Judges 5:14

Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek,.... In this and some following verses, Deborah makes mention of the tribes that were siding and assisting in this war, and of those that were

Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer. No JFB commentary on this verse.

Now she relates the carriage and miscarriage of the several tribes in this expedition; and she begins with Ephraim. Was there a root of them; either, first, Of the Ephraimites; or, secondly, Of them that came forth to this expedition. By root she seems to mean a branch, as that word is sometimes used, as 53:2; by which also she may note the fewness of those that came out of Ephraim, that fruitful bough consisting of many branches, , yielding but one branch or a handful of men to this service. Against Amalek, the constant and sworn enemy of the Israelites, who were confederate with their last oppressors the Moabites, , and in all probability took their advantage now against the Israelites in the southern or middle parts of Canaan, whilst their main force was drawn northward against Jabin and Sisera. Against these therefore Ephraim sent forth a party; and so did Benjamin, as it here follows; and these hindered their conjunction with Jabin’ s forces, and gave their brethren the advantage of fighting with Sisera alone. After thee, Benjamin: Benjamin followed Ephraim’ s example. Or, after thee, O Benjamin; and thus the pre-eminence is here given to Benjamin in two respects: First, That he was first in this expedition, as indeed he lay near the Amalekites, and by his example encouraged the Ephraimites. Secondly, That the whole tribe of Benjamin, though now but small, came forth to this war, when the numerous tribe of Ephraim sent only a handful to it. Among the people; either, first, Among the people of Benjamin, with whom those few Ephraimites united themselves in this expedition. Or, secondly, Among the people or tribes of Israel, to wit, those who engaged themselves in this war. Out of Machir, i.e. out of the tribe of Manasseh, which are elsewhere called by the name of Machir, as , to wit, out of the half tribe which was within Jordan; for of the other she speaks . Governors; either civil governors, the princes and great persons, who were as ready to hazard themselves and their ample estates as the meanest; or military officers, valiant and expert commanders, such as some of Machir’ s posterity are noted to have been. They that handle the pen of the writer, i.e. even the scribes, who gave themselves to study and writing, whereby they were exempted from military service, did voluntarily enter into this service. Or, they that drew, to wit, the people after them, as that verb is used, . With the pen of the scribe or writer, i.e. who did not only go themselves, but by their letters invited and engaged others to go with them to the battle.

Judges 5:14 Out of Ephraim [was there] a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer. Ver. 14. Out of Ephraim was there a root of them.] Deborah, an Ephraimite, was the root and rise of this expedition against the Canaanites, and the Amalakites their auxiliaries. After thee, Benjamin,] i.e., After thee, O Ephraim, came Benjamin. Out of Maehir,] i.e., Out of that half tribe of Manasseh which dwelt within Canaan: for the other half tribe beyond Jordan are afterwards, under the name of Gilead, blamed for their backwardness That handle the pen of the writer.] Scribes and scholars took up arms to help the Lord against the mighty. By "root" some understand Joshua, and others the tribes of Judah and Simeon.

(14) Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek.—The LXX. and Vulgate render it, “Ephraim uprooted them in Amalek.” But the meaning seems to be, “Out of Ephraim (came down to the battle) those whose root is in Amalek,” or, “among the Amalekites.” Ephraim had firmly rooted himself (comp. Isaiah 27:6; Psalms 80:10) in the country which had been the stronghold of the Amalekites. (See Judges 12:15.) After thee, Benjamin, among thy people.—Ephraim is here addressed by a sudden change of person (comp. Isaiah 1:29; Isaiah 42:20. &c). After thee, O Ephraim, came down Benjamin, mingled with thy people. The forces of “little Benjamin” are overshadowed by, and almost lost in, the crowded ranks of its powerful neighbour-tribe. In after days Benjamin clung to the skirts of Judah, but at this period his fortunes were more allied with those of Ephraim. “After thee, Benjamin,” seems to have become (perhaps from this allusion) a war-cry of the tribe (Hosea 5:8). Out of Machir came down governors.—Machir was the only son of Manasseh (Genesis 1:23; Numbers 27:1), and is here used for the Western Manassites (Joshua 17:5). The Eastern half-tribe, no doubt, held aloof with Gad and Reuben. The silence respecting Judah is remarkable. We may conjecture that Judah and Simeon were sufficiently occupied in keeping off the Philistines, or that, having secured their own territory, they remained in selfish isolation. The word rendered “governors” (LXX., “searchers out”; Vulgate, “princes “) is more strictly “law-givers” (Sym-machus, entassontes).They that handle the pen of the writer.—Literally, they who draw with the staff (shçbet) of the scribe (sophçr). Sophçr may mean scribe (literally, “one who counts “), and the verb rendered “handle” is, literally, “draw;” but shçbet can hardly mean “pen”; nor is it easy to say of what special use “the pen of the writer” would be in the gathering of clans to battle; nor have we the faintest indication that Zebulon had any literary pre-eminence. There can be little doubt that the meaning is, “They who lead (so in Latin, traho sometimes has the meaning of duco) with the staff of the marshal.” The sophçr is the officer (2 Kings 25:19) who musters, and therefore naturally counts and enrols, the host ( Jeremiah 52:25), and the staff: is his natural “rod of power,” or ensign of office; just as it-was (vitis, Plin., H. N. xiv. 1, § 3) of Roman centurions (Vulgate, De Zebulon qui exercitum ducerent ad bel-landum).

Verse 14. Out of Ephraim - a root of them] Deborah probably means that out of Ephraim and Benjamin came eminent warriors. Joshua, who was of the tribe of Ephraim, routed the Amalekites a short time after the Israelites came out of Egypt, Exodus 17:10. Ehud, who was of the tribe of Benjamin, slew Eglon, and defeated the Moabites, the friends and allies of the Ammonites and Amalekites. Machir, in the land of Gilead, produced eminent warriors; and Zebulun produced eminent statesmen, and men of literature. Probably Deborah speaks here of the past wars, and not of any thing that was done on this occasion; for we know that no persons from Gilead were present in the war between Jabin and Israel. See Judges 5:17. Gilead abode beyond Jordan.

14. Out of Ephraim came down they whose root is in Amalek] i.e. those Ephraimites whose settled home was ‘in the hill country of the Amalekites,’ the latter term being used in Judges 12:15 to describe the situation of Pirathon in the land of Ephraim. But the poet can hardly mean that only the Ephraimites of Pirathon came to the war, and there is no evidence that this district was the chief stronghold of Ephraim (Moore); moreover the Amalekites, though Judges 12:15 implies a settlement of them in the north, belong properly to the deserts far S. of Judah (see on Judges 1:16). Lit. the words mean ‘From E. their root (is) in Amalek,’ a singularly harsh expression. No doubt for Amalek we should read in the valley, with LXX. A, Luc., and other Verss.; for their root a verb is wanted, as in the third line of this verse; ‘they went’ shâru (cf. Isaiah 57:9, and the use of shâru = to pass along in Assyrian), suggested by Winckler, Altor. Forsch. i. 193, suits the context, but is no more than a guess. After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples] The pronoun thy evidently refers to Ephraim; but if the Benjamites came ‘after,’ they could not be ‘among’ the people of Ephraim; so correct after thee to thy brother (LXX. A). Thy brother Benjamin was among thy people seems to mean that, Benjamin, being too small to provide a contingent under its own chiefs, marched in the ranks of Ephraim. Machir] probably stands here for Manasseh, of which it formed the chief clan; according to Joshua 17:1 Machir was the eldest, according to Genesis 50:23, Numbers 26:29 the only, son of Manasseh. The settlement of Machir in Gilead E. of Jordan (Numbers 32:39 ff., Deuteronomy 3:15) probably did not take place till later times. The context shews that governors denote military leaders, see on Judges 5:9, and cf. Deuteronomy 33:21; in Genesis 49:10, Numbers 21:18, Psalms 60:7 the word is used of the staff or wand of a commander (translated sceptre in A. and RV.). they that handle the marshal’s staff] or, that march with the marshal’s staff. Another designation of a chief, more exactly one who writes, enrols the muster of troops, cf. 2 Kings 25:19, Jeremiah 52:25, 2 Chronicles 26:11 referring to the later organization of the army: he carried a baton as a badge of office.

Render “Of Ephraim (Deborah’s own tribe) came down those whose root is in Mount Amalek Judges 12:15; after thee (O Ephraim) came Benjamin among thy people; of Machir (the west-Jordanic milies of Manasseh.

14. Out of Ephraim — We are here to supply in thought, they came down, from the preceding verse. That is, the heroes came out of Ephraim. The poetess goes on until Judges 5:19 in specifying the action of the different tribes.