Deborah and Barak: The story of the fourth of Israel’s judges is full of the unexpected. Deborah is a multigifted woman whose roles parallel those of Moses. Barak behaves as anything but a hero of faith. Jael, a simple, non-Israelite woman, is privileged to deal the death blow to a powerful warrior—with highly unconventional weapons, a tent peg and hammer. Unlike other judges’ stories, the narrative account is followed by a poem, the Song of Deborah, which celebrates the Lord’s miraculous victory on behalf of Israel.

4:1–3 The story of Deborah is introduced in the way we have come to expect, with only the names, places, and duration of oppression changed. The Israelites once again found themselves enslaved, this time to Jabin, a king of Canaan. Then the author directs our attention to two d…