As this unit comes to an end, full nouns appear: Deborah appears once here and at the end of 4.9, and so does Barak. The full name reference of all the story participants in this verse (Naphtali and Zebulun also) is once again a Hebrew way of closing out this subunit. Translators should read their translations and use nouns and pronouns as are appropriate in their language.

And Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh: Though summoned renders a different Hebrew verb than the one in verse 4.6, it means Barak “called” or “brought together” his troops. Some versions say “mustered,” which gives a more military flavor. Zebulun and Naphtali occur in a reverse order here from verse 4.6, forming a kind of chiastic or X structure, which is also a typical Hebrew way of closing a literary unit (4.6-10). Indeed, the following verse is a kind of aside. Bible en français courant puts these tribes’ names back in the order “Naphtali and Zebulun,” and translators can do so if necessary. Here again Zebulun and Naphtali can be rendered “soldiers [or, warriors] from the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali.” Kedesh is the same town mentioned in verse 4.6.

And ten thousand men went up at his heels: For ten thousand men, see the comments at verse 1.4; verse 3.29; verse 4.6. Went up translates the typical Hebrew expression for going into battle and occurs twice in this verse (see verse 1.1). At his heels is literally “at his feet.” This Hebrew idiom describes how the men follow closely behind Barak. However, there may be some irony here, since the same word for “feet” is used when King Eglon was thought to be “covering his feet” (verse 3.24). This may be a veiled way to express disapproval of Barak here. Most translations will not be able to preserve this hidden irony. This clause may be rendered simply “and ten thousand soldiers followed him into battle.”

And Deborah went up with him shows that she is going to battle. That she went up with him means she is keeping her promise to go with Barak. In studying the passage as a whole, what is striking is that though Deborah went up and the soldiers of Naphtali and Zebulun also went up, the same is not said about Barak. This may again indicate Barak’s reluctance to go to battle. Certainly, by adding this clause about Deborah at the end of the unit, Barak’s lack of courage is being underlined. Later, Gideon will need even more convincing than Barak before he goes to battle (verse 6.15-40).

Examples for translating this verse are:

• And Barak summoned the warriors of Zebulun and Naphtali to come to Kedesh. Altogether there were ten military units who went into battle with him, and Deborah also went out to battle with Barak.

• Barak called the soldiers of the Zebulun and Naphtali tribes to gather in Kedesh, and ten thousand followed him into battle. And Deborah went with him too.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .