Hebrew word · H1683

דְּבוֹרָה

devorah

Deborah

Personal name, the same as the common noun 'bee' (Deuteronomy 1:44; Psalm 118:12; Judges 14:8). Also the name of Rebekah's nurse (Genesis 35:8), buried near Bethel, close to where this Deborah held court (Judges 4:5).

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A woman living before Israel's Monarchy, first mentioned at Jdg.4.4; married to Lappidoth (H3941)

§ Deborah = "bee"

1) the nurse of Rebekah who accompanied her from the house of Bethuel

2) a prophetess who judged Israel

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Judges 5:1

Range of meaning

Personal name, the same as the common noun 'bee' (Deuteronomy 1:44; Psalm 118:12; Judges 14:8). Also the name of Rebekah's nurse (Genesis 35:8), buried near Bethel, close to where this Deborah held court (Judges 4:5).

Against the English

English simply transliterates the name, so the meaning 'bee' is lost. Some connect the root d-b-r ('to speak'), but that link is popular wordplay, not established etymology.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Judges 4:4 she is 'a woman, a prophetess (nəvîʾāh), wife of Lappidoth', who 'was judging Israel'. In the song she calls herself 'a mother in Israel' (5:7).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 35:8 דְּבֹרָה֙ Deborah

    Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.

Judges · 9

  1. Judges 4:4 וּדְבוֹרָה֙ and Deborah

    Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

  2. Judges 4:5 דְּבוֹרָ֗ה Deborah

    And she would sit under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, where the Israelites would go up to her for judgment.

  3. Judges 4:9 דְּבוֹרָ֛ה Deborah

    “I will certainly go with you,” Deborah replied, “but the road you are taking will bring you no honor, because the LORD will be selling Sisera into the hand of a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh,

  4. Judges 4:10 דְּבוֹרָֽה׃ Deborah

    where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

  5. Judges 4:14 דְּבֹרָ֨ה Deborah

    Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

    Here: Her name means "bee." She is the prophetess who judges Israel (4:4). She, not the general, says when the battle starts. That fits her role as the person through whom Yahweh's word comes.

  6. Judges 5:1 דְּבוֹרָ֔ה Deborah

    On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

    Here: The prophetess who led Israel in chapter 4. Her name is the ordinary Hebrew word for 'bee'. She is named first and the verb is shaped to her.

  7. Judges 5:7 דְּבוֹרָ֔ה Deborah

    Life in the villages ceased; it ended in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel.

    Here: The name sits between the two "arose"s, so the line hangs on her. The name means "bee", but the poem does nothing with that.

  8. Judges 5:12 דְּבוֹרָ֔ה O Deborah

    ‘Awake, awake, O Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, O Barak, and take hold of your captives, O son of Abinoam!’

    Here: Deborah, the prophet and judge of chapter 4, is called by name. Her name means 'bee', and it chimes in sound with dabbĕrî ('speak') two words later.

  9. Judges 5:15 דְּבֹרָ֔ה Deborah

    The princes of Issachar were with Deborah, and Issachar was with Barak, rushing into the valley at his heels. In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.