Judges 5:12: Deborah Rouses Herself and Barak to Praise
- Dr. Dilday
- Feb 27, 2018
- 1 min read
Verse 12:[1] (Ps. 57:8) Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and (Ps. 68:18) lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
Awake, awake; stir up thyself and all that is within thee to admire and praise the Lord.
[Arise, etc.] Awake, and take captive, etc. (Montanus), that is, Praise Jehovah, since, having been helped by Him, thou hast taken many captives (Vatablus). Go, O Barak, distribute thy spoils and captives, and rejoice over them (Bonfrerius).
[Lay hold of the captives, וּֽשֲׁבֵ֥ה שֶׁבְיְךָ֖] And take captive thy captivity (Septuagint, Jonathan, Montanus, similarly Junius and Tremellius). Lead thy captivators captive (Syriac); plunder those that were plundering thee (Arabic). [They appear to have read שֺׁבֶיךְ, those captivating thee.]
Lead thy captivity captive: how could this be done when there was none of them left? Judges 4:16. Answer 1. None were left to make head against them. 2. None is oft put for few, and those few might be taken after the battle, and carried captive, and led in triumph, and afterward slain.
[1] Hebrew: עוּרִ֤י עוּרִי֙ דְּבוֹרָ֔ה ע֥וּרִי ע֖וּרִי דַּבְּרִי־שִׁ֑יר ק֥וּם בָּרָ֛ק וּֽשֲׁבֵ֥ה שֶׁבְיְךָ֖ בֶּן־אֲבִינֹֽעַם׃
Archibald Hall's "Gospel Worship": 'We should bless God with ardent zeal. We have a striking example of this recorded in the solemn thanksgiving of Deborah and Barak, on the day that God delivered the Canaanites that had mightily oppressed Israel for twenty years, into their hand; Judges 5:12, "Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam." The expressions are repeated, to signify the greatest vehemence and warmth of vigorous affection and delight in the work of giving thanks to the Most High.'
Here...Deborah stirs up herself and Barak to celebrate this victory in the most solemn manner, to the glory of God and the honour of Israel, for the encouragement of their friends and the greater confusion of their enemies, Judges 5:12. 1. Deborah, as a prophetess, must do it by a song, to compose and sing which she excites herself: Awake, awake, and again, awake, awake, which intimates the sense she had of the excellency and difficulty of the work; it needed and well deserved the utmost liveliness and vigour of soul in the performance of it; all the powers and faculties of the soul in their closest intensity and application ought to be employed in it. Thus too she expresses…