DÉBORA (Heb. Dēbhorāh, “bee”; Septuagint Δεββόρζ; Vulg. Debora). — Prophetess, heroine, and poetess, third with Barac among the “Judges” of Israel (Iudc. 4, 1–5, 31), who delivered Israel from the oppression of Iabin, king of Asor (Ḥāṭōr, near Lake Ḥūleh, according to the various biblical data and Flavius Josephus, Antiq. Iud., IX, 11, 1), inspiring the enterprise of Barac and the northern tribes in the battle of Thanach (near Megiddo in the plain of Esdrelon), and then celebrating their deeds in her canticle (Iudc. 5, 1–31), one of the most precious biblical documents.
D., wife of Lapidoth (not mentioned elsewhere), lived between Rama and Bethel, north of Jerusalem, in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. Because of the prophetic authority she enjoyed, Israel came to her, beneath “her palm,” which had become famous, to receive her oracles. Witness to the oppression weighing upon the northern tribes—Nephthali, Zabulon, Issachar, and the Transjordanian half of Manasse (Machir)—she aroused the revolt, ordering Barac of the tribe of Nephthali to gather 10,000 men, especially from Nephthali and Zabulon, on Tabor, and she herself went there. Other volunteers from Machir, Issachar, Ephraim, and Beniamin joined them, while the remaining tribes were either inactive or forcibly absent. To avert the threat, Sisara, commander of Iabin’s southern forces, took up position on the torrent Cison, which crosses the plain of Esdrelon, confident in his 900 scythed chariots. But the onslaught of the Israelites, inspired by D. and Barac, and a providential storm that swelled the torrent, swept him away in complete rout. Sisara fled southward and, exhausted, took refuge near Cadès (of Esdrelon, probably present-day Tell Abū Qudéj), as a guest in the tent of Giaele, wife of Haber the Kenite. But Giaele, while he slept, pierced his temple with a hammer and a tent peg, pinning him to the ground.
At the celebratory feast after the victory, as she watched with Barac the triumphal procession of the victors, D. intoned her celebrated canticle (Iudc. 5, 1–31), a solemn epinicion and religious hymn, whose literary splendor is unanimously acclaimed. Analysis of the text makes it possible to reconstruct its structure in seven sections, each consisting of two stanzas, except for the central one, which has three; all are identical to that of the theophany (ibid. 4–5).
1. Proem: a) lyrical protasis, b) epic protasis. 2. Israel’s misery: a) painful recollection, b) prophetic explanation. 3. Description of the triumphal procession: a) invitation to the people, b) invitation to the commanders. 4. Praises and reproaches directed at the tribes: a) greeting to the first combatants, b) reproach of Ruben, c) reproaches and praises of the others. 5. Recollection
6. Jael’s exploit: a) the tent scene, b) the death
of Sisera. 7. The enemy’s dismay and Jahweh’s triumph: a) the
waiting of Sisera’s mother, b) the disappointment and final hymn.
The song of D. is of acknowledged importance as an
ancient historical source, which also applies to the documentary
question of its comparison with the prose narrative
of Jude 4:1–24. The sole difference between the enemy
commanders—Sisera in the song, Jabin king of Hazor in the prose—
may be explained by the rebuilding of Hazor, already mentioned
in the time of Joshua (cf. Ios. 11:1–13 with 19:36), as
is subsequently attested in the time of Solomon (I Reg. 9:15),
of Tiglath-pileser (II Reg. 15:29), of Tobiah (Tob. gr. 1:2),
and of the Maccabees (I Mach. 11:67; there Νααώρ through diplography
of the preceding final v), as well as by the customary homonymies
in the lists of kings and by the strategic nature of
Sisera’s office. Another explanation lies in the contribution of
independent elements from tradition (cf. Ps. 83:10), extraneous
to the lyrical sphere of the poem.
Two other biblical women bearing the same name are: D.
(Septuagint: Δεβόρρχ), Rebecca’s nurse, who follows
Isaac’s wife into Canaan, sharing her fortunes
(Gen. 24:59; cf. 35:8); D. (Septuagint: Δεββωρδ),
Tobiah’s paternal aunt (Tob. gr. 1:8).