The war of Deborah - the deployment of forces

THE WAR OF DEBORAH – THE DEPLOYMENT OF FORCES AND THE BATTLE, 12th, Century B.C.

The Bible records two major conflicts between the Israelite tribes and the Canaanites of the cities in Galilee: the battle of the waters of Merom (Josh 11:1–15) and the battle of Deborah (Judg 4 and 5). In both accounts, the leader of the Canaanite league is Jabin, king of Hazor. Thus, they are both related to the same chronological period. Deborah's victory is said to have brought about the decline of Jabin (Judg 4:24) while the battle of the waters of Merom culminates in the utter destruction of Hazor (Josh 11:10-11). Using that as a criterion, scholars have suggested that Deborah's victory preceded that of the Merom battle; it would follow that the order of the two events became reversed when the Merom victory was assigned to Joshua by the later author of the book of Joshua. Others hold that the reference to Jabin in the narrative of Deborah's victory is a later addition and that the original leader of the Canaanite coalition in Judges 4 and 5 was Sisera.

Article abstract from The Sacred Bridge