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Selected Verse: Judges 5:6 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Jud 5:6	Strong Concordance	In the days [03117] of Shamgar [08044] the son [01121] of Anath [06067], in the days [03117] of Jael [03278], the highways [0734] were unoccupied [02308], and the travellers [01980] walked [03212] through byways [06128] [05410].
	King James	In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
The song proceeds in these verses to describe the sad condition of the country, the oppression of the people, and the origin of all the national distress in the people's apostasy from God. Idolatry was the cause of foreign invasion and internal inability to resist it.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

The song proceeds in these verses to describe the sad condition of the country, the oppression of the people, and the origin of all the national distress in the people's apostasy from God. Idolatry was the cause of foreign invasion and internal inability to resist it.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Words dcscriptive of a state of weakness and fear, so that Israel could not frequent the highways. It is a graphic description of a country occupied by an enemy.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
6 In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the paths kept holiday, And the wanderers of the paths went crooked ways. 7 The towns in Israel kept holiday, they kept holiday, Until that I, Deborah, arose, That I arose a mother in Israel 8 They chose new gods; Then was war at the gates: Was there a shield seen and a spear Among forty thousand in Israel? The deep degradation and disgrace into which Israel had sunk before the appearance of Deborah, through its falling away from the Lord into idolatry, forms the dark reverse of that glorification at Sinai. Although, after Ehud, Shamgar had also brought help to the people against their enemies by a victory over the Philistines (Jdg 3:31), and although Jael, who proved herself a heroine by slaying the fugitive Sisera, was then alive, things had got to such a pitch with Israel, that no one would venture upon the public high roads. There are no good grounds for the conjecture that Jael was a different person from the Jael mentioned in Jdg 4:17., whether a judge who is not further known, as Ewald supposes, or a female judge who stood at the head of the nation in these unhappy times (Bertheau). ארחות חדלוּ, lit., "the paths ceased," sc., to be paths, or to be trodden by men. נתיבות הלכי, "those who went upon paths," or beaten ways, i.e., those who were obliged to undertake journeys for the purpose of friendly intercourse or trade, notwithstanding the burden of foreign rule which pressed upon the land; such persons went by "twisted paths," i.e., by roads and circuitous routes which turned away from the high roads. And the פּרזון, i.e., the cultivated land, with its open towns and villages, and with their inhabitants, was as forsaken and desolate as the public highways. The word perazon has been rendered judge or guidance by modern expositors, after the example of Teller and Gesenius; and in Jdg 5:11 decision or guidance. But this meaning, which has been adopted into all the more recent lexicons, has nothing really to support it, and does not even suit our verse, into which it would introduce the strange contradiction, that at the time when Shamgar and Jael were judges, there were no judges in Israel. In addition to the Septuagint version, which renders the word δυνατοὶ in this verse (i.e., according to the Cod. Vat., for the Col. Al. has φράζων), and then in the most unmeaning way adopts the rendering αὔξησον in Jdg 5:11, from which we may clearly see that the translators did not know the meaning of the word, it is common to adduce an Arabic word which signifies segregavit, discrevit rem ab aliis, though it is impossible to prove that the Arabic word ever had the meaning to judge or to lead. All the old translators, as well as the Rabbins, have based their rendering of the word upon פּרזי, inhabitant of the flat country (Deu 3:5, and Sa1 6:18), and פּרזות, the open flat country, as distinguished from the towns surrounded by walls (Eze 38:11; Zac 2:8), according to which פּרזון, as the place of meeting, would denote both the cultivated land with its unenclosed towns and villages, and also the population that was settled in the open country in unfortified places-a meaning which also lies at the foundation of the word in Hab 3:14. Accordingly, Luther has rendered the word Bauern (peasants). שׁקּמתּי עד for קמתּי אשׁר עד. The contraction of אשׁר into שׁ, with Dagesh following, and generally pointed with Seghol, but here with Patach on account of the ק, which is closely related to the gutturals, belongs to the popular character of the song, and is therefore also found in the Song of Solomon (Jdg 1:12; Jdg 2:7, Jdg 2:17; Jdg 4:6). It is also met with here and there in simple prose (Jdg 6:17; Jdg 7:12; Jdg 8:26); but it was only in the literature of the time of the captivity and a still later date, that it found its way more and more from the language of ordinary conversation into that of the Scriptures. Deborah describes herself as "a mother in Israel," on account of her having watched over her people with maternal care, just as Job calls himself a father to the poor who had been supported by him (Job 29:16; cf. Isa 22:21).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

6 In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath,

In the days of Jael, the paths kept holiday,

And the wanderers of the paths went crooked ways.

