The Meaning of Judges 4:14 Explained

Judges 4:14

KJV: And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

YLT: And Deborah saith unto Barak, 'Rise, for this is the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand; hath not Jehovah gone out before thee?' And Barak goeth down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

Darby: And Deb'orah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sis'era into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

ASV: And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath delivered Sisera into thy hand; is not Jehovah gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Deborah  said  unto Barak,  Up;  for this [is] the day  in which the LORD  hath delivered  Sisera  into thine hand:  is not the LORD  gone out  before  thee? So Barak  went down  from mount  Tabor,  and ten  thousand  men  after  him. 

What does Judges 4:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 4:14-24 - A Woman Executioner
"The Lord discomfited Sisera and all his host." When General Gordon rode off alone on his camel to break up the camps of the Arab slave-drivers, he realized, as he went over the desert with Thomas à Kempis' immortal book in his hand, that God was already discomfiting them; and as he rode into their midst, he discovered that God had made the way perfectly clear. Yes, it is as Deborah sang, in words afterward quoted by our Lord, "They that love Him are as the sun when he goeth forth in his might," Judges 5:31; Matthew 13:43. The soul that is united to Christ is irresistible.
Jael's deed is narrated at length again in Judges 5:24. It was a most unusual breach of Arab hospitality. Was it that she was aggrieved by Sisera's treatment of her sex, Judges 5:30? Or was it the expression of her faith in Jehovah and of her identification with His people? If the latter, may we not believe that then, as always, the Almighty understood the impulse that lay beneath the crude expression? How often we give blundering expression to noble impulses, which Jesus interprets truly! Ah, how blessed it is to have a Savior who understands the motives of our hearts! [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 4

1  Deborah and Barak deliver them from Jabin and Sisera
17  Jael kills Sisera

What do the individual words in Judges 4:14 mean?

And said Deborah to Barak Up for this [is] the day in which has delivered Yahweh - Sisera into your hand Has not gone out before you so went down Barak from Mount Tabor and with ten thousand men following him
וַתֹּאמֶר֩ דְּבֹרָ֨ה אֶל־ בָּרָ֜ק ק֗וּם כִּ֣י זֶ֤ה הַיּוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁר֩ נָתַ֨ן יְהוָ֤ה אֶת־ סִֽיסְרָא֙ בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ הֲלֹ֥א יָצָ֣א לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּרָק֙ מֵהַ֣ר תָּב֔וֹר וַעֲשֶׂ֧רֶת אֲלָפִ֛ים אִ֖ישׁ אַחֲרָֽיו

וַתֹּאמֶר֩  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
דְּבֹרָ֨ה  Deborah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: דְּבֹורָה  
Sense: the nurse of Rebekah who accompanied her from the house of Bethuel.
בָּרָ֜ק  Barak 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּרָק  
Sense: son of Abinoam of Kedesh who, incited by Deborah, a prophetess of Ephraim, delivered the Israelites from the yoke of Jabin by routing the Canaanites in the plain of Jezreel.
ק֗וּם  Up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
זֶ֤ה  this  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
הַיּוֹם֙  the  day 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
אֲשֶׁר֩  in  which 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
נָתַ֨ן  has  delivered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
יְהוָ֤ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
סִֽיסְרָא֙  Sisera 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: סִיסְרָא  
Sense: the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael.
בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ  into  your  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
הֲלֹ֥א  Has  not 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָצָ֣א  gone  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
לְפָנֶ֑יךָ  before  you 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
וַיֵּ֤רֶד  so  went  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
בָּרָק֙  Barak 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּרָק  
Sense: son of Abinoam of Kedesh who, incited by Deborah, a prophetess of Ephraim, delivered the Israelites from the yoke of Jabin by routing the Canaanites in the plain of Jezreel.
מֵהַ֣ר  from  Mount 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
תָּב֔וֹר  Tabor 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תָּבֹור  
Sense: a mountain in the plain of Esdraelon rising abruptly and insulated except for a narrow ridge on the west connecting it to the hills of Nazareth.
וַעֲשֶׂ֧רֶת  and  with  ten 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular construct
Root: עֶשֶׂר 
Sense: ten.
אֲלָפִ֛ים  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine plural
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
אִ֖ישׁ  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אַחֲרָֽיו  following  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).