Deborah in the Book of Judages & the Egalitarian View

I came across a webpage by a proponent of the egalitarian view some time ago, and unfortunately, I do not recall what the URL is, nor do I recall the author's name. However, I do recall the main point of her argument.

The author argued against the use of the biblical Deborah, who is mentioned in the book of Judges, as a positive, biblical example of female leadership being a Divinely accepted norm for females, on the grounds that Deborah states in Judges chapter 4:

9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh, 10 where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

We will return to this passage momentarily. First, a few details need to be addressed.

We are told in the Scriptures that Deborah

... was a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. (Judges 4: 4-5)

Deborah spoke on behalf of God:

She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The LORD , the God of Israel, commands you..."

and apparently did so with God's permission and approval: the test of a true prophet is given in Deuteronomy 18:22; Jeremiah 28:9;
Ezekiel 33:33, and Deuteronomy 18:22, for example, reads:

If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

Deborah's prediction did come true, for we read:

Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?" So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. 15 At Barak's advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.

Later in the account, we are informed that a female assassin, Jael, helped to fulfill God's prediction through Deborah:

8 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my Lord, come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him.
20 [Sisera said to Jael,] "If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.' "
21 But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
22 Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you the man you're looking for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple-dead.
23 On that day God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until they destroyed him.

Returning once again to Judges chapter 4:

9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you [Barak]. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh, 10 where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

Based upon Deborah's comment that the "Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman," and that Barak will not receive the honor of the accomplished mission, the author of the traditionalist article concludes that it must not have been viewed as a normal or good thing in those times for a woman to be a leader.

The traditionalist author assumes that Deborah is, in a sense, mocking the male Barak for "wimping out," not taking his rightful place of authority, and so it is a shameful thing that she, a female, has to take the leadership role. The author of that piece also concludes that God shared this view.

If I am not mistaken, the advocate of this view may have gotten this argument from authors John Piper and Wayne Grudem, both of whom are complementarians / traditionalists, and who maintain that

Deborah's leadership actually affirmed "the usual leadership of men" by serving as a rebuke to the men of Israel who should have had the courage to take on leadership of the nation themselves. (190)¹

Regardless, our first observation begins with Judges 4:4-5, where it is stated that Deborah was a leader of Israel:

Deborah was a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. (Judges 4: 4-5)

Some Bible translations, instead of using the term "leader" use the term "judge." No matter, for the term "judge" in the book of Judges is also used of the males who led Israel, and there is, apparently, no major differences of responsibilities between Deborah and the male judges, i.e., carrying out God's commands.

As for Deborah being a leader over Israel, in verses 4 and 5 (and elsewhere), absolutely no value judgements are made on this fact by the Scriptures.

In other words, the Scriptures themselves do not say that it is bad, sinful, or wicked for Deborah to be a judge and leader over Israel. It is not mentioned in the Bible that God frowned upon or disapproved of Deborah's act of allegedly "usurpring" a supposed male-only role (in fact, this writer does not recall a verse stating that the Lord God declared that only males could be leaders and judges in Israel at that time).

If any rebuke is taking place here, as Piper and Grudem are stipulating, then it is because the people of Israel, regardless of their gender, were lacking faith and were not doing as God commanded them; it was not because a woman was willing to do what the men were not.

It is similar to the account of Numbers 13. In Numbers chapter 13, the men sent ahead to scout out the territory lacked faith (see verses 31-33), which displeased God.

God does not mention in this passage from Numbers 13 that He rebuked these men for being "wimps," or for not being more assertive "he-men." God simply became upset because these men, these people, disobeyed Him and lacked faith and encouraged the rest of their group to behave and think the same way. Their gender in this regard is completely irrelevant, as it is in Piper's and Grudem's argument about Deborah.

One can reach the conclusion about Deborah that the traditionalist author does only by making an assumption which is based upon his or her own preconceived notions about female leadership and the role of women in society. In a word, what we have in this instance is eisegesis.

Rather than reading negative things about Deborah's role as leader, we do in fact discover, in the descriptions of the other judges in this biblical book, all of whom are male, save for the female Deborah, that they are portrayed in a positive light, for they upheld God's honor and obeyed Him, which is what Deborah did as well.

Let us posit that the traditionalist's/complementarian's view is correct on this point and that Deborah was indeed "mocking" her male counterpart for "wimping out" and not taking charge as a "godly, manly man" should have done, with all that this view implies: that this is a "negative," and not "positive," biblical example of female leadership, and that female leadership was frowned upon in Old Testament times in Israelite society.

One must remember when reading the Scriptures not to assume, as so many Bible critics do, (such as some atheists), that if the Bible reports or records something, that God must agree with it and give it His "stamp of approval."

For example, in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah, we have a father, Lot, willing to offer his daughters to be raped and possibly beaten or murdered by a group of thugs who have come to his door seeking his new male guests, so that they may have sex with these guests (Genesis 19: 1 - 9).

Some of the less knowledgeable Bible critics who read the Genesis 19 account will say that the "God of the Bible" is cruel for allowing, or for approving of, a father willing to cast his own daughters out to be raped. However, no where in the text do we see a statement to that effect. As a matter of fact, God

a.) later brings judgement to the thugs of that town; and

b.) elsewhere in the Old Testament, God forbids rape and proscribes penalities that are to be applied to the rapist.

