‘ Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time.'
Deborah is one of three prophetesses mentioned in the Old Testament, two of whom were powerful figures. The others were Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14). Deborah means ‘a bee' and was a relatively common name. The fact that she was a prophetess indicated that she had the Spirit of Yahweh. Her influence was so powerful that she was made a judge of Israel. All recognised an aura about her. It is significant that while prophetesses were officially allowed as religious functionaries, priestesses were not. Women could serve at the door of the Tabernacle but they could not enter it (Exodus 38:8). This may have been partly because of the function that priestesses served in other religions with their sexual rites. The Tabernacle was an asexual reserve.