According to the Old Testament, Deborah led Israel alongside the military commander Barak.
The Book of Judges presents Deborah as a prophetess and judge who held court beneath a palm tree in the hill country of Ephraim. She summoned Barak and instructed him to gather troops against Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin of Hazor.
Barak agreed to go only if Deborah accompanied him. The biblical account says Israel’s forces defeated Sisera’s army, while Sisera himself fled and was later killed by Jael, another woman in the story. Deborah and Barak then sang a victory song recorded in Judges 5.
Deborah is distinct from Jael: Deborah directed the campaign and judged Israel, while Jael killed Sisera after he sought refuge in her tent.