The only woman who judges, deborah used to sit under the palm treeand the sons of israel came up to her. According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborah s private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. Then the lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. She lived during the time of israels judges, as told in the bibles book of judges.
They often date it to the 11th or even 12th century b. Deborah stands out due to both her spiritual and civil leadership. The story reached its present shape much later in israels history. Jul 21, 2015 and 10,000 men went up at his heels, and deborah went up with him judges 4. As a prophet, judge deborah was said to hear gods voice and share gods word with others. 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 bible story, deborah bible character, deborah bible lesson. Theres all kinds of cool stuff on the kids club channel for you to explore and were always updating with brand new content. Bible verses related to deborah from the king james version kjv by relevance sort by book order judges 4. Deborah assures barak theyve got god on their side. 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. These judges start off fairly well othniel, ehud, deborah but become increasingly worse gideon, jephthah, samson. For the most part, the book of judges reflects a negative picture of gods people drifting away spiritually and then eventually experiencing gods judgment. God called her to a prominent position as a prophetess and judge at a time in history when he commonly appointed men to those positions.
Deborah 1 again the israelites did evil in the eyes of the lord, now that ehud was dead. Deborah is one of the major judges meaning charismatic leaders, rather than juridical figures in the story of how israel takes the land of canaan the only female judge, and also the only judge to be called a prophet, deborah is a decisive figure in the defeat of the canaanites, a victory told in two accounts, a prose narrative in judges 4 and an ancient song known as the song of deborah. As a priestess, she did not offer sacrifices, as the men did, but she did lead worship services and preach. But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and his modern technology. At that time deborah, a prophetess, wife of lappidoth, was judging israel. Deborah judges 45 bible commentary theology of work. The story of deborah is in judges 4, and the song is in judges 5. The book of judges records six such major invasions. Many scholars claim that this song, found in chapter 5 of the book of judges, is one of the oldest existing biblical texts.
While its not entirely clear why deborah is not listed in hebrews 11, we must avoid reading too much into her absence. The lyrics encourage the actions of deborah and barak, saying, wake up, wake up, deborah. After twenty years of oppression, while most of her people cowered in fear, god awakened within her a zeal to do something. The powerful woman of deborah and the book of judges. So the lord sold them into the hands of jabin king of. Now deborah was a judge that lived in about 1150 bc. The lord was with the people of judah, and they took possession of the hill country. Prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. The book of judges is the second of the books of the former prophets in hebrew scripture, and serves as part of the historical books of the greek septuagint old testament, in the following order. The song of deborah is a very ancient poem, one of the earliest writings that the bible preserves. Joshua, judges, ruth, samuel, and kings, as well as the books of the restoration.
Judges 4 new international version niv deborah 4 again the israelites did evil in the eyes of the lord, now that ehud was dead. Firstly, to better understand deborah, we have to discover the world she lived in. The people recognize her wisdom and come to her for counsel and conflict resolution judges 4. Deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they. The book of judges spans the careers of 12 rulers whose roles were to govern israel and deliver her citizens from oppression. The book ends with two very disturbing stories that show how incredibly lawless the people have become. With all of the turmoil in the world these days, we can relate to deborah as a role model who lived in troubled times. Deborah is a judge before the battle, but the narrative does. For the most part, the book of judges reflects a negative picture of gods people drifting away spiritually and. Joseph, daniel, and maryto name a feware not mentioned, either. Deborah was the fourth, and only female judge in israels history.
Kenaniah and his sons from the second book of chonicles. The hebrew bible credits deborah not only with starting an uprising that freed israel from oppression but also with composing and performing a song that celebrates the victory. Moses had led gods people out of egyptian bondage and. Now deborah, a prophet, the wife of lappidoth, was leading israel at that time. Now deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lappidoth, was judging israel at that time. Women played a large part in biblical events and they are a vital part of the church today. Deborah tells barak, an israelite general, that god commands him to take 10,000 soldiers from the tribes of naphtali and zebulun and attack jabins army. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess of the god of the israelites, the fourth judge of premonarchic israel. 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. However, difficulties inherent in dating historical biblical events of this period, for which the main source is the bible. Clearly women can be prophetesses in the covenant community. Mar 09, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of judges, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The story of deborah in the bible, judge, prophetess, mother.
The book of judges includes several interesting genres. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in harosheth haggoyim. She used to sit under the palm tree of deborah between ramah and bethel in the hill country of ephraim. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess and the only female judge mentioned in the bible. In judges, the israelites turn away from god and face the consequences. One of the biggest travesties of skipping the book of judges in sunday school is that one of the greatest role models in the bible for our little girls is the fourth judge, deborah. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the book of judges.
Leadership resides not in gender but in character and gifting. The tales of 12 judges are told in the biblical book of judges. The book ends with two very disturbing stories that show how incredibly lawless the. For the most part, the book of judges reflects a negative. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess of the god of the israelites, the fourth judge of premonarchic israel and. Deborah told barak that god commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan and his military commander sisera.
You have the first five books of the bible that are known as the pentateuch, or the torah, or the law. Its author is anonymous but it is usually assumed that samuel, the prophet wrote it. Deborah, a prophetess and the only female judge in the book. This passage, often called the song of deborah, may dat. Jan 23, 2014 prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. But they failed to drive out the people living in the plains, who had iron chariots. When the princes in israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves praise the lord. Based on the information in the bible, only samuel and gideon equaled her accomplishments. The 80 years of peace that resulted from ehud defeating the king of moab ended in 1204 bc. The story of deborah in the bible, judge, prophetess. Deborah was one of the judges of israel during a time of oppression. Her story is told in the book of judges, chapters 4 and 5. If you are teaching old testament stories in chronilogical order this could be a good time to begin memorizing the names of the 39 books.
