Deborah (Hastings' Dictionary)

1. The nurse of Rebekah, died on Jacob's return to Can., and was buried under the terebinth (' Allon-bacuth ') below Bethel (Gn SS E). 2. The heroine of the great battle by the Kishon in which Sisera and his allies were defeated (Jg 4 and 5). After a period of oppression and insecurity, which had lasted since the days of Shamgar (Jg5'), and had fallen heavily upon tne tribes bordering on the plain of Jezreel, D., a woman of martial and determined spirit, together with Barak, resolved to free their people from the aggressions of the Canaanites. Issachar, their tribe (Jg 5"), had been the principal suH'erer, but could not cope with the enemy unaided. Accordingly, the summons was sent round to all A full discussion of the meaning of the name Is ^ven by Moore (Jvdget, p. ii ff.X who formerly connected TEO in TDD p with Aramaic T?p 'border, frontier.' Kiriatb-sepber would on this etjTnolo^ be ' Frontier-town,' a suitable enough meaninpr. But for phonetic diflicuUies that stnd in the way Moore has sow abandoned this derivation. the tribes, claiming their assistance in the cause of J" the national God. Ephraim, Benjamin, West Manasseh, Zebulun, Naphtali, with their chiefs, rallied round Issachar ; Reuben, Gilead ( = Gad), Dan, andAsher refused to respond (Jg 5"""). For the first time after the settlement in Canaan the tribes of Isr. acted in something like a national capacity ; it was the genius and courage of D. that instigated this united action. To meet the Isr. conf ederation,the kings of Canaan, under the leader- ship of Sisera, marched to the attack ; the battle took place in the neighbourhood of Taanach and Megiddo, along the right bank of the Kishon (Jg 5"). A great storm came on, and the swollen torrent worked havoc among the Can. forces, so that it seemed as if the powers of nature were fighting against them (Jg 5'"'') ; Sisera had to seek safety in flight. A woman had successfully initiated the war, and a woman brought it to a victorious conclusion. Jael, by a bold stratagem, slew Sisera with a shattering blow from a tent- mallet as he stood drinking in her tent (Jg 5""). Such is the history of the event which has made D. famous among the women of the Bible, as it may be gathered from the song in Jg 5. This splendid ode was prob. not written by D. herself ; the verbs in v."" are to be rendered by the 2nd pers. rather than by the 1st ; cf. v.'^. V.' merely says, ' then sang D. and Barak,' a remark due to the later editor. But the song may well be the work of a contemporary, as its style and contents suggest ; it may claim, therefore, to be the highest authority for the events which it records. Another account, a prose version, is contained in chapter 4. The two accounts agree in the main features, but exhibit considerable difl'erences in detail. In 4'''' D. is styled both prophetess and judge, while her seat is ' under the palm-treeof D., Detween Kamah and Bethel, in the hill country of Ephraim,' whither the children of Israel resorted for judgment. It is here implied that her authority had been long established, and that it extended over Israel ('she was judging Israel at that time,' 4). This generalization of her position reflects the theory of the compiler of Judges — a late writer.f Furtner, her seat is placed in the S., in the territory of Benjamin, far from the area of the troubles. This necessitates distant negotiations with Barak, and introduces serious difficulties into the narrative. It is possible that D.'s connexion with Ramah and Bethel may be due to a confusion based on Gn 35", for which, again, the compiler may be responsible. We may conclude from 4"' that her home was somewhere near Kadesh, the city of Barak ; J thus both would belong to Issachar (as 5'°), the chief suiierer under the oppression. See Barak. In the prose version (4''"^ in the main) she is styled a prophetess. Thus, in the manner of pro- phecy, she announces the plan of the attack (4'''''), jiroinises success (v.""), and declares who shall carry oil the honours of the victory (v.). All these are features not found in ch. 5, and as coming from ch. 4 must be pronounced of inferior historical value. For the other divergences connected with the mention of Jabin, the position of the battle, the deed of Jael, the authorities must be consulted. LiTERATtmB. — Hilliger, Das Dfitorah-JjUd UberKtzt u. erkldrt^ 1807 ; A. Miiller, Dat Lied der Deborah, 1887 (Konigiberger Studim, i.); Badde, Rieht. u. Sam. 66-72, 101-107 ; M. Vemes • Except Simeon and Levi. Judah is not mentioned ; it had not entered into any close connexion with the other tribes, and was cut otT from them by a line of Canaanite strongholds (Jg 12). as, Job 9'0. ( 4IJ. 23. u 51. Sib belong to the Deuteronomlo compiler of Judcrea ; his hand may also r>e traced in 4<> 9^ 14. I Itarak = ii^A(mn7,"Lappidoth=/Iam#(4) ; hence some think that l)oth are names of the some person, and that Barak was l>el>urah'e husband. This is merely a tanc> DEBT, DEBTOR DEBT, DEBTOR 57£ bilUvut(k4Auda JuiK4, xxiv. 1892 ; O. A. Cooke, Bitt. and Song 0/ Deb. 1892; O. Niebuhr, Vrrmch finer litcomt. da DtboraliaU4, 189i ; O. F. Moore, Judga (1895), 127-173. 8. Deborah (AV Debora), the grandmother of Tobit, To 1». G. A. Cooke.