7 The towns in Israel kept holiday, they kept holiday,

Until that I, Deborah, arose,

That I arose a mother in Israel

8 They chose new gods;

Then was war at the gates:

Was there a shield seen and a spear

Among forty thousand in Israel?

The deep degradation and disgrace into which Israel had sunk before the appearance of Deborah, through its falling away from the Lord into idolatry, forms the dark reverse of that glorification at Sinai. Although, after Ehud, Shamgar had also brought help to the people against their enemies by a victory over the Philistines (Jdg 3:31), and although Jael, who proved herself a heroine by slaying the fugitive Sisera, was then alive, things had got to such a pitch with Israel, that no one would venture upon the public high roads. There are no good grounds for the conjecture that Jael was a different person from the Jael mentioned in Jdg 4:17., whether a judge who is not further known, as Ewald supposes, or a female judge who stood at the head of the nation in these unhappy times (Bertheau). ארחות חדלוּ, lit., "the paths ceased," sc., to be paths, or to be trodden by men. נתיבות הלכי, "those who went upon paths," or beaten ways, i.e., those who were obliged to undertake journeys for the purpose of friendly intercourse or trade, notwithstanding the burden of foreign rule which pressed upon the land; such persons went by "twisted paths," i.e., by roads and circuitous routes which turned away from the high roads. And the פּרזון, i.e., the cultivated land, with its open towns and villages, and with their inhabitants, was as forsaken and desolate as the public highways. The word perazon has been rendered judge or guidance by modern expositors, after the example of Teller and Gesenius; and in Jdg 5:11 decision or guidance. But this meaning, which has been adopted into all the more recent lexicons, has nothing really to support it, and does not even suit our verse, into which it would introduce the strange contradiction, that at the time when Shamgar and Jael were judges, there were no judges in Israel. In addition to the Septuagint version, which renders the word δυνατοὶ in this verse (i.e., according to the Cod. Vat., for the Col. Al. has φράζων), and then in the most unmeaning way adopts the rendering αὔξησον in Jdg 5:11, from which we may clearly see that the translators did not know the meaning of the word, it is common to adduce an Arabic word which signifies segregavit, discrevit rem ab aliis, though it is impossible to prove that the Arabic word ever had the meaning to judge or to lead. All the old translators, as well as the Rabbins, have based their rendering of the word upon פּרזי, inhabitant of the flat country (Deu 3:5, and Sa1 6:18), and פּרזות, the open flat country, as distinguished from the towns surrounded by walls (Eze 38:11; Zac 2:8), according to which פּרזון, as the place of meeting, would denote both the cultivated land with its unenclosed towns and villages, and also the population that was settled in the open country in unfortified places-a meaning which also lies at the foundation of the word in Hab 3:14. Accordingly, Luther has rendered the word Bauern (peasants). שׁקּמתּי עד for קמתּי אשׁר עד. The contraction of אשׁר into שׁ, with Dagesh following, and generally pointed with Seghol, but here with Patach on account of the ק, which is closely related to the gutturals, belongs to the popular character of the song, and is therefore also found in the Song of Solomon (Jdg 1:12; Jdg 2:7, Jdg 2:17; Jdg 4:6). It is also met with here and there in simple prose (Jdg 6:17; Jdg 7:12; Jdg 8:26); but it was only in the literature of the time of the captivity and a still later date, that it found its way more and more from the language of ordinary conversation into that of the Scriptures. Deborah describes herself as "a mother in Israel," on account of her having watched over her people with maternal care, just as Job calls himself a father to the poor who had been supported by him (Job 29:16; cf. Isa 22:21).

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Jael - Jael, though an illustrious woman, effected nothing for the deliverance of God's people, 'till God raised me up. By - ways - Because of the Philistines and Canaanites, who, besides the public burdens which they laid upon them, waited for all opportunities to do them mischief secretly; their soldiers watching for travellers in common roads, as is usual with such in times of war; and, because of the robbers even of their own people, who having cast off the fear of God, and there being no king in Israel to punish them, broke forth into acts of injustice and violence, even against their own brethren.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
The highways were unoccupied - The land was full of anarchy and confusion, being everywhere infested with banditti. No public road was safe; and in going from place to place, the people were obliged to use unfrequented paths.

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²¹ And I will clothe [03847] him with thy robe [03801], and strengthen [02388] him with thy girdle [073], and I will commit [05414] thy government [04475] into his hand [03027]: and he shall be a father [01] to the inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389], and to the house [01004] of Judah [03063].

