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

מלחמת דבורה וברק בפרוזה ושירה

הקדמה

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 (שופטים ד') and poetry (שופטים ה').  Despite the difference in genre, the two accounts share much in common and clearly tell the same general 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.

נקודות של ניגוד

There are several points of contrast between the stories (these are summarized in the chart below):

• שירה לה' – 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 בפרק ד'.
• מנהיגות ישראלית – בעוד שפרק ד' emphasizes the military leadership of Barak,¹  leaving Devorah to fade into the background,² פרק ה' features Devorah much more prominently.³
• השבטים שהשתתפו – In the prose account, רק שבטי זבולון ונפתלי נזכרים as participating in the battle (ד':י'). The poetic account, in contrast, speaks also of אפרים, בנימין, מנשה, ויששכר (ה':י"ד-י"ח).
• תוכחה לשבטים שלא השתתפו – רק בפרק ה' is rebuke expressed at those tribes which did not participate in the war.
• מספר הלוחמים – לפי פרק ד', Barak's army consisted of 10,000 soldiers (ד':ו',י',י"ד), אך פרק ה' speaks of 40,000 men (ה':ח').
• צבאות האויב – The only enemies mentioned in the prose version are Yavin, the king of Canaan, and Sisera, his general (ד':ב'-ג',כ"ג-כ"ד). The song, however, includes also the "kings of Canaan" (ה':י"ט).
• מקום הקרב – פרק ד' sets Mt. Tavor and the Kishon River as the sites of the battle (ד':י"ג), בעוד שפרק ה' מזכיר גם את תענך ומגידו (ה':י"ט,כ"א).
• תפקידו של ה' – 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 (ה':כ'-כ"א).
• אם סיסרא – Devorah's song ends with an image of Sisera's mother worrying about her son's delay home.  No equivalent is found בפרק ד'.

ניתוח

Several of the differences listed above can be easily explained in light of the different genre and purpose of the two narratives.  Since פרק ה' is a song of thanksgiving said after the victory, it is not surprising that it, rather than פרק ד', contains praise of Hashem.  Similarly, it is fitting that Chapter 4's prosaic mention of facts such as the enemies' confusion or the death of Sisera are replaced in the poem with literary images such as warring stars⁴ and the mourning mother of Sisera.⁵  Many of the other differences, however, are more difficult to explain, as they are not merely poetic flourishes but conflicting facts, incongruous with the description של פרק ד'. Attempts to explain these are discussed below:

א. נקודות מבט שונות⁶ –  This approach suggests that the war of Devorah and Barak was much broader than originally assumed and included both a main battle against Sisera and a series of smaller battles against other Canaanite pockets that were left in the land from the time of the Conquest.⁷ The discrepancies between the two accounts can be explained in light of this double war.  בעוד שפרק ד' looks at the battle through a zoom lens, focusing on only the central battle of Barak near Kishon, פרק ה', in contrast, looks through a wide angle lens, taking in the scope of the entire war:⁸

• צבאות האויב – According to this theory, Yavin, the "King of Canaan" ruled over not just one city-state, but rather commanded an entire confederacy of Canaanite armies.⁹  His general, Sisera, led the forces in the main battle, as described בפרק ד', while the Canaanite kings participated in the rest of the fronts, as depicted in the broader poetic account של פרק ה'.
• מנהיגות ישראלית – Barak knew that his local army was not strong enough to face an entire confederation of Canaanite kings, so he asked Devorah to help him form a counter-coalition.¹⁰  While Barak, from the oppressed tribe of Naphtali, led the battle against Sisera in his own territory,¹¹ Devorah, from Ephraim,¹² garnered support from the other central tribes to fight the rest of the Canaanites in their home-regions.¹³  פרק ד', which focuses on the main battle, naturally highlights Barak's role, while פרק ה' which looks at the whole war, alternates between mention of the two leaders.
• השבטים שהשתתפו – פרק ד' mentions only the tribes of Naphtali and Zevulun since it depicts only the Battle of Kishon in the North which was fought by these subjugated tribes exclusively.  פרק ה', instead, praises also those tribes who participated in the battles with Devorah in the heartland of the country.
• תוכחה לשבטים שלא השתתפו – רק פרק ה' chastises the non-participating tribes, since it was specifically in the larger battle which attempted to rid the country of any remaining Canaanites, that the entire nation was expected to join.  These campaigns were, in effect, intended to complete the Conquest begun by Yehoshua
• מספר הלוחמים – Though there were only 10,000 soldiers in Barak's army,¹⁴ Devorah praises all the soldiers in the entire coalition, which numbered 40,000.
• מקום הקרב – It is natural that only Kishon, the site of the main battle, is mentioned in the narrow scoped prose account, while Ta'anakh and Megiddo, the sites of the other skirmishes,¹⁵ are mentioned in the more sweeping poetic account.

