The Meaning of Judges 5:5 Explained

Judges 5:5

KJV: The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.

YLT: Hills flowed from the face of Jehovah, This one -- Sinai -- From the face of Jehovah, God of Israel.

Darby: The mountains quaked before the LORD, yon Sinai before the LORD, the God of Israel.

ASV: The mountains quaked at the presence of Jehovah, Even yon Sinai at the presence of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The mountains  melted  from before  the LORD,  [even] that Sinai  from before  the LORD  God  of Israel. 

What does Judges 5:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 5:1-11 - The Song Of A "mother In Israel"
One of the noblest odes in literature! It celebrates a mighty victory through the enthusiastic consecration of the people, who laid themselves as freewill offerings on the altar of their country's deliverance, Judges 5:2; Judges 5:9. There is a greater cause that summons us today, for we fight "not against flesh and blood, but"¦ against the rulers of the darkness of this world," Ephesians 6:12.
The singer recites the mighty deeds of the Exodus, Judges 5:4-5. She feels that the present hour is not less full of God. Let us dare to believe that today is as sublime as any day of the past, and live as though it were. She describes the desolations caused by the foe: the divested caravans, the deserted roads, the defenseless, weaponless people, Judges 5:6-8. She tells how men mustered in the city gates to take their part in the great effort to which she called them, Judges 5:9-11. Ye daughters of Deborah, who know God, wake again and sing till your hearts grow hot again; and ye brethren of Barak, arm yourselves for battle against the lies, fashions and sins that curse both the Church and the world! [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 5

1  The Song of Deborah and Barak

What do the individual words in Judges 5:5 mean?

The mountains gushed before Yahweh this Sinai Yahweh God of Israel
הָרִ֥ים נָזְל֖וּ מִפְּנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה זֶ֣ה סִינַ֔י יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

הָרִ֥ים  The  mountains 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
נָזְל֖וּ  gushed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָזַל 
Sense: to flow, distil, flow forth or down, trickle, drop.
מִפְּנֵ֣י  before 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
זֶ֣ה  this 
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
סִינַ֔י  Sinai 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: סִינַי  
Sense: the mountain where Moses received the Law from Jehovah; located at the southern end of the Sinai peninsula between the horns of the Red Sea; exact site unknown.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵ֥י  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.