View source for Deborah

{{short description|Prophetess in the Bible}}

{{Other uses|Deborah (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox person
| image              = Johanna Unger – Debora.jpg
| caption            = ''Deborah'' by {{ill|Johanna Unger|de}}, 19th&nbsp;century
| occupation         = Prophetess of God, Fourth Judge of Israel
| nationality        = 
| predecessor        = [[Shamgar]]
| successor          = [[Gideon]]
| other_names        = Debora, Débora, Dvora, Debra
| spouse             = Lapidoth (possibly)
}}

{{Judges}}

According to the [[Book of Judges]], '''Deborah''' ({{langx|he|דְּבוֹרָה}}, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a [[Prophets in Judaism|prophetess of Judaism]], the fourth [[Hebrew Bible judges|Judge of pre-monarchic Israel]] and the only female [[shophet|judge]] mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lappidoth", as translated from biblical Hebrew in Judges 4:4 denotes her marital status as the wife of [[Lapidoth (Hebrew Bible)|Lapidoth]].<ref name=":0">Van Wijk-Bos, Johanna WH. ''The End of the Beginning: Joshua and Judges''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2019.</ref> Alternatively, "lappid"<ref name=":0" /> translates as "torch" or "lightning", therefore the phrase, "woman of Lappidoth" could be referencing Deborah as a "fiery woman".<ref>García Bachmann, Mercedes L., Ahida E. Pilarski, and Barbara E. Reid. "Judges". ''Wisdom commentary'', Liturgical Press, 2018.</ref> Deborah told [[Barak]], an Israelite general<ref name=":0" /> from [[Kedesh]] in [[Tribe of Naphtali|Naphtali]], that God commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of [[Jabin]] king of [[Canaan]] and his military commander [[Sisera]] (Judges 4:6–7); the entire narrative is recounted in [[Judges 4|chapter&nbsp;4]].

[[Judges 5]] gives the same story in [[poetry|poetic form]]. This passage, often called ''The Song of Deborah'', may date to as early as the twelfth century BCE.<ref name=Coogan2006p216>{{cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael David |author-link=Michael Coogan |title=A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in its Context |edition= |page=216 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, England |year=2006 |isbn=978-0195139112 |url=https://archive.org/details/oldtestamenthist0000coog/page/216/mode/1up}}</ref> It and the [[Song of the Sea]] from [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] are sometimes cited as the earliest sample of [[Biblical poetry|Hebrew poetry]].<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Deborah |volume=7 |page=904 |first=Stanley |last=Cook|authorlink=Stanley Arthur Cook}}</ref>

==Bible narrative==
{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = vertical
 | width = thumb
 | header = 
 | image1 = Tissot Deborah Beneath the Palm Tree.jpg
 | alt1 = 
 | caption1 = ''Deborah Beneath the Palm Tree'' (c. 1896–1902), [[James Tissot]]
 | image2 = Barak devorah.jpg
 | alt2 = 
 | caption2 = Grave near [[Kedesh]] attributed to [[Barak]] or Deborah}}

In the [[Book of Judges]], it is stated that Deborah was a [[Prophets in Judaism|prophetess]], a [[Hebrew Bible judges|judge of Israel]] and the wife of Lapidoth.<ref>{{bible verse ||Judges|4:4|NIV}}</ref><ref name= je>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5027-deborah "Deborah"], ''Jewish Encyclopedia''.</ref> She rendered her judgments beneath a [[date palm]] tree between [[Ramah in Benjamin]] and [[Bethel]] in the land of [[Tribe of Ephraim|Ephraim]].<ref>{{bible verse||Judges|4:5|NIV}}</ref>

The [[Israelites|people of Israel]] had been oppressed by [[Jabin]], the king of [[Canaan]], whose capital was [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]], for twenty years. Stirred by the wretched condition of Israel she sends a message to [[Barak]], the son of Abinoam, at [[Kedesh]] in [[Tribe of Naphtali|Naphtali]], and tells him that the Lord God had commanded him to muster ten thousand troops of Naphtali and [[Tribe of Zebulun|Zebulun]] and concentrate them upon [[Mount Tabor]], the mountain at the northern angle of the great plain of [[Jezreel Valley|Esdraelon]]. At the same time she states that the Lord God of Israel will draw [[Sisera]], commander of Jabin's army, to the [[Kishon River]]. Barak declines to go without the prophet. Deborah consents, but declares that the glory of the victory will therefore belong to a woman. As soon as the news of the rebellion reaches Sisera, he collects nine hundred chariots of iron and a host of people.<ref name=je/>

Then Deborah said, according to {{bibleverse||Judges|4:14|NIV}}:

 {{quote|"Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?" So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him.}}

As Deborah prophesied, [[Battle of Mount Tabor (biblical)|a battle]] is fought (led by Barak), and Sisera is completely defeated. He escapes on foot while his army is pursued as far as [[Harosheth Haggoyim]] and destroyed. Sisera comes to the tent of [[Jael]] and lies down to rest. He asks for a drink, she gives him milk and he falls asleep. While he is asleep she hammers a tent-pin through his temple.<ref name=je/>

The Biblical account of Deborah ends with the statement that after the battle, there was peace in the land for 40 years ({{bibleverse||Judges|5:31|NIV}}).

