Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth: This phrase introduces the new character, Deborah. Revised Standard Version begins this unit with Now, but translators should introduce this important character in keeping with the storytelling devices of their own language, for example, “Now, there once was a woman named Deborah….” In some languages it may be even more natural to introduce her husband Lappidoth first by saying “There once was a man named Lappidoth, who had a wife named Deborah….”
The name Deborah means “honey bee” in Hebrew. She is described as a prophetess, a title also given to Miriam (Exo 15.20). In Hebrew a prophetess, the wife of is literally “a woman, a prophetess, the woman of,” which is an impressive sounding expression with an obvious emphasis on the word “woman.” Deborah’s role as a prophetess is not explained, but certainly she was acknowledged as one who brought God’s messages to the community. Translators should take care here and elsewhere not to give the impression that prophets told only about future events. The role of prophets was to communicate God’s message, involving the past, present or future. We can describe Deborah as “God’s spokesperson” or “woman who spoke God’s message.”
The name Lappidoth means “torches” in Hebrew. Other than this episode, he does not appear anywhere else in the Bible. His name is important because it plays a role in a number of plays on words, as the “honey bee” is married to the “torches.” Peoples who are familiar with bees know that to get the honey, a smoking torch is held up to the hive, driving the bees away and allowing the honey to be collected. Many scholars note the link between this story and the story of Samson, where “bees” and “torches” figure prominently (verse 14.8; verse 15.4-5). In a way this could be a kind of inclusio, since these words occur near the beginning of the judges’ saga, with a closing mention toward its end. The tie between the two passages could be mentioned in a footnote, but most translators will not consider these links to be important for the reader.
Was judging Israel at that time describes Deborah’s specific role in her community. Was judging renders the same Hebrew root (sh-f-t) that was used previously (verse 2.16; verse 3.10). However, here this verb has its primary meaning of settling conflicts and making judgments (see verse 2.16). Like Moses (Exo 18.13-27) and Huldah (verse 2 Kgs 22.14), Deborah gave advice and decided legal cases. However, it is clear from the story that Deborah is also a “leader” (Contemporary English Version), even if she may not be in the forefront of the battle. In this context, quite exceptionally in this book, this verb should be rendered “was [or, served as] a judge.” In many languages there is an idiomatic expression for such a person, for example, “one who cuts the truth” or “one who cuts judgments.” Thus, in the whole book of Judges, Deborah seems to be the only person who qualifies as a real (legal) judge, in the modern sense of the term.
As elsewhere the narrator presents Israel as a unified nation, when in fact, Deborah probably served as judge in one small part of the country. See the comments on “the people of Israel” at verse 1.1. At that time is the same expression used in verse 3.29. This temporal phrase can of course be moved to the beginning of the sentence, according to constraints of style in the target language.
Some translation examples for this verse are:
• Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a woman prophet. At the time she served as a judge for the people of Israel.
• At that time there was a man named Lappidoth who had a wife named Deborah. She was God’s spokesperson and she made judgments for the people of Israel.
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .