In the debate over men’s and women’s roles in the church, egalitarians often point to Deborah as an example of a woman in institutional leadership, using her story to argue that women may also serve as authoritative teachers and leaders in the church. The argument proceeds as follows.
Deborah served Israel as both prophetess and judge, roles that required her to exercise authority over men and assume significant leadership responsibilities. Her appointment to leadership and the nature of her ministry demonstrate that women are also capable of filling positions of institutional leadership, including leadership within the church. The example of Deborah—together with other female leaders in both the Old and New Testaments—suggests that no hierarchy of leadership should exist between men and women in the church. Both women and men may hold positions of leadership and authority within the gathered congregation.
What should we make of Deborah? Specifically, does Deborah’s example overturn the complementarian position that only men should serve in the role of authoritative teacher and leader in the church (1 Tim 2:11-14)? In this article, I will argue that the nature of Deborah’s leadership and the historical context of her rule do not undermine the complementarian position.
Institutional Leadership in the Old and New Testament
I begin with this basic point: When it comes to institutional leadership, men are, almost without exception, the leaders and teachers of God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments. Adam was designed and designated by God to be the leader in relation to his wife (Gen 2:7-3:19; 1 Tim 2:13-14). God called Abraham to lead his family out of the land of Ur and settle in Canaan (Gen 12:1ff). God made a covenant with Abraham, and then his son, Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob. All men. The twelve tribes of Israel were all designated by their male progenitor (Gen 49:1-27; Ex 24:4).
When Israel needed deliverance from slavery, God called Moses to lead and teach the nation, and he appointed Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. From that point on, all priests in Israel were men. When Moses died, Joshua became the leader of Israel (Josh 1:1-9). All of Israel’s military leaders were men. With the exception of Deborah, all the judges were men. During the monarchy, with the exception of Athaliah, there were only kings, not queens, in Israel. Although there were a few queen mothers in Israel, they were never in the role of national ruler. While there were female prophetesses in Israel, all the writing prophets were male. Elijah and Elisha, two non-writing prophets, were men.
When you come to the New Testament, we see that Christ chooses twelve men to be his apostles, and these men would teach and lead the church, establishing it upon authoritative revelation and sound doctrine (Eph 2:20). When Judas betrays Jesus and commits suicide, the apostles pick another man to fill his place (Acts 1:20). Even after Pentecost, after the Spirit had come upon the church, when the apostles needed help with some administrative tasks, they chose seven men (Acts 6:3). When Paul instructed Timothy and Titus about who they were to place into leadership, he commanded that qualified men fill this role (1 Tim 3:1ff; Titus 1:5-9). All the writers of the New Testament Scriptures were men. When we come into the eternal state, there will be an everlasting memorial to the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles (Rev 21:12-14).
Deborah’s Ministry as Judge in Israel
Deborah’s ministry, then, stands out as an exception to the typical pattern in both Israel and the church. Up to this point in Israel’s history, all national leaders had been men. The appearance of Deborah in a role previously filled exclusively by men should prompt us to consider her significance in the narrative. Why, after a continuous succession of male leaders, does God raise up a woman? Was this meant to foreshadow a future overturning of male leadership through the coming of the Messiah and the outpouring of the Spirit? Or might there be another explanation that better accounts for the presence of a woman judge at this point in the redemptive storyline?
We should note that Deborah’s ministry as a judge occurred at a time when everyone in Israel was doing what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The period of the judges was not a season of spiritual health for the nation, and many of the judges themselves exhibited serious character flaws. We should be careful, therefore, in assuming that these leaders are commendable examples. Barak’s cowardice (Judges 4:8), Gideon’s hesitancy to trust the Lord (Judges 6:36-40), Samson’s unbridled sensuality (Judges 14:1-3), and the Levite’s brutality (19:1-30) should not be followed as models of godly conduct. Yet, these men were, at the time, the appointed leaders of Israel. Leadership in Israel was a mess during the time of the judges.
What accounts for Deborah’s appointment to judge, then (Judges 4:4)? We are not told directly, but this lack of a straightforward explanation is not unusual for biblical narrative. Unlike didactic literature, such as the New Testament letters, narratives do not often teach directly, but rather indirectly, through the way the narrative is told. The refrain, “There was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25), is a crucial key to interpreting the book.
Rebuking the Nation
It is reasonable, therefore, to see Deborah’s appointment as a means of indicting Israel’s leaders and highlighting Israel’s deplorable spiritual condition. In fact, you find Deborah rebuking Barak for his refusal to do what God has called him to do.
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’” (Judges 4:6-7)?
Deborah’s comment, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you…,” shows that Barak had already received this command and had neglected to act on it. The remaining narrative tells us that Barak’s hesitation stemmed from cowardice. “Barak said to her, ‘If you will not go with me, I will not go’” (Judges 4:8). Although someone might suggest that Barak’s request did not indicate that he was acting fearfully, Deborah’s response confirms it: “And she said, ‘I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman” (Judges 4:9). The woman, we learn, is Jael, who lured Sisera into her tent fleeing Barak’s army, only to thrust a tent peg through his skull while he was asleep. Although Barak’s army had routed Sisera’s army (Judges 14:15), the glory for the victory went to Jael, not to Barak, for she had eliminated the enemy’s commander.
