The song of A. M. 2719. B. C. 1285. 23 Curse ye Meroz, said the he bowed, there he fell down An. Exod. Isr. angel of the LORD, curse ye bit 206. Anno ante terly the inhabitants thereof; I. Olymp. 509. because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty. C 24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. 25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. 26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and f with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. 27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, down at her feet he bowed, he fell he lay where 2 Chap. xxi. 9, 10; Neh. iii. 5. a1 Sam. xvii. 47; xviii. 17; xxv. 28.b Chap. iv. 17.- Luke i. 28.- d Chapter iv. 19. Chap. iv. 21.- Heb. she hammered. Sisera had iron chariots when his hosts were routed; the horses that drew these, being strongly urged on by those who drove them, had their hoofs broken by the roughness of the roads; in consequence of which they became lame, and could not carry off their riders. This is marked as one cause of their disaster. Verse 23. Curse ye Meroz] Where Meroz was is not known; some suppose it was the same as Merom, nigh to Dotham. The Syriac and Arabic have Merod; but where this was is equally uncertain. It was certainly some city or district, the inhabitants of which would not assist in this war. Curse ye bitterly] oru aror, curse with cursing-use the most awful execrations. Said the angel of the LORD] That is, Barak, who was Jehovah's angel or messenger in this war; the person sent by God to deliver his people. To the help of the LORD] That is, to the help of the people of the Lord. Against the mighty.]' baggibborim, "with the heroes;" that is, Barak and his men, together with Zebulun and Naphtali: these were the mighty men, or heroes, with whom the inhabitants of Meroz would not join. Verse 24. Blessed above women shall Jael-be] She shall be highly celebrated as a most heroic woman; all the Israelitish women shall glory in her. I do not understand these words as expressive of the Divine approbation towards Jael. See the observations at the end of chap. iv. The word bless, both in Hebrew and Greek, often signifies to praise, to speak well of, to celebrate. This is most probably its sense here. Verse 25. She brought forth butter] As the word chemah, here translated butter, signifies disturbed, agitated, &c., it is probable that buttermilk is intended. The Arabs form their buttermilk by agitating the milk in a leathern bag, and the buttermilk is highly esteemed because of its refreshing and cooling quality; but there dead. A. M. 2719. B. C. 1285. An. Exod. Isı 206. Anno ante I. Olymp. 509. 28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in com ing? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? 29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned i answer to herself, 30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil? 31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years. is no reason why we may not suppose that Jael gave him cream: Sisera was not only thirsty, but was also exhausted with fatigue; and nothing could be better calculated to quench his thirst, and restore his exhausted strength, than a bowl of cream. I am surprised that Mr. Harmer should see any difficulty in this. It is evident that Deborah wishes to convey the idea that Jael was more liberal and kind than Sisera had requested. He asked for water, and she brought him cream; and she brought it to him, not in an ordinary pitcher, but in the most suberb dish or bowl which she possessed. See at the end of chap. iv. Verse 26. She smote off his head] The original does not warrant this translation; nor is it supported by fact. She smote his head, and transfixed him through the temples. It was his head that received the death wound, and the place where this wound was inflicted was the temples. The manner in which Jael despatched Sisera seems to have been this: 1. Observing him to be in a profound sleep, she took a workman's hammer, probably a joiner's mallet, and with one blow on the head deprived him of all sense. 2. She then took a tent nail and drove it through his temples, and thus pinned him to the earth; which she could not have done had she not previously stunned him with the blow on the head. Thus she first smote his head, and secondly pierced his temples. Verse 27. At her feet he bowed] ja bein ragleyha, "between her feet." After having stunned him she probably sat down, for the greater convenience of driving the nail through his temples. He bowed he fell] He probably made some struggles after he received the blow on the head, but could not recover his feet. Eschylus represents Agamemnon rising, staggering, and finally falling, under the blows of Clytemnestra. Agam. v. 1384. Verse 28. Cried through the lattice] This is very Observations on the song CHAP. V. natural in the women's apartments in the East the windows are latticed, to prevent them from sending or receiving letters, &c. The latticing is the effect of the jealousy which universally prevails in those countries. Why is his chariot so long in coming?] Literally, Why is his chariot ashamed to come? Dr. Lowth has very justly observed, that this is a striking image of maternal solicitude, and of a mind divided between hope and fear. "The mother of Sisera