Deborah is mentioned – via Barak – in Hebrews 11 and possibly directly in a textually messy passage in 1 Sam 12:11[1]. She is a unique character who occupies a special place in the Biblical record who can serve to challenge our assumptions.
Pattern of Judges
The cycle of Judges is pretty depressing. But whole story of Judges is even more depressing in the context of the Biblical record. God had delivered his people from Egypt. They had received the law of Moses which set out a legal system and established the tabernacle and structured religious worship. We enter the land with Joshua and its all good. And then comes Judges. There is no mention of the tabernacle. The place is anarchy. Rather than a land of milk and honey it seems to be one of fire and blood. Rather than everything being holiness to the Lord and Israel as a standout people it’s a dumpster fire.
We all know the pattern of Judges.
The pattern is identified by the commentator at the commencement of the book in Judges 2:11-19. Some people turn the passage into a 4 step cycle, some 6 steps but the gist is the same. Everyone identifies the basic issues as something like:
- They sin
- They suffer and then call on God
- God raises up a Judge/delivery who beats the enemy
- Everything goes swell but then the Judge dies
- The nation sins…again….
But the patten is not strictly a cycle. Judges 2:19 provides the clue on this:
When a leader died, the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one. They would follow after other gods, worshiping them and bowing down to them. They did not give up their practices or their stubborn ways.
They would act more wickedly. Rather than a cycle perhaps we should think of a downwards spiral. But the spiral is not just about the behaviour of the people as Beldman identifies:
with each turn of the cycle, the depravity of the Israelites and their leaders seems to get worse and worse. The cycle of judges appears to be spiraling out of control. The disintegration of the cyclical structure matches what is going on in the content of the book. The Israelites are gradually becoming more and more like the Canaanites, and their leaders engage in increasingly troubling behavior[2]
Rather than focus on the failure of the people perhaps another lesson to take out of Judges is God’s incredible patience. He responds. Each time. Despite the spiral into worse and worse behaviour. This isn’t because God automatically responds with help but rather it illustrates God’s patient longsuffering[3].
The structure of the Judges is well represented in the graphic below from the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament[4].
Judges is a highly structured book which basically is as follows:
- Military opening – The book starts highlighting the military failure to take the land and the tribes led by Judah setting out to try again (they destroy Jerusalem but Benjamin fails to hold it). The tribes have some limited success.
- Spiritual opening – Next we have a spiritual condemnation and repentance of the nation
- Following the two opening pieces we have the general period of Judges with the downwards spiral. Towards the end we get the fourfold repetition that there was no king in Israel, and with it the probable motivating point of the writing.
- Spiritual conclusion – The first conclusion highlights the moral depravity of the nation with the story of Micah’s apostacy. Technically this is out of order but this is a theological book not a history book. The apostasy centres on Dan in the north (which might make you think about Jereboam’s later rebellion against Solomon and setting up idols in Dan!)
- Military conclusion –The second conclusion has the civil war which followed the pack rape in a very Sodom like incident in Benjamin. The civil war leads to the tribe being nearly eliminated and a “solution” being organised kidnapping of brides to repopulate. Truly a wonderful time to be alive!
Typically people break down the Judges saying there are 6 major judges (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson). You can debate it a bit – seems a little arbitrary to have six since Othniel only have a few verses. Perhaps it’s the 5 major Judges.
The point of mentioning the spiral is not to denigrate the individual Judges. 100% not. These are some heros who are celebrated as faithful in Hebrews 11 – and there is a lesson in that. The point is that these are faithful AND that some of them had major flaws. And that’s encouraging. We should see BOTH sides, be honest about what we see and understand, marvel, at what God choose to conclude.
But also back to the design. As the story progresses the nation deteriorates but so do the Judges. They start off a little odd, Othniel is the younger brother, not a big deal, Ehud is left handed, Deborah a woman. To this point their personal faith and integrity is sound. Then Gideon is the first who really starts to seem questionable as he continually looks for signs and ultimately ends up setting up a dynasty and an ephod. From Gideon things get significantly worse.
As Klein observes
The unified tribes of the opening chapter, under Yahweh and led by Joshua, splinter into tribes and clans and individuals, separated from Yahweh and, through internecine wars, from each other[5]
So why all this background? Because it locates Deborah. It puts her in a context, in a bigger narrative. Depending on how you count she is number two or three of the major judges. Before the spiral gets out of control. Her faith, courage and decisions are never in question.
