but have nevertheless lost the paranomasia of äָìְîָä with çַìְîåּú , hammer, in the preceding line, for which our author has Schlägel, mallet, beetle. The awful energy of the lines, and their onomatopoetic character, may be distantly and somewhat inelegantly imitated in English, thus—

“She hammers Sisera, mashes his head,

Smashes (him), and crashes through his temples.”—Tr.]

[Jdg_5:27.—The above translation of this verse disregards the Masoretic text-division (according to which ùָׁëַë , “he lies,” belongs to the first line), and takes ëַּàֲùֶׁø in a temporal instead of local sense. The radical meaning of ëָּøַò is probably “to bend or contract one’s self” (cf. Ges. Lex., Keil, Bachmann), the usual sense “to kneel” being derivative. The mortally wounded Sisera, pinned to the ground (Jdg_4:21), involuntarily curls himself together, as Dr. Cassel says—i. e. brings his knees forward and upward. But Dr. Cassel’s idea that this involuntary muscular contraction was repeated three times is inconsistent with the proper local sense of áַּàֲùֶׁø , and with the repeated ðָôַì . Dr. Cassel, it is true, seeks to avoid the latter difficulty by supposing (see the com. below) that Sisera “seeks to rise, and falls back;” but how could he rise so as to fall back when his head was pinned to the ground? It is altogether more likely that in this song of victory, ðָôַì is used as in military language (and perhaps not without a touch of contemptuous irony), for “to die,” “to be slain,” in this sense, ðָôַì , like ðßðôåéí , cadere, and our “fall,” is frequently used, cf. the Lexica. The repetition of the idea of the first line in the second and third springs from the great interest of the singer in the destruction of the much-dreaded chieftain, and serves to intensify the impression to be produced on those who hear her. Accordingly, we would render:—

At her feet he curls himself, he falls, he lies.

At her feet he curls himself, he falls!

Where he curls himself, there he falls—destroyed.

So also Bertheau, Keil, Bachmann. For áֵּéï , in the sense of “at” cf. remarks of Hengstenberg on Zec_13:6, in Christol. iv. 106, Edinb. edition.—Tr.]

[Jdg_5:29.—The above translation neglects both the suffix in ùָׂøåִúֶéäָ , and the construct state of çַëְîåֹú (fem. of çָëָí ). In úַּòֲðֶðָּä Dr. Cassel apparently finds the 3d fem. sing. imperf. with the suffix of the 3d fem. sing. But as the subject is plural, it is better to take úַּòֲðֶðָּä as standing for úַּòֲðֶéðָä . The accented é in the latter form seeks to strengthen itself by doubling the following consonant, in which case the é naturally falls away, although it may also remain, as in Mic_7:10. Cf. Ewald, Gram. 17 c. The true rendering of the second line of this verse is much disputed. According to Keil the sense of the line is: “Sisera’s mother, however, does not allow herself to be quieted by the speeches of her wise ladies, but repeats the anxious question, Why does Sisera delay to come?” He and Bachmann translate the verse thus:—

“The wise ones of her princesses answer:

—But she repeats to herself her words—”.—Tr.]

[Jdg_5:30.—On our author’s text-division in this verse, see the Commentary below. Bachmann, who adheres to the Masoretic punctuation, translates as follows:—

“Will they not find, divide booty?

A maiden, two maidens for the head of a man,

Booty of colored garments for Sisera,

Booty of colored garments, (of) variegated work,

A colored garment, two variegated for the neck of the booty.”—Tr.]

[When soured. See Winer’s Realwörterbuch, i. 648.—Tr.]

Of two hollow measures, still in use in Damascus, the one is called mudd, the other sumbul.

ùָׁ÷ִó . áְּòַã çַçַìּåֹï ðִùְׁ÷ְôָç invariably expresses the act of looking out from a height, from a mountain, for instance, or from heaven; also from the upper chambers (Gen_26:8), to which persons of quality (Eglon, for example) retired to cool themselves.

éָáַá , åַúְּéַáֵּá occurs only in this passage. It is an onomatopoetic word, like the German “jammern,” [cf. the English “wailing.”] In Chaldee, however, it chiefly has the sense of “crying,” “sounding,” in a favorable as well as unfavorable sense.

“Why delay ôַּòַí . ôַּòְîֵé îַøְáåֹúָéå may be used of any kind of repeated motion, like that of treading; and therefore also of the rolling of wheels.

çָּùִׁéá àֲîָøֶéäָ . The mother replies herself to her own words, corrects herself. She does not answer the others,—an interpretation neither philologically congruous, nor in harmony with the fact that they have not said anything which the mother would wish to refute. Cf. Job_35:4, and Pro_22:21.

The following passage from a letter written by the Emperor Claudius II., after his great victory over the Goths, may serve to confirm our explanation of Jdg_5:30 : “Tantum mulierum cepimus, ut binas et ternas mulieres victor sibi miles possit adjungere.” Trebellius Pollio, cap. 8.

Observable also in Keil’s exposition.

[This general explanation of øִ÷ְîָä , as cloth or garments “worked in colors,” is probably to be preferred to the more definite “embroidered in colors,” adopted by Dr. Cassel in his translation of the passage. Keil (on Exo_26:36) remarks that in the only passage where the verb øָ÷ַí occurs, Psa_139:15, it signifies “to weave.” Robinson (Bibl. Repos., i. 610) says: “The verb øָ÷ַí , both in Hebrew and Arabic, signifies to diversify, make variegated, sc. in color; and is not necessarily applied to needlework.” Cf. also Bachmann, in loc.—Tr.]