looked out at a window; She cried through the lattice, "Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot ?' "Immediately, impatient of delay, she prevents the comfort of her companions; elate in mind, and bursting forth into female levity and jactation, impotent to hope for any thing, and drunk with her good fortune, "Her wise ladies earnestly answered her; Yea, she immediately returned answer to herself; 'Have they not sped? have they not divided the spoil? "We see how consonant to the person speaking is every idea, every word. She dwells not upon the slaughter of the enemies, the number of the captives, the valour and great exploits of the victor, but, burning with the female love of spoils, on those things rather which captivate the light mind of the vainest woman; damsels, gold, garments. Nor does she dwell upon them only; but she repeats, she accumulates, she augments every thing. She seems, as it were, to handle the spoils, dwelling as she does on every particular. 'Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey? A damsel, yea, two damsels to every man : To Sisera, a prey of divers colours ;A prey of divers colours of needlework, Finely coloured of needlework on both sides, A spoil for adorning the neck.' To enhance the beauty of this passage, there is, in the poetic conformation of the sentences, an admirable neatness in the diction, great force, splendour, accuracy; in the very redundance of the repetitions the utmost brevity; and, lastly, the most striking disappointment of the woman's hope, tacitly insinuated by that sudden and unexpected apostrophe, 'So let all thine enemies perish, O JEHOVAH !' is expressed more fully and strongly by this silence than could have been painted by any colouring of words." See Dr. Lowth, 13th Prelection, Prov. iv. 18, 19. "We cannot do better," says Dr. Dodd, " than conclude this chapter with the words of Pelicanus: Let a Homer, or a Virgil, go and compare his poetry, if he be able, with the song of this woman; and, if there be any one who excels in eloquence and learning, let him celebrate the praises and learning of this panegyric, more copiously than I am able."" FOR other matters relative to this song I must refer to the two translations which immediately follow; and their authors' notes on them. Dr. Kennicott says, "This celebrated song of triumph is most deservedly admired; though some parts of it are at present very obscure, and others unintelli of Deborah and Barak. gible in our English version. Besides particular difficulties, there is a general one that pervades the whole; arising, as I humbly apprehend, from its being considered as entirely the song of Deborah. It is certain, though very little attended. to, that it is said to have been sung by Deborah and BY BARAK. It is also certain there are in it parts which Deborah could not sing, as well as parts which Barak could not sing; and therefore it seems necessary, in order to form a better judgment of this song, that some probable distribution should be made of it; whilst those words which seem most likely to have been sung by either party should be assigned to their proper name; either to that of Deborah the prophetess, or to that of Barak the captain. "For example: Deborah could not call upon Deborah, exhorting herself to awake, &c., as in ver. 12; neither could Barak exhort himself to arise, &c., in the same verse. Again, Barak could not sing, Till I, Deborah, arose a mother in Israel, ver. 7; nor could Deborah sing about a damsel or two for every soldier, ver. 30; though, indeed, as to this last article, the words are probably misunderstood. There are other parts also which seem to require a different rendering. Verse 2, For the avenging of Israel, where the address is probably to those who took the lead in Israel is to those among the people who were volunteers; as on this great occasion, for the address in the next words again, ver. 9. Verses 11, 13, 14, and 15, have many great difficulties. It seems impossible that (ver. 23) any person should be cursed for not coming to the help of JEHOVAH; to the help of JEHOVAH against the mighty. Nor does it seem more probable that Jael should, in a sacred song, be styled blessed above women for the death of Sisera. Ver. 25 mentions butter, of which nothing is said in the history in chap. iv. 19; nor does the history say that Jael smote off Sisera's head with a hammer, or indeed that she smote it off at all, as here, ver. 26. Lastly, as to ver. 30, there being no authority for rendering the words a damsel or two damsels, and the words in Hebrew being very much like two other words in this same verse, which make excellent sense here, it seems highly probable that they were originally the same. And at the end of this verse, which contains an excellent compliment paid to the needlework of the daughters of Israel, and which is here put with great art in the mouth of Sisera's MOTHER, the true sense seems to be, the hopes SHE had of some very rich prize to adorn HER OWN NECK."