Introducing Deborah – a woman
Judges 4:4 is at pains to ensure we understand Deborah is female. Her name is a female noun for Bee. She is called a woman. A female prophet and a wife. Four times her gender is emphasised. Most translations don’t translate the second gender marker where she is called a woman as it appears to be redundant as it is repeated in the phrase the woman/wife of Lappidoth. However the text is clearly there – the LXX has the same words. The scribe is really emphasising this point hard.
Deborah is unquestionably appointed as a leader by God – that’s the point of the book. The context is Judges 2:18
When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people from their enemies while the leader remained alive
Deborah occupies the office of judge a word used extensively of the function of Moses, Joshua, local civil leaders, kings and God himself. It is a leadership role and in the OT world a political leader was the religious leader. In case we don’t want to see that it in 1 Chron 17:6 God refers to the Judges specifically as the Shepherds that he appointed to lead the nation.
Deborah was a Judge in the same way that Othniel, Ehud, Gideon et al were. She was the functional political and religious head of the nation (which some commentators such as Block attempt to minimise through a narrow focus on the translation of the Hebrew in Judges 4:4 but neglect the remaining context, narrative flow and other mentions of the position of the Judges[6]). We mustn’t belittle Deborah because she doesn’t conform to any preconceptions about which gender should be in charge. Deborah was a leader of the nation appointed by God. God could have waited. He could have used Barak somehow, he used the fearful Gideon later after all. God doesn’t compromise His principles for convenience. The end doesn’t justify the means. God raised up Deborah to lead his people in perfect conformity with His principles.
To underline the point of God’s selection, Deborah was not just a Judge. She was something that NO other judge was. She was also a prophet – the Heb has the female form ‘prophetess’. She unquestionable had a leading spiritual role.
We don’t know what form her prophetic role took. But we have God putting her in a second important position. How many people held both roles of Judge and Prophet? Of political leader and prophet? Very very few. Samuel held this dual role. Moses did. David. But then I think the list runs dry. Deborah is among a unique group of people appointed by God.
Deborah’s authority was accepted by Israel. Judges 4 says they came to her under the palm tree. The are highlight ‘between Ramah and Bethel’ was in the hill country you wouldn’t see many palm trees there as there would barely be enough rainfall[7] so it was an easy landmark.
Throughout the story in Judges 4 Deborah is the instigator. She summons and instructs Barak, she deals with his insecurity, Deborah gives the command to advance on Sisera. And finally Deborah leads the celebrations at the conclusion in Judges 5.
Chapter 5 is described as a song sung by Deborah and Barak but clearly a chunk of the chapter is in the first person in Deborah’s voice[8]. It is one of the oldest poems/songs in the OT based on the Hebrew[9].
We don’t have many instances of women expressing their thoughts in Scripture. Deborah, Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary are the main ones. In Deborah’s voice we have something rather unique. A female leader in both a spiritual and military sense – since the song clearly puts Deborah as the military commander in superior position to Barak throughout.
Beyond her celebration we know little of Deborah. Her career appears not to end with the victory over Sisera. The last verse of Judge 5 records peace lasted for 40 years. Combined with the context of the book of Judges, ie the pattern, we know this means Deborah lived on for another 40 years as the leader.
The 40 years is no accident. Like Ehud before her and Gideon after her, Deborah bought peace for 40 years before the cycle of wickedness and suffering began again according to Judges 5:31. After Gideon Israel has a succession of Judges who bring peace for shorter periods – 3, 7, 23, 22 years. Forty years is an auspicious proper amount of time for a leader to hold office. Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon – all reigned for 40 years, Deborah is one of three Judges who do so.
Deborah on Mount Tabor
Mount Tabor in the Jezreel valley has a very distinctive shape sitting out by itself it seems on the Eastern side of the wide flat fertile valley. Now it is dotted with agriculture fields. The River Kishon is somewhat of an overpromoted stream pretending to be a river. Part of the Kishon system runs through the Jezreel valley westward out past the strategically important narrow gap in the hills near Megiddo to the Mediterranean. Today the Jezreel Valley is a tremendously fertile place. But modern agriculture controls the water in ways the ancients did not and while fertile, the Jezreel valley turned into a bit of a swamp during winter because of the many waterways which collectively are part of the Kishon system[10].
