Judges 4:5

dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah The marg. sat is better, cf. Judges 6:11 1 Samuel 14:2; 1 Samuel 22:6, lit. she was sitting, i.e. to declare the divine will in disputes and cases of difficulty; hence, it is implied, the palm tree of Deborahbetween Ramah (er-Râm) and Beth-el (Beitin), 5 and 12 m. respectively N. of Jerusalem, obtained its name. In the same neighbourhood, and associated with the same name, was the famous tree called Allon-bacuth, -tree (?oak) of mourning," under which Deborah the nurse of Rachel was buried, Genesis 35:8. The conclusion seems to be irresistible that we have here and in Genesis 35:8 two different ways of accounting for the name of the same tree. Of the two, that given in Gen. is perhaps preferable; for there is nothing elsewhere in the present narrative to suggest that Deborah's home was in the S. of the hill country of Ephraim; Judges 5:15, though it does not speak distinctly, appears to connect her with Issachar; and it is more likely that the deliverer arose where the need was the sorest, rather than from a district outside the area of the oppression. Moreover, Deborah with her head-quarters near Beth-el would have been too far apart from Barak for the conduct of the negotiations in Judges 4:6.