Judges Part 1: DeborahShembull

What is a Prophet?

Deborah is called a “prophetess,” which is rare for a woman in the Bible! Only five women in the Old Testament are referred to as female prophets. Miriam is called a “prophetess” (Exodus 15:20), and it says of her and Aaron, “the Lord....has...spoken through us.” (Numbers 12:1-2)

Deborah is called a “prophetess,” and we are told, “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” (Judges 4:4-5). Huldah (2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22) and Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14) are also called “prophetess.”

In the New Testament days of Jesus, Anna is a Spirit-filled “prophetess” known for “worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:36-38). In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, he quotes Joel saying, “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy...” (Acts 2:17). Later in Acts, we meet “Philip the evangelist...He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied” (Acts 21:8-9). Regarding a church meeting, we also read of those women in the church “who pray or prophesy” (1 Corinthians 11:5).

Throughout the New Testament, there are times when God the Holy Spirit gives a prophetic word to a godly woman, and she then brings that word to male senior leadership in the church to verify its accuracy and, if approved, that word is shared with the church (Acts 2:11, 2:17; 1 Corinthians 11:5, 14:26). Meanwhile, the male pastor would be leading the service and teaching the Scriptures week in and week out as the shepherd over the flock.

We can see throughout both the Old and the New Testament that God uses both men and women to accomplish His purposes.

What can you learn from the other female prophetesses throughout Scripture including Huldah, Noadiah, and Anna?