God had appointed Deborah, then Barak is enlisted and after that 10,0000 men gather (not all the tribes as is later noted, some were castigated for their failure to answer the call). Now these few are on Tabor with a frightening view. Down below them the Canaanite kings are described in Judges 5:19 as discussing how to divide the plunder once they have attacked this puny Israelite army.
In Judges 4:2-3 we are told that King Jabin of Hazor (a common name witnessed to by archeological finds on the site of [11]) had unleashed his army captain Siseria who put 900 chariots in the field.
Sisera is neither Hebrew or Canaanite leading some to speculate he was one of the Sea Peoples[12]. Whether or not this was true the 900 chariots featured the new technology associated with the Sea People – iron. Completely iron chariots seems unlikely (and heavy) which is why some translations (eg the NET) and scholars suggest the wheels were iron rimmed[13].
Of course the 10,000 men are pretty safe from the chariots up on Tabor but they can’t stay there forever. Something has to give, the contest is coming.
Deborah is surrounded by warriors but she is in charge. However Deborah doesn’t see this as a human contest. Deborah sees the world through a faith lens which has God as the main actor. He will win the victory she is just playing her part.
Deborah could and should have been overwhelmed. The 10,000 men were in deep trouble when they walked down the mountain. They had no iron weapons. They had no sturdy chariots. But faith is seeing life through the lens of God’s purpose. Faith sees life differently, sees what is really there. The obvious similarity is Elisha who knew the chariots of fire were around him in 2 Kings 6:17. The unseen matters more than what the physical eye can perceive.
Paul in 2 Cor 5:7 writes that we walk by faith not by sight. What he meant is that his life, his actions and attitudes were shaped by the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. The what he could see naturally was secondary. Paul knew salvation was as certain as the sunrise. Faith – not the situation in front of our eyes – is what determines our attitude, our morale, our expectation of the future. That’s what walking or living by faith means. Not that we see fiery chariots around us, but that our perception is coloured first and foremost by the certainty of God’s purpose. That’s pretty easy to say and feel when we are in a comfortable safe place. The challenge is continuing that faith led vision when we are on our version of Mount Tabor.
Deborah is a remarkable woman. I wish I had her eyesight, I wish I had her faith. Generally we don’t spend many nights camped on Tabor looking at the campfires of the enemy in the valley below us. Deborah left her station under the palm tree where she was secure and respected, where she was safe in the hill country far from the city of Hazor and Sisera. But Deborah left all that because she saw a need. Plenty of people in Israel wouldn’t move, wouldn’t answer the call to arms. Not Deborah. Seeing the world through the eye of faith meant she was prepared to put herself on the edge. She climbed up that hill and camped there and every day watched the chariots practice how they were going to kill her small band. That was what God wanted from her, to leave safety and comfort and trust him.
The battle of Yahweh and Baal
And when great things happened in her life Deborah gave the win to God. After the battle she sees the whole scenario as being about God’s activity, that’s how she frames it in Judges 5:4:
O Lord, when you departed from Seir, when you marched from Edom’s plains, the earth shook, the heavens poured down, the clouds poured down rain.
And the battle is described in v20 onwards in a very peculiar way. Judges 5:20 has the stars fighting leaving their courses. She is seeing everything as God’s activity, it’s got nothing to do with the 10,000 men. Incidentally the stars leaving their courses is possibly ANE language about shooting stars fighting against the enemy (as they often did in ANE Conquest accounts) or more likely given the context of this battle is referring to the Canaanite understanding that stars were the source of rain[14].
It seems fed by an unexpected summer rain storm the Kishon river flooded the area, effectively disabling the chariots.
Judges 5:21b is an interesting aside, it’s almost like an instruction to the commentator, a note to self. “step on the necks of the strong”. The verb “step” is singular and feminine and while some would like to amend the text to ignore this, Smith[15], Sasson.[16] and the NET notes[17] see no basis for this change but rather assert this is the voice of Deborah again at the forefront of the action/narration. Deborah is at the forefront of the action and taking her lead from God and bravely taking control and dominion over her enemies. Not Barak. Again this reading is resisted by some conservative commentators but the evidence is firmly against them.
