1. Judges 5:7 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Who are these villagers?

Judges 5:7 (ESV)

7 The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.

The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. The word occurs twice in the Song of Deborah (here and in Judges 5:11). Here are a couple interpretations.

  1. The traditional translation has been village dwellers, those who live outside of walled cities in rural areas. This is argued for in light of the meanings of two words whose forms are similar.

  2. An alternative suggests either the meaning of leadership, championship, or warriors. This is suggested in light of the military overtones of Judges 5:11, among other reasons. In this case, Judges 5:7–11 would affirm that even though warriors seemed to be nonexistent, the day will come in which Israelites can rejoice in the victorious deeds of Israelite warriors or Yahweh their warrior God.1