The Meaning of Judges 5:20 Explained

Judges 5:20

KJV: They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

YLT: From the heavens they fought: The stars from their highways fought with Sisera.

Darby: From heaven fought the stars, from their courses they fought against Sis'era.

ASV: From heaven fought the stars, From their courses they fought against Sisera.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They fought  from heaven;  the stars  in their courses  fought  against Sisera. 

What does Judges 5:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 5:12-23 - The Stars In Their Courses
This noble psalm contains memorable sentences. The "captivity" phrase in Judges 5:12 is quoted in Psalms 68:18 and Ephesians 4:8; and in the latter is applied to the ascension of our Lord. He led in captivity those evil powers which had for so long held mankind in captivity. Let us not fear death, or the grave, or Hades. They have been bound to the chariot-wheels of our Lord, and their keys hang at his girdle, Revelation 1:18.
Levies and reinforcements poured in from the hill-country of Ephraim, once owned by Amalek, Judges 12:15; from little Benjamin; from the northern tribes: but the main brunt of the war of liberation fell on Zebulun and others adjacent to the plain of Esdraelon, one of the great battlefields of history. Megiddo stands to the south of this famous site and has given its name to the last momentous struggle of Armageddon. Clearly Deborah refers to a terrific storm that broke, perhaps at night, upon the plain, flooding the river Kishon and the adjacent lands, so that Sisera's chariots were rendered useless. O my soul, thou, too, mayest tread under foot thy foes, Judges 5:21, r.v., margin; but be sure never to refuse, as Meroz did, to respond when God needs thy help, Judges 5:23. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 5

1  The Song of Deborah and Barak

What do the individual words in Judges 5:20 mean?

From the heavens they fought the stars from their courses fought against Sisera
מִן־ שָׁמַ֖יִם נִלְחָ֑מוּ הַכּֽוֹכָבִים֙ מִמְּסִלּוֹתָ֔ם נִלְחֲמ֖וּ עִם־ סִיסְרָֽא

שָׁמַ֖יִם  the  heavens 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
נִלְחָ֑מוּ  they  fought 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: לָחַם 
Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.
הַכּֽוֹכָבִים֙  the  stars 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: כֹּוכָב  
Sense: star.
מִמְּסִלּוֹתָ֔ם  from  their  courses 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מְסִלָּה  
Sense: highway, raised way, public road.
נִלְחֲמ֖וּ  fought 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: לָחַם 
Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.
עִם־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
סִיסְרָֽא  Sisera 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: סִיסְרָא  
Sense: the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael.

What are the major concepts related to Judges 5:20?

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