It could be that God did not agree with the male hierarchy mindset of the Israelites but understood that such was the culture He was having to interact with:

God revealed himself and his plan for his people by means of patriarchal cultures, adapting his revealed Word to fit the understanding and limitations of its original recipients. It is, therefore, necessary to distinguish between those biblical statements that are universal, normative commands and those that are concessions to ancient patriarchal culture. (21) ¹

After their victory, we are told in Judges 5, that "On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song..."

"In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned;
travelers took to winding paths.
7 Village life in Israel ceased,
ceased until I, Deborah, arose,
arose a mother in Israel.

Instead of a presenting Deborah's leadership in a negative light, here we are presented with a positive portrayal. In this song of thanksgiving, it seems here that Deborah's role was lauded, appreciated, condoned, or was viewed as one reason of celebration, not disapproval; even the a male, Barak, is said to sing this song with Deborah.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul had a habit of referring to characters and situations in the Old Testament to make a point with his readers, as did the other New Testament writers. Paul is often quoted by traditionalists/complementarians as being one of the voices in the Bible to condemn female leadership in some roles (e.g., marriage and worship / church).

Paul at times uses some individuals from the Old Testament in a negative fashion, to teach his readers not to make the same mistakes as they, or else, to convey or clarify a teaching.

Paul mentions Adam, for example, as the one person through whom all sin came and used this to contrast him with Christ, the one Person who removes sin from people (1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:12).

Had Paul found female leadership to be distasteful and contrary to God's will (i.e. it is sinful), one could expect him to make mention of Deborah as a concrete example to New Tesatment readers of a woman whom was not to be emulated, or as an example of a shameful incident in which a woman took over a man's role. No such example, though, is given by Paul, or any other New Testament writer, concerning Deborah.

Other assorted arguments against the egalitarian use of Deborah to make a positive case for the egalitarian side are addressed thusly:

Traditionalists often try to explain that a ministry of such power and prominence as Deborah's was an exception to the rule of male authority in the Bible. But exceptions to rules occur in the natural and social realms; they do not occur in the realm of God's moral law. If God called Deborah to her ministry, female leadership cannot be said to violate moral principals ordained by God. (190) ¹

What are some of the indications that God did appoint Deborah to her position of authority and leadership?

First, [Deborah's] . . . leadership was clearly a spiritual blessing and a force of righteousness at a time of national crisis [yes, it would be odd for an "anti- female- in- role -of- authority- God" to allow a female to take such an important role during such a difficult time in Israel's history!].

Second, because [Deborah] . . . ruled in a highly patriarchal society and was not the wife or daughter of a ruler, we may safely surmise that she could not have been propelled into her position merely by cultural forces. God had a definite and purposeful hand in Deborah's rise to power, which shows that there is nothing inherently unfitting or immoral about a woman occupying a position of civil or spiritual authority. (190)

Traditionalists and complementarians try to "down play" Deborah's leadership. Thomas Schreiner is one such comp/trad who insists that Deborah's role could not have been that significant, authoritative, or worthy since she prophesied in public but only in private.

Although male prophets of the Old Testament did utter public pronouncements, they were often reviled and ignored. Deborah, however, was sought out by the people of Israel, and her words of prophetic wisdom were respected and obeyed.

There is no reason to believe that only women took her counsel as authoritative, or that her judgments pertained only to private matters and not to the public realm.

Moreover, she was not only a prophet, but the judge, or ruler, of all Israel (Judg. 4:4). This puts Deborah's ministry -- mi\uch more than that of the "public" male prophets -- in line with the traditionalist concept of authority as a position that commands obedience. (191) ¹

But what of the fact that Deborah herself did not lead the men into battle?

... she directed the man who did [lead the men into battle]. She would not have marched into battle with the male soldiers in any case. Being a woman, she was unsuited for and untrained in the battlefield skills of the ancient world. But her exclusion from active military duty did not make her spiritual and political leadership any less authoritative. (191) ¹

"... her exclusion from active military duty did not make her spiritual and political leadership any less authoritative,"-- anymore than it does for the President of the United States to sit in the White House while war is being waged by the troops he commands, rather than he himself sitting in a tank or plane dropping bombs on the enemy.

But what of Schreiner's contention that of Deborah, it is not specifically mentioned that she was "raised up by God?"

Judges 2:16 clearly states that "the Lord raised up judges, who saved them." Surely this applies to all the judges of Israel, whether or not the account of their exploits specifically reiterates this point.

. . . . Deborah may have been the only female judge of Israel, but she was a judge, nonetheless, called by God to rule with both civil and spiritual authority. Those who wish to derogate the importance and authority of her rulership on account of her gender find no encouragment toward this end from the actual biblical text. (192) ¹

And perhaps oddest of all,

Because there is no account in the New Testament of any woman wielding the high level of authority with which God entrusted Deborah in the Old Testament, the example of Deborah tends to be pushed aside when traditionalists [and complementarians] propound the principle of God-ordained male authority thta they believe is taught in the New Testament.

Apparently, women of the new covenant are under and even more restrictive law of male authority than were the women of the old covenant.

Works Cited:

The Bible

¹ Groothuis, Rebecca. Good News For Women. Baker Books: 1997.

This work:

December 2002; by Lion of Judah site owner

HOME PAGE Lion of Judah Christian Apologetics