Judges 5, Deborah

Judges chapter 5 tells in part the story of Deborah. She is introduced in Judges 4:4 as a prophetess and a judge. Judges 4 tells that Deborah would sit under a tree, known as the palm of Deborah where the Israelites would come to seek her advice. Deborah gives Barak instructions about waging war. Barak consequently asks Deborah to accompany him into battle. Although there are different understandings of the role of Deborah in the story according to chapters 4 and 5, Judges 5 is unambiguous and emphatic in its depiction of Deborah as Israel’s military commander. Chapter 5 sometimes called the Song of Deborah has been considered by the majority of scholars to be the earliest text in the Hebrew Bible. The most popular dating of the battle of which this “song” was a part is considered beginning from the beginning to the end of the twelfth century.

Judges chapter 5 tells in part the story of Deborah. She is introduced in Judges 4:4 as a prophetess and a judge. Judges 4 tells that Deborah would sit under a tree, known as the palm of Deborah where the Israelites would come to seek her advice.[i] Deborah gives Barak instructions about waging war. Barak consequently asks Deborah to accompany him into battle. Although there are different understandings of the role of Deborah in the story according to chapters 4 and 5, Judges 5 is unambiguous and emphatic in its depiction of Deborah as Israel’s military commander.[ii] Chapter 5 sometimes called the Song of Deborah has been considered by the majority of scholars to be the earliest text in the Hebrew Bible.[iii] The most popular dating of the battle of which this “song” was a part is considered beginning from the beginning to the end of the twelfth century.[iv]

Having consulted a variety of sources I have constructed a possible structural outline of the Song of Deborah. I think that the song itself could be divided into 7 distinct sections, with there being eight total divisions in the chapter. Some commentators had as many as 10, some as little as 4. Verses 2-9 seem to be the purpose for the song and their celebration. The second part seems to be an encouragement by Deborah for the rest of Israel to follow her heroic deeds (vv. 10-11). The third deals with the people of Israel asking for Deborah to wake (v. 12). The fourth section is a response to the cry of the people in that the warriors from the different tribes assemble (vv. 13-18). Verses 19-23 explain the ensuing victory in battle. Sixth, the song discourses on the shrewd way in which Jael killed Sisera (vv. 24-27). The final section deals with the unending wait of Sisera’s mother and the conclusion for those who are enemies and friends of the Lord (vv. 28-21). The following details the structure of the chapter.

 

  1. Narration of Song (5:1)
  2. Purpose of Song (5:2-9)
  3. I Will Sing When (5:2-3)
  4. Israel’s Prepares for Battle (5:2a)
  5. People Offer Themselves (5:2b)
  6. Hear Me Sing Kings (5:3)
  7. Deborah Recalling the Lord’s Presence in the Desert (5:4-5)
  8. Watching Life of Israel Cease (5:6-7a)
  9. Then Deborah Appears The Hero (5:7b-9)
  10. A Mother in Israel (5:7b)
  11. Amid a Disarmed Israel (5:8)
  12. With Israel Leaders (5:9a)
  13. And People Offering Themselves (5:9b)

III. Follow My Heroic Deeds (5:10-11)

  1. Listen You Rich and Powerful (5:10)
  2. Hear the Singers Recite God’s Acts (5:11)
  3. Battle Cry of the People (5:12)
  4. Warriors Assembling (5:13-18)
  5. Coming In Might (5:13)
  6. From Various Tribes (5:14-18)
  7. Victorious Battle (5:19-23)
  8. Kings Fought (5:19)
  9. Powers of Heaven Fought (5:20)
  10. The River Kishon Fought (5:21)
  11. The Horses Came (5:22)
  12. Curse Those Who Did Not Fight (5:23)

VII. Story of Jael Killing Sisera (5:24-27)

  1. Jael is Blessed (5:24)
  2. Story of Jael’s Wit (5:25-26)
    1. The Milk (5:25)
    2. The Tent Peg (5:26a)
    3. The Hammer (5:26b)
  3. How Sisera Dies (5:27)

VIII. Conclusion of Enemies and Friends of the Lord (5:28-31)

  1. Sisera’s Mother Waits In Vain (5:28-30)
  2. The Contrast of Enemies and Friends of God (5:31)

 

