Deborah

As we discussed in class today, the song of Deborah may be the oldest poetry in the Bible and dates to 1150 BCE. I had not heard of Deborah prior to today (there's the answer to the question "what do I know today that I didn't know yesterday?") Here's a link to more info about Deborah. The debate as to whether Lapidot is her husband's name or means "woman of fire" is fascinating.
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/bible/TO_Prophets_1460/DeutHist/DebFrymerKensky.htm
This link stresses that Deborah was not a warrior, but, rather, was there "to inspire, predict, and celebrate in song." Although she does not lead the troops into battle, I see similarities between her and Joan of Arc, both are led by faith and inspired by God.