‘Obey me like your mother’: Deborah's Leadership in Light of Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 33

1. Introduction

References to women's leadership in ancient Jewish literature are scarce. ¹ Women predominantly appear to have domestic roles, and the ancient texts seldom attest to their leadership in society. Therefore, the position of women in society and their political participation remain unclear and debated, and it becomes crucial to investigate carefully the sparse information on leadership of women in the ancient texts that we have. ²

The figure of Deborah is of particular interest when women's leadership is analyzed. Together with Miriam, Huldah, and Noadiah, she is one of the four women referred to as ‘a female prophet’ (‭האיבנ‬) in the Hebrew Bible (Judg. 4.4). She is also attributed the title ‘mother in Israel’ (‭לאדשיב‬ ‭םא‬) in Judg. 5.7. This term has been interpreted as a description of Deborah's familial relationship with Israel. She appears as a parent who goads her children to fight. ³ Interestingly, whereas the Hebrew Bible preserves only one reference to this title ‘mother’, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (L.A.B.) employs it several times when discussing Deborah in chs. 29–33. The term ‘mother’ is particularly emphasized in ch. 33, which outlines Deborah's farewell speech and her death. Deborah is referred to as ‘mother’ altogether three times (L.A.B. 33.1, 4, 6) in this chapter. ⁴

The term ‘mother’ concerning the figure of Deborah in L.A.B. has been explained in different ways. Charles Perrot and Pierre-Maurice Bogaert note in their often-quoted commentary on L.A.B. that the author often places female figures in the centre of the text. They call this particular feature of the text ‘feminism of the author’. ⁵ Yet, they do not spend much time analyzing individual passages where female characters appear, nor do they explain what ‘the feminism’ of the author really is. Thus, their commentary does not shed further light on the figure of Deborah. In another classical commentary of L.A.B., Daniel J. Harrington continues using the terminology launched by Perrot and Bogaert, i.e., ‘feminism’. He points out that because the term ‘mother’ clearly does not denote family relations, it should be read as a ‘feminist counterpart’ to the term ‘father’. ⁶ Even more so, Louis H. Feldman has compared the figure of Deborah and her ‘motherhood’ in L.A.B. to Josephus' Jewish Antiquities, where the role of this figure is diminished significantly, concluding that it is clear that the author of L.A.B. promoted Deborah and had a ‘feminist interest’. ⁷

For his part, Pieter Willem van der Horst interprets Deborah as a mother next to the other characters to whom the title ‘mother’ is attributed. Thus, van der Horst has proposed that the term ‘mother’ attributed to Deborah implies the highest category accessible for women, that of a matriarch. ⁸ The most recent commentary of L.A.B., that of Howard Jacobson, states that the term ‘mother’ is connected with Deborah, because she was known as the ancestress of King David. ⁹ Betsy Halpern-Amaru has contributed to the analysis of women in L.A.B. by arguing that the author exalts motherhood and portrays most of the women in maternal ways. If women are not mothers in the biblical narrative, they are referred to as mothers symbolically. ¹⁰ This reading results in a rather negative view of women: their sole function is reproductive. Finally, Mary Therese DesCamp has recently argued that while emphasizing the theme of motherhood throughout the text, the author of L.A.B. actually revises the notion of motherhood itself. Thus, motherhood appears in this text as a source and reason for power and women's influence extends to the public world. ¹¹

