Judges 5:10

“Speak, ye that ride on white asses, etc.] Though in some countries, as in ours, it is reckoned disgraceful to ride on asses; so Leo Africanus f98 makes mention of a preacher in Africa, who was called the ass rider; because he was continually, sitting on an ass; yet in Judea, where there were no horses, or very few, it was accounted honourable; so it was in the time of our Lord; for his riding on an ass to Jerusalem was not mean and disgraceful, but honourable and glorious: and so it certainly was in those early times of the judges; for we read of the sons of two of them, which were very numerous, that rode on asses’ colts, (<071004>Judges 10:4 <071214> Judges 12:14), and it seems that white…”

“Speak--that is, join in this song of praise. white asses--Those which are purely white are highly prized, and being costly, are possessed only by the wealthy and great. Ye that sit in judgment--has been rendered, "ye that repose on tapestries."”

“Ye that ride on white donkeys ... - i. e. nobles or magistrates. Deborah appeals to the classes mentioned in Judges 5:6-7, to bear witness to the happy change that had followed the overthrow of Jabin. That sit in judgment - Rather “that sit on saddles, or horse-cloths,” a further description of those who ride on asses. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Speak - Celebrate the praise of our mighty God. That ride on white asses - That is, magistrates and nobles, who used to do so, Jdg 10:4, Jdg 12:14. That walk - That is, you that can safely travel in those high ways, which before you durst neither ride nor walk in: so great and mean persons are jointly excited to praise God. Judges 5:11”

“Speak: or, Meditate, Psa 105:2, Psa 145:5, Psa 145:11 ride: Jdg 10:4, Jdg 12:14 ye that sit: Psa 107:32; Isa 28:6; Joe 3:12 Judges 5:11”

“And all classes of the people, both high and low, have reason to join in the praise. Those who ride upon white, i.e., white-spotted asses, are the upper classes generally, and not merely the leaders (cf. Jdg 10:4; Jdg 12:14). צהר, lit. dazzling white; but since there are no asses that are perfectly white, and white was a colour that was highly valued both by Hebrews and Arabs, they applied the term white to those that were only spotted with white. Those who sit upon coverings (מדּין from מד, a covering or carpet, with the plural termination ין, which is to be regarded as a poetical Chaldaism) are the rich and prosperous; and those who walk on the way, i.e., travellers on foot, represent the…”