At that time deborah, a prophetess, wife of lappidoth, was judging israel. After attending a lecture at the seminary where i teach, i saw a female student whom id not seen in months. Deborah lived somewhere about 1150 bce, about a century or so after the hebrews entered canaan. Her story is told in the book of judges, chapters 4 and 5. Gods superheros deborah and barak faith for action judges 4. But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and his modern technology.
She agrees to go but says sisera will be delivered into the hands of a woman 4. Deborah tells barak to head up an army of 10,000 men from the tribes of naphtali and zebulun to defeat sisera the captain of jabins army 4. According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborahs private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge. Deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should take on the canaanite army. As they fought, god allowed the kishon river to overflow its banks, the iron chariots of sisera became stuck in the mud and the soldiers were swept away by the currents. Gods superheros deborah and barak faith for action. Prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. Learn about her courage and prophecy in this video, part of our judges series and curriculum.
Seeing that his army was defeated, sisera fled the battlefield on foot. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the book of judges. After greeting me, she enthusiastically told me about the exciting ministries god was allowing in and through her life. Deborah assures barak theyve got god on their side. This suggests that judges were seen as gods people, and their gender was unimportant. Until recently, biblical scholars generally identified the song as one of the oldest parts of the bible, dating somewhere in the 12th century bc, based on its grammar and context.