With the flooded valley eliminating the threat of the chariots Judges 5:22 describes the chaos of the battlefield with a repeated Hebrew onomatopoeia echoing the galloping sound of the panicked horses[18].
The battle is won by God’s hand, not by Barak and his warriors. Deborah describes the battle as God’s.
The Israelites got into strife because they continually left the God of Israel to worship Ba’al – the northern Canaanite storm god – and Asherah the mother goddess. Deborah portrays the incident as God coming from the South (Edom) with thundering, lightening and rain. These were all things associated with Baal. But here Deborah places them as firmly within the remit of Yahweh the God of Israel. Ironically rain would be the means by which the Canaanites would be undone – their champion Baal was exposed as a phony. And as Chisholm notes the irony extends beyond the storm to the role of a female[19]. Baal’s female consort Anat was a violent bloodthirsty figure[20] and Sisera, captain of the Canaanites, would be destroyed by a woman.
Now I’m not saying Jael was an Anut but she did inflict a very effective and bloody destruction – particularly as described in Deborah’s song. Having considered the battle Deborah turns to consider Jael’s role.
Jael – the other woman
Jael has been described as many things over time but in truth she is the hero of the story who brings victory and gets the glory. Jael is:
A “woman warrior, disguised as a would-be lover or mother,” really a “guerrilla warrior,” brought an end to Canaanite domination[21]
In two verses we are given the background on Jael and her situation.
Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. Judges 4:11
Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty Judges 4:17
We know only a little about the Kenites who were descended from Moses father in law. Based on the etymology of the phrase the suggestion is made they were itinerant metal workers[22]. They are generally allied to Israel and found in the south of the land. But Heber – Jael’s husband – was a rogue operator. So Jael is the wife of a foreign traitor.
After inviting Sisera into her tent Jael offers him a blanket and some milk curds in a fancy bowl and he falls asleep exhausted. Then she kills him by bashing a teg peg (probably a wooden stake) through his head. In Judges 5:26-27 the poetic retelling is much more graphic and it sounds like Sisera might have tried to rise before getting smacked in the head a few more times before being pinned to the ground. Maybe just a poetic device – the phrases according to the JPS commentary:
have an intensifying redundancy (Kimḥi), rhythmically echoing the violent hammering of the murder[23]
Neither the commentator in Judges 4 nor Deborah in her duet with Barak are concerned with the violence of the deed, or even the consistency of their various tellings. The point is the humiliation of Israel’s enemies. Sisera trusted Jael and was killed by a woman while he slept – a shameful death (cp Judges 9:54 & Abimelech). Sisera has run away from the battlefield like a coward and is further humiliated in death – no more a bogeyman.
What are we to make of Jael? Well first think what the people of the time would have thought. The facts as they would see them are plain, Jael
- Was the wife of a foreign traitor
- Invites a man who wasn’t her husband into her tent – a scandalous thing
- Offers Sisera hospitality in accordance with the social norms which meant she was offering refuge but then betrayed that trust and murdered him in his sleep
Jael breaks numerous conventions.
Some commentators want to present her as seducing Sisera as well – at least using the suggestion to get him to come in. They point to the fact that against all conventions he comes to her tent as if he knew the way/had been before. The Babylonian Talumd suggests she was a prostitute[24] and elsewhere that he had sex with her[25]. Psuedo Philo says she dressed up, put rose petals on the bed but then asked God for a sign whether to support or kill Sisera[26]. Of course there is no hint of that in the record but people are unkind to Jael in the way they read even today. We could see a deceptive murderer. But Deborah is emphatic.
The most rewarded [or blessed]] of women should be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite! She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents Judges 5:24
Jael was the means of salvation. The perspective of the record is this was God’s action (in line with the prophetic word in Judges 4:9) and Jael was to be praised for taking out the enemy leader. Chisholm suggests a number of parallels with the earlier Judges Ehud and Shamgar who also used deception and unconventional weapons[27].
In Deborah’s song in Judges 5 the victory of Jael finishes in v27 and then goes straight into the imagined conversation of the mother of Sisera and her wise women. They are discussing how long Sisera is taking to come home. They conclude the delay is because he is capturing a girl or two for each soldier to rape. The Heb word translated as a girl/woman depending on the version is literally a womb.