===The Song of Deborah===
{{See also|Judges 5}}
[[File:053.Deborah Praises Jael.jpg|thumb|[[Gustave Doré's illustrations for La Grande Bible de Tours|Gustave Doré's illustrations for {{lang|fr|La Grande Bible de Tours|nocat=yes}}]] (1865)]]
The Song of Deborah is found in [http://studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=Judges+5&section=0&translation=nrs&oq=&sr=1 Judges 5] and is a victory [[hymn]], sung by Deborah and Barak. It describes the defeat of Canaanite adversaries by some of the tribes of Israel. The song itself differs slightly from the events described in [[Judges&nbsp;4]], mentioning six participating tribes: [[Tribe of Ephraim|Ephraim]], [[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]], [[Machir (biblical region)|Machir]]—a group associated with the [[Tribe of Manasseh]]—[[Tribe of Zebulun|Zebulun]], [[Tribe of Issachar|Issachar]] and [[Tribe of Naphtali|Naphtali]], as opposed to the two tribes in [http://studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=Judges+4%3A6&section=0&translation=nrs&oq=Judges%25204%3A2&new=1&nb=jud&ng=4&ncc=4 Judges&nbsp;4:6] (Naphtali and Zebulun) and does not mention the role of [[Jabin]] (king of [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]]).<ref>[[Richard D. Nelson|Nelson, Richard]] (2006). "Judges". ''The HarperCollins Study Bible'', rev. ed. Eds. Attridge, Harold & Wayne Meeks. New York: HarperCollins, p.&nbsp;353.</ref> The song also rebukes three other tribes ([[Tribe of Reuben|Reuben]], [[Tribe of Dan|Dan]], and [[Tribe of Asher|Asher]]) for their lack of patriotism,<ref name=JE1912>{{cite book |editor-last=Singer |editor-first=Isidore |editor-link=Isidore Singer |title=[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]] |edition=3 |volume=4 |chapter=Deborah, The Song of |pages=490 |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |location=New York |year=1912 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/the-jewish-encyclopedia-vol.-4/page/490/mode/1up}}</ref> not mentioning the tribes of Gad, Simeon and Judah. [[Michael Coogan]] writes that for [[Deuteronomist#Deuteronomistic history|the redactors]] of the Song of Deborah, that the Canaanite general [[Sisera]] ends up being murdered by a woman ([[Jael]])—the ultimate degradation—"is a further sign that Yahweh ultimately is responsible for the victory".<ref name=Coogan2006p217>{{cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael David |author-link=Michael Coogan |title=A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in its Context |edition= |page=217 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, England |year=2006 |isbn=978-0195139112 |url=https://archive.org/details/oldtestamenthist0000coog/page/217/mode/1up}}</ref>

Though the presence of victory hymns is conventional in the Hebrew Bible, the Song of Deborah is unusual in that it is a hymn that celebrates a military victory of two women: Deborah, the prophetess and Jael, the warrior.<ref name=Niditch2011>{{cite book |last=Niditch |first=Susan |series=The Old Testament Library |title=Judges: a commentary |chapter=Tales of Deborah and Jael, Warrior Women |pages=59–67 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |location=Louisville, Kentucky |year=2011 |isbn=978-1611644937 |oclc= |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46Z1BwAAQBAJ}}</ref> Jael—the heroine of the Song of Deborah—shares parallels with the main character of the [[Book of Judith]], who uses her beauty and charm to kill [[Holofernes|an Assyrian general]] who has besieged her city, [[Bethulia]].

