Deborah: a judge, a prophet, a fiery woman.
Her story isn't a mystery, it's a piece of our history.
The story of Deborah, the judge, prophet, fiery woman, poet, singer, and bringer of justice and peace, is found in Judges 4, and her song in Judges 5. This is a great epic tale with other important characters like Barak and Jael, so I suggest you read these two short chapters before you read this post!
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If we want to get to know the Deborah of the Bible, we are going to need to begin at the beginning. When approaching scripture, we must always ask, What is God up to in this book? Therefore, to start us off, let's get the lay of the land. Alice L. Laffey gives us a good overview in her book An Introduction to the Old Testament,
“The Book of Judges is believed to contain stories of the mighty warriors who defended their tribes and of respected elders who settled disputes among tribal members…The absence of a judge led to the Israelites' idolatry, and then the Lord's anger, and then the people's oppression, and then cries to Yahweh for deliverance, and finally, the gift of another judge. The Book of Judges provides the portrait of twelve such persons, one of whom is a woman.”
And how does one go about becoming a judge? Do the people vote, pray, or draw straws? No, they cry out to God. The Israelites had trouble staying the course when it came to the covenant, the deal they made with God. They promised to follow God and the law that God gave them. It turns out that whenever they didn’t have a leader, or in this book we call them judges, then they would not follow the law, they would be oppressed by their neighbors, and then they would resort to praying and crying out. That is when God would choose, call, and raise up a judge to deliver the people.
“Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.” Judges 2:16 (emphasis mine)
“Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them.” Judges 2:18 (emphasis mine)
It was God who raised, called, and chose these judges. The people asked for them but did not pick them, nor did the judges choose to be judges or put themselves in this position of power. In the book of Judges, 12 people fill this role: six major judges and six minor judges. In Women in Scripture, Tikva Frymer-Kensky explains Deborah this way,
“Deborah is one of the major judges…The only female judge, and also the only judge to be called a prophet…There is no other heroine like Deborah in the Hebrew Bible, but other women did have some of her many roles.”
What are her many roles? Deborah is a judge called and chosen by God to lead the people of Israel. She is a prophet called and gifted by God to communicate the will of the Lord to the people of Israel. She is a military commander and strategist. She is a poet and singer of a song that glorifies the Lord and shares credit for victory. Deborah seeks justice for the people not only by military force against outsiders but also for the everyday people being exploited by the powerful people within the community. Finally, this is less of a role and more of a description; Deborah is a fiery woman!
Judges 4:4 gives us our first description of Deborah, and Wilda C. Gafney has a unique translation she shares with us in Daughters of Miriam,
“Uudevorah ishah nevi’ah eshet lapidot hi' shophtah—"And Deborah (D'vorah), a woman, a female prophet, a fiery woman, she was judging Israel at that time."
Now, if you are following along and reading Judges 4:4, you will notice that your translation and most others say “wife of Lappidoth” and not “fiery woman” as Gafney translates it in Womanist Midrash, Volume 2. Here, she gives her reasoning,
“Virtually all Bibles present lappidoth as though it were a man's name, making Devorah the "woman" or "wife of" a man named Lappidoth. But lappidoth is not presented as a person in the text with any biographical information, for example, Lappidoth ben X or Y. Further, Lappidoth is not attested as a personal name in any body of Semitic literature. And lastly, lappidoth is a feminine plural in form, modifying or describing Devorah; it means "flames."...There is no question: lappidoth is not a person. Therefore, I translate eshet lappidoth as "a fiery woman," understanding the description to be of her demeanor and quite possibly of her public proclamation, her preaching.”
I will follow Gafney in her translation and say Lappidoth is not Deborah’s husband. Deborah may have been married or not. She may have had children, or not. It seems the author thought it was more important to describe her character and ability than it was to inform us of her family situation. Therefore, we can conclude that being a wife and/or a mother is not a qualification for leadership. Neither is it a disqualification for leadership. Deborah demonstrates for us that while many women are wonderful wives and mothers, we are not limited to these roles. Deborah, the author and singer of her song, refers to herself in Judges 5:7 when she sings,
“Villagers in Israel would not fight;
they held back until I, Deborah, arose
until I arose, a Mother in Israel.”
