Deborah is an important figure in the book of judges. In the old testament book of judges, deborah is a heroine and prophetess who leads the israelites when they are threatened by the canaanites. The story reached its present shape much later in israels history. The fourth of the judges who ruled over the jewish people after the death of. Deborah was a biblical prophetess and heroine of israel. The book of judges depicts the life of israel in the promised land from the death of joshua to the rise of the monarchy. The judges continued until saul was made king, which ended the line of judges. In hebrew the same word is used for woman and wife, so we dont know for certain if deborah was a woman of lappidoth a place or wife of lappidoth a person 4. Many hebrew names have slight variations, and other less common names do not appear on this list at all. The book of judges mentions eleven leaders who are said to judge israel.
According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborahs private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. The cycle of sin, servitude, supplication, and salvation recurs throughout the book of judges. The third judge to deliver israel in the book of judges is generally believed to be barak, but, as we will see shortly, deborah was a judge before him and cannot be ignored in this prophetic story. Deborah was the biblical prophetess who summoned barak to battle against an army of invaders. Dec 31, 2017 deborah is an important figure in the book of judges. Meaning, origin and history of the name deborah behind the name. Deborah as a girls name is of hebrew origin meaning bee. The old testament, a name coined by melito of sardis in the 2nd century ce, is longer than the hebrew bible, in part because christian editors. He was a judge of the hebrew people and his name meant mighty warrior, destroyer or feller of trees.
After deborah, the quality of the judges begins to decline. Judges 1 new international version niv israel fights the remaining canaanites. The word midvar meaning wilderness is actually a place that exists as a perfectly arranged. The book portrays the centuries after joshua as a time of israelite unfaithfulness to the lord and of their surrender to the allurements of canaan. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess of the god of the israelites, the fourth judge of premonarchic israel and the only female judge mentioned in the bible, and the wife of lapidoth. The history of debra originates from a hebrew background. Chaos judges 121 bible commentary theology of work. The origin and meaning of some of the most common jewish names for girls. How to pronounce devora or devorah in hebrew names. There are six major judges in the main cycle of the book, with a number of shorter stories about lesser judges mixed in. Browse for all the origins, histories, and meanings of debra and over 40,000 other names.
These opening verses draw our attention to the manner in which this family hovers between names and namelessness. Deborah name meaning, origin of deborah name, popularity. They were described as individuals who occupied positions as military rulers in times of conflict, in the era preceding israelite sovereignty being established. Deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should take on the canaanite army. Deborah again the israelites did evil in the eyes of the lord, now that ehud was dead. Septuagint and vulgate othniel, he urged her judges 1. Deborah lived somewhere about 1150 bce, about a century or so after the hebrews entered canaan. Shophetim, the hebrew bibles translational name for the book, is today translated as judges. She was a heroine and led the israelites to defeat canaan, according to the old testament in the book of judges. In the hebrew bible, moses is described as a shofet over the israelites and appoints others to whom cases were delegated in accordance with the advice of jethro, his midianite fatherinlaw.
So the lord sold them into the hands of jabin king of canaan, who reigned in hazor. So the lord sold them into the hands of jabin king of. Deborah number two had her own palm tree fittingly called the palm tree of deborah judges 4. Othniel, ehud, shamgar, deborah, gideon, tola, jair, jephthah, ibzan, elon, abdon, and samson.
In judges 5, we read judge deborah s story again, but this time as a poem. Othniel, shamgar, deborah, gideon, tola, jair, jephthah, ibzan, elon, abdon, and samson. Summary of the book of judges the story of the bible. After the battle she wrote a victory song which is part of the book of judges. Deborahs name means bee in hebrew, and there are two women named deborah in the bible. She is the only woman of the hebrew bible who gained renown on her own merit, not because of her relationship to a man. Deborah s name means bee in hebrew, and there are two women named deborah in the bible. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in harosheth haggoyim. Firstly, to better understand deborah, we have to discover the world she lived in. The song of deborah is a very ancient poem, one of the earliest writings that the bible preserves. Judges 1 niv israel fights the remaining canaanites bible. The word midvar meaning wilderness is actually a place that exists as a perfectly arranged order as its ecosystem is in harmony and balance. Who were the 12 judges in the book of judges in the bible.
But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and his modern technology. Deborah is one of the major judges meaning charismatic leaders, rather than juridical figures in the story of how israel takes the land of canaan. How to say deborah or debra in hebrew names youtube. The story of deborah is in judges 4, and the song is in judges 5. Background today we are going to study the book of judges, but i think it always helps to understand the context of a book before you study it, so first i want to show how judges fits into the history of the nation of israel.
