Deborah
Deborah or Dvora or Dəvora, (literally "Bee" in the Hebrew language) was a prophetess and the fourth Judge and only female Judge of pre-monarchic Israel in the Old Testament (Tanakh). Her story is told twice in chapters 4 and 5 of Judges. The first account is prose, relating the victory of Israelite forces led by General Barak, whom Deborah called forth but prophesied would not achieve the final victory over the Canaanite general Sisera himself. That honor went to Jael, the wife of Heber, a Kenite tentmaker. Jael killed Sisera by driving a tent peg through his head as he slept.
Judges 5 gives this same story in poetic form, and it is thought to have been composed in the second half of the 12th century B.C.E., shortly after the events it describes. If that is the case, then this passage, often called The Song of Deborah, is one of the oldest passages of the Bible and the earliest extant sample of Hebrew poetry. It is also significant because it is one of the, if not the, oldest extant passages that portrays women in roles other than as victims or as villains. The poem may have been included in the Book of the Wars of the Lord mentioned in Numbers 21:14.
Little is known about Deborah's personal life. She was apparently married to a man named Lapidoth (meaning "torches"), but this name is not extant outside of the Book of Judges and might simply mean that Deborah herself was a "fiery" spirit. She was a poet and she rendered her judgments beneath a palm tree in Ephraim. Some people refer to her as the mother of Israel. After her victory over Sisera and the Canaanite army, there was peace in the land for forty years.
The Story of Deborah
Following the death of Joshua, Israel lacked strong leadership. This period, known as the Period of Judges, lasting about four hundred years, had been highlighted Biblically by the phrase, "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6) The generations after Joshua had grown up ignorant of the God of their Fathers; four centuries of decline, disunity and moral compromise filled this period. The Judges were those who sat in position of leadership during this time, in an attempt to keep the Israelites correctly following the laws of Yahweh.
The story of Deborah is the story of deliverance of the Israelite people. Following eighty years of relative tranquility after Ehud delivered Israel from the oppression of the Moabites, new bondage came from within the land from the Canaanites living there. God had instructed Moses that these people should be destroyed or driven out, (Exodus 23:33; 34:11-16; Numbers 33:51-56; Deuteronomy 7:1-5) but Israel's obedience to this command had been incomplete.
Forbidden by Mosaic Law, nonetheless, intermarriage had taken place between the Israeliates and the local peoples. Customs and cultures of the Canaanites, which seemed more advanced and prosperous, were adopted. Worship of Baal began to take place. Indulging in sexual immorality and idol worship, the Israelites lived oblivious of the covenant their forefathers had made with God.
The enemies of the Israelite people, having moved from the tactic of fortified cities in the time of Joshua had resorted to dividing the Israelites and denying access to good agricultural lands and main highways. They were forced to hide in the hills for safety.
Jabin, a Canaanite king, stationed 900 chariots at Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles (modern Tell el-Harbej), on the banks of the Kishon River, at the foot of Mount Carmel. This central location on the plain of Esdraelon was ideal for chariot operations, so that Jabin controlled not only the main trade routes but held onto the richest farm land in Israel. The Israelites had been forced into the hill country, leaving the fertile plains in the hands of the Canaanites. In addition to his 900 chariots, Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, no doubt commanded a large well-armed army of foot soldiers. In contrast, weaponry among the Israelites was scarce.
Enter Deborah, the Prophetess and Judge. This position carried more the role of a godly counselor and deliverer than the courtroom judges of modern times. In the absence of King or prominent godly leadership among the people the judge guided the people according to their wisdom and knowledge of the laws of Moses. Referred to as "a mother in Israel", living in the hills north of Jerusalem, she must have become aware of the suffering and hardship of her people who lived in Galilee. Through her compassion and wisdom the people in the hill country united around her, raising a small standing army.
