Judges 4:10
in Judges 4where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
KJV
And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
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This verse in Judges 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseTen thousand at his feet - That is, who followed him; possibly he intimates that they were all foot-men; and so this is emphatically added, to signify by what contemptible means God overthrew Sisera's great host.
This site's exposition
Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali
on Judges 4:10-11
The ten thousand go up at his feet, which is footmen against nine hundred chariots on ground the chariots own. Heber is planted before he is needed, and the narrator stops the march to pitch one tent by Kedesh. He is a Kenite of the children of Hobab, the father in law of Moses, so the household that ends this war descends from the kin who came into the land with Judah at Judges 1:16 and then moved north alone.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Ten thousand men at his feet - Ten thousand footmen. He had no chariots; his army was all composed of infantry.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Rather, “and ten thousand men went up (to Tabor) at his feet;” i. e. as his followers (“after him,” Jdg 4:14).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Elon Betza'anayim. The marshland plain. 8 This is Targum Yonasan’s rendition. A plateau area with marshes, "mariscum", "morass" in old French.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּזְעֵ֨ק | vaiyazek | and he summoned | H2199 → | 73 times |
| בָּרָ֜ק | barak | Barak | H1301 → | 13 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זְבוּלֻ֤ן | zevulun | Zebulun | H2074 → | 45 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְתָּלִי֙ | naftali | Naphtali | H5321 → | 51 times |
| קֶ֔דְשָׁה | kedshah | Kedesh towards | H6943 → | 12 times |
| וַיַּ֣עַל | vaiyaal | and it went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בְּרַגְלָ֔יו | beraglav | at feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| עֲשֶׂ֥רֶת | ʾaseret | ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| אַלְפֵ֖י | ʾalfei | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִ֑ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וַתַּ֥עַל | vataal | and she went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עִמּ֖וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| דְּבוֹרָֽה׃ | devorah | Deborah | H1683 → | 10 times |
וַיַּזְעֵ֨קand he summoned
vaiyazekH2199 →73 times
בָּרָ֜קBarak
barakH1301 →13 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
זְבוּלֻ֤ןZebulun
zevulunH2074 →45 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
נַפְתָּלִי֙Naphtali
naftaliH5321 →51 times
קֶ֔דְשָׁהKedesh towards
kedshahH6943 →12 times
וַיַּ֣עַלand it went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
בְּרַגְלָ֔יוat feet his
beraglavH7272 →247 times
עֲשֶׂ֥רֶתten
ʾaseretH6235 →176 times
אַלְפֵ֖יthousand<s>
ʾalfeiH505 →505 times
אִ֑ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וַתַּ֥עַלand she went up
vataalH5927 →890 times
עִמּ֖וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
דְּבוֹרָֽה׃Deborah
devorahH1683 →10 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Judges 4:14Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 5:24
As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has marched out before you to strike the camp…
- Deuteronomy 9:3
But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate…
- Isaiah 52:12
For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.
- 2 Samuel 5:24
Through
Judges 5:18Zebulun was a people who risked their lives; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the battlefield.
it leads to
- Judges 4:6
She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 4:6
Through
Judges 5:15The princes of Issachar were with Deborah, and Issachar was with Barak, rushing into the valley at his heels. In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.
it leads to
- Judges 4:14
Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 4:14
Through
1 Samuel 25:27Now let this gift your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow you.
it leads to
- Genesis 33:11
Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” So Jacob pressed him until he accepted.
- 1 Samuel 30:26
When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.”
- Genesis 33:11
Through
Exodus 11:8And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.” And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s…
it leads to
- Exodus 12:31–33
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
- Exodus 12:31–33
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.