The Meaning of Judges 5:6 Explained

Judges 5:6

KJV: In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

YLT: In the days of Shamgar son of Anath -- In the days of Jael -- The ways have ceased, And those going in the paths go in crooked ways.

Darby: "In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Ja'el, caravans ceased and travelers kept to the byways.

ASV: In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, And the travellers walked through byways.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In the days  of Shamgar  the son  of Anath,  in the days  of Jael,  the highways  were unoccupied,  and the travellers  walked  through byways. 

What does Judges 5:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 5:1-11 - The Song Of A "mother In Israel"
One of the noblest odes in literature! It celebrates a mighty victory through the enthusiastic consecration of the people, who laid themselves as freewill offerings on the altar of their country's deliverance, Judges 5:2; Judges 5:9. There is a greater cause that summons us today, for we fight "not against flesh and blood, but"¦ against the rulers of the darkness of this world," Ephesians 6:12.
The singer recites the mighty deeds of the Exodus, Judges 5:4-5. She feels that the present hour is not less full of God. Let us dare to believe that today is as sublime as any day of the past, and live as though it were. She describes the desolations caused by the foe: the divested caravans, the deserted roads, the defenseless, weaponless people, Judges 5:6-8. She tells how men mustered in the city gates to take their part in the great effort to which she called them, Judges 5:9-11. Ye daughters of Deborah, who know God, wake again and sing till your hearts grow hot again; and ye brethren of Barak, arm yourselves for battle against the lies, fashions and sins that curse both the Church and the world! [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 5

1  The Song of Deborah and Barak

What do the individual words in Judges 5:6 mean?

In the days of Shamgar son of Anath of Jael were deserted the highways and the travelers walked ways [along] the byways
בִּימֵ֞י שַׁמְגַּ֤ר בֶּן־ עֲנָת֙ יָעֵ֔ל חָדְל֖וּ אֳרָח֑וֹת וְהֹלְכֵ֣י נְתִיב֔וֹת יֵלְכ֕וּ אֳרָח֖וֹת עֲקַלְקַלּֽוֹת

בִּימֵ֞י  In  the  days 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
שַׁמְגַּ֤ר  of  Shamgar 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁמְגַּר  
Sense: son of Anath and a judge of Israel; with an ox-goad he slew 600 Philistines and delivered Israel.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עֲנָת֙  of  Anath 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲנָת  
Sense: father of Shamgar.
יָעֵ֔ל  of  Jael 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יָעֵל  
Sense: the wife of Heber the Kenite who killed the general Sisera as he slept by driving a peg through his temples into the ground.
חָדְל֖וּ  were  deserted 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָדַל 
Sense: to stop, cease, desist, forego, cease to be, leave undone, forbear.
אֳרָח֑וֹת  the  highways 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: אֹרַח  
Sense: way, path.
נְתִיב֔וֹת  the  travelers 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: נָתִיב 
Sense: trodden with the feet, path, pathway.
יֵלְכ֕וּ  walked 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
אֳרָח֖וֹת  ways 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: אֹרַח  
Sense: way, path.
עֲקַלְקַלּֽוֹת  [along]  the  byways 
Parse: Adjective, feminine plural
Root: עֲקַלְקָל  
Sense: winding, devious, crooked.