All in all, previous studies have not only been insufficient in paying attention to the meaning of the term ‘mother’, but have also lacked the methodological rigor required. First, although the comparison of Deborah with the matriarchs is intriguing, the female protagonists of Genesis are not known by the term ‘mothers’ in the Hebrew Bible. Instead, they appear under collective term ‘mothers’ for the first time in the rabbinic literature. ¹² Thus such comparison puts Deborah into a category which may not have been known to the ancient author of L.A.B. Second, to call a character who is referred to as a mother a ‘feminist counterpart’ to the term ‘father’ is also problematic since it retrojects a modern perspective upon the author. ¹³ Third, presenting Deborah as a female counterpart to ‘the fathers’ is a vague statement, ¹⁴ not least because it is not clear with which fathers she is being compared, and what kind of relationship there is between these characters. Fourth, to say that L.A.B. reflects a positive view on women that is the opposite of the misogynism reflected in the texts of Josephus does not really shed any light on Deborah in L.A.B. Fifth, it seems to be an oversimplification to claim that texts offer a negative perspective on women whenever the female characters appear as mothers. ¹⁵ In sum, most of research done on the figure of Deborah in L.A.B. regarding the title ‘mother’ appears to be based on the scholars' assumptions about women in the ancient world rather than critical research on the actual text. Here I would like to add that DesCamp's cognitive reading of L.A.B. is insightful, as she interprets female figures in a complex way. However, DesCamp does not take into consideration the historical references to the term ‘mother’ and consequently her study lacks an analysis of whether the term ‘mother’ could be read as a title.

In order to move the present discussion forward, one needs to clarify what the term ‘mother’ denotes in L.A.B. beyond the fact that it is a positive title and is related to the term ‘father’. In this article I will first analyze L.A.B. 33, where the term ‘mother’ features prominently, in order to discover how this term is actually used. Next, in order to discuss the significance of this term in more detail, I will turn to other ancient Jewish literature and examine the use of this term there. In the second part of this study I will compare how the author(s) of L.A.B. use(s) the term ‘father’, focusing on Deborah's death narrative. Interestingly, L.A.B. reports that when Deborah died, similarly to the fathers of Genesis, she ‘slept with her fathers’ (L.A.B. 33.6). This reading has implications concerning the interpretation of the term ‘mother’ and Deborah's leadership in L.A.B. At the end of this article I will argue that in light of our textual evidence the term ‘mother’, with regards to Deborah in L.A.B., should be understood as a title implying political leadership.

2. Analysis of L.A.B. 33

Before going into the actual analysis, a few words concerning the L.A.B. should be offered. The vast majority of scholars seem to think that the text was composed in the first century C.E. ¹⁶ The discussion concerning the first-century date is framed by the question of whether the composition was written prior to or after the destruction of the Temple. This matter is debated. Notably, the Temple is referred to only once (L.A.B. 19.7). Some scholars think that the general absence of the Temple is a sign that the text was written after the destruction of the Temple. ¹⁷ It is also possible that the Temple stands, but the writer is simply not interested in this topic.

While debating the date of L.A.B., scholars have also paid attention to the theme of leadership, which appears frequently in the narrative. By reminding the audience of earlier times when good leaders made people turn away from idolatry, the author expresses a general desire for virtuous leaders, who could prevent Israel from serving other gods in the future. ¹⁸ The text seems to exhibit an ongoing discussion concerning the leaders. Earlier leaders are gone, and during the foreign rule people are reminded of these earlier times. People are seemingly divided on the question who should lead them in different passages of L.A.B. ¹⁹ These observations have given additional strength to the theory that the text was written before the destruction of the Temple, when there was no clear idea of the future of the Jews and different models of leadership were evaluated. ²⁰

In addition to the matter of dating, scholars have also previously discussed the original language of L.A.B.'s composition. The traditional view was proposed at the end of the nineteenth century by Leopold Cohn, who argued that L.A.B. was composed in Hebrew. ²¹ Further, he proposed that between the Hebrew original and the preserved Latin copies of the text, it was transmitted in Greek. The Latin version could be a translation from this Greek text. ²² Hence, while discussing the term ‘mother’ in L.A.B., one needs to be cautious that the Latin text may be a translation from another language.

The author dedicates no fewer than four chapters in L.A.B. to the figure of Deborah, chs. 30–33. The passages that use the term ‘mother’ for Deborah appear in ch. 33, which preserves Deborah's farewell address. L.A.B. 33.1–6 appears to be a textual unity. ²³ There is no reason to think that it was heavily edited.

