Deborah and Barak

The words

1. Barak

   Barak tells Deborah he will go only if she accompanies him; she agrees and says the LORD will hand Sisera to a woman.

   Judges 4:8–9 (opens a new tab)

2. Chariots

   Chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, in the NET Bible.

   Sisera brings nine hundred iron chariots to Kishon; when the LORD defeats his force before Barak, Sisera leaves his chariot and flees on foot.

   Judges 4:13–15 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:2-4 (opens a new tab)

3. Deborah

   Judges introduces Deborah as a prophetess who judges Israel; people come to her beneath a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel.

   Did you know?

   The next chapter changes from narrative to song, opening with Deborah and Barak singing together on that day.

   Judges 4:4–5 (opens a new tab) · Judges 5:1 (opens a new tab)

4. Ehud

   Ehud’s death marks the opening of this account: Judges says Israel again does evil before describing Jabin’s rule and twenty years of oppression.

   Judges 4:1–3 (opens a new tab)

5. Harosheth

   Harosheth Haggoyim in the NET Bible.

   Sisera lives at Harosheth; Barak pursues the retreating force there, and Judges says Sisera’s entire army is killed by the sword.

   Judges 4:2 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:16 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:2-4 (opens a new tab)

6. Hazor

   Hazor is the seat of Jabin, king of Canaan; his army is commanded by Sisera, who lives at Harosheth.

   Judges 4:2 (opens a new tab)

7. Jabin

   Judges ends the conflict with Israel destroying Jabin, the Canaanite king whose army is led by Sisera and whose seat is Hazor.

   Judges 4:2 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:23–24 (opens a new tab)

8. Kishon

   Deborah names Kishon as the meeting place with Sisera; the following song says the river sweeps his forces away.

   Judges 4:7 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:13 (opens a new tab) · Judges 5:1–5 (opens a new tab) · Judges 5:20–21 (opens a new tab)

9. Lapidoth

   Lappidoth in the NET Bible.

   Lapidoth appears when Judges introduces Deborah: she is called his wife, a prophetess, and the person judging Israel at that time.

   Judges 4:4 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:2-4 (opens a new tab)

10. Naphtali

    Naphtali supplies men for Barak’s force; he summons them alongside Zebulun to Kedesh, where Deborah joins the expedition.

    Did you know?

    Genesis gives Naphtali’s name to Jacob’s second son by Bilhah, Rachel’s maid; Rachel names him after speaking of her wrestlings with her sister.

    Judges 4:6; Judges 4:10 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 30:7–8 (opens a new tab)

11. Palm Tree

    The palm tree locates Deborah’s place of judgment between Ramah and Bethel in Ephraim’s hill country, where Israelites come to her.

    Did you know?

    Psalm 92 uses the palm as an image of flourishing for the righteous, pairing it with a cedar in Lebanon.

    Judges 4:5 (opens a new tab) · Psalm 92:12 (opens a new tab)

12. Prophetess

    Deborah is called a prophetess before she summons Barak and delivers the command she attributes to the LORD God of Israel.

    Judges 4:4 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:6–7 (opens a new tab)

13. Tabor

    Deborah directs Barak toward Mount Tabor; after Sisera gathers at Kishon, Barak descends the mountain with ten thousand men.

    Judges 4:6 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:13–14 (opens a new tab)

14. Ten Thousand

    Deborah commands ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun; the same number follows Barak down Mount Tabor.

    Judges 4:6 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:14 (opens a new tab)

15. Zebulun

    Zebulun joins Naphtali in Deborah’s summons for ten thousand men; Barak calls both tribes to Kedesh before going up with Deborah.

    Did you know?

    Genesis introduces Zebulun as Leah’s sixth son by Jacob, giving the personal name behind the tribe in Deborah’s summons.

    Judges 4:6; Judges 4:10 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 30:19–20 (opens a new tab)