Judges 5:27

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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(27) At her feet.—Literally, between her feet, as though the dauntless woman had stridden over him as he lay in the dead sleep of weariness.

He bowed.—The word means that he suddenly curled up his knees in one contortion of agony.

He fell.—Rolling, perhaps, off the divan on which he was resting.

He lay down.—Motionless in death, after that one convulsive movement.

Dead.—Rather, slaughtered, or murdered. With this one terrific word the scene ends, as with a blow.

Benson Commentary

Jdg 5:27. At her feet he bowed, &c. — This verse is considered by many as a description of the struggles of Sisera after he was wounded; but perhaps it may only be a relation of his lying down to sleep quite spent with fatigue, from which he never rose again. For it is expressly said, (Jdg 4:21,) that Jael smote the nail quite through his temples, so as to fasten him to the ground; from whence there is great reason to conclude that the blow was instantaneously fatal, and that he never struggled nor stirred. This verse is thus translated by Dr. Kennicott:

At her feet he bowed, he fell! At her feet he bowed, he fell!

Where he bowed, there he fell dead.

And he supposes, naturally enough, the first line to be sung by Deborah, the second by Barak, and that they both joined in singing the third. The whole verse is greatly expressive of the joy of Deborah on this occasion, and shows, in a strong light, her love for her country and people. She dwells on every circumstance with seeming pleasure; she repeats them, as it were, to enjoy the idea and contemplation of them the longer. And one would think all the enemies of Israel had perished in this one man.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

5:24-31 Jael had a special blessing. Those whose lot is cast in the tent, in a low and narrow sphere, if they serve God according to the powers he has given them, shall not lose their reward. The mother of Sisera looked for his return, not in the least fearing his success. Let us take heed of indulging eager desires towards any temporal good, particularly toward that which cherishes vain-glory, for that was what she here doted on. What a picture does she present of an ungodly and sensual heart! How shameful and childish these wishes of an aged mother and her attendants for her son! And thus does God often bring ruin on his enemies when they are most puffed up. Deborah concludes with a prayer to God for the destruction of all his foes, and for the comfort of all his friends. Such shall be the honour, and joy of all who love God in sincerity, they shall shine for ever as the sun in the firmament.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Rather "she smote his head, and she struck and pierced through his temple."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

25. butter—curdled milk; a favorite beverage in the East.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Here is a lively representation of the thing done. At the first blow or wound he was awakened, and made some attempt to rise; but being astonished and very weak, she also following her first blow with others, he found himself impotent, and fell down dead; and then she struck the nail quite through his head into the ground, as is said, Judges 4:21.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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. This action is not otherwise to be justified, but by its being done through an impulse of the Spirit of God upon her, to take away the life of an implacable enemy of God's people; otherwise it might seem to be a breach of hospitality towards her guest she had invited in, and of the peace which subsisted between this general's prince and her husband; and therefore is not to be drawn into an example where there is no appearance of a divine warrant.

Geneva Study Bible

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.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

27. The effect of the blow, vividly depicted in short, abrupt words; from a standing position his body collapsed; lit. ‘he dropped on his knees, fell headlong, and lay a broken wreck upon the ground.’ For he bowed cf. Jdg 7:5-6, Isaiah 46:1; he fell cf. 1 Samuel 28:20; he lay cf. Lamentations 2:21; dead lit. ‘destroyed,’ ‘spoiled,’ cf. Jeremiah 4:30, Isaiah 33:1.

The second line, at her feet he bowed, he fell is probably an erroneous repetition from the first.

Judges 5:27

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"Her hand," i.e., the left hand, as is shown by the antithesis, "her right hand," which follows. On the form תּשׁלחנה, the third pers. fem. sing. with נה attached, to distinguish it the more clearly from the second pers., see the remarks on Exodus 1:10. עמלים הלמוּת, hammer or mallet of the hard workers, is a large heavy hammer. For the purpose of depicting the boldness and greatness of the deed, the words are crowded together in the second hemistich: הלם, to hammer, or smite with the hammer; מחק, ἁπ. λεγ., to smite in pieces, smite through; מחץ, to smite or dash in pieces; חלף, to pierce or bore through. The heaping up of the words in Judges 5:27 answers the same purpose. They do not "express the delight of a satisfied thirst for revenge," but simply bring out the thought that Sisera, who was for years the terror of Israel, was now struck dead with a single blow. כּרע בּאשׁר, at the place where he bowed, there he fell שׁדוּד, overpowered and destroyed. In conclusion, the singer refers once more in the last strophe (Judges 5:28-30) to the mother of Sisera, as she waited impatiently for the return of her son, and foreboded his death, whilst the prudent princesses who surrounded her sought to cheer her with the prospect of a rich arrival of booty.