Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.
The verse is part of the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak celebrating Israel's deliverance from twenty years of Canaanite oppression by the defeat of Sisera and his iron chariots. Those called to speak are the well-fed elite carried on dignified white animals, summoned with rulers and travelers to join God's cause. The summons is a call to praise God and ascribe all honor and power for deliverance to Him, and to let surrounding kings and princes hear what He wrought for Israel as a warning not to harm them. The battle of Megiddo in the days of Deborah and Barak stands as an object lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon under the sixth plague. The song also shows Deborah raised up as prophetess, judge and mother in Israel, proving that God uses women in public testimony and service to His glory without their domineering or usurping authority.
Language and Historical Setting
Those called to speak as riders on white asses are the sleek or well-fed elite, borne on white streaked or striped cloths spread over the animals for comfort as still done in Arabia. The animal meant is the onager, taller and far more dignified than the common ass, with more elegantly shaped legs and higher-carried head, marked by a dusky woolly mane, long erect ears, and a highly arched forehead. Its hair in general is silvery white, with flaxen on the upper face, neck, and upper thighs, with white legs and belly, with a white line dividing the fore body from the flank and running round the rump to the tail, with a waved coffee-colored bushy stripe along the top of the back from mane to tail crossed by another such stripe at the shoulders, and with two white lines bounding the dorsal band and the mane. In winter its hair is soft, silky, and waving like camel hair, and in summer smooth and silky with shaded rays pointing downward on the sides of the neck. The Hebrew word rendered white occurs nowhere else except for wool in Ezekiel 27:18.
The verse stands in Judges 3 to 17, which together form one composite record of backsliding from God followed by consequent suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude, then returning to God, forgiveness and deliverance. That record shows the perversity and unbelief of the people, the long-suffering and goodness of God, and the awful moral surroundings of Israel and the demoralizing influences of the tribes permitted to remain in the land of promise.
The verse belongs to the account of Israel's victory under Deborah and Barak over Sisera and his iron chariots and over the Canaanites, celebrating the defeat of the Canaanite oppressor. It shows that Israel could overcome such an enemy when acting in faith. It is the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak recounting Jael's part in delivering Israel from Jabin king of Canaan after twenty years of oppression, a triumph poem over Sisera's army associated with the battlefield of Megiddo. Through Barak and Deborah's victory the Israelites first gained possession of the Plain of Jezreel, an important crossroads and frequent cause of strife.
Song and Its Summons
The verse belongs to the song celebrating Israel's deliverance under Deborah and Barak. It is part of a call for Israel to awaken, gather, and take part in the struggle. The poem applies that call to people and leaders being summoned to join God's cause.
It is part of Deborah's sublime and impassioned song celebrating the triumph of Israel over Sisera and the subduing of the Canaanites, in which all glory for deliverance is ascribed to God. The song declares that honor and power belong to God and not to men or to their idols, and portrays the awful exhibitions of divine power and majesty displayed at Sinai. It sets before Israel their helpless and distressed condition under the oppression of their enemies, and relates the history of their deliverance that gave the land peace forty years. Prosperity did not bring Israel nearer to God.
The call to speak is a summons to praise God for His wonderful works. It is also a summons to the kings and princes of surrounding nations to hear what God wrought for Israel. They were to take warning not to do them harm.
The Song of Deborah is original sacred music of Israel, not copied or borrowed from surrounding nations. Its words and music were composed to memorialize a great national event and to express the individual and national life of God's chosen people. As the earliest poetry of Israel, it was sung among the hills of Galilee after Barak of Naphtali triumphed over the Canaanites. It proves the intellectual vigor and mental freshness and force of the Galilean people.
Prophecy and Public Ministry
The account to which the verse belongs is the battle of Megiddo in the days of Deborah and Barak, which serves as an object lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon under the sixth plague. For that reason the chapter is important to study in connection with the sixth and seventh plagues.
Deborah was a prophetess and judge whom the Lord placed over the mighty of Israel, to whom the people came for judgment, and who arose as a mother in Israel and helped Barak. Her account stands among the biblical evidence that God has used women in public roles to His glory. It shows that women could serve publicly for God without domineering or usurping authority. The chapter proves that women may bear testimony for Christ, help in His work, and proclaim His truth in womanly, Christian ways. The command for women to keep silence in the churches does not forbid such a public part, but only forbids women being out of place by assuming authority to teach and rule in an unwomanly, unscriptural and disorderly way.
