Judges 5:27
in Judges 5At her feet he collapsed, he fell, there he lay still; at her feet he collapsed, he fell; where he collapsed, there he fell dead.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay; At her feet he bowed, he fell: Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
KJV
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
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This verse in Judges 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAt her feet he bowed - בין רגליה bein ragleyha, “between her feet.” After having stunned him she probably sat down, for the greater convenience of driving the nail through his temples. He bowed - he fell - He probably made some struggles after he received the blow on the head, but could not recover his feet. Aeschylus represents Agamemnon rising, staggering, and finally falling, under the blows of Clytemnestra. - Agam. v. 1384.
This site's exposition
She reached for the tent peg
on Judges 5:26-27
The song says she "crushed his skull" and "pierced his temple", where 4:21 has her drive the peg into the ground as he slept, the poem heightening what the prose gives as mechanics. Verse 27 slows to one body falling, "At her feet he collapsed, he fell", the verbs said three times. Named writers read the crushed head back to Genesis 3:15 on their own authority.
This site's exposition
At her feet he collapsed
Adam Clarke renders the Hebrew as between her feet and thinks Sisera struggled after the first blow and could not regain his footing. He compares the scene in Aeschylus where Agamemnon rises, staggers and falls under the blows of Clytemnestra. The verse ends on the word dead.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
We read it she smote off his head, probably with his own sword, which, now that his head was nailed through, she durst take from his side, but not before, for fear of waking him. But because there was no occasion for cutting off his head, nor was it mentioned in the history, many think it should be read, she struck through his head.
Perhaps at her first approach to him, and attempt to drive the nail, or at the blow she gave, he rose up, but she had done the business so effectually at the first stroke, that he dropped at once, and laid down his head again: at her feet he bowed, he fell; when she redoubled her blow: where he bowed, there he fell down dead; and struggled and stirred no more; thus ingloriously did this general of a vast army die.
There lies extended the deserted carcase of that proud man, not on the bed of honour, not in the high places of the field, not having any glorious wound to show from a glittering sword, or a bow of steel, but in the corner of a tent, at the feet of a woman, with a disgraceful wound by a sorry nail struck through his head. Thus is shame the fate of proud men.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֵּ֣ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| רַגְלֶ֔יהָ | ragleiha | feet her | H7272 → | 247 times |
| כָּרַ֥ע | kara' | he bowed down | H3766 → | 36 times |
| נָפַ֖ל | nafal | he fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| שָׁכָ֑ב | shakhav | he lay down | H7901 → | |
| בֵּ֤ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| רַגְלֶ֙יהָ֙ | ragleiha | feet her | H7272 → | 247 times |
| כָּרַ֣ע | kara' | he bowed down | H3766 → | 36 times |
| נָפָ֔ל | nafal | he fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| בַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר | baasher | at where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּרַ֔ע | kara' | he bowed down | H3766 → | 36 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| נָפַ֥ל | nafal | he fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| שָׁדֽוּד׃ | shadud | destroyed | H7703 → |
בֵּ֣יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
רַגְלֶ֔יהָfeet her
ragleihaH7272 →247 times
כָּרַ֥עhe bowed down
kara'H3766 →36 times
נָפַ֖לhe fell
nafalH5307 →435 times
שָׁכָ֑בhe lay down
shakhavH7901 →
בֵּ֤יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
רַגְלֶ֙יהָ֙feet her
ragleihaH7272 →247 times
כָּרַ֣עhe bowed down
kara'H3766 →36 times
נָפָ֔לhe fell
nafalH5307 →435 times
בַּאֲשֶׁ֣רat where
baasherH834 →5497 times
כָּרַ֔עhe bowed down
kara'H3766 →36 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
נָפַ֥לhe fell
nafalH5307 →435 times
שָׁדֽוּד׃destroyed
shadudH7703 →
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
James 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
- Matthew 6:15
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.
- Proverbs 21:13
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- Matthew 5:7
Through
Matthew 7:2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
it leads to
- James 2:13
For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Mark 4:24
He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.
- Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured…
- Obadiah 1:15
For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.
- James 2:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.