-Kennicott's Remarks, p. 94. Dr. Hales observes, "That the design of this beautiful ode, which breathes the characteristic softness and luxuriance of female composition, seems to be twofold, religious and political; first, to thank GOD for the recent victory and deliverance of Israel from Canaanitish bondage and oppression; and next, to celebratethe zeal and alacrity with which some of the rulers volunteered their services against the common enemy, and to censure the lukewarmness and apathy of others who stayed at home, and thus betrayed the public cause; and, by this contrast and exposure, to heal those fatal divisions among the tribes, so injurious to the commonwealth. The first verse, as a title, briefly recites the design or subject of the poem, which consists of eight stanzas. Kennicott and Hales. on the Mediterranean Sea westward, who deserted the common cause in consequence of their divisions, and their paltry attachment to their own concerns. "The sixth records the miraculous defeat of the confederate kings of Canaan, who were swept away by the torrents issuing from the different springs of the river Kishon, swollen by uncommon rains. Meroz was probably a place in the neighbourhood. The second describes, in the sublime imagery of Moses, the magnificent scenes at Mount Sinai, Seir, &c., in the deserts of Arabia, while they were led by the Divine power and presence from Egypt to Canaan. "The third states their offending afterwards by their apostasies in serving new gods, as foretold by Moses, Deut. xxxii. 16, 17, and their consequent oppression "The seventh contains a panegyric on Jael, who is by their enemies; the insecurity of travelling, and de- here blessed above women,' for attempting an exploit sertion of the villages, during the twenty years that above her sex to perform; and a picturesque descripintervened from the death of Shamgar till Jael's ex-tion of her giving Sisera buttermilk to drink, which is ploit, and till Deborah became judge. By this time considered as a great treat at present among the Arabs. they were disarmed by the Philistines and Canaanites, | Then follows a minute and circumstantial description and scarcely a sword or a spear was to be seen in of her mode of slaying him. Israel. This policy was adopted by the Philistines in Saul's time, 1 Sam. xiii. 19, and was probably introduced before, when Shamgar, for want of other weapons, had recourse to an ox-goad, which was only left with them for the purpose of agriculture, 1 Sam. xiii. 21. "The fourth contrasts their present happy state of security from the incursions and depredations of their foes, especially at the watering places, which were most exposed to attacks; owing to the Divine protection which crowned the victory, the zeal and exertions of 'a remnant of the people,' or a part of the tribes, against the enemy, under her conduct; these were the midland tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, including, perhaps, Judah and Simeon, which bordered on Amalek southward, and Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, northward. "The eighth affords an admirable representation of the impatience of the mother of Sisera at his delay in returning; her sanguine anticipation of his success; in which she dwells, not upon the greatness of his exploits, or the slaughter of his enemies, but upon the circumstances most likely to engage a light female mind, such as captive damsels, and embroidered garments, or the spoils of victory, which she repeats and exemplifies with much grace and elegance. "The unexpected and abrupt apostrophe which concludes the poem, So perish all thine enemies, O LORD! tacitly insinuates the utter disappointment of their vain hopes of conquest and spoil more fully and forcibly than any express declaration in words; while it marks the author's piety, and sole reliance upon the Divine protection of His people, and the glorious prospect of a future and greater deliverance, perhaps, by the Sun of "The fifth censures the recreant tribes Reuben and Gad, beyond Jordan eastward; and Dạn and Asher,|righteousness.”—New Anal. Chron. p. 324. Dr. Kennicott's version of the Song. 1. Then sang Deborah, and Barak the son of Abinoam, saying: 2. Deb. For the leaders who took the lead in Israel, Bar. For the people who offered themselves willingly, Both. BLESS YE JEHOVAH! 3. Deb. Hear, O ye kings! Bar. Give ear, O ye princes! Deb. I unto JEHOVAH will sing. Bar. I will answer in song to JEHOVAH; Both. THE GOD OF ISRAEL! 4. Deb. O JEHOVAH, at thy going forth from Seir, At thy marching from the field of Edom, [down; Bar. The earth trembled, even the heavens poured The thick clouds poured down the waters. 5. Deb. The mountains melted at JEHOVAH's presence. Bar. Sinai itself, at the presence of JEHOVAH, Both. THE GOD OF ISRAEL! 6. Deb. In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath, 7. Deserted were the villages in Israel. 8. They chose new gods! Bar. Then, when war was at the gates, Dr. Hales's version of the Song. 1. Then sang Deborah, and Barak son of Abinoam, on (the victory of) that day, on the avenging of wrongs in Israel; 2. On the volunteering of the people; Saying, BLESS YE THE LORD! 3. Hearkén, O kings, (of Canaan,) I will shout to the Lord, the God of Israel. 4. O Lord, on thy going forth from Seir, 5. The mountains melted away 6. From the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, And travellers walked through by-paths. 8. (The Israelites) had chosen new gods, Deb. Let them who meet armed at the watering places Here shall they rehearse the righteousness There show the righteous acts of JEHOVAH, OF THE LORD; his righteousness Bar. And the righteousness of the villages of Israel: Towards the villages of Israel : Then shall they go down to the gates ; Both. THE People of JehOVAH ! 