General Barak, known as a capable but timid man, lived in the oppressed territories. Barak had been worn down by 20 years of Canaanite tyranny and strength. He had seen the slaughter of innocent Israelites too many times to have the faith needed to mount an attack. He was frightened and unwilling: "Then Barak said to her, ‘If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go’" (Judges 4:8). [1]
With Deborah's agreement to participate, Barak ralled men in the requisite number to follow the strategy as directed by her, which was to establish himself and 10,000 men on the flanks of Mount Tabor, a prominent peak on the eastern end of the valley of Jezreel (Esdraelon). There they would soon be discovered by Sisera who would seek to lure them onto the plains where his chariotry would be no match for them. Instead a small diversionary force of Ephraimites and Benjamin|Benjaminites]], led by Deborah coming up from the south, diverted Sisera's attention near Taanach.
During this manuever, a sudden violent rainstorm ocurred, which turned the river Kishon into a torrent and the surrounding plains into a bog. The plain became a quagmire for chariots and armored foot soldiers alike-Barak's troops then rushed down from Mount Tabor to wipe out the bogged-down charioteers and Sisera's encumbered army. [2]
As Deborah had prophesied, it would be a woman who would provide the final downfall of Sisera. Weary in battle, Sisera retreated to the tent of Heber the Kenite for rest and cover. While he slept, Jael, Heber's wife "took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died." (Judges 4:21)
Deborah's Song
After obtaining the decisive victory and the death of Jabin’s general Sisera, Deborah wrote a victory song much as Moses and Miriam led Israel in song after the successful crossing of the Red Sea.
Introduction
Biblical origin
Biblical judges were chief magistrates of the Hebrews in the ancients' sense (against the principle of separation of powers), distinct from modern, merely judicial judges. While judge is the closest literal translation of the Hebrew term used in the Bible, the position is more one of unelected non-hereditary leadership than that of legal pronouncement, once in office comparable to a king (but not anointed). In the Biblical context of the Book of Judges, the term designates those who act as deliverers. The word, however, means more than this: it refers to leaders who took charge of the affairs of the tribes in case of war (like a war king amongst the Germanic tribes, for example), and who assumed leadership of their respective tribes in the succeeding times of peace. In accordance with the needs of the time, their functions were primarily martial and judicial.
The Hebrew name of the book of Judges was transliterated by Origen Safateím and by St. Jerome Sophtim; it was translated into Greek by Melito and Origen Kritaí, by the Septuagint ì tôn kritôn bíblos or tôn kritôn, so too by the Greek Fathers; the Latins translated liber Judicum (or for short Judicum).
The Hebrew verb meant originally "to act as a Divine judge", and was applied to God (Genesis 18:25) and to the prophet Moses acting as the specially inspired lawgiver and judge of Israel (Exodus 18:13, 16). In time the elders of the Hebrew people became the "judges" (vv. 25, 26). In the book of Judges the term judges (shôphitîm) is applied to the leaders of Israel, and would seem to indicate that their right was Divine (Judges 10:2, 3). The office of judge differed from that of king only in the absence of hereditary succession (xii, 7-15).
It is worth noting that the Phoenicians, according to the Roman historian Livy, called their city states' chief magistrates suffetes (XXVIII, xxxvii), apparently a cognate title, and gave to the two suffetes of Carthage a power analogous to that of the Roman consuls (XXX, vii; XXXIV, lxi).
According to the introduction to the Book of Judges (2:10-3:6), after the death of Joshua, a new generation of Israelites grew up and rather than worshipping Yahweh, instead worshipped the pagan Baals and the Asherah, provoking God to anger. This divine wrath is described as causing the Israelites to be plundered by raiders and made it so that they were never able to defeat their enemies when they went out to fight. Hence they fell under the influence of the Canaanites, Philistines, Amorites and other foreign rulers.
However, God offered an olive branch, raising up people from time to time to save them from their enemies, referred to as judges. However on many occasions the people did not listen to the judges and refused to obey God's commands. Even though God raises up judges for them several times, each time the judge dies they go back to their old ways. Finally (Judges 2:20-23) it is revealed that it was part of God's plan for the Israelites to be unable to drive out the remnant Canaanite tribes - they were left to test whether the people would keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did.
