Shiloh. The Song of Deborah (Judg 5:1-31) is one of
the oldest poems in the Old Testament, dating from before the
monarchy, probably the late 12th to early 11th century. This
"ancient epic poetry" celebrates the tribes' victory over the
better-equipped Canaanites, led by their commander Sisera" (p. 178).
"As poetry, it focuses on a few carefully chosen scenes and presents
them not concretely but impressionistically. It speaks in lyric,
rhythm, and imagery. It was surely intended, in the context of
Judges, to be read along with the narrative" of chapter 4, which is
later interpretation of the epic poem (p. 178).

Acknowledging that "one could write a whole book of the textual
issues in the Song," Cheryl Brown's treatment of the poem generally
deals with the text of the Song according to the NIV translation" (p.
182). The NIV tends,at time, to be overly cautious in its
translation. At Judg 5:7 this makes a critical interpretive
difference. The NIV reads עד
חדלו as "village life ceased until" (BDB, 292),
taking עדas the common adverb
until, and חדלו as the common verb to cease, without
noting the unusual pointing of the second חדלו
in the verse. But, the same expression עד
חדלו with the same unusual
pointing for the verb also occurs in 1 Sam 2:5, and there עד
appears to be the rare and perhaps
archaic noun meaning "plunder" or "booty" (BDB, 723II; in Gen
49:27 one "devours" עדand in Isa
33:23 it is "divided"), while חדלו appears to be a verb meaning "to grow fat"
(KBL, 3rd ed., 281), thus rendering the text, "the sated hired themselves out for
food, but the hungry grew fat from plunder." The parallel with 1
Sam