Judges 4:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.

NIV: She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.

NASB: She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went up to her for judgment.

CSB: She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes.

NLT: She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.

KJV: And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

NKJV: And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

In the book of Judges, the title "judge" comes from a Hebrew word which can include many other ideas. God-empowered judges were civil and military leaders who rescued Israel from oppressors (Judges 2:16). In the case of Deborah, her initial role was much more like the literal meaning of the English term "judge." The site where she ministered was so well known in Israel that it was called the "palm of Deborah." She would sit at this spot (Exodus 18:13; John 19:13) between Ramah and Bethel in the territory of Ephraim. There, she would receive the people who came to her to solve their disputes and legal matters.

As a prophetess of the God of Israel, her word would have stood as final. As this passage indicates, she was also powerfully used by God to free Israel from slavery to Canaan. The Lord will summon Israel's next deliverer through her, and the two will work closely together.

Judges 4:1–10 introduces the pair of godly leaders featured in this cycle of Israel's redemption: Barak and Deborah. Israel is oppressed by the Canaanite king, Jabin, and his military commander, Sisera. The prophetess Deborah is said to be leading Israel as a judge, and she summons Barak to tell him about God's plan. Barak agrees to serve only if Deborah goes with him. She agrees, noting that credit for defeating Sisera will go to a woman. They raise an army and prepare for battle.

In response to their sin, God allows Israel to fall into oppression under Jabin, king of the Canaanites. Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, cruelly abuses the Israelites for twenty years. Through His prophetess Deborah, the Lord raises up Barak to lead a massive Israeli army. This force wipes out Canaan's army. Sisera flees on foot and hides in the tent of Heber's wife Jael. Once he is asleep, she kills him and then shows Barak the body. The Israelites soon destroy King Jabin and are freed from Canaanite oppression.

Judges 4 begins with the death of Ehud, the assassin-leader of chapter 3 who freed Israel from the Moabites. After the Israelite people return to wickedness, God submits them to Jabin and the Canaanites. After twenty years, the Lord raises up a deliverer called Barak through His prophetess Deborah. Israel obliterates the enemy army, and the general is slaughtered in his sleep by a woman. Jabin and the Canaanites are defeated. The next chapter poetically retells these events, followed by the introduction of an especially famous judge in chapter 6: Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).