What Does Judges 4:7 Mean?
And I will draw Sisera, the commander of the army of Jabin, to you at the streambed of Kishon, with his chariots and his roaring multitude, and I will give him into your hand.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.THE KEY
The verse says the LORD first draws Sisera’s force into place, then gives that force into Barak’s hand.
THE MEANING
You are shown Sisera’s chariots and multitude being drawn toward the Kishon and placed into Barak’s hand. The verse names the LORD as the one directing this transfer, while leaving its violence plainly visible.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A larger army does not necessarily control the outcome.
THE ROOT
וּנְתַתִּיהוּ
unetattihu
GROWS FROM
נתן
natan
To give, set, or place.
The verb translated “deliver” is built from natan, “to give.” Sisera is given into Barak’s hand: the verse presents the change in power as a transfer, not merely a defeat.
ALSO GROWS
natan: To give, put, or set.
נָתַן
This is the root verb beneath the verse’s “deliver.”
mattanah: A gift or present.
מַתָּנָה
The noun preserves the root’s sense of something given into another’s possession.
natun: Given or assigned.
נָתוּן
This form shows the same root describing a person or thing placed under another’s charge.
מָשַׁכְתִּי
mashakhti
GROWS FROM
משך
mashakh
To draw, pull, or extend.
The verse’s “I will draw” carries the sense of pulling Sisera toward the place of encounter. Paired with “I will give,” the movement is deliberate: the force is drawn in, then handed over.
ALSO GROWS
mashakh: To draw, pull, or drag.
מָשַׁךְ
This is the action named in the verse: Sisera is drawn toward the Kishon.
meshekh: Drawing out or continuance.
מֶשֶׁךְ
This related form carries the sense of extension, adding the idea of a force being drawn onward.
הֲמוֹנוֹ
hamono
GROWS FROM
המה
hamah
To roar, murmur, or make a tumult.
“roaring multitude” in this verse is hamono. The word rendered “multitude” carries the sense of a tumultuous mass, linked to hamah, “to roar” or “make a noise.” Sisera’s threat is not only a number of soldiers; it is a mass of force that is drawn in and then given over.
ALSO GROWS
hamah: To roar, murmur, or make a tumult.
הָמָה
The verb exposes the sound and commotion behind the word for multitude.
hamon: A multitude, tumult, or abundance.
הָמוֹן
This noun names both the mass of people and the tumult they make.
THE PATTERN
Scripture portrays apparent power as transferable: a force can be brought within another’s reach and handed over.
And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before you. Begin to take hold, and take hold of his land.This day the LORD will shut you up in my hand; and I will strike you, and turn your head aside from you; and I will give the corpses of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth; that all the earth may perceive that there is a God in Israel.He who did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all, how will he not also favor us with all things along with him?THE THREAD
And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before you. Begin to take hold, and take hold of his land.The word translated “deliver” in Judges comes from natan, “to give.” Deuteronomy uses that same root plainly: Sihon and his land are given before the one who will take possession.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us