the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
governors
לְחוֹקְקֵ֣יle.cho.Kei
H2710
properly · preposition + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
willingly
הַמִּֽתְנַדְּבִ֖יםha.mit.na.de.Vim
H5068
to impel · definite article + verb, hithpael active participle, masculine plural absolute
people
בָּעָ֑םba.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Bless
בָּרֲכ֖וּba.ra.Khu
H1288
to kneel · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
LORD
יְהוָֽהYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
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
Judges 5:2 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
1 Chronicles 29:9 Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king…
2 Corinthians 8:3-4 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
2 Corinthians 8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
2 Corinthians 8:17 For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you.
2 Corinthians 9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye…
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…
expresses gratitude to the respective leaders of the tribes which participated in the contest; but, above all, to God, who inspired both the patriotic disposition and the strength.
John Gill on Judges 5:9
My heart is towards the governors of Israel,.... Most of the Jewish commentators interpret this of their wise men and Scribes, who were willing to teach the people the law and the commandments, even in times of trouble, and did not cease from doing it on that account, and therefore Deborah praises them for it; so the Targum; but Kimchi and Ben Melech understand by them the great men of the nation, their nobles and rulers, who enacted good laws and statutes; or at least took care to see that the good laws they had were put in execution; and these had a share in the affections and good wishes of Deborah, and that chiefly for the following reason:
that offered themselves willingly among the pe…
9 My heart inclines to the leaders of Israel;
To those who offered themselves willingly in the nation. Praise ye the Lord!
10 Ye that ride upon white asses;
Ye that sit upon covering,
And that walk in the way, reflect!
11 With the voice of the archers among drawers (of water),
There praise ye the righteous acts of the Lord,
The righteous acts of His villages in Israel.
Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates!
We must supply the subst. verb in connection with ל לבּי, "My heart is (sc., inclined) towards the leaders of Israel," i.e., feels itself drawn towards them. הוקק for מהוקק (Jdg 5:14), the determining one, i.e., the commander or leader in war: as in Deu 33:21. The leader…
The Church Fathers
(Judges 5:9-10) My heart loves the leaders of Israel. It should be noted that in Hebrew, not leaders, but teachers is read. This is spoken by Deborah in the person of God, that God loves the teachers who study the law of God. Of whom it follows: You who offered yourselves willingly among the people, bless the Lord. Of whom it has also been said above in that place where it says: You who willingly offered your lives from Israel, etc. You who ride on bright donkeys. In Hebrew, female donkeys. And you sit in judgment. In Hebrew, sitting on judgment. And you walk on the road, speak where the chariots collide, and the army of the enemies is suffocated, there the righteousness of the Lord, the strength of Israel, is proclaimed. The people of Israel who ride on donkeys are called ascenders; but the female donkeys on which they ride are called the teachers of the tribes of Israel, on whose doctrine the rest of the people are said to ascend like on donkeys, that is, to find rest. They are called asses themselves, that is, they walk like an ass in the law, sitting on judgment, that is, on the law. They are also said to sit on judgment, that is, on the law, and to walk in the way under the law, because they would by no means exceed the path of the law. Therefore, Deborah, provoked the people who rested on these asses, that is, on these teachers, to bless the Lord, and she said: Speak, that is, praise. And as if they were asking: where and when will we praise the Lord? she responded: Where the chariots collided, and the army of the enemy was drowned, there let the justice of the Lord be recounted, the strength of merciful Israel; as if she said: Although God is always and everywhere to be praised; nevertheless, he is now to be praised and blessed by us, who overturns our enemies, just as he did with the Egyptians in the Red Sea.
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
Amasiah — Burden of (i.e., “sustained by”) Jehovah, the “son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the Lord,” a captain over thousands under Jehoshaphat (2 Chr. 17:16; comp. Judg. 5:9).
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…
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…
Country · LOVE OF — LOVE OF
Patriotism · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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).
My heart. I, Devorah, [my heart is out] to the legislators of Yisroel—with affection for the sages of Yisroel who volunteered, among the people, saying, "Bless Adonoy, return to Him".