Next, let me go through this passage verse-by-verse, pointing out elements that will shed light on the study concerning the term ‘mother’. This analysis is based on the Latin text of the L.A.B. ²⁴

33.1: In the first verse (33.1) of the passage Deborah knows she will die. She takes an active role in summoning people by calling people to come and listen to her. This motif, where a dying person addresses his or her audience and delivers the final wishes, finds similarities in the vast collection of ancient Jewish and Christian testament texts where dying protagonists reach out for their children and followers before they die (e.g. Gen. 49.1–33; Testament of Moses; Testament of Job; Testament of Twelve Patriarchs). ²⁶ The close relationship between Deborah and the people is emphasized in Deborah's address. She calls the people ‘my people’.

Verse 33.1 contains various references to Deborah's gender. The first is the term ‘Woman of God’ (Lat. ‘mulier Dei’). This term is not witnessed elsewhere in ancient Jewish literature and thus we must look at other terms similar to it in order to discuss its significance. In the Hebrew Bible the masculine version of this term, i.e., ‘Man of God’ (‭םיהלאח‬ ‭שיא‬ or ‭םיחלא‬ ‭שיא‬) appears frequently. This term does not denote one character, but refers to different people: Moses (Deut. 33.1; Josh. 14.6; 1 Chron. 23.14; 2 Chron. 30.16; Ezra 3.2); an angel sent by God (Judg. 13.6, 8); an unidentified divine messenger (1 Sam. 2.27; 1 Kgs 13.1, 4–8); Samuel (1 Sam. 9.6, 7, 8, 10); Shemaiah (1 Kgs 12.22; 2 Chron. 11.2); Elijah (1 Kgs 17.24; 2 Kgs 1.9–13); Elisha (2 Kgs 4.9, 21, 22, 25, 27, 40, 42; 5.8, 14, 15, 20; 6.6, 9, 10, 15; 7.2, 17–19; 8.2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 19; 13.19; 23.16, 17); David (Neh. 12.24, 36); Hanan (Jer. 35.4).

These references demonstrate the selectivity of the term ‘man of God’. Only the most prominent characters are discussed as ‘men of God’ in the narrative of the Hebrew Bible. L.A.B. reworks the biblical narrative, and thus ‘woman of God’ should be understood similarly, adding to the prominence of her figure. It has been suggested that the author of L.A.B. had in mind in particular the figure of Samuel while writing that Deborah was a ‘woman of God’. ²⁷ The reason for this interpretation may be that, just like Samuel, who is known as a political leader and prophet (1 Sam. 9.9, 11), Deborah also exercises leadership in two regimes as a judge and a prophet. ²⁸

Another section that points to gender concerns is ‘I am enlightening you as one from the female race’. With regards to this sentence, it has been pointed out that the verb ‘to enlighten’ (Lat. ‘illuminare’) appears in L.A.B. mostly with God or Moses as grammatical subjects. ²⁹ It is as if the author wants to say that, like God and Moses, Deborah will be a light for her people. ³⁰ Meanwhile, the explicit reference to the ‘female race’ (Lat. ‘ex femineo genere’) in this context remains more obscure. Race (Lat. ‘genere’) is referred to elsewhere in L.A.B. multiple times. ³¹ Sometimes this term denotes Jews as a group. Other times it refers specifically to Jewish men. ³² If the term ‘female race’ is interpreted similarly, it probably stands for women more generally. Thus, the term may outline Deborah as a representative of women.

The phrase ‘listen like you listen to your mother’ is intriguing. Deborah's address to the people implies somehow a parent–child relationship. In ancient Jewish literature it was typically the father's role to educate children, and it is relatively rare for women to be credited with the role of educator. Despite this, some references to women's educational roles are preserved. For instance, the book of Proverbs narrates that King Lemuel learnt certain teachings from his mother: ‘The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him’ (Prov. 31.1). ³³ Moreover, Prov. 1.8 and 6.20 refer to ‘your mother's teaching’ (‭ךמא‬ ‭תךות‬), which is presented in parallel to father's instruction (‭ךסומ‬) and commandment (‭תוצמ‬). ³⁴

Another female figure who clearly instructs her son is Rebecca, whose extensive instructions to her son Jacob are preserved in Jubilees (e.g. Jub. 25.1–3, 11–23). Moreover, in the book of Tobit, Tobit himself tells that his mother Deborah instructed him (Tob. 1.7). ³⁵ These references testify to women as educators. Thus Deborah's call to ‘listen like you listen to your mother’ appears as a metaphor to learn from her teaching as children learn from their parents. ³⁶ The metaphor in this sentence concerns the parent–child relationship rather than the teaching; in ancient Jewish context it was possible that mothers educated their sons.

33.2: ‘Only direct your heart to the Lord your God during the time of your life’. Murphy points out that the state of human heart is frequently addressed in L.A.B. (e.g. 20.4). ³⁷ Moreover, directing the heart to God appears to be a necessity for proper understanding and fulfilment of the commandments in the Hebrew Bible (e.g. Prov. 3.1, 5; 4.4).

33.3: Verse 3 presents Deborah addressing sin and evil impulses, asserting that such will cease after death. The topic of evil inclination (‭ערה‬ ‭רצי‬) was widely debated in the rabbinic texts. ³⁸ As Deborah participates in the debate concerning its nature, the author of the passage appears to hold that she is a qualified scholar and interpreter of Scriptures.

The verse repeats the command to listen ‘my sons, obey my voice’. We should point out that while the Latin text preserves ‘filii’ as from filius for the sons, the use of this term does not exclude the idea that Deborah is addressing a mixed group.

33.4: Verse 4 contains the people's response. Crying, all the people answer Deborah, addressing her as ‘mother’ (‘mater’). That all the people are weeping and talking to Deborah clarifies further the close relationship between Deborah and the people. The second part of the verse shifts the discussion to the transition of the leadership, when the people ask: ‘to whom do you commend your sons whom you are leaving?’

33.6: Finally, v. 6 narrates Deborah's death. Deborah is said to sleep with her fathers (Lat. ‘Et mortua est Debbora et dormivit cum patribuis suis’) and she was buried in the city of her fathers (‘et sepulta est in civitate patrum suorum’). The narrative appears to link her with the patriarchs of Genesis—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—who are also told to ‘go to their people’ in death. I will return to the question of fathers in more detail later in this article. For now, let us consider other details of the passage.

That Deborah is buried in the city of her fathers remains peculiar. Boegart and Perrot refer to Deborah's tomb near Ramah. ³⁹ This tradition is tied to the Judges narrative, where Deborah is connected with Ramah (Judg. 4.4–5). Further, the death of Rachel is connected with this area (Gen. 35.19; Jer. 31.15). Finally, Deborah is mourned for seventy days, and after her death the land rested seven years. This narration appears to highlight Deborah's significance because the other leaders in L.A.B. are not mourned as long. For instance, Kenaz is mourned for thirty days. ⁴⁰

Altogether L.A.B. 33.1–6 uses the term ‘mother’ in different ways. Sometimes it is employed to describe the relation between Deborah and the people. This happens in L.A.B. 33.1 ‘listen like you listen to your mother’. The passage mirrors the idea that one should have respect for one's parents and that mothers can appear as educators. Other times the term appears to explain the nature of Deborah's leadership. This is the case, for instance, in 33.6, where the people call her ‘mother’. The passage employs the term in two different ways: as a description of the relationship between Deborah and the people and as an honorific title.

3. The Term ‘Mother’

Let us then move to discuss the use of the lexeme ‘mother’ in the ancient Jewish texts. Generally speaking, the lexeme ‭םא‬ can be read in two ways. ⁴¹ The most common and widespread use of the word ‘mother’ concerns the family relations i.e., biological motherhood. Unlike the term ‘father’, which can stand for wider family relationships, ‘mother’ usually denotes immediate lineage. ⁴²

Yet the ancient Jewish literature equally attests to different uses of this term. ⁴³ The most famous case appears in the penal code of the Damascus Document (4QD^e) where the community leaders are addressed as mothers:

The meaning of the term ‘mother’ is not explained in the text, nor is the reference to the obscure term ‭חמקור‬ that the mothers apparently lacked (see above). While the exact significance of the term ‘mother’ in this context is under debate, there is a general consensus that the groups of fathers and mothers should be viewed somehow in parallel as groups who held authority in the community. It has been proposed that mothers were elders similar to the group of fathers. ⁴⁵ This passage indicates that at least some women held an honorable position in the community and possibly had some authority. ⁴⁶

The term mother (Lat. ‘mater’) appears 29 times in L.A.B. Similar to the Hebrew texts, most of the references refer to biological motherhood. For instance, the figures Sarah and Rebecca appear exclusively in reproductive roles, whereas other traditions attributed to them are ignored in L.A.B. ⁴⁷ Motherhood appears to be the most frequent role assigned to women in L.A.B.

Peculiarly, L.A.B. employs the term ‘mother’ also for the figure of Tamar. L.A.B. 9.5 refers to ‘Tamar, our mother’ (Lat. ‘mater nostra Thamar’). This notion regarding the figure of Tamar has been explained in different ways. Van der Horst has argued that one fundamental theme that is voiced by the figure of Tamar in L.A.B. concerns intermarriage, which Tamar is vocally against. This may have been one of the reasons, if not the most important motivation, for the writer to call the character ‘our mother’. ⁴⁸ Tamar features as a good leader in this passage (cf. section 2).

Cecilia Wassen has pointed out that the focus of the narrative is on Tamar's pregnancy, and the character, who is referred to as ‘mother for people’, becomes the heroine of the story. She is a model of trust in God. ⁴⁹ In this case the title would be an honorific one, rather than an indication of her role as a political leader. More recently, DesCamp has argued that Tamar is not referred to as mother because she gave birth to ancestors, but ‘because she acted in a way that is a model for our own actions’. This concerns her opposition to intermarriage and her risking life for Israel. In other words: Tamar's good intentions save her. ⁵⁰

Finally, the author of L.A.B. attributes the term ‘mother’ to other people who are technically not mothers. Seila, Jephthah's daughter, is told to ‘fall into the bosom of her mothers’ after her tragic death (40.4). In this context the plural term indicates that the term ‘mother’ should again be interpreted differently from the biological significance. It can be associated with the phrase ‘going to the fathers’ (see below), and can be read as a female equivalent of a male's death notice. ⁵¹ Yet, in the case of a young woman's death it should be read as an image of comfort. ⁵² The image of ancestor mothers welcoming Sheila is comforting, in particular when she has experienced violence by men.

From this analysis we can conclude that the term ‘mother’ could be used in different ways in the ancient Jewish literature. Apart from the biological motherhood, its employment in the Damascus Document demonstrates it can also denote female leaders of a community. L.A.B. 40.4 shows that mothers were understood as a group of exemplary people. Further, the title ‘mother’ is attributed to two individual characters: Deborah and Tamar. Given the varying roles of these figures in L.A.B., it is clear that they merit the title for different reasons.

4. The Term ‘Father’ in L.A.B.

The narrative on Deborah calls for attention to be given the term ‘father’ for two reasons. First, in order to reveal the use of the term ‘mother’ as an honorific title or a title indicating leadership, one should analyze parallel uses of the term ‘father’ in L.A.B. Such analysis will shed some light on the author's use of this term. Second, L.A.B. 33.6 implies some connection between the figure of Deborah (i.e. the mother) and the fathers. Deborah is said to ‘sleep with her fathers’ (Lat. ‘Et mortua est Debbora et dormivit cum patribus suis’) at her deathbed. Thus, one should clarify who these fathers are and why they are mentioned in this context. Why is Deborah connected with them?

First, the term ‘father’ (Lat. ‘pater’) appears more frequently than the term ‘mother’ in L.A.B., where it occurs more than 100 times. ⁵³ Sometimes the term indicates family relationship (e.g. L.A.B. 8.10; 11.9; 18.2; 20.6). However, much more often the term ‘father’ is connected with the principal characters of Genesis, who are referred to as ‘fathers’ in the narrative of L.A.B. in different ways. For instance, ‘the fathers of nations’ appear in 4.11. Further, the text refers regularly to the ‘god of our fathers’ (e.g. 10.4; 25.6; 27.7; 47.1, 2). Moreover, one central theme of L.A.B. is the covenant, which is referred to as a ‘covenant with our fathers’ (e.g. 9.4; 10.2) or ‘covenant with your fathers’ (e.g. 23.11; 30.7). Finally, the author of L.A.B. invokes the memory of promise that God gave to the Genesis figures as a ‘promise to the fathers’ (e.g. 12.4; 13.6). ⁵⁴ It has been argued previously that the term ‘covenant’ specifies God's special relationship with Israel in L.A.B. ⁵⁵ This relationship is established with Abraham and his posterity.

It is possible that the author of L.A.B. had a specific group of people in mind while referring to the ‘fathers’ multiple times. Significantly, L.A.B. 61.5 lists the people who are referred to as fathers: ‘David writes down the names of the fathers: Abraham and Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Aaron’ (Lat. ‘Et profectus est David et accepit septem lapides, et scripsit in eis nomina patrum suorum': Abraham, Isaac et Iacob, Moysi et Aaron’).

Let us now turn to the concept of sleeping with fathers that appears in L.A.B. 33.6. The concept of going to the ancestors appears prominently in Genesis in relation to the patriarchs. Their deaths are narrated with little variation. Abraham's death is narrated as follows: ‘Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah’ (Gen. 25.8–9). Isaac and Jacob are buried with him in the cave of Machpelah and also they are told to gather to their people after death (Gen. 49.29–33). Notably, Abraham, Aaron and Moses are not entombed with their forefathers but they also are told to ‘go to their ancestors’. ⁵⁶ Significantly, the people who are said to go to their forefathers after their death are the exact same characters who are referred to as ‘fathers’ in L.A.B. (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Aaron).

It is of interest that the death accounts of the Genesis fathers are not included at all in the narrative of L.A.B. Hence, the first reference to the concept of going to the fathers appears in L.A.B. 19.2 in a passage that contains Moses' farewell speech. Prior to his death Moses announces the people that he will sleep with his fathers and will go to ‘my people’. The concept is further elaborated in L.A.B. 19.12, which suggests that the fathers are the forefathers who died in Egypt. They are promised to be brought together with Moses. The passage reads: ‘and I will raise up you and your fathers from the land of Egypt in which you sleep and you will come together and dwell in the immortal dwelling place that is not subject to time’ (trans. Harrington, OTP). The next person to sleep with the fathers is Joshua. His death is narrated in L.A.B. 24, where he gives a farewell address and sleeps with his fathers (Lat. ‘obdormivit cum patribus suis’, 24.5). People mourn over him and say lamentation. The other two leaders to whom this scene is applied are Kenaz in 28.10 (Lat. ‘dormivit cum patribus suis’), and Zebul in 29.4 (‘obdormivit Zebul cum patribus suis’).

Finally, the figure of Deborah is the last character in L.A.B. (33.6), whose death is described in this way, i.e., making use of the concept ‘sleeping with fathers’. Later leaders are simply buried with their fathers; what happens in their death is not specified. Instead of the verb ‘sleeping’ (Lat. ‘dormire’), in these contexts the author of L.A.B. employs the verb ‘to bury’ (Lat. ‘sepelire’). ⁵⁷

The characters who are connected with the notion of ‘sleeping with the fathers’ in L.A.B. are different from those of the Pentateuch narrative, where this concept is linked to the Genesis fathers as well as Moses and Aaron. Notably, L.A.B. extends this type of death narrative to a group of people, basically extending from Moses to Zebul. It is possible that the text assumes that the Genesis fathers and Aaron joined their forefathers in death (see L.A.B. 61.5), but their death accounts are not preserved. Moreover, what draws attention is that the only character whose death is narrated both in the Pentateuch and in L.A.B. is Moses. Meanwhile, the rest of the characters to whom the concept ‘sleeping with fathers’ is attributed, appear to be political leaders of the Israelites. Joshua, Kenaz, Zebul, and Deborah belong to a different era than the founding fathers of Genesis. They belong to the period that assumes the Israelites settlement in the land.

It is significant that Deborah marks the conclusion to this chain of people. Her death is narrated in a way similar to the death accounts of the Genesis fathers and the political leaders of L.A.B. These accounts generally follow a distinct pattern: the one about to die gathers all the people and address them (19.1; 24.1; 28.1; 29.4; 33.1); then they sleep with their fathers (19.12; 24.5; 28.10; 29.4; 33.6). In relation to some characters it is mentioned that people mourned their death. Angels mourn Moses in 19.12; Joshua is lamented in 24.6; Kenaz is mourned for thirty days in 28.10. Deborah too is mourned for seventy days in 33.6.

These observations carry some consequences for the interpretation of the figure of Deborah. Most importantly, it should be emphasized that the figures of L.A.B. that are said to sleep with the fathers in their death differ from the Genesis fathers in one distinct feature. While the Genesis fathers are interpreted as forefathers who established the covenant, the later characters are political leaders who run the country and lead the people. Such a distinction concerning the characters that are said to sleep with their fathers in death affords the figure of Deborah a specific role in the narrative of L.A.B. Deborah is presented as a political leader alongside the other leaders. Such a portrayal suggests that while the author of L.A.B. describes the relationship between Deborah and people in symbolical, familial terms, with regards to Deborah's leadership the term ‘mother’ highlights Deborah's role in the community. The author of L.A.B. intentionally used this term in order to make the point that Deborah was a leader similar to the fathers.

5. Mothers as Leaders

Earlier in this study I dealt with the term ‘mother’ in the ancient Jewish literature, highlighting its use to denote family relations, but also demonstrating its use for women in leadership. It should be pointed out that there is additional primary evidence for the use of this term, and at this stage it is helpful to take a look at early Jewish inscriptions where the term ‘mother’ appears. My intention in turning to these references is not to suggest that Deborah is comparable to the historical leaders to whom the title ‘mother’ was attributed. However, as the term ‘mother’ has historical connotations, such usage should be taken into consideration when the nature of Deborah's leadership is evaluated.

In her often-quoted study Women Leaders in the Ancient Synagogue, Bernadette Brooten examines the title ‘mother’ in the Jewish inscriptions of late Second Temple era and early centuries C.E. ⁵⁸ Since L.A.B. probably stems from the first century C.E., the (mostly) short burial inscriptions treated by Brooten are particularly relevant for this discussion. In her analysis Brooten demonstrates that the title ‘mother’ (Lat. ‘mater synagogae’ and ‘pateressa’, Greek inscriptions preserve μητηρ συναγoγα∊ and μήτηρ) appears in the ancient inscriptions. Sometimes the term ‘mother’ appears next to the title ‘father’ in the inscriptions. This leaves open the possibility that women could receive the title ‘mother’ simply through their family connections. ⁵⁹ In contrast, in other inscriptions the title ‘mother’ appears independently, indicating that women without powerful family ties could bear this title. ⁶⁰ Despite this contradictory evidence displayed by the inscriptions, the dominant scholarly view has been that the titles ‘mother’ and ‘father’ applied simply to an honorific member of the community. As a consequence, fathers and mothers have traditionally been interpreted without a leadership function. Brooten demonstrates that serious flaws underpin this interpretation. ⁶¹ In other instances, scholars have suggested that the mothers of the synagogue were mainly doing charity work. ⁶² There is no textual evidence to support this hypothesis, however, and instead it seems that such function has been postulated because it has been interpreted to be ‘appropriate for women’.

