Deborah

Biography

Deborah was a prophetess and the only female judge of Israel, leading the nation during a time of Canaanite oppression under King Jabin and his general Sisera, who commanded 900 iron chariots. She held court under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel, where Israelites came for judgment. When she received God's command to summon Barak and attack Sisera, Barak agreed only if Deborah would accompany him. She consented but prophesied that the honor would go to a woman—not herself, but Jael, who would kill Sisera. The battle was decisive. God threw Sisera's army into confusion, and Sisera fled on foot. He took refuge in Jael's tent, where she killed him with a tent peg while he slept. Deborah's song of victory (Judges 5) is one of the oldest passages of Hebrew poetry, celebrating God's triumph and the courage of those who joined the battle.