Editing Deborah (section)

{{short description|Prophetess in the Bible}}
{{Other uses|Deborah (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = Johanna Unger – Debora (cropped).jpg
| caption            = ''Deborah'' by {{ill|Johanna Unger|de}}, 19th century
| occupation         = Prophetess of God, Fourth Judge of Israel
| nationality        = 
| predecessor        = [[Shamgar]]
| successor          = [[Gideon]]
| other_names        = Debora, Débora, Dvora, Debra
| spouse             = Lapidoth (possibly)
}}
{{Judges}}
According to the [[Book of Judges]], '''Deborah''' ({{langx|he|דְּבוֹרָה}}, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a [[Prophets in Judaism|prophetess of Judaism]], the fourth [[Hebrew Bible judges|Judge of pre-monarchic Israel]], and the only female [[shophet|judge]] mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lappidoth", as translated from biblical Hebrew in Judges 4:4 denotes her marital status as the wife of [[Lapidoth (Hebrew Bible)|Lapidoth]].<ref name=":0">Van Wijk-Bos, Johanna WH. ''The End of the Beginning: Joshua and Judges''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2019.</ref> Alternatively, "lappid"<ref name=":0" /> translates as "torch" or "lightning", therefore the phrase, "woman of Lappidoth" could be referencing Deborah as a "fiery woman."<ref>García Bachmann, Mercedes L., Ahida E. Pilarski, and Barbara E. Reid. "Judges." ''Wisdom commentary'', Liturgical Press, 2018.</ref> Deborah told [[Barak]], an Israelite general<ref name=":0" /> from [[Kedesh]] in [[Tribe of Naphtali|Naphtali]], that God commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of [[Jabin]] king of [[Canaan]] and his military commander [[Sisera]] (Judges 4:6–7); the entire narrative is recounted in [[Judges 4|chapter 4]].

[[Judges 5]] gives the same story in [[poetry|poetic form]]. This passage, often called ''The Song of Deborah'', may date to as early as the twelfth century BCE,<ref name=Coogan2006p216>{{cite book|last=Coogan|first=Michael David|author-link=Michael Coogan|title=A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in its Context|edition=|page=216|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|year=2006|isbn=978-0195139112|url=https://archive.org/details/oldtestamenthist0000coog/page/216/mode/1up}}</ref> and is perhaps the earliest sample of [[Biblical poetry|Hebrew poetry]].<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Deborah |volume=7 |page=904 |first=Stanley |last=Cook|authorlink=Stanley Arthur Cook}}</ref>