A prophetess and judge of Israel who guided Barak and the people during oppression.
The Holy Prophetess and Judge Deborah
Deborah is an Old Testament prophetess and judge of Israel, remembered for guiding the people during a period of oppression and for the deliverance won under her counsel. Her life and deeds are recorded in the Book of Judges, chapters 4 and 5. The Orthodox Church numbers her among the righteous of the Old Covenant; the Orthodox Church in America commemorates her within the Nativity cycle.
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah was the only woman named among the judges who led Israel before the rise of the monarchy. She is called a prophetess and, in Judges 4:4, a woman of Lappidoth, a phrase traditionally understood as identifying her as the wife of Lappidoth. As judge she rendered decisions for the people and, as prophetess, spoke in the name of God.
The central episode of her account is the campaign against Jabin, king of Canaan, and his army commander Sisera. Deborah summoned Barak son of Abinoam and conveyed to him God's command to lead a force against the oppressor. The two armies met near Mount Tabor by the Kishon River, where Sisera's host was routed. Sisera himself fled and was killed by Jael when he sought refuge in her tent. The deliverance is celebrated in the Song of Deborah (Judges 5), a victory hymn that scholars regard as among the oldest texts in the Bible.
Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song.
The Book of Judges presents Deborah in a twofold office. As judge she settled the disputes of the people, and as prophetess she delivered the word of God concerning Israel's deliverance. The tradition reflected in the Orthodox synaxarion preserves her among the righteous figures of the Old Covenant, honoring her witness before the coming of Christ.