This passage, often called the song of deborah, may dat. It is considered part of the deuteronomic history that begins in the last book of the torah and ends with the second book of kings. In the song, deborah lauds jael, calling her most blessed of women. The commander of his army was sisera, who lived in haroshethhaggoyim. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess of the. Book of judges wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. The song of deborah judges 5 is often seen as an ancient text, perhaps one of the oldest in the tanach, but analysis of its language and contents suggests that it is a later deuteronomistic composition. This state of affairs is summarized in the artscroll tanach introduction to the book of judges.
The book of judges enumerates the most wellknown biblical woman with the name deborah. Blessed by women is yaelby women in the tent will she be blessed. The story of devorah appears in the book of judges 4. But before we explore her extraordinary story, there is another more obscure deborah mentioned in the torah that id like to highlight. Judges chapter 5 gives the same story in poetic form. She was an upright judge, with the same prophetic ability as samuel. In judges 5, we read judge deborahs story again, but this time as a poem. Watch our overview video on the book of judges, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. This chapter in scripture, often referred to as the song of deborah, is believed to be written as early as the 12th century bc and is considered by many biblical scholars as one of the earliest examples of hebrew poetry.
Deborah s song fully shares the sentiment choose new gods, and fight is at the gate, v. Tanakh the pentateuch, prophets and hagiographiatorah scholars would come to learn from her. There is a peaceful reign for some time before the. The fourth of the judges who ruled over the jewish people after the death of joshua, was not a man, but a woman, one of the most famous of all times, the prophetess deborah. She used to sit under the palm tree of deborah between ramah and bethel in the hill country of ephraim. Deborah was a judge that mainly settled disputes holding court under the palm tree of deborah between ramah and bethel in the mountains of ephraim judges 4. Her governance is so good that the land had rest for forty years judg. There were a number of shofetim raised up by god for israel and the book of judges identifies 12, or counting deborah. The book of judges, sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. In the old testament book of judges deborah is a heroine and prophetess who leads the israelites to defeat canaanites. Deborah is presented in the rabbinic sources as a very talented woman. She is also mentioned as sitting under a certain tree which, i think was a kind of formal judgment seat in those days.
Story of deborah book of judges, in judges 5, we read judge deborahs story again, but this time as a poem. But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and his modern technology. Some scholars think that deborahs song was written well before the rest of the book of judges, and is thus one of the oldest passages in the hebrew bible, while others believe that it was written during the time of the babylonian exile. Some scholars have suggested that her position as judge was itself a judgment on the weakwilled men of israel. Deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should. The book of numbers is the fourth book of the hebrew bible, and the fourth of five books of the jewish torah. This chapter in scripture, often referred to as the song of deborah. With the death of joshua, the jewish nation entered a new era. You have the first five books of the bible that are known as the pentateuch, or the torah, or the law. Deborah judges 45 bible commentary theology of work. After the midianites took over, the israelites turned back to god. Deborah and the book of judges by avi lazerson the story of deborah the prophetess which is told in the book of judges shoftim in hebrew is a story that has a special relevance for our generation.
Deborahs story is found in judges, chapters 4 and 5. Deborah name meaning, origin of deborah name, popularity. Why might yael be blessed more than the righteous women in the tent, who were said to bless her in the song. More than 22,000 soldiers volunteered to fight them but with the strength of god, gideon only needed 300. She was one of the seven women prophetesses whose prophecies are recorded in the bible. The story of deborah is in judges 4, and the song is in judges 5. Long a common jewish name, deborah was first used by english christians after the protestant reformation, and it was popular among the puritans. The song of deborah from the book of judges we concluded our last women in judaism class with a question. In the narrative of the hebrew bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the book of joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the books of samuel, during which biblical judges served as temporary leaders.
