Captivating re-telling of the story of ancient Israel during the time of prophets and judges.

Provides imagined details of Deborah's life as a prophet and judge as well as those of the Israeli warrior Barack and his wives. Describes the ongoing wars between the Jews and the Canaanites, and their eventual peace.

Good.

3.5 stars

Asherah and Nogah are half-sisters. Deborah is an esteemed judge in her community. Asherah and Nogah are Canaanite, while Deborah is Israelite. They are at war. Barak is a warrior for the Israelites and brings Asherah and Nogah home with him, as well as other women and children, when Israel wins the war. Barak wants the beautiful Asherah as his wife, but Nogah falls in love with him. Deborah has also fallen in love with Barak.

I liked it. Not quite as much as The Song of Hannah, but it was still good. Deborah is more of a secondary character, despite the title of the book, and that was o.k. because I found Nogah and Asherah much more interesting. I was less interested while the war was happening and more interested in their personal lives and what was happening there. ( )

I don't read historical fiction from Bible times too often, because I'd rather read the Bible, but this book was okay. I think this book is more about Barak and the women he loved--Deborah being one of them. From the title, I would have expected the book to be all about her. ( )

The Triumph of Deborah is a book about ancient Israel. The Canaanite army has been threatening to invade Israel and Deborah, a renown prophet and judge, recruits Barak, a young warrior, to lead an army to strike first. The battle is successful and Barak returns to his home with a bunch of liberated Israelite slaves and the Canaanite princess to take as his wife. Barak is a renown womanizer who has many conquests. He has intrigued Deborah with a condition that she sleep with him in return for him leading the army.

I enjoyed reading about the historical period represented in this book. It was uplifting to read about a powerful woman from that time period. I was a little disappointed, however, because from the title of the book I expected it to focus much more on Deborah. Instead it focused on Barak and the drama revolving around the women who loved him or those he wanted to sleep with. The middle of the book began to drag for me because I became bored with all of the women who were pining over him and the book focused on this for quite a while. I was also frustrated with the character of Barak. He was a very selfish character who eventually did grow, but I saw this as his desires changing rather than him growing beyond his self-centered outlook on life. I really liked reading about ancient Israel, and I may seek out other books about Deborah. I would probably read more by this author, but if I was recommending a book about women of the bible to a friend I would recommend the Red Tent first. ( )

Enjoyable and an easy read. ( )