properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
new
חֲדָשִׁ֔יםcha.da.Shim
H2319
new · adjective, masculine plural absolute
gods
אֱלֹהִ֣ים'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
war
לָחֶ֣םla.Chem
H3901
battle · noun, common masculine singular absolute
gates
שְׁעָרִ֑יםshe.'a.Rim
H8179
an opening · noun, common masculine plural absolute
shield
מָגֵ֤ןma.Gen
H4043
a shield (i.e. the small one or buckler) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
spear
וָרֹ֔מַחva.Ro.mach
H7420
a lance (as thrown) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
seen
יֵֽרָאֶה֙ye.ra.'Eh
H7200
to see · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
forty
בְּאַרְבָּעִ֥יםbe.'ar.ba.'Im
H705
forty · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
thousand
אֶ֖לֶף'E.lef
H505
hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alph… · noun, common both genders singular absolute
Israel
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽלbe.Yis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · preposition + proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Deuteronomy 32:16-17 They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
Judges 2:12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peo…
Judges 2:17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quic…
Judges 4:3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the childre…
1 Samuel 13:19-22 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Judges 5:6-11
Here, I. Deborah describes the distressed state of Israel under the tyranny of Jabin, that the greatness of their trouble might make their salvation appear the more illustrious and the more gracious (Jdg 5:6): From the days of Shamgar, who did something towards the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines, to the days of Jael, the present day, in which Jael has so signalized herself, the country has been in a manner desolate. 1. No trade. For want of soldiers to protect men of business in their business from the incursions of the enemy, and for want of magistrates to restrain and punish thieves and robbers among them (men of broken fortunes and desperate spirits, that, having no employment…
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.
John Gill on Judges 5:8
They chose new gods,.... That is, Israel, as most of the Jewish commentators interpret it; for the verb is singular, and Israel agrees well with it: this they did after the death of Joshua; it refers to their first idolatry, begun by Micah, Judges 17:1 they chose other gods than the true God; Baalim and Ashtaroth they are said to serve, Judges 2:11, and besides the gods of the Canaanites and Phoenicians, they sought after and introduced new ones from other places, or the same may be meant; since all besides the true God, the eternal Jehovah, the Ancient of days, and everlasting King, are new gods that lately sprung up: the Arabic and Syriac versions are,"God chose a new king;''so Ben Gersom;…
Jdg 5:8 describes the cause of the misery into which Israel had fallen. חדשׁים אלהים is the object to יבחר, and the subject is to be found in the previous term Israel. Israel forsook its God and creator, and chose new gods, i.e., gods not worshipped by its fathers (vid., Deu 32:17). Then there was war (לחם, the construct state of לחם, a verbal noun formed from the Piel, and signifying conflict or war) at the gates; i.e., the enemy pressed up to the very gates of the Israelitish towns, and besieged them, and there was not seen a shield or spear among forty thousand in Israel, i.e., there were no warriors found in Israel who ventured to defend the land against the foe. אם indicates a question…
The Church Fathers
(Judges 5:8) The Lord has chosen new wars, and he himself overturns the gates of the enemy. If a shield and a spear appeared among forty thousand Israelites, it is to be understood that he said this as if by swearing an oath, that among forty thousand Israelites neither a shield nor a spear could be found. Therefore, the Lord is said to have chosen new wars, and to have overturned the gates of the enemy because he has made the weak strong and victorious. But it is explained in the previous verse that the Israelites had been despoiled of their weapons by Jabin, king of Canaan, where it is said: And the children of Israel cried to the Lord. He had nine hundred chariots armed with scythes, and for twenty years he severely oppressed them (Judg. IV, 5). He severely and forcefully oppressed them, because it is said that he despoiled them of their weapons: as it is written in the book of Samuel: When the day of battle came, there was no sword or spear found in the hand of all the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, except for Saul and his son Jonathan (1 Sam. XIII, 22).
We can ask why it is said: They chose new gods as barley bread, since barley bread is of lower rank, when compared to wheat bread, but it also serves to eat and is vital food. On the other hand, the new gods who chose, as they say, those who abandoned the living God, can not be considered as food for the soul, but rather as poison. It is possible that this comparison has to be taken for what it is worth, in such a way that this statement is valid only because, as often happens, that due to distaste the things to be chosen are rejected and those that should be despised are rewarded, as blame for the bad disposition, as if it were the weakness of boredom, being their God the true God, in the false gods they chose only the fact that they were new, despising the truth. And for that reason they chose a deadly food, as if it were barley bread, without thinking that they would perish because of that bread, but that they would even reach through it their life, as if it were a healthy food, although of inferior value. Thus, the author used that comparison according to their opinion and according to the weakness of the soul, not according to the truth. Because these new gods can not be compared to any food of life.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Barak — Lightning, the son of Abinoam (Judg. 4:6). At the summons of Deborah he made war against Jabin. She accompanied him into the battle, and gave the signal for the little army to make the attack; in…
Deborah — A bee. (1.) Rebekah’s nurse. She accompanied her mistress when she left her father’s house in Padan-aram to become the wife of Isaac (Gen. 24:59). Many years afterwards she died at Bethel, and was…
Gate — (1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; Neh. 1:3; 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom (Gen. 19:1), of Gaza (Judg. 16:3). (2.) Of royal palaces (Neh. 2:8). (3.) Of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:34, 35; 2…
Jabin — Discerner; the wise. (1.) A king of Hazor, at the time of the entrance of Israel into Canaan (Josh. 11:1-14), whose overthrow and that of the northern chief with whom he had entered into a…
Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Songs — Of Moses (Ex. 15; Num. 21:17; Deut. 32; Rev. 15:3), Deborah (Judg. 5), Hannah (1 Sam. 2), David (2 Sam. 22, and Psalms), Mary (Luke 1:46-55), Zacharias (Luke 1:68-79), the angels (Luke 2:13), Simeon…
Succoth — Booths. (1.) The first encampment of the Israelites after leaving Ramesses (Ex. 12:37); the civil name of Pithom (q.v.). (2.) A city on the east of Jordan, identified with Tell Dar’ala, a high mound,…
Women — The position of women in the Hebrew commonwealth contrasts favorably with that which in the present day is assigned to them generally in eastern countries. The most salient point of contrast in the…
Arms, Military · Of conquered nations taken away to prevent rebellion — Of conquered nations taken away to prevent rebellion
When they chose new gods—there was war in the cities. When the Yisroelites preferred modern Deities, then they needed to engage in battle in their cities. But, take note, now, when they volunteered, was a shield or battle ax in sight among the Yisroelites when they needed to do battle with the forty thousand field marshals the idolators flung against them? The Omnipresent overwhelmed them all with celestial warfare, and the Kishon stream swept them away.
Cities. As in, "If there should be found in your midst, in one of your cities".11Devarim, 17:2. Although generally translated as “gates”, שְׁעָרִים is translated here as “cities”.
Idolatry · Objects of described as: New gods — Objects of described as: New gods
Patriotism · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Shields · Were scarce in Israel in the days of Deborah and Barak — Were scarce in Israel in the days of Deborah and Barak
Spear · The Israelites: Ill provided with, in the times of Deborah and Saul — The Israelites: Ill provided with, in the times of Deborah and Saul
War · Often sent as a punishment for sin — Often sent as a punishment for sin
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Judges 5:8 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
