Deborah
Judges Chapters 4 and 5 Read it here
Deborah is one of the greatest of the judges. Unlike the first three, we see her in her role of rendering decisions before we see her in military action, but that comes, too. She is also a prophet.
At a time when the people are oppressed by the Canaanites, this prophet arises to lead the people. God speaks to her and directs her to order Barak to fight them.
Barak agrees on the condition that Deborah will accompany him into battle, thus assuring God’s presence. She agrees, but warns him that the final defeat of the enemy leader, Sisera, will not be his, but will be at the hands of a woman. (We later learn that in spite of what might be expected, she is not that woman).
Barak is victorious in battle, but Sisera himself flees and seeks refuge in the tent of Jael. Jael pretends to be willing to protect him, but after she gives him milk to drink and hides him, she takes a wooden tent peg and hammers it through his temple. She then reports to Barak that he is dead.
Chapter 5 repeats the same story in the Song of Deborah with a few variations in details—the main difference being that in the song, Sisera is not asleep when Jael kills him, but all of the essential points remain the same.
The Song of Deborah is thought to have existed long before Judges was compiled and is believed to be the oldest poetry in scripture and one of the earliest writings included near its original form.
Of the judges named in scripture, Deborah is the only woman, but this is noted with little comment—certainly not with the emphasis it would receive in modern times. To the original readers she would have been one of the well-known heroes of their past.
Note that with Deborah the role of judge is moving closer to that of a king. She is not only a judge like we saw previously, or a judge and military leader like we saw in yesterday’s reading, but now is also recognized as God’s prophet.