Deborah is the mother in Israel (Judges 5:7) motivated by concern for her people. Sisera’s mother is concerned only for her son (despite his evil activity). Deborah’s female ally Jael breaks social convention and acted in violence to protect Israel. The women around Sisera’s mother were respectable but very comfortable with the sexual violence they expected to be imposed on the women of Israel.
Jael could have pleaded relative powerlessness. Social convention. Following her husband’s lead. What are we to take from Jael? She was prepared to stand against the social norms, against her husband’s allegiance to strike a blow for Israel. Really to strike a blow for the women of Israel. Rather than be repulsed by the violence we should look past it to the storyline. Jael refused to be powerless. She refused to bow to social convention and let a monster like Sisera continue on his way.
God is surprisingly inclusive
In both Old and New Testament we have some surprising examples of God’s election.
In this incident we have three very different people. A female religious and political leader, a passive uncertain military commander and a gentile woman who breaks social norms to kill an enemy. Yet God works with all three of them. None are condemned but rather endorsed, contrary to the expectations of local custom and many believers right up until today.
Is there an ideal disciple ? Perhaps if I study and know all the Strongs numbers and mark up my Bible? Or perhaps if I am the template host, showing hospitality to all? Perhaps I must be the perfect evangelist? Someone very dear to me was very distressed that they are not a bookish bible student, they thought this was the only way. Sometimes I feel vulnerable when I listen to earnest people talking about a personal relationship with Jesus and working with the Spirit in ways my brain can’t easily fathom. We need to love everyone, true but love seems easier for some than others. I think singular formulas are an oversimplification. Paul uses the body metaphor and recommends different types of service in the ecclesia, just as God did in ancient Israel. He even encourages people to focus on the one aspect of ministry which suits them in Rom 12:6. We need to accept there is room for a Deborah, a Jael, a Barak just as there is room for lovers, readers, hosts and preachers.
Let’s come at this inclusive thing another way again.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and in Col 3:11 says that in the gospel:
there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all
Barbarians were low – unintelligent babbling savages (the word barbarian is likely mocking their speech). But the Scythians were the next level down. They were mocked in Greek plays as the lowest of the low. Josephus considered them to be wild beasts. This was a straight-out racial slur. To call anyone a Scythian was a nasty insult[28].
Newsflash says Paul. Christ is in the Scythians. No matter what your ethnic, social, religious background, no matter how society looks at you with admiration or disgust Jesus is in that fellow believer. The one who people talk about. Jesus is all and in all.
Then of course there were the descendants of Abraham who everyone knew were Jews were special. In Acts and through the entire work of Paul we see the reaction of Jewish believers struggling to cope with God including the Gentiles. They hold an unprecedented conference of elders to discuss the matter in Acts 15 and still can’t get any lasting resolution (even if the official theology was settled). Although those with a privileged birth (ie Jewishness) resisted it, being a Jew made no material difference to your position in God’s plan or your role in the congregation.
We are all familiar with Gal 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus
The important distinctions of our society are irrelevant in the most important classification – that of salvation.
In all the great debates about egalitarianism and the like this passage is put aside as its primary message is about salvation. This is probably reasonable in contentious battles. But Paul says plainly we are all one in Christ. In the context of salvation we are one, and what other frame matters? When Jesus could make an entire argument for the resurrection in Luke 20:37-38 based on the tense of a word – I AM the God of Abraham – then I’m sure we are way under-reading the unity and equality set out in Galatians 3:28.
Race and class are not so much an issue in our congregations today but we still have lines which – like the Jews – we just know are right. Yet God has given us a number of very surprising examples, of exceptions which don’t fit easily into many human made rules.
Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Mary Magdalene, Priscilla, Junia the female apostle, Phoebe the deacon and likely orator of the letter to the Romans,. These women, and the way God worked through them, don’t fit easily into the centuries of traditional readings of a very limited number of verses in 1 Corinthians and 1 Tim 2. If we can’t simply, smoothly fit God’s actions together with his words then we are drawing lines that God doesn’t recognise.
Love the superglue of discipleship
Making room for all means discomfort. Paul says there is a critical ingredient to make a congregation work:
And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond. Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful Col 3:14-15
Love is the superglue of faith. The perfect bond. Nothing else will hold together a nice person like you with that moral reprobate or culturally questionable person over there.