The Song of Deborah is commonly identified as among the oldest texts of the Bible,<ref>{{Cite book |title=How Old Is the Hebrew Bible?: A Linguistic, Textual, and Historical Study |last=Hendel |first=Ronald |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-300-23488-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efR0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA104 |last2=Joosten |first2=Jan |page=104 |quote=The archaic nature of the Song of Deborah is granted by most scholars. [...] The consilience of linguistic and historical data indicate that this is a very early text, composed in the premonarchical or early monarchical period. It belongs to the oldest age of biblical literature.}}</ref> but [[Dating the Bible|the date of its composition]] is controversial. Many scholars claim a date as early as the 12th century BCE,<ref name=Coogan2006p216/> while others claim it to be as late as the 3rd century BCE. Some hold that the song was written no earlier than the 7th century BCE.<ref name= "Frolov">{{cite journal |last1=Frolov |first1=S. |title= How Old is the Song of Deborah? |doi=10.1177/0309089211423720 |journal=Journal for the Study of the Old Testament |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=163–84 |year= 2011 |s2cid=170121702 |quote='To be sure, the consensus outlined here is by no means perfect; several publications that appeared in the 1980s and 1990s diverge from it, sometimes in a major way. In particular, [[Alberto Soggin]], Ulrike Schorn, and [[Barnabas Lindars]] see the Song, or at least the bulk thereof, as a product of the early monarchy; Ulrike Bechmann and Manfred Görg place it in the late pre-exilic period; Michael Waltisberg advocates early post-exilic provenance (fifth to third centuries BC); and B.-J. Diebner shifts the composition's date to the turn of the era.' (p.&nbsp;165); 'With the text’s internal parameters and the external conditions of its existence considered systematically, what we know as Judg. 5.2–31a presents itself as an integral part of the Deuteronomistic oeuvre and should be dated, accordingly, between c.&nbsp;700 and c.&nbsp;450&nbsp;BCE.' (p.&nbsp;183)}}</ref>

==Traditional chronology==
[[Seder Olam Rabbah|Traditional Jewish chronology]] places Deborah's 40 years of judging [[Israelites|Israel]] ({{bibleverse||Judges|5:31|NIV}}) from 1107&nbsp;BC until her death in 1067&nbsp;BC.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112073/jewish/Deborah-the-Prophetess.htm  Jewish History: Deborah the Prophetess], Chabad.</ref> The ''Dictionary of World Biography: The Ancient World'' claims that she might have lived in the period between 1200&nbsp;BC and 1124&nbsp;BC.<ref name="bio dictionary">{{cite book |last=Northen Magill |first=Frank and Christina J. Moose |title= Dictionary of World Biography: The Ancient World |chapter = Deborah |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyKaVFZqbdUC&pg=PA326 |access-date=1 April 2013 |isbn=978-1-57958040-7 |date= 2003-01-23 |publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> Based on archaeological findings, different biblical scholars have argued that Deborah's war with Sisera best fits the context of either the second half of the 12th century BC<ref name= "Albright">{{Cite journal |doi = 10.2307/3218855 |jstor = 3218855 |title = Further Light on the History of Israel from Lachish and Megiddo |journal = Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume = 68 |issue = 68 |pages = 22–26 |year = 1937 |last1 = Albright |first1 = W. F. |s2cid = 163435967 }}</ref> or the second half of the 11th century BC.<ref name= "Mayes">{{Cite journal |doi = 10.2307/1516506 |jstor = 1516506 |title = The Historical Context of the Battle against Sisera |journal = Vetus Testamentum |volume = 19 |issue = 3 |pages = 353–360 |year = 1969 |last1 = Mayes |first1 = A. D. H.}}</ref> [[Sisera]] is a non-Semitic name, and the story is set "in the days of [[Shamgar]]", a hero famous for killing 600 [[Philistines]]. Many scholars, such as Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, believe that the story is really about the [[Sea Peoples]].<ref>Niesiolowski-Spano, Ł., & Kantor, M. (2015). Goliath's legacy: Philistines and Hebrews in biblical times (Philippika). Harrassowitz Verlag. {{ISBN|978-3447103466}}.</ref> One archaeological [[stratum]] of [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]] dating from around 1200&nbsp;BCE shows signs of catastrophic fire.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hatzor - The Head of all those Kingdoms | website=embassies.gov.il | date=2024-04-25 | url=https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/history/Pages/Hatzor%20-%20The%20Head%20of%20all%20those%20Kingdoms.aspx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026223723/https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/history/Pages/Hatzor%20-%20The%20Head%20of%20all%20those%20Kingdoms.aspx | archive-date=2023-10-26 | url-status=dead | access-date=2025-08-09}}</ref>

Some scholars like Israel Finkelstein, who associated first monarchy of [[Israel]] with [[Gibeon (ancient city)|Gibeon]]-[[Gibeah]] polity of the early to mid 10th century BC,<ref>Finkelstein, Israel (2020). "Saul and Highlands of Benjamin Update: The Role of Jerusalem". In Joachim J. Krause; Omer Sergi; Kristin Weingart (eds.). Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel: Biblical and Archaeological Perspectives. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press. p.&nbsp;48. {{ISBN|978-0-88414-451-9}}.</ref><ref>Finkelstein, Israel (2019). "First Israel, Core Israel, United (Northern) Israel". Near Eastern Archaeology. American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR). 82 (1): 12. {{doi|10.1086/703321}}. S2CID 167052643. Retrieved 22 March 2020.</ref> placed the background of the Song of Deborah in the early 10th century BC associating with the Late Iron Age&nbsp;I (c.&nbsp;1050–950&nbsp;BCE) destruction of [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]], which dates to c.&nbsp;1000–985&nbsp;BCE.<ref>Albright Live (2021). Episode Twenty-one: Heroic Stories in the Book of Judges, 12:25–19:45.</ref>

