The Work
Doré's Deborah and Barak (from La Sainte Bible, 1866) depicts the prophetess-judge seated beneath her palm tree, advising the military commander Barak before the battle against Sisera with an air of prophetic authority. The image presents a rare female military and spiritual leader in 19th-century visual vocabulary, and the plate contributed to later discussions of women's authority in biblical narrative.
Biblical Source
Judges 4:4-9 - "Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided... She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, 'The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor'" - establishes Deborah's unique position as the only judge who combines prophetic, judicial, and military advisory roles simultaneously.
Deborah's Song (Judges 5) - one of the oldest poems in the Hebrew Bible - is the literary complement to the narrative, celebrated as the first major piece of biblical poetry attributed to a woman.
Artist and Iconography
Doré's plate emphasizes Deborah's seated authority under the palm - the tree itself a visual marker of prophetic office, since the palm under which she administered justice had become known as her own. The figure of Barak receiving her instructions makes clear the power dynamic: the military commander takes direction from the prophet, whose authority is spiritual rather than political. The image was important for 19th-century discussions of women in ministry.