This chapter itself starts off with (רמאל אוהה םויב םעניבא-ןב קרבו הרובד רשתו) “and her sang, Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, on that day saying.” As Soggins has noted, “and Barak” could be an addition, he reasons this from the fact that רשתו is feminine singular.[v] I think this is also the case. Boling notes that the verses 1 and 31b are the narrator’s link to the song and not part of the work itself.[vi] The second verse introduces the song or poetic discourse. One notices with the start of this second verse that the poem is not metered constant. In this verse the meter is 3:3. The verse הוהי וכרב םע בדנתהב לארשיב תוערפ ערפב has at least one controversial phrase because of the root of the word ערפ. Boling translates it in a negative sense, “cast off restraint”[vii] while Soggins prefers “regained liberty.”[viii] There is even a third translation of this phrase with “long locks of hair.” According to Boling, there was a tradition about the hairy fighters in ancient Israel.[ix] The translation I am going with is something like, “When locks were long in Israel, Israel volunteered, the people bless YHWH.” Traditions detailing these rituals practices of hair come from parallel passages of Deuteronomy 20:1-20 and 23:9-14. These texts communicate that if YHWH fights alongside the human army, that this army must abstain from certain things that might compromise a sanctified state.[x] They could not urinate or defecate within the bounds of the camp. Sexual activity was also considered unclean, which is why Uriah the Hittite did not sleep with Bathsheba.[xi] Apparently cutting their hair was also part of this uncleanness, especially among the Nazirites. Samson, the most famous of the Nazirites, in this sense represents an etiological pattern for the Israelite soldiers to emulate a the time of war. They should let their hair grow long to facilitate a state of special sanctity.[xii] In verse 3 starts with the phrase, םינזר וניזאה םיכלמ ועמש, “Hear kings, give ear rulers.” Then Deborah switches to first person for the very first time marked by רמזא, יכנא, and יכנא. “I, (even) I, and the (imperfect) I will praise.” This seems that it is an odd placement of this phrase if one believes this is simply a recount of the song in poetic form after the battle. In this sense the text would seem redundant, to say the least. The problem is that I do think this is after the battle, as I will discuss in verses 13-18. In any case this praise and song will be followed with the “why” Deborah singing her praise to “YHWH, the God of Israel.”

Verse 4 notes her confession of faith in YHWH, who fights for his people. Here YHWH comes out of Seir and Edom, ריעשמ and םודא. This theophanic stanza depicts the ideology of Israel’s view of a holy war with YHWH as the divine warrior.[xiii] Israel’s warrior God comes from the southern desert, from the territory of Edom, also known as Seir. Edom/Seir is south and also eastward of the Dead Sea on a path from Israel to the Sinai Peninsula.[xiv] Furthermore, verses 4 and 5 describe the coming of God going into battle against the Canaanites. Here is a truly vast event with the land trembling (השער ץרא), the heavens dropping (ופטנ םימש־םג), a cloud storms (םימ ופטנ םיבע־םג) and the mountains melting (ולזנ םירה). The verb ופטנ is particularly difficult to render, it usually means “to drip” as “to shake”.[xv] According to Boling, the poetic use of the natural elements has deep roots in the mythology of Canaan. This poetic usage according to him is representative not just of YHWH but is also of the sound and feel of conquest by the armies of Israel.[xvi]

The reference to תנע־ןב רגמש (Shamgar) in verse 6 has been suggested as an additive of name-dropping because he is among the great judges and it also seems that it may serve to date the song. In the next phrase Jael is mentioned with the poetic repetition of “in the days” (ימיב…ימיב). Boling notes that this verse is anticipating Jael’s role in verses 24-27. He believes then that there is no difficult then in understanding Shamgar, Jael, Deborah, and Barak as contemporaries in one period of success.[xvii] Gray disagrees; he believes that Shamgar is included in the song because Shamgar was really an oppressor.[xviii] Ultimately there is simply not enough information to tell if he was an oppressor or simply considered a contemporary. The next phrase in verse 7 elicits the idea that the caravans stopped and the leaders of Israel stopped leading. Gray concludes that this is because the local independence of Canaanite chiefs and their private wars and depredations made traffic unsafe and prevented cohesion of elements in Israel.[xix] The word ןוזרפ has a variety of translations from warrior, farmer to villager and leader. The BDB is even unclear and says that the text is uncertain,[xx] for our purposes I have chosen “village leaders.”

