Albert Barnes Commentary Judges 4:6

"And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not Jehovah, the God of Israel, commanded, [saying], Go and draw unto mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?" — Judges 4:6 (ASV)

The name Barak signifies lightning, an appropriate name for a warrior. It is also found as Barca or Barcas among Punic proper names. Compare Mark 3:17. Regarding Kedesh-Naphtali, see the marginal reference.

Deborah speaks of God as Yahweh the God of Israel because she speaks, as it were, in the presence of the pagan enemies of Israel, and to remind the Israelites, in their time of distress, that He was ready to perform the mercy promised to their fathers and to remember His holy covenant. This title, too, would instantly recall to their minds all His past acts in Egypt, at the Red Sea, in the wilderness, and in the conquest of Canaan.

The object of "drawing" (toward Mount Tabor)—or rather, "spreading out" ()—was to effect a junction of the northern tribes with the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin, who were separated from them by the plain of Esdraelon, where Sisera’s chariots would naturally congregate and be most effective. Mount Tabor rises from the plain of Esdraelon, about 1,865 feet above the sea, and its broad top of nearly a mile in circumference afforded a strong position, out of reach of Sisera’s chariots.

If El Harathiyeh is Harosheth, Sisera must have marched from the west. Harathiyeh is a height in the range which separates Esdraelon from the plains of Acre, under which the Kishon breaks through in its course to the sea.