Barak
The commander who wouldn’t go to battle without Deborah, and led Israel to victory over nine hundred iron chariots.
Old Testament · c. 1200 BC · Judges, 1 Samuel, Hebrews · Also known as Son of Abinoam
About Barak
For twenty years Jabin, king of Canaan, and his general Sisera oppressed Israel with "nine hundred chariots of iron." The prophetess Deborah summoned Barak son of Abinoam: God commanded him to gather ten thousand men on Mount Tabor. Barak replied, "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." Deborah went, but warned that "the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." On the day of battle she said, "Up... is not the LORD gone out before thee?" The LORD routed Sisera’s army before Barak, and Deborah and Barak sang a song of victory. Hebrews names Barak among the heroes of faith.
Barak’s name means "lightning." Iron chariots were the tanks of their day, unbeatable on open plains. Deborah’s song says "the river of Kishon swept them away," suggesting a storm turned the plain to mud. Hebrews 11 lists him with Gideon and Samson.
The story
Draw toward mount Tabor
Deborah "sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men... And I will draw unto thee... Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand?"
Judges 4:4-7
If thou wilt go with me
"And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman."
Judges 4:8-10
Is not the LORD gone out before thee?
Sisera gathered his nine hundred chariots. "And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee?" Barak charged down from Tabor, "and the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host... before Barak." Deborah’s song adds, "The river of Kishon swept them away."
Judges 4:12-16; 5:20-21
Then sang Deborah and Barak
"Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves." The song calls out, "arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive." "And the land had rest forty years."
Judges 5:1-2, 12, 31
Key moments
- Called by Deborah: "Go and draw toward mount Tabor." (Judges 4:6)
- "If thou wilt go with me": Deborah agrees to go. (Judges 4:8-9)
- Routs Sisera’s army: "Is not the LORD gone out before thee?" (Judges 4:14-16)
- Sings with Deborah: A song of victory. (Judges 5:1)
- Remembered for faith: Named in Hebrews 11. (Hebrews 11:32)
Questions about Barak
In meetBible these answers are given in Barak’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why wouldn’t you go without Deborah?
I said, "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." Judges doesn’t tell you my reasons. Perhaps I lacked courage; perhaps I wanted God’s prophet beside me, to know His word in the moment. Deborah went, but said the honour would go to "a woman." Even so, Hebrews counts me among those "who through faith subdued kingdoms."
How did you beat nine hundred iron chariots?
I didn’t, not on my own. "The LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host." Deborah’s song tells what happened: "They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. The river of Kishon swept them away." Many think a sudden storm flooded the plain, turning chariots into a trap.
Who got the honour for the victory?
Deborah warned me, "the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Sisera escaped the battle on foot and was killed in the tent of Jael, Heber’s wife. When I arrived, she said, "Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest." Deborah’s song praises her: "Blessed above women shall Jael."
Connected people
- Deborah: The prophetess who called him
- Sisera: Enemy commander
- Jael: Won the honour
- Jabin: Enemy king
- Gideon: Named with him in Hebrews 11
Read it yourself
Start with Judges 4:4-16; 5:1.