After drawing the reader's attention to the generally weak argumentation concerning the title ‘mother’ as an honorific member of the community, Brooten brings forward her own evidence. She demonstrates that some inscriptions show that ‘fathers’ had a function similar to the leaders of the synagogue, e.g., ‘archisynagogos’. ⁶³ This observation calls for a reevaluation of the role of the mothers. If the two terms appear as parallel, why would the mothers be prohibited from positions of leadership? Brooten presents literary evidence that highlights the role of the mothers as leaders. Her most convincing case concerns a Christian anti-Jewish polemic entitled De Altercatione Ecclesiae et Synagogae, which discusses circumcision as a sign of salvation and its relation to women who are excluded from it. The text reads: ‘what will your virgins do, what your widows, what even your mothers of the synagogue, if you bear witness that the sign of circumcision has helped the people to eternal life?’ ⁶⁴ This passage points to the polemical debate that ordinary women and mothers, some of whom were the most outstanding women of the Jewish community, by virtue of their not having been circumcised, were excluded from eternal life. ⁶⁵ Brooten further argues that this document demonstrates that the title ‘mother of synagogue’ was sufficiently well known outside the Jewish circles that people would associate it with female leadership. ⁶⁶

Finally, Brooten shows that the function of the women who had leadership roles in the synagogues at the turn of the millennium was not religious. Rather, their function may have been related to administration or general management of the community. This evidence offers some insights for our study of the term ‘mother’. It appears that in ancient Jewish literature the title ‘mother’ would not need to be an honorific title. Rather, there is strong evidence to argue that the title implied leadership. Hence, my conviction is that the author of L.A.B. used the term ‘mother’ intentionally while discussing Deborah. The author aimed at highlighting Deborah's role as a leader of the community.

6. Conclusion

This analysis contributes to and elucidates further some of the earlier studies concerning the leaders portrayed in L.A.B. They are figures whose role is to guarantee that the people stayed on the right path and did not start to worship foreign gods. The figure of Deborah features as an ideal for the author. It is important to acknowledge that, according the writer of L.A.B., such leadership was not the exclusive reserve of men, but was also open to women. It is significant that the women who performed such roles, Deborah perhaps in particular, fulfilled the requirements for ideal leadership.

Many of the studies dealing with the figure of Deborah in L.A.B. have interpreted the title ‘mother’ symbolically, without addressing the significance of the title explicitly. In light of ancient Jewish literature that employs the term ‘mother’, as well as the descriptions concerning the political leadership in L.A.B., I would argue that the term ‘mother’ implies two things. On the one hand, it refers to the familial relationship between Deborah and the people. This does not exclude an aspect of leadership, because mothers were known to instruct their children. On the other hand, figure of Deborah is presented in L.A.B. as one of the political leaders of the early Israelites. This literary presentation may have implications for our reconstructions of the historical reality. The evidence offered by the early inscriptions confirms that the title ‘mother’ was sometimes used for women who held some type of leadership role in the early synagogues. Since this usage implied public office and function in the community, these references provide further insights into the use of the term ‘mother’. The title should be viewed as a sign of authority within the ancient Jewish community.

Reading Deborah as an early political leader of the Israelites challenges the views concerning women's leadership in ancient Jewish texts. As this article and the other studies discussed have demonstrated, although women leaders may have been relatively few in number, nevertheless they did exist. This conclusion urges scholars to look in closer detail at the descriptions of women in the ancient texts. This will, I suspect, shed new light on women's roles in ancient societies.