Judges 5:15

"And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;

As was Issachar, so was Barak;

Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet.

By the watercourses of Reuben

There were great resolves of heart

Why sattest thou among the sheepfolds,

To hear the pipings for the flocks?

At the watercourses of Reuben

There were great searchings of heart.

Gilead abode beyond the Jordan:

And Dan, why did he remain in ships?

Asher sat still at the haven of the sea,

And abode by his creeks.

Zebulun was a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death,

And Naphtali upon the high places of the field."

"As was Issachar" (Judges 5:15). Robert Boling, writing in the Anchor Bible, tells us that the Masoretic Text here has the words: "My captains in Issachar."[28] This is supportive of the view that Deborah was of that tribe. "That Deborah comes from the area called the `Mountain of Ephraim,' does NOT mean that she was an Ephraimite."[29]

"At the watercourses of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart" (Judges 5:16). "Deborah is saying that, at first, the Reubenites made magnanimous resolutions to help their brethren against Jabin, but that they stayed at home and let the opportunity slip."[30]

"Asher abode by his creeks" (Judges 5:17). This is apparently a reference to Asher's fishing business.

"Reuben ... Dan ... Asher ..." (Judges 5:15-17). The tribes that did not respond to Deborah's appeal are here enumerated and taunted.

"Gilead abode beyond the Jordan" (Judges 5:17). We agree with Yates that Gilead here stands for the two and one half tribes that were settled east of the Jordan river, namely, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.[31]

"Zebulun and Naphtali" (Judges 5:18). These are singled out for special praise. They were the first to respond to the call to fight Jabin and the Canaanites.

It is rather strange that Judah and Simeon are not mentioned at all, either as participants, or as ones who stayed at home. It has been supposed that they themselves were busy in a war against the Philistines and that they were therefore not able to participate.