Devorah and Barak's Battle in Prose and Poetry/0/en

Devorah's Battle in Prose and Poetry

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Introduction

The tale of Devorah and Barak's clash with the Canaanite forces bears the distinction of being the only battle in the entire book of Judges described in both prose (Shofetim 4) and poetry (Shofetim 5).  Despite the difference in genre, the two accounts share much in common and clearly tell the same overall story.  In several instances the chapters supplement each other, each providing details lacking in the other.  In other cases, however, the lyrical retelling diverges significantly from the original narrative, even appearing to contradict its version of events.   

Points of Contrast

• Praise of Hashem – Devorah's song opens with praise to Hashem and a description of the revelation at Sinai, all of which is lacking from the original account of the battle in Chapter 4.¹
• Background to battle – Chapter 5 describes both the fear reigning in Israel due to their enemies, and the spiritual cause thereof: the nation's idolatrous ways (5:6-8).  Neither is mentioned in Chapter 4, which instead prefaces the description of the battle with Devorah's arguments to convince Barak to fight (4:6-9). 
• Israelite leadership – While Chapter 4 emphasizes the military leadership of Barak,²  leaving Devorah to fade into the background,³ Chapter 5 features Devorah more prominently.⁴
• Participating tribes – In the prose account, only the tribes of Zevulun and Naftali are mentioned as participating in the battle (4:10). The poetic account, in contrast, speaks also of Ephraim, Binyamin, Menasseh, and Yissakhar (4:14-18).
• Number of soldiers – According to Chapter 4, Barak's army consisted of 10,000 soldiers (4:6,10,14), yet Chapter 5 speaks of 40,000 men (5:8).
• Enemy forces – The only enemies mentioned in the prose version are Yavin, the king of Canaan, and Sisera, his general (4:2-3, 23-24). The song, however, includes also the "kings of Canaan" (5:19).
• Location of the battle – Chapter 4 sets Nachal Kishon as the site of the battle (4:13), while Chapter 5 mentions Ta'anakh and Megiddo as well (5:19,21).
• Hashem's role – While the prose account has Hashem causing pandemonium in Sisera's camp ("וַיָּהׇם י"י אֶת סִיסְרָא"), the poem speaks of the stars fighting and the Kishon River sweeping away the enemy (5:20-21).
• Sisera's mother – Devorah's song ends with an image of Sisera's mother worrying about her son's delay home.  No equivalent exists in Chapter 4.

Analysis

¹ This is not surprising. Since Devorah's words in Chapter 5 comprise a song of thanksgiving said after the victory, while Chapter 4 describes the actual battle, it is expected that only the former will contain a preface lauding Hashem.

² See 4:15,16, and 22.

³ After verse 10, Devorah is only mentioned once.

⁴ See 4:15,16, and 22. This is not to say that Barak is absent, only that Devorah is equally prominent.