In summary, only through a combination of both the narrow and broad scope views provided by these two chapters can a reader really understand the import of Devorah's battle.  This was not just a clash against a subjugating power, but the culmination of the Wars of Conquest initiated by Yehoshua. 

ב. הרמוניזציה מקומית – In contrast to the above approach, many exegetes resolve each individual discrepancy through local explanations:

• מספר הלוחמים – תרגום יונתןשופטים ה':ח'אודות תרגום יונתן (נביאים) ורש"ישופטים ה':ח'אודות ר' שלמה יצחקי¹⁶ claim that the 40,000 soldiers mentioned בפרק ה' refers to the number of enemy soldiers^.17
• צבאות האויב – רד"קשופטים ה':י"טאודות ר' דוד קמחי מזהה את "מַלְכֵי כְנַעַן" עם סיסרא ואנשיו, אך אינו מסביר למה הם מתוארים כ"מְלָכִים".  רלב"גשופטים ה':י"טאודות ר' לוי בן גרשום, instead, posits that several other kings of Canaanite origin joined Sisera, hoping to recapture Ta'anakh and Megiddo for themselves.
• מקום הקרב – לפי רד"קשופטים ה':י"טאודות ר' דוד קמחי, though the battle actually took place in Kishon, פרק ה' emphasizes how the enemy forces were so huge that they stretched from Ta'anakh to Megiddo.
• השבטים שהשתתפו – פרק ד' mentions just the tribes of Zevulun and Naphtali since they formed the bulk of the army.  Devorah, though, speaks of everyone who participated.

טבלת סיכום של ההבדלים

	פרק ד'	פרק ה'
שבח לה'	חסר	מודגש
מנהיגות ישראלית	התמקדות בברק	הדגשת דבורה
השבטים שהשתתפו	זבולון ונפתלי	גם אפרים, בנימין, מנשה, ויששכר
תוכחה לשבטים שלא השתתפו	חסרה	מופיעה
מספר הלוחמים	10,000	40,000
האויב	יבין וסיסרא	מלכי כנען
מיקום הקרב	הר תבור ונחל קישון	גם תענך ומגידו
מעשי ה'	"ויהם ה'"	"הכוכבים ממסלותם נלחמו"
אם סיסרא	חסרה	מופיעה

¹ ראו ד':ט"ו,ט"ז, וכ"ב.

² לאחר פסוק י' מוזכרת דבורה רק פעם אחת.

³ ראו ה':ז',י"ב, וט"ו. זה לא אומר שברק נעדר בפרק ה', רק שדבורה בולטת באותה מידה.

⁴ The description of the heavens fighting and the Kishon river sweeping away the enemy could also be seen as an explanation for the havoc mentioned בפרק ד'. Hashem apparently helped from on high by sending a storm, turning the Kishon River into a muddy bog.  This was a tremendous boon for the Israelites as it transformed a main advantage of the Canaanites, their chariots, into a liability.

⁵ The nation's travails under enemy rule is similarly depicted in the song, with images of roundabout routes and the need for fortifications. In contrast, פרק ד' suffices with matter of fact mention of the oppression.