In Paul’s day it was Jew Gentile Scythian, slave or free, male or female. These were distinctions that really mattered. Not just socially but also religiously. Being Jewish was a privilege from God. Jewish men (apparently) thanked God every day that they were not Gentiles or women – they were doubly blest – or so they thought.
Galatians 3 and Colossians 3 would have rocked people when first written. Rocked them. I wonder what Paul would write to Western believers now? What certainties do we have which he would challenge? Where are we relying on a passage here a passage there to exclude and lower people? Obviously none because we know and practice our doctrines perfectly. But do we?
I don’t think I’d old and certainly not wise but I’m a lot less certain today than I used to be. And I reckon my opinions today are just opinions and likely to change with more time. In Jude v9 there is a curious verse – likely an amalgamation of the Assumption of Moses, the Book of Enoch and Zechariah[29] but rather than worry about the origins we are going to dwell on the message:
when Michael the archangel was arguing with the devil and debating with him concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” Jude 9
Jude is criticising men who were throwing judgement and rebuke around like confetti at a parade. Even the archangel – and you think Michael would know FOR SURE what was right and wrong – is restrained in his language. Michael doesn’t throw around strong condemnation of the devil. The absolute unquestionable enemy v an archangel and Michael is judicious in his language. “May God rebuke you”. No fire and brimstone denouncements.
As time goes on I’m leaning more on the “mercy rejoices against judgement” of James 2:13 Not because I don’t care about truth, not because I don’t value trying to understand what God has said, but because from Miriam to Junia the Bible is full of surprises.
Love is the perfect bond, the way to bind us together. Denouncement and footstamping is easy. Certainty feels like security. But if God can use a prophetess to lead the nation, a passive, reluctant man to take on chariots and the foreign wife of a traitor to destroy the enemy, who are we to say who God can and cannot use?
Conclusion
Faith means making room for all. It means being open to the possibility of God working in other people – not the people we would expect.
Faith means sometimes God will act in ways which don’t readily fit our cultural expectations, our rules, our interpretation of what is right and wrong. Faith asks us to be open to possibility that our cherished assumptions might be incorrect. To hold our faith in love. To let mercy rejoice against judgement.
Deborah is an exceptional figure – a woman God chose above all to lead the nation as prophet and judge in a way few others ever did. Her faith opened the door for others to rise and shine, Barak and Jael and 10,000 others. Deborah demonstrates not only the power of one faithful individual, she also demonstrates God is far bigger than our so-called understanding.
[1] Rick Brannan and Israel Loken, The Lexham Textual Notes on the Bible, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 1 Sa 12:11.
[2] David J. H. Beldman, Deserting the King: The Book of Judges, ed. Craig G. Bartholomew, Transformative Word (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 33–34.
[3] “In terms of theological understandings of the book, I agree with Robert Polzin that Judges argues against a mechanistic understanding of theology that equates obedience with blessing and disobedience with punishment and that the book is not so much about repentance and deliverance as it is about deliverance in spite of constant backsliding” Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos, The End of the Beginning: Joshua and Judges, vol. 1, A People and a Land (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2019), 190.
[4] Mark J. Boda and Mary L. Conway, Judges: Longing for a Leader; Faltering in Faithfulness, ed. Daniel I. Block, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2022), 96.
[5] Lillian R. Klein, The Triumph of Irony in the Book of Judges (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1989), 20.
[6] It is true that the verb שׁפט usually seems to have a more general meaning, “lead, deliver” in Judges (Judg. 3:10; 10:2–3; 12:7–9, 11, 13–14; 15:20; 16:31; see also 1 Sam. 4:18; 7:6; 2 Kings 15:5; 23:22) (Rozenberg 1975, 77*–86*). However, when one considers linguistic and broader contextual evidence, the traditional view of Deborah as a judge proves to be preferable. In light of usage in Judges, the collocation שָׁפַט אֶת could very well express the general idea, “govern, lead” in 4:4, but it should be noted that elsewhere it can refer to settling legal disputes (Exod. 18:13, 22, 26; Deut. 18:16; 1 Sam. 7:15–17; 1 Kings 3:9). No matter what shade of meaning one assigns to the verb in verse 4, the use of the phrase לַמִּשְׁפָּט (literally, “for the judgment”) in verse 5 points to a legal function. Block understands לַמִּשְׁפָּט as referring to a prophetic oracle assuring deliverance. However, the phrase usually appears in contexts where formal legal activity is occurring and cases are being adjudicated (see Num. 35:12; Deut. 17:8; Josh. 20:6; 2 Sam. 15:2, 6; Ps. 9:7; Isa. 41:1; 54:17; Mal. 3:5). In other instances it refers to proper agricultural technique (Isa. 28:26), justice in the form of deliverance and vindication (Ps. 76:9; Isa. 59:11), and fair legal treatment (Jer. 30:11; 46:28). The collocation does not refer to an oracle of deliverance.
