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Barak

The commander who, at Deborah's summons, led Israel to victory over Sisera.

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.