Righteous
Righteous Barak
ок. XII век до Р.Х.
Righteous Barak, son of Abinoam — a judge and military commander of Israel from the tribe of Naphtali; called by the prophetess and judge Deborah, he led the army of Israel and won a decisive victory over the Canaanite commander Sisera, freeing the people from 20 years of oppression under King Jabin.
Righteous Barak, son of Abinoam, came from the city of Kedesh in Naphtali and lived in the era of the Judges of Israel (12th century BC). When the Canaanite king Jabin, whose army was led by the formidable commander Sisera, had cruelly oppressed the people of Israel for twenty years, the prophetess and judge Deborah, by God's command, summoned Barak and, in the name of the Lord, commanded him to gather ten thousand warriors from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and take up position on Mount Tabor, promising that the Lord would deliver Sisera with his chariots and army into his hands. Barak, having gathered his forces, suddenly attacked Sisera's army and completely routed it; Sisera himself fled the battlefield and was killed in Jael's tent. The victory of Barak and Deborah is also described in an ancient hymn-song (Judges 5), one of the oldest poetic texts in the Bible. The Church honors the memory of Righteous Barak, together with all the Old Testament forefathers and saints, on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers before the Nativity of Christ.