Judges 3 (WK) - Bible Truth Library

They were armed at the lesser end with a sharp prickle for driving the oxen; and at the other end with a small paddle of iron, strong and massive, for cleansing the plough from the clay.

In the hand of a powerful man such an instrument must be more dangerous and fatal than a sword."

Judg. 15:15• ¹⁵And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. (Judg. 15:15)

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1 Sam. 13:19‑22• ¹⁹{i}Now there was no smith found throughout the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears.{/i}
²⁰{i}And all Israel went down to the Philistines, every man to get his ploughshare, and his hoe, and his axe, and his sickle sharpened,{/i}
²¹{i}when the edges of the sickles, and the hoes, and the forks, and the axes were blunted; and to set the goads.{/i}
²²{i}And{/i} it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. (1 Sam. 13:19‑22)

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1 Sam. 17:47,50• ⁴⁷and all this assembly shall know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hands.
⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. (1 Sam. 17:47,50)

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1 Cor. 1:17• ¹⁷For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel; not in wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ should be made vain. (1 Cor. 1:17)

also.

Judg. 2:16• ¹⁶Nevertheless Jehovah raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. (Judg. 2:16)

Israel."So part is called Israel."

Judg. 4:1,3‑24• ¹{i}And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah; now Ehud was dead.{/i}
³And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
⁴And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
⁵And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
⁶And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not Jehovah God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun,
⁷{i}and I will draw unto thee, to the torrent Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, and his chariots and his multitude, and I will give him into thy hand.{/i}
⁸{i}And Barak said to her{/i}, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go, {i}but{/i} if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
⁹And she said, I will surely go with thee, notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour {i}upon the way which thou goest{/i}; for Jehovah shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. {i}And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.{/i}
¹⁰{i}And Barak called together Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and there went up at his feet ten thousand men; and Deborah went up with him.{/i}
¹¹{i}(Now Heber the Kenite had severed himself from the Kenites, from the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak of Zaannaim, which is by Kedesh.){/i}
¹²{i}And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to mount Tabor.{/i}
¹³{i}Then Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth-Goim to the torrent Kishon.{/i}
¹⁴{i}And Deborah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand! Is not Jehovah gone out before thee? And Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.{/i}
¹⁵{i}And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got down from his chariot, and fled on foot.{/i}
¹⁶{i}And Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army, to Harosheth-Goim; and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not one was left.{/i}
¹⁷{i}And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.{/i}
¹⁸{i}And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And he turned in to her, into the tent, and she covered him with the quilt.{/i}
¹⁹{i}And he said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened the flask of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.{/i}
²⁰{i}And he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be if any one come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.{/i}
²¹{i}And Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took the hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it penetrated into the ground; for he had fallen into a deep sleep and was faint; and he died.{/i}
²²{i}And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And he went into her tent, and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the pin was in his temples.{/i}
²³{i}So God subdued on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the children of Israel.{/i}
²⁴{i}And the hand of the children of Israel ever advanced, and prevailed against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had cut off Jabin king of Canaan.{/i} (Judg. 4:1,3‑24)

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Judg. 10:7,17• ⁷{i}And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he sold him into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon.{/i}
¹⁷{i}And the children of Ammon were called together and encamped in Gilead; and the children of Israel gathered together and encamped in Mizpeh.{/i} (Judg. 10:7,17)

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1 Sam. 4:1• ¹And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. (1 Sam. 4:1)

"It seems to concern only the country next to the Philistines."

• I would like to compare the ox-goad of Shamgar with the short sword of Ehud. We have one weapon; the Word of God; it may be presented in different aspects, but it is the only one that the man of faith makes use of in the warfare. To the intellectual and unbelieving world it is like an ox-goad, fit, at the best, only for women, children and uneducated persons; full of fiction and contradictions; yet it is this instrument, despised by men, that God uses to gain the victory. (“Revivals: Shamgar: Judges 3:31” by H.L. Rossier)

J. N. Darby Translation

And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath; and he smote the Philistines, six hundred men, with an ox-goad. And he also delivered Israel.

W. Kelly Translation

And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath; and he smote the Philistines, six hundred men, with an ox-goad. And he also delivered Israel.

WK Verse Note

(Note: Words in italics have been inserted from the J. N. Darby translation where the W. Kelly translation doesn’t exist.)