When comparing these verses to the previous one notes the rising and falling of activities. The extremely active aspects of YHWH coming down from Edom are contrasted to the lifelessness of Israel. This is called a poetic diptych, these two parts of the poem are to be read as a single unit, with each piece of the diptych balancing and serving to complement the image of the other.[xxi]

Interpreting these stanzas a poetic diptych makes sense because it contrasts the coming of YHWH, the divine warrior counterpart with Deborah, the human mother counterpart.[xxii] One cannot help but notice how the repetition of הוהי ינפמ (before YHWH) matches up with the repetition of יתמקש (I arose) by Deborah.[xxiii]

Deborah finally appears the hero. Verse 8 according to many sources is apparently corrupted and beyond recovery.[xxiv] Oddly enough it appeared to be relativity straightforward to translate, except for םחל. “They chose new gods, then bread/war at the gates.” According to Boling it this is translated as a qal perfect then it becomes intelligible as “They chose new gods, then fought in the gates.”[xxv] It seems that because Israel found other gods the result was consequence of war. They did not find a ןגמ or a תמרו among their army of 40,000. I am going to assume that 40,000 is a figurative number not an actual number as is usually in the Hebrew Bible. Then verse 9, almost literally “My heart to commanders, (יקקותל יבל). Verse 9 ends with the second portion of the inclusio of verse 2. This is why I have included it in this section in my outline. So then this is my rendered translation for the first nine verses:

On that day, Deborah sang, Barak, the son of Abinoam, saying, When locks were long in Israel; Israel volunteered; the people bless YHWH. Hear kings, give ear rulers; I, even I, will sing to YHWH; I will praise toward YHWH, the God of Israel.

 

YHWH when you went from out of Seir; When you marched our of the fields of Edom, the land trembled, also the heavens and the cloud dropped water. Before YHWH, this one of Sinai, the mountains melted. Before YHWH, the God of Israel.

 

In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath; in the days of Jael, the caravans ceased, they going on the (straight) paths went on crooked streets. The village leaders in Israel they too ceased. Until I, Deborah, arose. I arose in Israel, a mother.

 

They chose new gods, then they fought at the gates. A shield or a spear? (Ha!) If ONE was seen…among forty thousand in Israel! My heart (goes out) to the commanders of Israel, who volunteered among the people. Bless YHWH.

 

In the next section of the chapter, Deborah encourages the people of Israel to follow her actions. She exhorts the mustering of forces by communicating to both the more privileged and with those of a lower class. תונתא יבכר and ןידמ־לע יבשי are contrasting with the יכלהו. The upper class that would be able to ride these donkeys while the lower class may have had to walk. A question revolves around the usage of the word ןידמ. Gray says it’s meaning is uncertain.[xxvi] Boling adopts “you who sit on the judgment seat.”[xxvii] Soggins I believe gets it right, he suggests like KB as well as BDB that it should be translated “rich carpets.”[xxviii] וחיש ךרד־לע יכלהו at the end of verse 10, I translated simply as a “and you walkers on the road, sing.” Note the masculine plural command form of ריש.

The beginning phrase םיבאשמ ןיב םיצצחמ לוקמ of verse 11 is somewhat of a conundrum. At a first glance one might simply translate, “from a voice from the waterers between the watering places.” Boling argues that by redividing the Masoretic Text and reading the initial מ as the enclitic accidentally separated from its verb that one can come up with “attend to the sound of cymbals.”[xxix] Gray’s final translation is based on his view of the words ןיב םיצצחמ. He comes up with something like, “To the sound of musicians at the watering places.”[xxx] This seems an unlikely translation. Boling is right. There is an enclitic separation with the loss of a final ן (obviously); however, how he comes up with cymbals, I do not know. Here is how I dealt with this phrase, “Louder, than the voice of those waterers at the watering places.”