Apr 12, 2019 deborah is introduced, as are the other 11 judges in the book of judges, without fanfare. Judges chapter 5 then records the song of deborah and barak, written to rejoice in gods victory over the canaanites. Learn about her courage and prophecy in this video, part of our judges series and curriculum. What we learn about faith and courage from judge deborah in. Perhaps the new testament writer meant to list only those who literally conquered kingdoms. Though the other judges are not called prophets, yet they all seem to have had direct communications from god, either of knowledge or power, or both compare judges 3. Background today we are going to study the book of judges, but i think it always helps to understand the context of a book before you study it, so first i want to show how judges fits into the history of the nation of israel. Outline of the book of judges the first was the mesopotamian invasion from the northeast judges 3. The peasantry ceased, they ceased in israel, until i, deborah, arose, until i arose, a mother in israel. Yet the writer of judges refers only to deborah as the judge to whom the word of the lord came judges 4. The years of comparative spiritual prosperity which israel enjoyed under the reign of ehud came to an end with his death. Deborah was an uncommon leader because she was a woman. Othneil, ehud, shamgar, deborah, gideon, tola, jair, jephtha, ibzan, elon, abdon, and samson appear as judges of israel in that order in the book of judges. The most popular bible verses from judges found 618 verses judges 11.
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. Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the israelites for twenty years, they cried to the lord for help. The military hierarchy recognizes her as supreme commander and in fact will only go to war on her personal command judg. Although not recorded in the bible, pharaoh merneptah attacks israel at the end of the 80 years of peace in 1205 bc as recorded in the famous merneptah stele. Being a prophetess must have helped deborah to solve these disputes spiritually rather than simply politically or judicially. The song of deborah on that day deborah and barak son of abinoam sang this song. The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge. Some scholars think that deborah s 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. Judges 5, new international version niv the bible app. This suggests that judges were seen as gods people, and their gender was unimportant. Take captive your captives, son of abinoam judges 5. Judges 4 niv deborah again the israelites did evil bible gateway.
True to the cycle of the times, the lord sent a judge to save the people the prophetess, deborah. While deborah went with the army, she did not engage in battle. Though the other judges are not called prophets, yet they all seem to have had direct communications from god, either of knowledge or power, or both compare judges. There is no indication who deborahs parents were, what kind of work lapidot did, or whether they had any children.
She is called a prophetess and the wife of lappidoth. Judges chapter 5 gives the same story in poetic form. Thanks to deborah s faith, the land enjoyed peace for 40 years. I will praise the lord, the god of israel, in song.
She lived during the time of israels judges, as told in the bible s book of judges. God, angel of the lord, othniel, ehud, deborah, gideon, abimelech, jepthah, samson, and levites. The second was by the moabites and came from the southeast judges 3. So the lord sold them into the hands of jabin king of canaan, who reigned in hazor. From that point on, the israelites grew stronger until they destroyed king jabin. Deborah has an impressive resume of judge, warrior, poet, and prophet as well.
Judges 5 the song of deborah on that day bible gateway. What we learn about faith and courage from judge deborah. After the victory, barak and deborah sang a hymn of praise to god found in judges 5, called the song of deborah. Most of the major figures in the book of judges are acknowledged as leaders after military victory. Lets take a look at several bible passages to better understand the role and impact of deborah. This study on judges originated from a handout and class notes in dr. 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. The lord spoke through her as she held court under a tree called the palm of deborah in ephraim. The book of judges highlights six judges during this time and shows their increasing corruption.
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lappidoth, was judging israel at that time judges 4. As i said we will find her in the book of judges, and the bible sort of goes like this. In judges 5, we read judge deborah s story again, but this time as a poem. A prophetess is a woman whom god chooses to convey his special messages to others. These continue as such in our christian old testament of the bible. Robert chisholms hebrew class at dallas theological seminary. The book of judges contains the history of about 300 years when israel had no king. Deborah, prophet and heroine in the old testament judg.
And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and deborah went up with him judges 4. Othniel, ehud, shamgar, deborah, gideon, tola, jair, jephthah, ibzan, elon, abdon and samson. When you, lord, went out from seir, when you marched from the land of. Her story is told in both prose judges 4 and poetry judges 5. The book of judges is a history book in the old testament of the bible.
Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. The same word is used in hebrew for woman and wife, so we dont know for sure if deborah was a woman of lappidoth a place or wife of lappidoth a person. Deborah again the israelites did evil in the eyes of the lord, now that ehud was dead. Deborah is introduced, as are the other 11 judges in the book of judges, without fanfare.
Key personalities include othniel, ehud, deborah, gideon, abimelech, jephthah, samson, and delilah. Tragedy and hope in the book of judges bibleproject. Really, there are quite a number of good women described in the scriptures, but precious few of them get much recognition in most sunday school curriculum. Deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should take on the canaanite army. And this is one incredible book of stories and people. Jul 01, 2019 deborah stands out due to both her spiritual and civil leadership. Deborah, the only female judge in the bible, excelled in multiple areas. Service as a judge and deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lapidoth, she judged israel at that time.
For example, although the hebrew canon consists of 24 books, the old testament of. The book of judges, sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Deborah is one of the most influential women of the bible. Instead, god appointed special people, called judges to lead the people. Summary of the book of judges the story of the bible. Deborah, the only female judge in the hebrew bible, defeated the canaanites with the help of. The lord also used her to set her people free and defeat the king of canaan.
While its not entirely clear why deborah is not listed in hebrews 11, we. Deborah lived somewhere about 1150 bce, about a century or so after the hebrews entered canaan. In the song, deborah lauds jael, calling her most blessed of women. What deborah does and doesnt say about women in the. However, difficulties inherent in dating historical biblical events of this period, for which the main source is the bible itself, render chronological order uncertain.