Etzioni-Halevy: The Triumph of Deborah
The library received an email from the author of a new novel about women in the Bible, to be published by Plume/Penguin on February 26th. Let us know that you are interested and we will order a copy.
Eva Etzioni-Halevy: The Triumph of Deborah
The novel brings to life the riveting tale of one of the most beloved biblical figures: the revered leader, judge and prophetess Deborah.
In ancient Israel, war is looming. Deborah has coerced warrior Barak into launching a strike against the neighboring Canaanites, who threaten Israel with destruction. Against all odds he succeeds, returning triumphantly with two daughters of the Canaanite King as his captives. But military victory is only the beginning of the turmoil, as a complex love triangle develops between Barak and the two princesses.
Deborah, recently cast off by her husband, becomes part of the turmoil. Yet she struggles to rebuild her existence on her own terms, while also groping her way toward the greatest triumph of her life: the attainment of peace.
Based on the book of JUDGES, and filled with brilliantly vivid historical detail, the novel shows that in her own life Deborah was very much a woman, and that her femininity did not detract from her stature as national leader. Thereby it pays tribute to Deborah’s feminine strength and independence from which present day women, seeking to build lives of their own and assert themselves in whatever they choose to do so, may derive inspiration.
THE TRIUMPH OF DEBORAH is biblical but also topical: it describes a prominent woman leader who led her people to war but also to peace. Hence it should be of special relevance in an American presidential election year in which a female candidate is a front runner, and also on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of Israel, where female leadership is gaining strength, a year in which the topic of female leadership in time of war and peace will be most prominent on both countries’ agendas.
With Best Regards,
Eva Etzioni-Halevy
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