Deborah became judge at a time when israel was experiencing a spiritual and moral decline, partly due to the loss of their national leaders, moses and joshua. Deborah assures barak theyve got god on their side. Deborah, the only female judge in the bible, excelled in multiple areas. Deborah again the israelites did evil in the eyes of the lord, now that ehud was dead. Book of judges, chapter 3 26 and ehud escaped while they lingered, having passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto seirah. The book of shoftim traces the history of the jews in israel from the death of yehoshua 2516 which was 1244 bce until 2830 930 bce. To access the entire website, sign up for free in less than a minute. According to the book of judges chapters 4 and 5, deborah hebrew. The book has a long and complex history, but its final form is probably due to a priestly redaction of a yahwistic source made some time in the early persian period. The book of judges is the second book in neviim prophets, the second section of the tanach hebrew bible. Then sang deborah and barak the son of abinoam on that day, saying. As i said we will find her in the book of judges, and the bible sort of goes like this.
When men let grow their hair in israel, when the people offer themselves willingly, bless ye the lord. The book of judges follows the book of joshua which is. Female judges deborah, in the book of judges, is decribed as a judge in israel. Before her were othniel, ehud and shamgar, the latter only for a short time. Send to the book of judges chapter 5 to a loved one. Deborah told barak that god commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan and his military commander sisera. With the death of joshua, the jewish nation entered. The people recognize her wisdom and come to her for counsel and conflict resolution judges 4.
Learn about her courage and prophecy in this video, part of our judges series and curriculum. Journal for the study of the old testament 36 2011, pp. Because israels men were unfit to judge, god chose a woman for the job, partly to shame the men who should have taken the leadership. Deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should take on the canaanite army. It is a victory song, an anthem of freedom and liberation because it was written to commemorate a great moment in. The song of deborah is a very ancient poem, one of the earliest writings that the bible. Moses had led gods people out of egyptian bondage and. The judges in the book of judges served as torahteachers, judges, and when needed as military leaders. These books tell of the israelites reign over the land of canaan and have a heavy focus on divine reward and punishment.
The book derives its name from the fact that it deals with the judges, a term which, according to the statements found in the book comp. The song of deborah is a very ancient poem, one of the earliest writings that the bible preserves. In reading the book of judges, it is essential to note that the combined years of peace and righteousness far outnumbered the years of failure and persecution. The period of the judges is 50 1014 bc for a total of 336 years. This ability was granted her as reward for her good deeds, namely, the. Deborah told barak that yahweh commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan and his military. Why is hebrews chapter 11 called the bibles faith hall of fame. The book of judges is the second book in the deuteronomic history, a history that begins with the farewell address of moses in deuteronomy and ends with the exile of judah in 587 b. Now deborah was a judge that lived in about 1150 bc. The prophetess and judge deborah appears in the book of judges which is not part of our torah, but of the prophets section of our bible, and is read annually. God punishes them by sending an enemy to oppress them. Clearly one of the bibles most outstanding figures, she served ancient.
The military hierarchy recognizes her as supreme commander and in fact will only go to war on her personal command judg. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess of the god of the israelites, the fourth judge of premonarchic israel and the only female judge mentioned in the bible, and the wife of lapidoth. So the lord sold them into the hands of jabin king of. In judges, the israelites turn away from god and face the consequences. There is some minor disagreement among both jewish and christian scholars as to just who counted as a judge, so the number. Prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. Following her death, she is decribed as having judged israel for 40 years. As deborah prophesied, a woman settles the score with sisera. In the hebrew canon, the second book of the earlier prophets, placed between joshua and samuel. Being a prophetess must have helped deborah to solve these disputes spiritually rather than simply politically or judicially. The story reached its present shape much later in israels history. Judges 4 niv deborah again the israelites did evil bible gateway.
The story of deborah and how she helped deliver israel from the oppression of the canaanites is found in the fourth and fifth chapters of the book of judges. Now deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lappidoth, she judged israel at that time. The chronology of the book of judges has been a problem because when you add up all the numbers and dates given in the book of judges the sum of years is about 100 years more than what it should be. Throughout judges, the narrator insists that israels misfortunes always come from their worshipping foreign gods for example, 2. Deborah lived in the mountains of ephraim, between ramah and. The reference is in the middle of the passage below. In fact the shofetim of the book of judges wouldnt be recognizable in moses day and vice versa. Also in the old testament, it is the name of the nurse of rebecca. Before her were othniel, ehud and shamgar, the latter only for a short time after ehuds death the jews forsook the ways of the torah and adopted many of the idols of the people about them.
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