Avraham Azrieli

Deborah is the younger of two orphaned sisters who live in the town of Emanuel in Ephraim under the rule of Judge Zifron. Deborah's older sister, Tamar, has just been married to Zifron's son, Seesya. After their wedding night, Seesya produces “evidence” that Tamar was not a virgin and has her stoned as the whole town, including Deborah, looks on. It isn't long before Seesya selects Deborah as his next bride. Deborah has no male family member to protect her from this unwanted marriage. When Deborah expresses a wish that she were a man, her friend Barac tells her of the women of Edom who turned into men to win a battle against Egypt, thanks to a potion made by the Elixirist. Deborah learns that the Elixirist might still be alive, and she sets off on a quest to find him and get him to turn her into a man.

Deborah was a biblical prophetess and judge who appears in chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Judges. The Bible is silent about how Deborah became a leader in Israel. Azrieli's novel creates a back story for her. Azrieli draws some people and places from the Bible, while others are fictional. There are occasional anachronisms, like the mention of going to a town's temple. The tabernacle was the place of worship during the time of the judges, and the temple wouldn't be built until Solomon's day. Readers should be aware that Deborah's story will continue in a subsequent novel, and this one ends without a resolution of the main conflict. I liked it well enough to pre-order the sequel, which is set for release next Tuesday.… (meer)