Judges 5:22
in Judges 5Then the hooves of horses thundered—the mad galloping of his stallions.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then did the horsehoofs stamp By reason of the prancings, the prancings of their strong ones.
KJV
Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
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This verse in Judges 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThen were the horsehoofs broken - In very ancient times horses were not shod; nor are they to the present day in several parts of the East. Sisera had iron chariots when his hosts were routed; the horses that drew these, being strongly urged on by those who drove them, had their hoofs broken by the roughness of the roads; in consequence of which they became lame, and could not carry off their riders. This is marked as one cause of their disaster.
This site's exposition
Then the hooves of horses thundered
on Judges 5:22-23
The "mad galloping of his stallions" is a chariot line seen from the ground once it is mired and the teams panic. The curse on Meroz comes from "the angel of the LORD", who brought the charge at 2:1, and falls on a town of Israel for staying home. Meroz occurs nowhere else in Scripture and its site has never been fixed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Judges 5:22) Then the hooves of the horses fell off, with a powerful force to those fleeing, and headlong to the bravest of the enemies who were rushing. 'Their hooves,' it is read in Hebrew; for it is reported that the hooves of their horses fell off from hailstones from the heavens, that is, from their angels. So the meaning is: If the hooves of the horses fell off from touching the stones, what do you think happened to the riders?
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Horses hoofs - Their horses, in which they put most confidence, had their hoofs, which are their support and strength, broken, either by dreadful hail-stones, or rather, by their swift and violent running over the stony grounds, when they fled with all possible speed from God and from Israel.
Then were the horse hoofs broken by means of the pransings,....
The river of Kishon is called that ancient river because described or celebrated by ancient historians or poets, or rather because it was designed of old, in the counsel of God, to serve his purposes against Sisera at this time, and did so, as if it had been made on purpose; thus the water of the old pool God is said to have fashioned long ago for that use to which it was put, Isa. xxii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Then were the horse hoofs broken by the means of the prancings--Anciently, as in many parts of the East still, horses were not shod. The breaking of the hoofs denotes the hot haste and heavy irregular tramp of the routed foe.
2 more voices on this verse
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
Probably an allusion to the frantic efforts of the chariot-horses to disengage themselves from the morass (Jdg 4:15 note). Mighty ones - Applied to bulls Psa 22:12 and horses Jer 8:16; Jer 47:3; Jer 50:11; elsewhere, as probably here, to men.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָ֥ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| הָלְמ֖וּ | halmu | they struck | H1986 → | |
| עִקְּבֵי־ | ʾikevei- | [the] heels of | H6119 → | |
| ס֑וּס | sus | horse[s] | H5483 → | |
| מִֽדַּהֲר֖וֹת | midaharot | from [the] galloping | H1726 → | |
| דַּהֲר֥וֹת | daharot | [the] galloping of | H1726 → | |
| אַבִּירָֽיו׃ | ʾabirav | mighty [horses] his | H47 → |
אָ֥זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
הָלְמ֖וּthey struck
halmuH1986 →
עִקְּבֵי־[the] heels of
ʾikevei-H6119 →
ס֑וּסhorse[s]
susH5483 →
מִֽדַּהֲר֖וֹתfrom [the] galloping
midaharotH1726 →
דַּהֲר֥וֹת[the] galloping of
daharotH1726 →
אַבִּירָֽיו׃mighty [horses] his
ʾabiravH47 →
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
Psalms 20:7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:31
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Psalms 33:16–17
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- 2 Chronicles 32:8
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah…
- Proverbs 21:31
Through
Psalms 33:17A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.
it leads to
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- Psalms 20:7
Through
Micah 4:13Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD,…
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:15–16
Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
- Isaiah 41:15–16
Through
Jeremiah 47:4For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts…
it leads to
- Amos 9:7
“Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from…
- Amos 9:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.