Judges 5:19
in Judges 5Kings came and fought; then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no plunder of silver.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan, In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo: They took no gain of money.
KJV
The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
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This verse in Judges 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Canaanite hosts are now described, led to battle by their numerous kings. (Compare Jos 12:21.) They took no gain of money - i. e. either they got no booty, as they expected, or, they did not fight for plunder, but for life and victory (compare Jdg 4:16 and Jdg 5:30).
This site's exposition
jeoparded their lives unto the death
on Judges 5:18-19
Zebulun and Naphtali are the two tribes Barak was ordered to call at 4:6 and did call at 4:10, and they are the two the song says staked their lives. The kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, and the clause that they took no gain of money means they carried off no plunder from a battle they expected to win. The plain of Megiddo is the ground a long line of writers connect with the name at Revelation 16:16, and that identification belongs to them rather than to the verse itself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Judges 5:19) Kings came and fought. The kings of the land of Canaan said, who were subject to King Jabin. The kings of Canaan fought. It repeats the same thing in Tanach. Tanach is indeed a province where the Kishon River is. Near the waters of Megiddo. Megiddo is a city situated on the Kishon River. And what is said, Near the waters of Megiddo, is understood near the Kishon River, the city of Megiddo. Yet they took nothing as plunderers.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is said of these kings that they took no gain of money, they were not mercenary troops hired into the service of Jabin (such often fail in an extremity), but they were volunteers and hearty in the cause against Israel: they desired not the riches of silver, so the Chaldee, but only the satisfaction of helping to ruin Israel.
The kings came,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
describes the scene of battle and the issue. It would seem (Jud 5:19) that Jabin was reinforced by the troops of other Canaanite princes. The battlefield was near Taanach (now Ta'annuk), on a tell or mound in the level plain of Megiddo (now Leijun), on its southwestern extremity, by the left bank of the Kishon. they took no gain of money--They obtained no plunder.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The kings came and fought - It is conjectured that Jabin and his confederates had invaded Manasseh, as both Taanach and Megiddo were in that tribe: and that they were discomfited by the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali at Taanach and Megiddo; while Barak defeated Sisera at Mount Tabor. They took no gain of money - They expected much booty in the total rout of the Israelites; but they were defeated, and got no prey; or, if applied to the Israelites, They fought for liberty, not for plunder.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בָּ֤אוּ | bau | they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מְלָכִים֙ | melakhim | kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| נִלְחָ֔מוּ | nilchamu | they fought | H3898 → | 177 times |
| אָ֤ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| נִלְחֲמוּ֙ | nilchamu | they fought | H3898 → | 177 times |
| מַלְכֵ֣י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כְנַ֔עַן | khenaan | Canaan | H3667 → | 94 times |
| בְּתַעְנַ֖ךְ | beta'nakh | at Taanach | H8590 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֵ֣י | mei | [the] waters of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מְגִדּ֑וֹ | megido | Megiddo | H4023 → | |
| בֶּ֥צַע | betza' | profit of | H1215 → | |
| כֶּ֖סֶף | kesef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לָקָֽחוּ׃ | lakachu | they took | H3947 → | 966 times |
בָּ֤אוּthey came
bauH935 →2568 times
מְלָכִים֙kings
melakhimH4428 →2525 times
נִלְחָ֔מוּthey fought
nilchamuH3898 →177 times
אָ֤זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
נִלְחֲמוּ֙they fought
nilchamuH3898 →177 times
מַלְכֵ֣י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
כְנַ֔עַןCanaan
khenaanH3667 →94 times
בְּתַעְנַ֖ךְat Taanach
beta'nakhH8590 →
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מֵ֣י[the] waters of
meiH4325 →581 times
מְגִדּ֑וֹMegiddo
megidoH4023 →
בֶּ֥צַעprofit of
betza'H1215 →
כֶּ֖סֶףsilver
kesefH3701 →403 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
לָקָֽחוּ׃they took
lakachuH3947 →966 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 5:30‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—a girl or two for each warrior, a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera, the spoil of embroidered garments for the neck of the looter?’
it leads to
- Exodus 15:9
The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
- Exodus 15:9
Through
1 Kings 4:12Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
it leads to
- Joshua 17:11
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
- 1 Kings 19:16
You are also to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet.
- Joshua 17:11
Through
Judges 4:13he summoned all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the River Kishon.
it leads to
- Judges 4:2–3
So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.
- Judges 4:2–3
Through
Judges 1:27At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:10
Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
- Psalms 106:34–35
They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,
- Joshua 17:11–13
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- Jeremiah 48:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on the Song of Deborah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.