By Bro. Solomon

In the history of the Old Testament, prophetic ministry takes on and defines the character of the relationship between Israel and YHWH. We see that prophets are not uniquely part of Israel’s history but also other neighboring cultures and kingdoms, during the ancient period of the Old Testament. In the book of Judges the people of Israel find themselves in a predicament since there was yet no monarchy and they found themselves in a transitional phase from the settlement towards the anointing of Saul, who was to be the first king of Israel (1Sam.10). It is during this period that the judges arose in Israel. The judges were people God chose to deliver the Israelites from their enemies and other foreign rulers. They could be likened to modern day national heroes.

A phenomenon occurs in the book of Judges, which makes a unique contribution to the history of prophecy in Israel. This occurs in the figure of Deborah (Judges 4:4) . Deborah is a woman who is both prophet and judge. She is an unlikely choice to have these roles in a time when women were not considered as having the ability to lead or govern in a male dominated culture.

This paper will be a research study on the prophecy and figure of Deborah. I will attempt to analyze her role and character as portrayed in the book of Judges 4-5. This is no scholarly work by any means, but just a simple fruit of research and hypothesis.  I hope with the help of certain sources to bring about a better understanding of Deborah’s person and the relevance of her feminine prophetism for the people of today.

The Person of Deborah Prophetess and Judge

In the book of Judges, interplay begins in the account of Deborah the prophetess (Judg. 4-6). This interplay involves a shift from male judges to an episode in the epic of Israel’s history to a story, which involves redemption of the chosen people, through the charismatic and resourceful wisdom of women. “The battle of “us versus them,” the equation between battle and sex, and gender related themes are all at play in this passage.” [2]

We have the repetitive theme of sin and rescue in the beginning of the passage of the narrative “the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord”  (Judg. 4:1-2).   The breaking of the covenantal relationship will once again cause the Lord to allow Israel to be handed over to another political and oppressive ruler. This time the Lord hands them over to “Jabin king of Canaan” (Judg. 4:2).