12. Bar. Awake, awake, Deborah ! Awake, awake, lead on the song. Deb. Arise, Barak! and lead thy captivity captive, Barak, thou son of Abinoam. 13. Bar. Then, when the remainder descended after their chiefs, Jehovah's people descended after me, Against the mighty. 14. Deb. Out of Ephraim was their beginning at Mount Amalek; And after thee was Benjamin, against the nations. Bar. From Machir, came masters in the art of war; And from Zebulun, those who threw the dart. 15. Deb. The princes in Issachar were numbered Together with Deborah and Barak. Bar. And Issachar was the guard of Barak, 16. Bar. Why sattest thou among the rivulets? 17. Bar. Gad dwelt quietly beyond Jordan; And Dan, why abode he in ships? Deb. Asher continued in the harbour of the seas, 18. Bar. Zebulun were the people, and Naphtali, Deb. Who exposed their lives unto the death, Both. ON THE HEIGHTS OF THE FIELD. 19. Deb. The kings came, they fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan ;. Bar. At Taanac, above the waters of Megiddo: 20. Deb. From heaven did they fight; The stars, from their lofty stations, Fought against Sisera. 21. Bar. The river Kishon swept them away, The river intercepted them; the river Kishon It was there my soul trod down strength. Now shall the people of THE LORD Go down to the gates of judgment in safety. 13. For (God) made a remnant of the people Triumph over the nobles of the enemy; The Lord made me triumph over the mighty. 14. From Ephraim unto Amalek was their root: Next to thee (Ephraim) was Benjamin among thy people: From Machir (Manasseh) came down the senators; And from Zebulun, they that write with the pen of the scribe. 15. The princes in Issachar (were) with Deborah, Even Issachar, as well as Barak, (Naphtali,) He was sent on foot into the valley; For the divisions of Reuben (I feel) great griefs of heart. 16. Why abidest thou among the sheepfolds To hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben (I feel) great griefs of heart. 17. (Why) abode Gilead (Gad) beyond Jordan; And Dan remained in his ships? (Why did) Asher sit in his seaports, And continue in his creeks? 18. (While) the people of Zebulun hazarded their lives unto death, And of Naphtali, in the heights of the field; The kings of Canaan fought in Taanah, But they gained no lucre (thereby.) 20. The stars of heaven fought in their courses; They fought against Sisera. 21. The torrents of Kison swept them away; The torrent of Kedummim, The torrent of Kison. O my soul, Thou hast trodden down strength! 22. Then were the horse hoofs broken by the gallopings, By the scamperings, the scamperings of its strong The gallopings of their great men. The versions of Doctors Dr. Kennicott. 23. Bar. Curse ye the land of Meroz, Both. JEHOVAH WAS FOR HELP! JEHOVAH AGAINST THE MIGHTY! 24. Deb. Praised among women will be Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Among women in the tent will she be praised.. 25. Bar. He asked water, she gave him milk; In a princely bowl she brought it. JUDGES. Other attempts have been made to do justice to this very sublime song, and much yet remains to be done. The best means of ascertaining the sense and import of the various images and allusions contained in it is, in my opinion, the following: 1. Take the Hebrew text as it stands printed in the hemistich form in Kennicott's Hebrew Bible. 2. Collate this text with the Septuagint, Chaldee, Syriac, Vulgate, and Arabic versions, and the various readings in Kennicott and De Rossi. 3. Consult the writers in the Critica Sacra. And, 4. Carefully attend to the allusions made to Asiatic customs. I would gladly save my readers all this trouble, but it would extend the commentary beyond the size of the whole book, which would not comport with the brevity which I study. From this song, as well as from that of Moses, Deut. xxxii., we see that the first, as also the best, poets of antiquity were found among the Hebrews; and that the art of poetry was highly cultivated among 126 Kennicott and Hales, Dr. Hales. 23. Curse ye Meroz, saith the angel of THE LORD; Bitterly curse her inhabitants, Because they came not to the aid of THE LORD; 24. Blessed above women be Jael, The wife of Heber, the Kenite; Blessed be she above women in the tent. 25. He asked water, and she gave him milk; She brought forth butter in a lordly bowl. 26. She put her hand to the nail, And her right hand to the workman's hammer She pierced his head, she penetrated, 27. Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay Between her feet; he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell down slain. them many hundreds of years before Greece, or any other country of the world, could boast of ode, or epic, or any kind of poetic composition. The idolizers of Greece and Italy should not forget this to Hebrew models both Greeks and Romans owe much of their perfection. Why are not these more studied? Why do not we go to the "fountain head?" To all the searchers after the venerable remains of antiquity, especially to poets, I would address the words of the old prophet: Dardanidæ duri, quæ vos a stirpe parentum Ye valiant sons of Troy, the land that bore b |