The next phrase, לארשיב ונוזרפ תקדצ הוהי תוקדצ ונתי םש, is often translated incorrectly due to the problematic word: ונתי. Many ignore the fact that ונתי is a Piel, Imperfect. Of 6 different translations viewed, none account for the Piel, but rather translate it as a simple past. If I am correct the Piel has a sort of durative and continual quality to it. In this case at least the word “let” seems necessary. Noteworthy is the rendering of תוקדצ. The theological implications merit further discussion. Common to the discussion are renderings such as “righteous acts,” “triumphs,” and “vindication.” Questions revolve around if it is plural or not. Gray points out that in the present context it is a plural referring to the acts, which substantiate the purpose of God, thus vindicating the people through whom and for whom it is to be fulfilled, which is why he renders it, “triumphs.”[xxxi] One could argue from an etymological point of view that the most reasonable translation is “righteous acts.” However, in the present context, “vindication” seems to draw out the idea of justice more than simply a bland “righteous acts,” which is the point at this part in the poem. The final phrase with the “people of YHWH going down to the city gates” seems out of place until one realizes that in ancient Syria and Palestine the gates of the city were places where festivals were celebrated.[xxxii]

The climax of the poem seems to come in verse 12. If I am right, the last section was of Deborah’s encouragement to Israel to follow her, then this perhaps is their response. It seems like a battle cry, a call to arms of sorts. One notes the fourfold use of ירוע toward Deborah. Elsewhere in the Bible, the cry to “awake” frequently goes out from the Israelite people to YHWH, and in each case, the cry is found in a military context, when they are about to do battle against an enemy force.[xxxiii] Ackerman continues to argue that the use of “arise” (ירוע) is further evidence of poetic diptych at work, I agree. In this sense the call to Deborah to “arise” can occur because she is paired with YHWH as divine and human counterparts. The second mention of Barak comes in the phrase ךיבש הבשו קרב םוק. I have tried to keep the poetic alliteration of the Hebrew ךיבש הבשו in the English with “lead captive your captives.” Often successful military campaigns would result in the victors parading their prisoners through the streets. This is the same idea mentioned in Ephesians about Christ leading captives in his train. This concept introduces the tribes that follow.

            The next section 13-18 as I mentioned previously is in my opinion the resolution after the battle. Ackerman will argue that verse 13 is the start of the battle. She is wrong. What does one do with verse 12 if the battle starts in verse 13? The captives of verse 12 cannot be led through the streets until after the battle. One reasons that what follows would only naturally be apart of this after-battle celebration. She cleverly never mentions captives in her commentary to perpetuate her own view and avoid the issues that come with it.The next section 13-18 as I mentioned previously is in my opinion the resolution after the battle. Ackerman will argue that verse 13 is the start of the battle. She is wrong. What does one do with verse 12 if the battle starts in verse 13? The captives of verse 12 cannot be led through the streets until after the battle. One reasons that what follows would only naturally be apart of this after-battle celebration. She cleverly never mentions captives in her commentary to perpetuate her own view and avoid the issues that come with it.

The translation of verse 13 revolves around the word דרי. I have translated it as a qal perfect, although I am not completely sure if this fits the verb in both cases in this verse. Jewish tradition suggests that the word be translated “have dominion over” as opposed to the Septuagint, which translates as to “march down.”[xxxiv] This is related to how the word םירידאל and דירש are connected. (Most translate םירידא as simply nobles, yet closer is “majestic ones” because the word is actually an adjective.) The problem comes combining these three words. Are the remnant (דירש) be caused to dominate over the nobles? Alternatively, do the remnant of the nobles march down? The next phrase, הוהי םע, does not help to clarify, whether “YHWH’s people” are the remnant nobles or simply the remnant. The next phrase is “The people of YHWH have dominion over the םירובגב. םירובגב is something akin to “strong ones.” To resolve the issue in the first phrase of this verse, it just makes more sense to have parallel phrases with both the noble ones and the strong ones being fought against. In that case the remnant are the people of YHWH. It might look something like this:

 

The remnant                 have dominion over the noble ones.

The people of YHWH have dominion over the strong ones.

 

Scholars are divided into two camps on verse 14. Those who see this text as a negative commentary on םירפא (Ephraim), which is being accused of (קלמעב םשרש) putting roots in its own land and not joining in the battle.[xxxv] On the other hand those who view Ephraim positively think that they joined into battle after Benjamin, hence the phrase, ןימינב ךירחא. I think that Ephraim simply followed Benjamin, although I am simplifying a complex problem. The next phrase contains reference to Machir, who according to Joshua 17:1-2 the son of Manasseh. Gray thinks this is probably a reference to a settlement probably west of Jordan in the time of Deborah.[xxxvi] The construction of רפס תבשב is interesting. The phrase goes something like, “Zebulon, the ones who hold the staff of the scribe.” Gray comments that this denotes a scribe who was connected with conscription of military service.[xxxvii] This may elucidate further on Zebulon in verse 18.