This transfer of honor from Barak to a woman was intended to be a rebuke to Barak for his fearfulness precisely because it was the man’s responsibility to lead Israel valiantly (see Josh 1:9). Because Israel was in the throes of rebellion against God, he had allowed an exception to develop within Israel’s leadership structure. Rather than a man, Deborah, a woman, now takes the helm of national governance. This development should not be viewed as a sign of spiritual health, however, but as an indication that Israel was desperately sick.
Many years later, speaking to his people through the prophet Isaiah, God described his nation as a people whose oppressors were infants and whose rulers were women (Is 3:12). This was not a commendation—it was an insult. When qualified men are replaced by women, it is a sign that something is badly amiss in the congregation.
Through her ministry, Deborah rebuked a man for his cowardice and rebuked a nation for its unfaithfulness. As we see in the passage from Isaiah above, it is not unusual for God to bring about a situation that does not align with his revealed will to instruct, correct, and rebuke his people. Given the steady pattern of male institutional leadership in the remaining portion of Judges, as well as the pattern of male institutional leadership throughout the Old and New Testaments, we should view Deborah’s ministry as an exception that proves the rule. Her presence in the Old Testament narrative, therefore, cannot be used as support for women serving as authoritative teachers or leaders in the church. Nor can we use her role as prophetess as evidence that women can serve as institutional leaders of God’s people.
What about Her Role as Prophetess?
Prophecy, in the Old and New Testaments, is direct, infallible, authoritative revelation from God to his people through the prophet. (I have defended this view against Wayne Grudem’s view of prophecy at length here and here.) The prophet is speaking the very words of God, without dilution, without error, without his or her own interpretation. Just the pure word of God.
Apparently, some women possessed the gift of prophecy in both the Old and New Testaments. But we must make a few observations about how the gift was used. Miriam was a prophetess, for example, but she appeared to minister to women with it, at least in the passage where she is described as a prophetess (Ex 15:20-21). Huldah was a prophetess, but her ministry is only mentioned with reference to a private conversation she had with Hilkiah the priest and his associates. And she gave them the direct Word of God (2 Kings 22:14-20). In this case, Huldah simply delivered God’s Word to the priest in a private setting. She did not have a public preaching ministry like Isaiah or Jeremiah.
Noadiah is mentioned as a prophetess, but we know nothing about her ministry except that she opposed Nehemiah (Neh 6:14). Isaiah’s wife was also a prophetess, but we know nothing about her ministry (Is 8:3). In the Gospel of Luke, Anna is described as a prophetess. Her ministry consisted of being in the temple, praying and worshipping day and night, and speaking of the Messiah to the people who were waiting for the redemption of Israel. Philip had four daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:9). In the early church, women could pray and prophesy in corporate settings (1 Cor 11:5), but they were not allowed to give authoritative teaching that was based on that prophecy, as Paul says in 1 Cor 14:33-35.
Here’s the crucial point: Prophecy is an authoritative, infallible revelation given directly from God to his people through the prophet, and the New Testament consistently distinguishes between teaching and prophecy (e.g., Rom 12:6-7; Eph 4:12). Prophecy is the direct word of God; teaching is interpreting and applying that word. Prophecy, along with teaching, occurred in the early church while Scripture was being written and compiled. However, once Scripture was complete, the gift of prophecy ceased to exist because direct revelation was no longer necessary. Teaching, however, remains essential in the church. All the prophecy we need is now located in the Bible, and that prophecy needs to be interpreted and applied by faithful teachers—teachers who are qualified men (1 Tim 3:1ff).
Deborah’s role as a prophetess, therefore, does not indicate that women may hold authoritative teaching roles in the church. Prophecy is not teaching, as we see from the New Testament. Additionally, Deborah’s prophetic work, as far as we can tell from the narrative, was directed to Barak in a private setting and did not involve public proclamation.
Conclusion: What’s the Big Deal?
Why belabor this point about Deborah? Because it is crucial to see that nothing in Deborah’s example indicates that God is now overturning the pattern of male institutional leadership among his people and that women may now hold the position of authoritative teacher and leader in the church. Were women in places of vital ministry and influence, even exercising courage and initiative? Yes! Rahab is commended for her faith because she hid two Israelite spies (Heb 11:31). Jael courageously and stealthily killed Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army (Judges 4:17-22). Deborah was used by God to persuade Barak to do what God wanted him to do (Judges 4:4:7ff). Abigail persuaded David not to shed more blood by killing her worthless husband (1 Sam 25:23-35). The woman in Proverbs 31 is an exemplary woman full of a variety of skills (Prov 31:10-31). Mary accepted the call to be the mother of the Messiah (Luke 1:26-38). Many women provided for Jesus during his ministry (Luke 8:3), and courageously sought to care for his body after his death (Luke 24:44-49). Mary Magdalene was chosen by Christ to be the first to see him after his resurrection and to tell his disciples that he had risen (John 20:11-18). Euodia and Syntyche labored alongside Paul in gospel ministry. Phoebe was an excellent servant of the church at Cenchreae (Rom 16:1).
But none of these examples, including Deborah, read in their immediate context and within the pattern of male leadership established throughout Scripture, indicate that God has called women to the role of authoritative teacher and leader in the church. This responsibility is reserved for men, and we will all be healthier and fruitful if we abide by God’s Word, even when it goes against our initial desires and ambitions.