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Hands in the Deborah Pericope
Hands in the Deborah Pericope
(I’m writing a chapter on Deborah in my book on The Genesis of Gender Roles, and this is just extra thoughts not in the book)
The word “hand” is one of the key words in the Deborah narrative, both metaphorically and physically. Hand means “power”. God’s hand is the ultimate power.
4:2 – God sells Israel into the hand of Jabin. This Canannite King exuded power over Israel but only because God “sold” Israel. Four times within Judges God is selling Israel and once God sells Israel’s enemy to Israel. Metaphorically, selling is the opposite of being redeemed. Being the opposite, being sold is being condemned rather than saved.
4:7 – God will hand over Sisera and army to Barak. The power to defeat the pagan king was God’s. Yahweh is the true hero of the story and not Deborah, Jael, or Barak.
4:9 – God now will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Barak balked at his assignment so the honor will be given to a woman. Culturally, this was an insult to both Barak and Sisera (Judges 9:53-54).
4:14 – God is said to have given Sisera into the hand of Barak. This is not a contradiction to the prophecy of 4:9 because 4:9 is about Sisera personally, while 4:14 is about Sisera’s army. This is an example of metonomy.
4:21 – Jael takes a tent peg and hammer into her hand. This is fulfilling Deborah’s prophecy where “hand” is used metaphorically and now is being fulfilled literally and physically.
4:24 – The hand of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin. Acting as a bookends, the reverse of power is now complete.
5:26 – The song twice mentions Jael’s hand.
The lesson here for us is anything accomplished by our hand, whether literally or metaphorically, by the authority of God, is accomplished with His power. The hand of God strengthens our hand. On earth we are the “hand” of God. All glory goes to God. May we be victorious and redeemed.
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