As a judge and leader, Deborah acts as the Mother of the nation of Israel for forty years. If the idea of a Chief Mama running a nation with a baby on her hip and toddlers at her feet encourages you in any way, then, by all means, claim this image and find comfort in it. Many of you may also find comfort in Deborah's demonstration that there are many ways to be a mother and bring life into the world. We, human beings, can give birth to businesses, ministries, movements, works of art, and more. We have, in us as image bearers of our creator, the ability to create life, though this doesn’t always mean in the form of biological children. Deborah gives us a picture that expands motherhood beyond biology and into every facet of our created world.
So what is God up to in this story of a woman who is a prophet, judge, and Mother of Israel? Speaking more generally, this book isn’t just about Deborah. This story, and others in the book of Judges, demonstrate that God can do great things through anyone God chooses. Oftentimes, God reminds us of this by choosing very different people than we would. In Deborah’s chapters, God is at work for the deliverance of the Israelite people, and God will use this fiery woman to accomplish it. In Daughters of Miriam, Gafney tells it this way,
“Many of the heroes of Judges represent those who were in some manner marginal: women, junior sons, children born outside of primary marriage, and so on. This variety of leaders served to reinforce the underlying theme that the only legitimate leader in Israel was YHWH, so it did not really matter who the human representative was.”
God works through anyone and everyone! This is about God calling and gifting whomever God chooses to accomplish good work in our world. It’s not about us and what we value—gender, class, race, status, etc. This is God’s story of what God values. God is the only true Judge/Ruler/Leader. When we set up hierarchical systems, we fail. When we live as God intended, with everyone on equal footing, then we thrive. But we keep trying to add more and more rungs on the ladder. Remember Galatians 3:28, where Paul implores us to rid ourselves of these meaningless hierarchies and strive for unity instead.
Deborah’s song in Judges 5 is one of the oldest writings we have in the whole canon. In her song, she demonstrates values that we can see in hindsight align perfectly with the character of God.
Deborah sings of God’s glory and divine direction in this epic battle. She doesn't take the credit for herself, she thanks God and all the people, especially Barak and Jael, who helped bring forth victory. She didn’t shy away from battle; she listened for the Lord to tell her when the time was right to lead the charge, and she gave confidence and direction to Barak to defeat their enemy. She tells us of the final victory as Jael bravely defeated the enemy commander by driving a tent peg into his skull while he slept. Deborah sings of justice not only from the threat of those who wish to conquer her people but also from her people who seek to gain wealth and power at the expense of the poor and marginalized. She cared about justice for her people, no matter the source. She was a woman who got things done and looked out for her people. Ultimately, Deborah unites her people and brings rest and peace to the land for forty years, something no other judge accomplished.
Part of why I love this story is that we see such a beautiful picture of female leadership. Deborah's leadership is not the kind that forces people to follow her or submit to her. They want to follow her. We can see that in her relationship with Barak, a beautiful picture of the blessed alliance that I believe God intended for us at the birth of creation. I am a mutualist. Meaning, I am a big fan and a believer of women, men, and all humans working side by side using whatever gifts they have as unique individuals for God’s glory and the blessing of the world. I will not now, nor will I ever, advocate for a matriarchy (a system that values women over men). But we have been living as a patriarchy (a system that values men over women) for so long that if we do not set it aside, then we will not get the chance to live as God intended, in a blessed mutual alliance of all of humanity. Patriarchy was never God’s plan. Matriarchy is not God’s plan either. God’s intention was mutuality, equality, cooperation, collaboration, and love between all people and all of creation. When read rightly, we get to see this alliance, mutuality, and valuing of each other's gifts in Deborah’s story.
I am also highly motivated to write about this story because of the ways I’ve heard it or witnessed inadequate responses and interpretations of this story over the years. Here are some examples:
Speaking to my pastor at the time about why he believes women should not hold top leadership positions within the church,
Me: What about Deborah? She was called by God to lead?
Pastor: Yeah, I don’t know.
My response: Do better! Have some kind of an answer. We do not get to just brush aside the verses and stories in the Bible that confuse us or push against our social expectations. If it doesn’t sit well with your soul, then figure out why.
At least have the decency to leave some room for an “extraordinary call” as many church fathers like John Calvin, John Wesley, Cotton Mather, and many more have done. As Joan Brown writes in her excellent article in the latest issue of Priscilla Papers, “At the very least, an understanding of the historic extraordinary call mitigates against the absolutist position that most contemporary complementarians/hierarchists take.”
Asking a question to a professor in my seminary class,
Me: What do you have to say about Deborah being raised up as a female judge?
Professor: It was only because none of the other men would step up and lead.
Response: No way! First of all, that is nowhere in scripture. Secondly, of all the thousands of men in the Israelite nation, not one of them wanted the job, the power to lead? I don’t buy it. Furthermore, I will remind us that judges don’t volunteer for the job, as seen in Judges 2:16-18; God raises up a judge so that argument doesn’t work either.
Listening to a lecture on Judges in a seminary class,
Professor: Deborah was never called by God to be a judge because the specific words "the Holy One is with her/him" or "the spirit of God came upon her/ him" were not spoken about her.
Response: Of the twelve judges in the book, these words are only spoken about four of the twelve. The other eight judges are not associated with these words. If we disqualify Deborah over this, then we must also disqualify 7 other judges as well. Deborah is also the only judge to be a prophet. I have to ask, how does one who is not called and chosen by God speak directly to God? That just doesn’t make any sense!
Where do we go from here? What are we supposed to do with this story of Deborah? We start by reminding ourselves, and others, that this is a part of God’s mission told through the story of scripture. Deborah is not a mystery, her story is a part of our history. It happened and it happened this way. It’s a part of scripture and so we have to pay attention and find out why God wants us to know this story.
We need to tell this story to our friends, family, and church congregations. We have to tell Deborah's story proudly, anchored by excellent scholarship that informs more accurate translations. This is a story worth telling and one that could have a positive ripple effect whenever it is told. Elizabeth Cady Stanton writes in The Women’s Bible,
"We never hear sermons pointing women to the heroic virtues of Deborah as worthy of their imitation. Nothing is said in the pulpit to rouse them from the apathy of ages, to inspire them to do and dare great things, to intellectual and spiritual achievements, in real communion with the Great Spirit of the Universe.”
When I read Deborah’s story, it's not a mystery to solve, it’s not confusing to me. I don’t want to avoid it or justify its existence. It just feels right. It feels like home. I know that sounds a little odd since we are essentially talking about a war story that includes a whole lot of murder. But for me, this is a story of hope.
If we know this story, know it well, and interpret it correctly, then this story throws the doors wide open for women and what we can do. As Ms. Brown says, “We need to consider the wisdom of those who went before to inform our conversations going forward.” Knowing Deborah and her piece of history informs where we go next, what women can do, and what conversations need to happen for our world and our churches to accurately reflect God’s intentions for our world. Deborah is not a mystery, she is part of our history. What does this phenomenal woman’s history mean for our lives today?
If Deborah has taught us anything, I think it may be this: we must respond, act, and obey when we are called by God, even if people say it goes against tradition or their expectations. Do what God calls you to do.
Live out of who God says that you are!
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Further Reading
An Introduction to the Old Testament by Alice L. Laffey
Daughters of Miriam by Wilda C. Gafney
Pricilla Papers, “The Extraordinary History of the Extraordinary Call” by Joan Brown
The Women’s Bible, edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Comments on Judges: Chapter II” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Women’s Bible Commentary edited by Newsom, Ringe, and Lapsley, “Deborah, Janel, and Their Interpreters,” written by Anne W. Stewart
Womanist Midrash, Volume 2 by Wilda C. Gafney
Women in Scripture, edited by Carol Meyers, Toni Craven, Ross S. Kramer, “Deborah” written by Tikva Frymer-Kensky