Then were the horsehoofs broken - In very ancient times horses were not shod; nor are they to the present day in several parts of the East. Sisera had iron chariots when his hosts were routed; the horses that drew these, being strongly urged on by those who drove them, had their hoofs broken by the roughness of the roads; in consequence of which they became lame, and could not carry off their riders. This is marked as one cause of their disaster.

horsehoofs. Anciently, horses were not shod; nor are they at the present day in some parts of the East. The flight was so rapid that the hoofs of their horses were splintered and broken by the roughness of the roads; in consequence of which they became lame, and could not carry off their riders.

Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Psalm 33:17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

Psalm 147:10,11 He delights not in the strength of the horse: he takes not pleasure in the legs of a man...

Isaiah 5:28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

Jeremiah 47:4 Because of the day that comes to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remains...

Micah 4:13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs brass...

pransings. or tramplings. or plungings. mighty ones. or as Dr. Waterland renders, 'mighty horses,' or 'strong steeds,' as Dr. Kennicott, i.e. their war-horses, which gives great energy to the text, and renders it perfectly intelligible.

Songs of Deliverance
The results which accrued from the conquest achieved by Barak, are upon a small scale similar to those which come to us through the deliverance wrought out by the Lord Jesus Christ. I shall take our text and spiritualize it, viewing its joyous details as emblematic of the blessings granted to us through our Redeemer. Those who went to draw water at the wells after Barak's victory, were no longer disturbed by the robbers who lurked at the fountains for purposes of plunder; and instead of drawing the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 13: 1867

The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
THE ISRAELITES IN THE LAND OF CANAAN: THE JUDGES--THE PHILISTINES AND THE HEBREW KINGDOM--SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON, THE DEFECTION OF THE TEN TRIBES--THE XXIst EGYPTIAN DYNASTY--SHESHONQ OR SHISHAK DAMASCUS. The Hebrews in the desert: their families, clans, and tribes--The Amorites and the Hebrews on the left bank of the Jordan--The conquest of Canaan and the native reaction against the Hebrews--The judges, Ehud, Deborah, Jerubbaal or Gideon and the Manassite supremacy; Abimelech, Jephihdh. The Philistines, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 6

Judges
For the understanding of the early history and religion of Israel, the book of Judges, which covers the period from the death of Joshua to the beginning of the struggle with the Philistines, is of inestimable importance; and it is very fortunate that the elements contributed by the later editors are so easily separated from the ancient stories whose moral they seek to point. That moral is most elaborately stated in ii. 6-iii. 6, which is a sort of programme or preface to iii. 7-xvi. 31, which constitutes …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament