Judges 5:6,7 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

In the days of Shamgar— The prophetess in these verses gives us a description of the wretched state of Israel during the time of that captivity, from which she, by the assistance of God, delivered them. It is very easy, says the author of the Observations, (p. 216.) to turn out of the roads in the east, and go to a place by winding about over the lands, when that is thought safer. Dr. Shaw takes notice of this circumstance, observing, that in Barbary they found no hedges, mounds, or inclosures, to retard or molest them. To this Deborah doubtless refers, though the Doctor does not apply his remark to the present passage. Bishop Pococke's account of the manner in which the Arabs, under whose care he was, conducted him to Jerusalem, illustrates this with great liveliness. It was by night, not by the high road, but through the fields; and I observed that he avoided, as much as he could, going near any village or encampment, and sometimes, as I thought, to hearken. "And just in that manner people were obliged to travel in Judea in the days of Shamgar and Jael." Bishop Patrick would render the first line, from the days of Shamgar. Mr. Green supposes, that Jael here mentioned, was not Jael the wife of Heber; and he justly observes, that the phrase, In the days of Jael, implies time past, and supposes that Jael was dead, as well as Shamgar. Besides, what honour could redound to the prophetess from such a comparison? Is it worthy of a boast, that she, who was Judge in Israel, had done more in delivering them from the enemy than Heber's wife, who was only a sojourner in Israel, and whose husband was at peace with the enemy? The Jael here mentioned, therefore, seems to have been a prophetess, raised up before Deborah to judge Israel, but who died without delivering them. It is true, indeed, the name of this prophetess is not mentioned before; but neither are any of the transactions of the time in which she is supposed to have lived, recorded; nor is Shamgar's name mentioned more than once, ch. Joshua 3:31 and then principally on account of that single exploit of slaying six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. Deborah is called a mother in Israel, for the same reason as every deliverer of his country is called the father of it.