Illustration created for this project.

Barak

The commander from Naphtali summoned by Deborah to face Sisera's nine hundred iron chariots. He agreed to go only if she went with him, and she warned that the glory of the day would then go to a woman. He mustered ten thousand men on Mount Tabor, swept down as the Kishon flooded, and destroyed the entire army — but arrived at Jael's tent to find Sisera already dead. He shares the victory song of Judges 5 with Deborah, and Hebrews names him among those who through faith conquered kingdoms.

Role: Military leader

Lived: c. 12th century BC

Belonged to: Tribe of Naphtali

Tribe/lineage: Naphtali

What we know — and how we know it

Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 2 Ancient writers — non-biblical testimony · 1 Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1

Family & lineage

BibleSon of Abinoam.

Judges 4:6

↳ Abinoam

Tribe & people

BibleOf the tribe of Naphtali.

Judges 4:6

Life, role & deeds

Scan by NYPL — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons) Ancient writersThe Jewish historian Josephus retells the campaign of Barak and Deborah against Sisera. His account is a paraphrase dependent on the biblical text rather than an independent witness, so it attests the tradition's early circulation, not the man himself.

Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 5.5.1-4 (5.200-209), trans. Thackeray & Marcus, Loeb Classical Library 281 (1934); paraphrase of Judges 4-5, dependent on the biblical narrative.

Name & titles

ScholarlyThe name Barak derives from the Hebrew root baraq, meaning "lightning" or "flash," a fitting name for a warrior who led a sudden charge down Mount Tabor. The same Semitic element appears widely in Phoenician and Punic naming, most famously in the Carthaginian Barca family of Hamilcar and Hannibal.

Onomastic: Hebrew baraq ("lightning"); cognate Phoenician/Punic BRQ, as in the name Barca.

Where in scripture

Judges 1 Samuel Hebrews

She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said to him, “Hasn’t Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, ‘Go and lead the way to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
Judges 4:6

Deborah said to Barak, “Go; for this is the day in which Yahweh has delivered Sisera into your hand. Hasn’t Yahweh gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
Judges 4:14 — Leads the charge

Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,
Judges 5:1

‘Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.’
Judges 5:12

The princes of Issachar were with Deborah. As was Issachar, so was Barak. They rushed into the valley at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben, there were great resolves of heart.
Judges 5:15

Yahweh sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.
1 Samuel 12:11