==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|title=Artistic depictions of Deborah
|width=160 | height=200
|align=center
|footer=
|File:Débora et Baraq BnF Latin 10525 fol. 47v.jpg
 |alt1= 
 |Deborah and Barak in a miniature from the 13th-century [[Psalter of St. Louis]]
|File:Solomon de Bray - Jael, Deborah, and Barak.jpg
 |alt2=
 |''Jael, Deborah, and Barak'' (c. 1630) by [[Salomon de Bray]]
|File:Aix-en-Provence Mausolee Joseph Sec 08 20061227.jpg
 |alt3= 
 |A statue of Deborah (1792) in [[Aix-en-Provence]], France
|File:Cathedral Basilica of Saint Clement, Tenancingo, Mexico State, Mexico04.jpg
 |alt4=
 |Deborah depicted in a [[pendentive]] of a church dome in [[Tenancingo, Mexico State|Tenancingo]], [[Mexico]]
|File:Nebraska State Capitol NW corner W panel 1.JPG
 |alt5=
 |''Deborah Judging Israel'', west-facing panel at the northwest corner of the [[Nebraska State Capitol]]
}}

==See also==
* [[Battle of Mount Tabor (biblical)]]
* The [[Deborah number]]
* Handel's [[Deborah (Handel)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Bird|first=Phyllis|author-link=Phyllis Bird|title=Religion and Sexism: Images of Women in the Jewish and Christian Traditions|year=1974|publisher=Simon & Schuster|editor-first=Rosemary Radford|editor-last=Ruether|chapter=Images of Women in the Old Testament|isbn=0-671-21692-9|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/religionsexismim00ruet|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/religionsexismim00ruet}}
* {{cite book |last= Brown |first= Cheryl Anne|title=No Longer be Silent: First Century Jewish Portraits of Biblical Women: Studies in Pseudo-Philo's Biblical Antiquities and Josephus's Jewish Antiquities|year= 1992 |publisher= Westminster J. Knox Press|location= Louisville, KY |isbn= 0-664-25294-X}}
* {{cite book|last=Deen|first=Edith|author-link=Edith Deen |title=All the Women of the Bible |url=https://archive.org/details/allwomenofbible00deen|url-access=registration|year=1955|publisher= Harper & Row |location= New York}}
* {{cite book|last=Lacks|first= Roslyn |title=Women and Judaism: Myth, History, and Struggle|year=1979|publisher=Doubleday|location=Garden City, NY |isbn= 0-385-02313-8|url= https://archive.org/details/womenjudaismmyth00lack}}
* {{cite book|last=Otwell|first=John H.|title=And Sarah Laughed: the Status of Woman in the Old Testament|year=1977|publisher=Westminster Press |location= Philadelphia|isbn= 0-664-24126-3 |url= https://archive.org/details/andsarahlaugheds00otwe}}
* {{cite book|last= Phipps |first= William E.|title= Assertive Biblical Women|year= 1992 |publisher= Greenwood Press |location=Westport, CT|isbn= 0-313-28498-9|url= https://archive.org/details/assertivebiblica00phip_0}}
* {{cite book|last=Schroeder|first= Joy A.|title=Deborah's Daughters: Gender Politics and Biblical Interpretation|date= 2014 |publisher= Oxford University Press|location=New York |isbn= 978-0-19-999104-4}} 
* {{cite book|last=Williams|first= James G.|title=Women Recounted: Narrative Thinking and the God of Israel|year=1982|publisher= Almond Press |location= Sheffield|isbn= 0-907459-18-8}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Deborah}}
{{Wikisource|Bible, King James, Judges#Chapter 4}}
* [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=689&letter=J&search=Judges Book of Judges article], ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04663a.htm Debbora], ''Catholic Encyclopedia''
* [http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb.htm Biblical Hebrew Poetry - Reconstructing the Original Oral, Aural and Visual Experience]
* [http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_6.htm#Deborah Song of Deborah (Judges 5) Reconstructed]

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box| before = [[Shamgar]]| title = [[Biblical judges|Judge of Israel]]|years=| after = [[Gideon]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Judges Chapters 4 and 5}}
{{Prophets of the Tanakh}}
{{Women rabbis}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:12th-century BC women]]
[[Category:Book of Judges people]]
[[Category:Biblical women in ancient warfare]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible judges]]
[[Category:Women in the Hebrew Bible]]