Judges 1 niv israel fights the remaining canaanites. This chapter in scripture, often referred to as the song of deborah, is believed to be written as early as the 12th century bc and is considered by many biblical scholars as one of the earliest examples of hebrew poetry. In her main story story, deborah is a heroine and prophetess. Deborah means a bee, with implications of being orderly. Deborahs war illustrates the role of ancient israelite judges. It is the biblical name of a prophetess who summoned barak to battle against an invading army. Judges in the bible full list with scripture quotes. Deborah is the only female judge mentioned in the bible. The powerful woman of deborah and the book of judges.
The hebrew name devorah deborah means bee and is the feminine form of the word davar. The israelites did what was evil in the sight of the lord, and the lord gave them into the hand of midian seven years. The story of deborah and how she helped deliver israel from the oppression of the canaanites is found in the fourth and fifth chapters of the book of judges. Judges 4 niv deborah again the israelites did evil. The victory song she wrote after the battle is part of the book of judges. The book of judges has not furnished many names to collective europe. Judges, book of is so called because it contains the history of the deliverance and government of israel by the men who bore the title of the judges. She forms an army under the command of barak, and together they destroy the army of the canaanite commander sisera. She was a prophet, a judge of israel and the wife of lapidoth. Bees are a community of insects which live in a perfectly ordered arrangement. The book of ruth and the power of names my jewish learning. One was an older first cousin to rebecca, who acted as rebeccas wet nurse genesis 35. The book of judges is the second book in the deuteronomic history, a history that begins with the farewell address of moses in deuteronomy and ends with the exile of judah in 587 b.
Ehud m biblical, hebrew, biblical hebrew meaning unknown, possibly related to hebrew echad meaning one. The history of deborah originates from a hebrew background. The book of judges, sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. The more famous deborah was a judge and prophetess of god, a wise and godfearing woman who people flocked to for advice and assistance judges 4. Yael, meaning ibex is a woman mentioned in the book of judges in the hebrew bible, as the heroine who killed sisera to deliver israel from the troops of king jabin. These continue as such in our christian old testament of the bible. Only in the second verse are these individuals named, in a dense cluster of words that includes the threefold mention of the word hebrew word for name, shem. Also in the old testament, it is the name of the nurse of rebecca. According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborah s private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. Meaning, origin and history of the name deborah behind. In the old testament book of judges deborah is a heroine and prophetess who leads the israelites to defeat canaanites. Deborah, devorah or dvorah in hebrew is translated as. Judges 4 niv deborah again the israelites did evil bible gateway. In the old testament this is the name of one of the biblical judges.
Deborah, the only female judge in the bible, excelled in multiple areas. In the book of judges in the holy bible, another name for gideon is gedeon. Ehud, described in the text between othniel and shamgar, is never said to judge israel, but is usually included as a judge because the history of his leadership follows a set. Deborah is an aweinspiring figure who overturns all misconceptions we might have about women, power and godordained leadership. This study on judges originated from a handout and class notes in dr. These judges ruled israel for a period of time that most scholars say was about 325 to 350 years beginning in app. In the old testament book of judges, deborah is a heroine and prophetess who leads the israelites. He killed eglon, the king of moab, and freed the city of jericho from moabite rule. The book of judges is the second of the books of the former prophets in hebrew scripture, and serves as part of the historical books of the greek septuagint old testament, in the following order. In the narrative of the hebrew bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the book of joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the books of samuel, during which biblical judges served as temporary leaders. Deborah was the wife of a man whose name was lapidoth, which means torches. Each of the major judges comes from a different area of israel and fights a different enemy.
Sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Her story is told in the book of judges, chapters 4 and 5. The second book of chronicles mentions amariah and zebadiah son of ishmael. Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the israelites for twenty years, they cried to the lord for help. Deborah told barak that yahweh commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan and his military commander. Nature plays a big role, and babies are named after plants,flowers, trees, strong animals, as well as seasons of the years and jewish holidays. Robert chisholms hebrew class at dallas theological seminary. After the battle she wrote a victory song which is part of the book of judges hebrew name meaning bee. Joshua, judges, ruth, samuel, and kings, as well as the books of the restoration.
Most of the biblical judges can be found, as expected, in the book of judges with additional judges in the books of joshua and samuel. In the first verse of the book of ruth, we meet a family without names they are simply a man, his wife, and two sons. Browse for all the origins, histories, and meanings of deborah and over 40,000 other names. Also in the old testament, this is the name of the nurse of rebecca. In judges 5, we read judge deborahs story again, but this time as a poem. Not only known for her wisdom, but deborah was also known for her courage. Her name comes from the hebrew dabar, to put words in order, to speak. Caleb, the faithful spy, who alone finally accompanied joshua into the land of promise out of all the 600,000 who had come out of egypt, had a name meaning a dog, seldom copied except by the puritan taste, and only meeting in one language a personal name of similar. The book of ruth originally formed part of this book, but about a.
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