How Old Is the Song of Deborah?

The article challenges the conventional view of the Song of Deborah (Judg. 5.2-31a) as an originally independent composition from the pre-monarchic period (twelfth or eleventh century BCE). Based on a comprehensive examination of the fragment’s internal parameters (grammar, syntax, vocabulary, intertextual links, outlook, and agenda) as well as of the external conditions of its production and circulation, the article argues that the Song of Deborah best qualifies as a late pre-exilic, exilic, or early post-exilic piece and an integral part of the Deuteronomistic corpus.