List of Biblical Judges
| Judges in Bible |
|---|
| In the Book of Judges |
| Othniel |
| Ehud |
| Shamgar |
| Deborah |
| Gideon |
| Abimelech |
| Tola |
| Jair |
| Jephthah |
| Ibzan |
| Elon |
| Abdon |
| Samson |
| In the First Book of Samuel |
| Eli |
| Samuel |
The following (in order) are identified as Judges in the Book of Judges - great judges are those deemed worthy of large narratives in the Book:
- Othniel
- Ehud (great judge)
- Shamgar
- Deborah (great judge)
- Gideon (great judge)
- Tola
- Jair
- Jephthah (great judge)
- Ibzan
- Elon
- Abdon
- Samson (great judge)
Biblical critics believe that Abimelech was also originally considered a judge, becoming changed to a "king" owing to his being regarded as evil, at which point Shamgar was added to the list so that there were still 12 in the Book. Textual criticism also views the minor judges as being added to the list simply to make the total number equal 12, a number of religious significance to the Israelites.
The First Book of Samuel also mentions:
- Eli (great judge)
- Samuel (great judge)
According to textual criticism the initial portion of the first book of Samuel, containing these two names, was probably originally the final part of the Book of Judges. Hence the original form of the book, according to textual criticism, listed 8 judges, 7 good and 1 bad, 7 being a religiously significant number.
| Preceded by: Shamgar |
Judge of Israel |
Succeeded by: Gideon |
Footnotes
- ↑ Rosania, Jennifer, Mighty in Spirit; Song of a Servant In Touch Ministries
- ↑ Dolphin, Labert, Deborah the Prophetess, Lambert Dolphin's Library
Sources and further reading
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. Judges
- Spiritual authority : God's way of growing leaders
by Stephen Bradley Bond
Type: English : Book Publisher: Joplin, Mo. : College Press Pub. Co., ©1995. ISBN: 0899007279 OCLC: 31606339
- The elusive prophet : the prophet as a historical person, literary character and anonymous artist
by Johannes Cornelis de Moor; Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap in Nederland en België.; Society for Old Testament Study.
Type: English : Book Publisher: Leiden ; Boston: Brill, 2001. ISBN: 9004121609 OCLC: 48920592
- Little-known women of the Bible,
by Eveleen Harrison
Type: English : Book Publisher: New York, Round Table Press, 1936. OCLC: 3029261
- Women of awakenings : the historic contribution of women to revival movements
by Lewis A Drummond; Betty Drummond
Type: English : Book Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI : Kregel Publications, ©1997. ISBN: 0825424712 9780825424717 OCLC: 35178591
External links
- Book of Judges article (Jewish Encyclopedia)
- The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran (Chronology for Israel's Period of the Judges 1412 B.C.E. to 1039 B.C.E.)
- The Song of Deborah, United Church of God, St. Paul, Retrieved February 5, 2007
- Deborah Jewish Virtual Library: American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, Retrieved February 5, 2007
- Judaism: Deborah, About, Inc. - The New York Times Co., Retrieved February 5, 2007
- Carl Hagensick, A Stunning Deliverance: The Song of Deborah, Herald Magazine, Retrieved February 5, 2007
- Lisa Stevensen Great Jewish Women, Project Genesis, Retrieved February 5, 2007
- Lambert Dolphin, Deborah the Prophetess, Lambert Dolphin's Library, Retrieved February 5, 2007
- Jennifer Rosania, Mighty in Spirit; Song of a Servant In Touch Ministries, Retrieved February 5, 2007
- W.S. Reilly, Debbora, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IV - New Advent, Retrieved February 5, 2007
- Wayne Blank, Deborah, The Church of God Daily Bible Study, Retrieved February 5, 2007
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