¹⁶ I was a father [01] to the poor [034]: and the cause [07379] which I knew [03045] not I searched out [02713].

²⁶ And the weight [04948] of the golden [02091] earrings [05141] that he requested [07592] was a thousand [0505] and seven [07651] hundred [03967] shekels of gold [02091]; beside ornaments [07720], and collars [05188], and purple [0713] raiment [0899] that was on the kings [04428] of Midian [04080], and beside the chains [06060] that were about their camels [01581]' necks [06677].

¹² And the Midianites [04080] and the Amalekites [06002] and all the children [01121] of the east [06924] lay [05307] along in the valley [06010] like grasshoppers [0697] for multitude [07230]; and their camels [01581] were without number [04557], as the sand [02344] by the sea [03220] side [08193] for multitude [07230].

¹⁷ And he said [0559] unto him, If now I have found [04672] grace [02580] in thy sight [05869], then shew [06213] me a sign [0226] that thou talkest [01696] with me.

⁶ And she sent [07971] and called [07121] Barak [01301] the son [01121] of Abinoam [042] out of Kedeshnaphtali [06943], and said [0559] unto him, Hath not the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478] commanded [06680], saying, Go [03212] and draw [04900] toward mount [02022] Tabor [08396], and take [03947] with thee ten [06235] thousand [0505] men [0376] of the children [01121] of Naphtali [05321] and of the children [01121] of Zebulun [02074]?

¹⁷ And yet they would not hearken [08085] unto their judges [08199], but they went a whoring [02181] after [0310] other [0312] gods [0430], and bowed [07812] themselves unto them: they turned [05493] quickly [04118] out of the way [01870] which their fathers [01] walked in [01980], obeying [08085] the commandments [04687] of the LORD [03068]; but they did [06213] not so.

⁷ And the people [05971] served [05647] the LORD [03068] all the days [03117] of Joshua [03091], and all the days [03117] of the elders [02205] that outlived [0748] [03117] [0310] Joshua [03091], who had seen [07200] all the great [01419] works [04639] of the LORD [03068], that he did [06213] for Israel [03478].

¹² And Caleb [03612] said [0559], He that smiteth [05221] Kirjathsepher [07158], and taketh [03920] it, to him will I give [05414] Achsah [05915] my daughter [01323] to wife [0802].

¹⁴ Thou didst strike through [05344] with his staves [04294] the head [07218] of his villages [06518]: they came out as a whirlwind [05590] to scatter [06327] me: their rejoicing [05951] was as to devour [0398] the poor [06041] secretly [04565].

⁸ For thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635]; After [0310] the glory [03519] hath he sent [07971] me unto the nations [01471] which spoiled [07997] you: for he that toucheth [05060] you toucheth [05060] the apple [0892] of his eye [05869].

¹¹ And thou shalt say [0559], I will go up [05927] to the land [0776] of unwalled villages [06519]; I will go [0935] to them that are at rest [08252], that dwell [03427] safely [0983], all of them dwelling [03427] without walls [02346], and having neither bars [01280] nor gates [01817],

¹⁸ And the golden [02091] mice [05909], according to the number [04557] of all the cities [05892] of the Philistines [06430] belonging to the five [02568] lords [05633], both of fenced [04013] cities [05892], and of country [06521] villages [03724], even unto the great [01419] stone of Abel [059], whereon they set down [03240] the ark [0727] of the LORD [03068]: which stone remaineth unto this day [03117] in the field [07704] of Joshua [03091], the Bethshemite [01030].

⁵ All these cities [05892] were fenced [01219] with high [01364] walls [02346], gates [01817], and bars [01280]; beside unwalled [06521] towns [05892] a great [03966] many [07235].

¹¹ They that are delivered from the noise [06963] of archers [02686] in the places of drawing water [04857], there shall they rehearse [08567] the righteous acts [06666] of the LORD [03068], even the righteous acts [06666] toward the inhabitants of his villages [06520] in Israel [03478]: then shall the people [05971] of the LORD [03068] go down [03381] to the gates [08179].

¹⁷ Howbeit Sisera [05516] fled away [05127] on his feet [07272] to the tent [0168] of Jael [03278] the wife [0802] of Heber [02268] the Kenite [07017]: for there was peace [07965] between Jabin [02985] the king [04428] of Hazor [02674] and the house [01004] of Heber [02268] the Kenite [07017].

³¹ And after [0310] him was Shamgar [08044] the son [01121] of Anath [06067], which slew [05221] of the Philistines [06430] six [08337] hundred [03967] men [0376] with an ox [01241] goad [04451]: and he also delivered [03467] Israel [03478].