The verse is part of the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak celebrating Israel's deliverance from twenty years of Canaanite oppression by the defeat of Sisera and his iron chariots. Those called to speak are the well-fed elite carried on dignified white animals, summoned with rulers and travelers to join God's cause. The summons is a call to praise God and ascribe all honor and power for deliverance to Him, and to let surrounding kings and princes hear what He wrought for Israel as a warning not to harm them. The battle of Megiddo in the days of Deborah and Barak stands as an object lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon under the sixth plague. The song also shows Deborah raised up as prophetess, judge and mother in Israel, proving that God uses women in public testimony and service to His glory without their domineering or usurping authority.
Language and Historical Setting
Those called to speak as riders on white asses are the sleek or well-fed elite, borne on white streaked or striped cloths spread over the animals for comfort as still done in Arabia. The animal meant is the onager, taller and far more dignified than the common ass, with more elegantly shaped legs and higher-carried head, marked by a dusky woolly mane, long erect ears, and a highly arched forehead. Its hair in general is silvery white, with flaxen on the upper face, neck, and upper thighs, with white legs and belly, with a white line dividing the fore body from the flank and running round the rump to the tail, with a waved coffee-colored bushy stripe along the top of the back from mane to tail crossed by another such stripe at the shoulders, and with two white lines bounding the dorsal band and the mane. In winter its hair is soft, silky, and waving like camel hair, and in summer smooth and silky with shaded rays pointing downward on the sides of the neck. The Hebrew word rendered white occurs nowhere else except for wool in Ezekiel 27:18.
The verse stands in Judges 3 to 17, which together form one composite record of backsliding from God followed by consequent suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude, then returning to God, forgiveness and deliverance. That record shows the perversity and unbelief of the people, the long-suffering and goodness of God, and the awful moral surroundings of Israel and the demoralizing influences of the tribes permitted to remain in the land of promise.
The verse belongs to the account of Israel's victory under Deborah and Barak over Sisera and his iron chariots and over the Canaanites, celebrating the defeat of the Canaanite oppressor. It shows that Israel could overcome such an enemy when acting in faith. It is the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak recounting Jael's part in delivering Israel from Jabin king of Canaan after twenty years of oppression, a triumph poem over Sisera's army associated with the battlefield of Megiddo. Through Barak and Deborah's victory the Israelites first gained possession of the Plain of Jezreel, an important crossroads and frequent cause of strife.
Song and Its Summons
The verse belongs to the song celebrating Israel's deliverance under Deborah and Barak. It is part of a call for Israel to awaken, gather, and take part in the struggle. The poem applies that call to people and leaders being summoned to join God's cause.
It is part of Deborah's sublime and impassioned song celebrating the triumph of Israel over Sisera and the subduing of the Canaanites, in which all glory for deliverance is ascribed to God. The song declares that honor and power belong to God and not to men or to their idols, and portrays the awful exhibitions of divine power and majesty displayed at Sinai. It sets before Israel their helpless and distressed condition under the oppression of their enemies, and relates the history of their deliverance that gave the land peace forty years. Prosperity did not bring Israel nearer to God.
The call to speak is a summons to praise God for His wonderful works. It is also a summons to the kings and princes of surrounding nations to hear what God wrought for Israel. They were to take warning not to do them harm.
The Song of Deborah is original sacred music of Israel, not copied or borrowed from surrounding nations. Its words and music were composed to memorialize a great national event and to express the individual and national life of God's chosen people. As the earliest poetry of Israel, it was sung among the hills of Galilee after Barak of Naphtali triumphed over the Canaanites. It proves the intellectual vigor and mental freshness and force of the Galilean people.
Prophecy and Public Ministry
The account to which the verse belongs is the battle of Megiddo in the days of Deborah and Barak, which serves as an object lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon under the sixth plague. For that reason the chapter is important to study in connection with the sixth and seventh plagues.
Deborah was a prophetess and judge whom the Lord placed over the mighty of Israel, to whom the people came for judgment, and who arose as a mother in Israel and helped Barak. Her account stands among the biblical evidence that God has used women in public roles to His glory. It shows that women could serve publicly for God without domineering or usurping authority. The chapter proves that women may bear testimony for Christ, help in His work, and proclaim His truth in womanly, Christian ways. The command for women to keep silence in the churches does not forbid such a public part, but only forbids women being out of place by assuming authority to teach and rule in an unwomanly, unscriptural and disorderly way.