Verse 15 is relatively straightforward. The supplement of a few words as throughout this translation makes the verse intelligible. The phrase, הרבד־םע רכששיב ירשו, is translated, “And my commanders in Issachar (were) with Deborah.” The next controversial phrase, קרב ןכ רכששיו, can be rendered, “and Issachar (so was) thus Barak.” The problem here is that back in Judges 4:6, Barak is associated with Naphtali. Many scholars believe the replacement of Issachar to Naphtali to be a scribal inadvertency.[xxxviii] The next phrase, ילגרב חלש קמעב is understood idiomatically as: they followed him into battle, which was in the valley. More literally, the Hebrew is something like, “they were sent into the valley to his feet.” The final phrase, בל־קקח םילדג ןבואר תוגלפב, can be translated, “among the tribes/division of Ruben, the resolutions of heart (were) great.”

Deborah then transitions in 16 to ask why some stayed sitting in the םיתפשמה (sheepfolds) while they heard the תוקרש (bleating/crying) of the flocks. This is an illustration of the Transjordan. There were fold-walls in which converged to facilitate the corralling of flocks.[xxxix] Here is the idea that they were hiding in between these wall scared like sheep. Gray as well as many other scholars think that this illustration is a censure of absent ones, which will be then contrasted with Zebulon and Naphtali in verse 18.[xl]

Verse 17 includes a further delineation of those who did not apparently come to battle. Both דעלג and ןד are viewed as those who did not come. Gilead resided beyond the Jordan (ןדריה רבעב) and ןד (Dan) stayed in the ships (תוינא רוגי). This becomes an interesting discussion. Some scholars have thought that Danites were recruited as sailors. The problem that the text faces is the fact that in chapter 13 it locates Dan in the south, not by a seashore, lake, or even a river.[xli] A huge question, Soggin thinks the translation of תוינא is wrong, he offers no suggestions. The next phrase seems to perpetuate the use of ship for תוינא. Asher is mentioned as having sat at םימי ףוחל (coast of the water). Gray believes that this is the coastal plain of Acco.[xlii] This is the last of the negative reports, which will now be contrasted in verse 18.

Zebulon (ןולכז) appears for the second time and so would Naphtali (ילתפנ), if one would have accepted the correction of Issachar in verse 15.[xliii] The people of Zebulon are given a high honor as a “תומל ושפנ ףרת םע” people who despised life to death. It is difficult to tell what exactly is meant by the “high places on the field” referred to Naphtali. Although somewhat unlikely it may refer to the victories of Naphtali in the hills of Galilee.[xliv]

In conclusion the purpose and tone of this passage as it relates to theological themes through both the Old and New Testaments is three fold. Most importantly it centers the victory of the people and the blessing they are receiving in YHWH. As such this hymn like other hymns exalt the one worthy of exaltation. YHWH is depicted as a powerful and earth altering God (5:4-5) who is warrior God on the behalf of his people, especially an oppressed people. The point of the narrative is that not Deborah or Barak gave the people victory but that God did. Revelation as some scholars note have many hymns in which Christ is described in some of the same types of warrior imagery. Second is the fact that it personifies female leadership, which is atypical of the Old Testament but certainly an integral part of the New Testament. The fact that Deborah is the primary facilitator of a victorious battle, builds the case for female leadership within a Judeo-Christian framework. Here is how I translated verses 10-18:

 

You riders of white donkeys, sitters of rich carpets and walkers on the road, sing! Louder, than the voice of those waterers at the watering places, there let them recount the vindication of YHWH (and) the righteous acts of his leadership in Israel. Then the people of YHWH went down to the city gates.

 

Awake, Awake Deborah! Awake, Awake, utter a song! Rise Barak, son of Abinoam, lead captive your captives. The remnant have dominion over the noble ones. The people of YHWH have dominion over the strong ones.