⁶ גישה זו מפותחת במאמרו של הלל נובצקי, ‎"Culmination of a Conquest: An Analysis of Judges 4-5", Le’ela 48 (1999): 5-10.

⁷ שופטים א' delineates the cities and territories on the western bank of the Jordan River which remained unconquered by the Israelites.  Some of these, such as Zidon, remained as "thorns" in Israel's side as late as the days of the Monarchy.  Others, such as Yerushalayim, were finally captured in the time of King David.  The bulk of the remainder, i.e., the Canaanite pockets in the tribes of Menashe, Ephraim, Zevulun, and Naphtali (including Ta'anakh and Megiddo) are never heard from again.  According to the hypothesis presented here, these pockets did not simply disappear of their own accord, but rather were wiped out by the Israelites during this battle against Yavin.  Though only Ta'anakh and Megiddo are mentioned explicitly in the song, they are likely just two examples drawn from many.

⁸ The chapter alternates between the two battles, yielding a structure of A-B-A-B-A-B.  First, Devorah is summoned to battle, "Awaken, awaken Devorah" (5:12) and then Barak is called, "Barak, stand..." (5:12).  Verses 14-17 praise those tribes who participated in the broader battle with Devorah (Ephraim, Binyamin, Menashe, Zevulun, and Yissakhar) while verse 18, in turn, lists those who fought with Barak against Sisera (Naphtali and Zevulun).  Finally, verse 19 mentions the clashes with the entire Canaanite coalition, "Then battled the kings of Canaan at Ta'anakh, by the waters of Megiddo", while verses 20-21 follow with details regarding the specific confrontation of Barak and Sisera at Kishon.

⁹ He is described in the verses as "Yavin, the king of Canaan, who reigned in Chatzor" suggesting that though his own kingdom might have been in Chatzor, he ruled, to some extent, over the rest of Canaan as well.  In the time of Yehoshua, too, Chatzor was the head of the Northern confederacy of kings, as mentioned in יהושע י"א:י': "כִּי חָצוֹר לְפָנִים הִיא רֹאשׁ כׇּל הַמַּמְלָכוֹת הָאֵלֶּה."

¹⁰ This explains Barak's enigmatic insistence that he would go to battle only if Devorah joined.  Though several exegetes assume that Barak was looking for Devorah to assist in a spiritual capacity (see, for example, רלב"גשופטים ד':ח'אודות ר' לוי בן גרשום), this position assumes that Devorah was crucial for the success of his military plan. She, being a respected leader and prophetess, and an inhabitant of the central region, had a greater chance of being able to muster the support of those tribes.

¹¹ In general, the Book of Judges depicts local battles, with the leader always emerging from the oppressed tribe. Thus, it is Barak, from the subjugated Naphtali, who fights this battle.

¹² ראו שופטים ד':ה'.

¹³ While these tribes might have had little vested interest in the specific conflict with Sisera, they did stand to gain immensely from the defeat of the other Canaanite strongholds.

¹⁴ צבאות אלו נמשכו אך ורק מזבולון ונפתלי, וכמו שנאמר בשופטים ד׳:ו'.

¹⁵ It is likely that these are just two examples of such battles, and that Devorah's forces fought against most of the remaining Canaanite strongholds that are mentioned in שופטים א'.

¹⁶ רד"קשופטים ה':ח'אודות ר' דוד קמחי, instead, suggests that the verse is contrasting the present conflict with Yehoshua's Conquest, and thus the number refers not to Barak's men but rather to the number of frontline soldiers during Yehoshua's battles. According to him, the verse is contrasting the fate of the people in the time of Devorah who worshiped idols and therefore found themselves at war, with those in the time of Yehoshua who were loyal to Hashem and thus did not even need weapons since Hashem fought for them.

¹⁷ This is a difficult reading and requires Rashi to both add words into the original verse and invert its order so that it reads: "מָגֵן אִם יֵרָאֶה וָרֹמַח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל [שנלחמים] בְּאַרְבָּעִים אֶלֶף".