Judges 5:20
in Judges 5From the heavens the stars fought; from their courses they fought against Sisera.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
From heaven fought the stars, From their courses they fought against Sisera.
KJV
They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
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This verse in Judges 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThey fought from heaven - The angels of God came to the assistance of Israel: and the stars in their orbits fought against Sisera; probably some thunder storm, or great inundation from the river Kishon, took place at that time, which in poetic language was attributed to the stars.
This site's exposition
the stars in their courses fought
on Judges 5:20-21
Chapter 4 says only that the Lord discomfited Sisera at 4:15, and it never mentions a river. The song supplies what the prose left out, that they fought from heaven and that the Kishon swept the army away. Readings of the line are old and are held by serious men, that a storm broke over the plain as the hailstones fell at Joshua 10:11, that the host of heaven is meant as at 2 Kings 6:17, or that the stars name the powers ranged behind the battle. Taken together the two chapters account for what became of nine hundred chariots of iron in flat country that suited them, because a river in flood takes wheels out of the reckoning.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Judges 5:20) There was a battle fought against them from heaven. Because in the forty thousand men of Israel a shield and spear could not be found, therefore the Lord fought for them from heaven with hailstones and fire against their enemies. Just as it is also written in the book of Joshua: The stars remained in their order and fought against Sisera (Joshua 10:11). The stars are understood to be the angels who fought against Sisera from heaven.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Chaldee reads it, from heaven, from the place where the stars go forth, war was waged against Sisera, that is, the power of the God of heaven was engaged against him, making use of the ministration of the angels of heaven.
They fought from heaven,....
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
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
God fought on the side of Israel, and gave them the victory. Josephus relates that, just as the battle began, a violent tempest came on with a great downfall of rain; and a hailstorm, which, driving full in the faces of the Canaanites, so blinded and benumbed them with cold, that they could neither use their bows with effect nor even hold their swords.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| שָׁמַ֖יִם | shamayim | heaven | H8064 → | 421 times |
| נִלְחָ֑מוּ | nilchamu | they fought | H3898 → | 177 times |
| הַכּֽוֹכָבִים֙ | hakokhavim | the stars | H3556 → | |
| מִמְּסִלּוֹתָ֔ם | mimesilotam | from highways their | H4546 → | 27 times |
| נִלְחֲמ֖וּ | nilchamu | they fought | H3898 → | 177 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| סִיסְרָֽא׃ | sisera' | Sisera | H5516 → | 21 times |
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
שָׁמַ֖יִםheaven
shamayimH8064 →421 times
נִלְחָ֑מוּthey fought
nilchamuH3898 →177 times
הַכּֽוֹכָבִים֙the stars
hakokhavimH3556 →
מִמְּסִלּוֹתָ֔םfrom highways their
mimesilotamH4546 →27 times
נִלְחֲמ֖וּthey fought
nilchamuH3898 →177 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
סִיסְרָֽא׃Sisera
sisera'H5516 →21 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 4:15And in front of him the LORD routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.
it leads to
- Joshua 10:10
And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 83:9–10
Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
- Joshua 10:10
Through
Joshua 10:11As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by…
it leads to
- Isaiah 28:2
Behold, the Lord has one who is strong and mighty. Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest, like a driving rain or flooding downpour, he will smash that crown to the ground.
- Psalms 18:12–14
From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced— hailstones and coals of fire.
- Exodus 9:22–26
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt—on man and beast and every plant of the field throughout the…
- Isaiah 28:2
Through
1 Samuel 7:10As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:10
Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt…
- 1 Samuel 12:17
Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the…
- 2 Samuel 22:14–15
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
- 1 Samuel 2:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.