 

Out of Ephraim, whose root was in Amalek, after you (came) Benjamin with your peoples, Your commanders came down out of Machir, And out of Zebulon, the ones who hold the staff of the scribe (came down). And my commanders in Issachar (were) with Deborah, and Issachar thus Barak. They were sent into the valley to his feet, among the tribes/division of Ruben, the resolutions of heart (were) great.

 

Why did you sit among the sheepfolds? To hear the crying of the flocks! Among the tribes/division of Ruben, the resolutions of heart (were) great. (But) Gilead resided beyond the Jordan and Dan, why did he stay in the ships? Asher sat at the coast of the water and by his harbor! Zebulon (are) a people who despised life to death and Naphtali on the high places of the field.

 

 

[i] Robert G. Boling, Judges, The Anchor Bible, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, NY, 98.

[ii] Susan Ackerman, Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel, Doubleday, New York, 1998, 31. I completely reject a traditionalist approach to the understanding that Deborah was not involved in the battle. This is simply the opposite of what the text indicates.

[iii] J. Alberto Soggin, Judges, SCM Press LTD, London, Translated by John Bowden from the Italian., 80.

[iv] Soggin, Judges, 81.

[v] Soggin, Judges, 84.

[vi] Boling, Judges, 105.

[vii] Boling, Judges, 105.

[viii] Soggin, Judges, 84.

[ix] Boling, Judges, 107.

[x] Ackerman, Women in Judges, 33.

[xi] See II Samuel 11:6-13.

[xii] Ackerman, Women in Judges, 33.

[xiii] Ackerman, Women in Judges, 35.

[xiv] James B. Pritchard, ed., The HarperCollins Concise Atlas of the Bible, HarperSanFrancisco, Timesbooks, London, 1991, 20.

[xv] According to Ackerman, one should repoint and read the Niphal of תפפ.

[xvi] Boling, Judges, 108.

[xvii] Boling, Judges, 109.

[xviii] John Gray, The Century Bible: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, Nelson, London, 1967, 278.

[xix] Gray, Judges, 279.

[xx] Francis Brown, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Hendrickson, 1999, 828.

[xxi] Ackerman, Women in Judges, 36.

[xxii] Ackerman, Women in Judges, 36.

[xxiii] Although partial credit is due to Ackerman for this comment, she actually translates the verb יתמקש wrongly using a 2nd person to over emphasize her own point.

[xxiv] See Soggin, 86 for list of those who think so. He slaughters this verse.

[xxv] Boling, Judges, 110.

[xxvi] Gray, Judges, 282.

[xxvii] Boling, Judges, 102.

[xxviii] Soggin, Judges, 82.

[xxix] Boling, Judges, 110.

[xxx] Gray, Judges, 282.

[xxxi] Gray, Judges, 283.

[xxxii] Soggin, Judges, 89.

[xxxiii] Dempster, “Song of Deborah,” 48; Hackett, “In the Days of Jael,” 27; idem, “Women’s Studies,” 156; Miller, Divine Warrior, 94-95.

[xxxiv] BDB, 922.

[xxxv] Soggin, Judges, 88.

[xxxvi] Gray, Judges, 286.

[xxxvii] Gray, Judges, 286.

[xxxviii] Soggin mentions scholars such as A. Penna, C.F. Burney, W. Hertzberg, and S. Mowinckel in favor of such a reading.

[xxxix] Gray, Judges, 287.

[xl] Gray, Judges, 287.

[xli] Soggin, Judges, 90.

[xlii] Gray, Judges, 290.

[xliii] See verse 15 for further discussion.

[xliv]Gray, Judges, 289. See also Joshua 11:1-11.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Ackerman, Susan. Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel. New York,

NY: Doubleday & Company, 1998.

 

Boling, Robert G. Judges, The Anchor Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1975.

 

Brown, Francis. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson,

1999.

 

Dempster, J. “Song of Deborah,” 48; Hackett, “In the Days of Jael,” 27; idem, “Women’s Studies,” 156;

Miller, Divine Warrior, 94-95.

 

Elliger K. and W. Rudolph. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche

Bibelgesellschaft, 1997.

 

Gray, John. The Century Bible: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. London: Nelson Publishers, 1967.

 

Soggin, J. Alberto. Judges. London: SCM Press LTD, translated by John Bowden from the Italian, 1981.

 

Pritchard, James B. ed., The HarperCollins Concise Atlas of the Bible. London: Timesbooks

HarperSanFrancisco, 1991.