In the broader context of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets the legal function of judges (שֹׁפְטִים), including kings (see 2 Sam. 15:4 in this regard), is well-attested (see especially Deut. 16:18; 17:9, 12; 19:17–18; 21:2; 25:1–2; 1 Sam. 7:15–17; 2 Sam. 15:4; 1 Kings 3:9, 28). When Samuel appointed his sons as judges, their role was clearly legal, as the reference to their accepting bribes and perverting justice indicates (1 Sam. 8:1–5). The most reasonable interpretation of Judges 4:4–5 is that Deborah was exercising a dual role of prophet and judge, much like Samuel did at a later time
Robert B. Chisholm Jr., A Commentary on Judges and Ruth: Commentary, Kregel Exegetical Library
[7] Paul H. Wright, Rose Then and Now Bible Map Atlas with Biblical Background and Culture (Torrance, CA: Rose Publishing, 2012), 40.]
[8] Point also made by Klein – Lillian R. Klein, The Triumph of Irony in the Book of Judges (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1989), 47.
[9] A. D. H. Mayes, Judges (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 23.
[10] A. E. Glock, “Taanach (Place),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 287.
[11] Frendo, A. J. (2011). Pre-Exilic Israel, the Hebrew Bible, and Archaeology: Integrating Text and Artefact (p. 70). London; New York: T&T Clark.
[12] Robert G. Boling, Judges: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, vol. 6A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 94.
[13] Mark J. Boda and Mary L. Conway, Judges: Longing for a Leader; Faltering in Faithfulness, ed. Daniel I. Block, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2022), 248.
[14] N. Wyatt, Religious Texts from Ugarit, 2nd ed., Biblical Seminar, 53 (London; New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002), 76.
[15] Mark S. Smith and Elizabeth Bloch-Smith, Judges 1: A Commentary on Judges 1:1–10:5, ed. Sidnie White Crawford, Hermeneia—A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2021), 346–347.
[16] Jack M. Sasson, Judges 1–12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, ed. John J. Collins, vol. 6D, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2014), 304.
[17] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).
[18] K. Lawson Younger Jr., Judges, Ruth, ed. Terry Muck, Revised Edition., The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 201.
[19] Robert B. Chisholm Jr., A Commentary on Judges and Ruth: Commentary, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2013), 246.
[20] Walter A. III Maier, “Anath (Deity),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 226.
[21] Susanne Scholz, “Judges,” in Women’s Bible Commentary, ed. Carol A. Newsom, Jacqueline E. Lapsley, and Sharon H. Ringe, Revised and Updated. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), 118.
[22] Baruch Halpern, “Kenites,” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 17.
[23] Michael A. Fishbane, Haftarot, The JPS Bible Commentary (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2002), 106.
[24] Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English, vol. 19 (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 125.
[25] Anne W. Stewart, “Deborah, Jael, and Their Interpreters,” in Women’s Bible Commentary, ed. Carol A. Newsom, Jacqueline E. Lapsley, and Sharon H. Ringe, Revised and Updated. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), 129
[26] James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament: Expansions of the “Old Testament” and Legends, Wisdom, and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms and Odes, Fragments of Lost Judeo-Hellenistic Works, vol. 2 (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1985), 344.
[27] Robert B. Chisholm Jr., A Commentary on Judges and Ruth: Commentary, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2013), 234–235.
[28] O’Brien, P. T. (1998). Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 44, p. 193). Dallas: Word, Incorporated
[29] Law, T. M. (2013). When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible (p. 88). New York: Oxford University Press.
Living Faith 