SEV Biblia, Chapter 5:8
Al escoger nuevos dioses, la guerra estaba a las puertas. ¿Se veía escudo o lanza entre cuarenta mil en Israel?
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Judges 5:8
Verse 8. They chose new gods] This was the cause of all their calamities; they forsook Jehovah, and served other gods; and then was war in their gates-they were hemmed up in every place, and besieged in all their fortified cities; and they were defenseless, they had no means of resisting their adversaries; for even among forty thousand men, there was neither spear nor shield to be seen. The Vulgate gives a strange and curious turn to this verse: Nova bella elegit Dominus, et portas hostium ipse subvertit; "The Lord chose a new species of war, and himself subverted the gates of the enemy." Now, what was this new species of war? A woman signifies her orders to Barak; he takes 10, 000 men, wholly unarmed, and retires to Mount Tabor, where they are immediately besieged by a powerful and well-appointed army. On a sudden Barak and his men rush upon them, terror and dismay are spread through the whole Cannanitish army, and the rout is instantaneous and complete. The Israelites immediately arm themselves with the arms of their enemies, and slay all before them; they run, and are pursued in all directions. Sisera, their general, is no longer safe in his chariot; either his horses fail, or the unevenness of the road obliges him to desert it, and fly away on foot; in the end, the whole army is destroyed, and the leader ingloriously slain. This was a new species of war, and was most evidently the Lord's doings. Whatever may be said of the version of the Vulgate, (and the Syriac and Arabic are something like it,) the above are all facts, and show the wondrous working of the Lord.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 8. They chose new gods , etc.] That is, Israel, as most of the Jewish commentators interpret it; for the verb is singular, and Israel agrees well with it: this they did after the death of Joshua; it refers to their first idolatry, begun by Micah, ( Judges 17:1) they chose other gods than the true God; Baalim and Ashtaroth they are said to serve, ( Judges 2:11,13 3:7), and besides the gods of the Canaanites and Phoenicians, they sought after and introduced new ones from other places, or the same may be meant; since all besides the true God, the eternal Jehovah, the Ancient of days, and everlasting King, are new gods that lately sprung up: the Arabic and Syriac versions are, “God chose a new king;” so Ben Gersom; to perfect this wonder; for not only Sisera and his army were drawn to the gates of Israel to a proper place to fall in, but the victory was not obtained by Israel by their own force and strength; for they had no weapons of war, not a shield nor a spear, but for a very few men, but it was the Lord that fought for them in a new way; the former sense seems best, and agrees with what follows: then was war in the gates ; when they fell into idolatry, then God suffered the judgment of war to come upon them, even into the gates of their fortified cities, which were the security of them, and where were their courts of judicature, but by war disturbed and made to cease: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel ? though the number of the Israelites were several hundred thousands, yet there were not to be seen among them shields and spears sufficient for 40,000; or not one among 40,000 was armed; which was owing either to their negligence and sloth in not providing themselves with arms, or not taking care of them in a time of peace; so that when war came into their gates, they had nothing to defend themselves with, or annoy their enemies; or to their cowardice, not daring to take up a shield or spear in their own defence; or to the enemy, Jabin king of Canaan, having disarmed them, that they might not be able to make a revolt, from him, and recover their liberties. Ben Gersom refers it to the times of Joshua, when there was no need of a shield and spear among the 40,000 of the children of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, that came over Jordan with them, since God fought for them; and the Targum seems to understand it of Sisera’s army, that came against Israel with shields, spears, and swords; and makes the number of them to be in all 300,000, which is just the number of foot soldiers Josephus makes his army to consist of; and yet, though so numerous and so well armed, could not stand before Barak with 10,000 men only; (see Gill on “ Judges 4:17”), the words rather refer to the cival war of the Benjamites with the Israelites, when 40,000 of the latter were killed, which was before the times of Deborah, ( Judges 20:21,25).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 6-11 - Deborah describes the distressed state of Israel under the tyranny of Jabin, that their salvation might appear more gracious. She shows what brought this misery upon them. It was their idolatry. They chose ne gods, with new names. But under all these images, Satan was worshipped Deborah was a mother to Israel, by diligently promoting the salvatio of their souls. She calls on those who shared the advantages of thi great salvation, to offer up thanks to God for it. Let such as ar restored, not only to their liberty as other Israelites, but to their rank, speak God's praises. This is the Lord's doing. In these acts of his, justice was executed on his enemies. In times of persecution God's ordinances, the walls of salvation, whence the waters of life ar drawn, are resorted to at the hazard of the lives of those who atten them. At all times Satan will endeavour to hinder the believer from drawing near to the throne of grace. Notice God's kindness to his trembling people. It is the glory of God to protect those who are mos exposed, and to help the weakest. Let us notice the benefit we have from the public peace, the inhabitants of villages especially, and giv God the praise.
Original Hebrew
יבחר 977 אלהים 430 חדשׁים 2319 אז 227 לחם 3901 שׁערים 8179 מגן 4043 אם 518 יראה 7200 ורמח 7420 בארבעים 705 אלף 505 בישׂראל׃ 3478
