Deborah, the woman

As a woman, Judges chapter 5 is just an amazing bible reading. You know already that I feel Jehovah's viewpoint of women has always been the same - it is people and culture on earth that demean or diminish women - but with the acknowledgment that Jehovah can only work with imperfect people because that is all there is, and so has had work within these cultures and tolerate wrong views of women (just as he also has to tolerate wrong views of other things, even wrong views cultures have perpetuated about males, until he steps in.) Anyway, Judges 5 is a song composed by Deborah, not only a woman - so a woman is contributing part of the bible - but a prophetess - so Jehovah is using her to convey his messages - and she also joins Barak when he goes to war, so she is in all the action and that is evident because of the details that she gives concerning the victory. On top of this, Deborah prophesied that the victory would come at the hands of a woman - in fact it is Jael who kills Sisera. Of course Deborah gives all credit to Jehovah and she truly is a spiritual person, she never makes any of this about her. But Jehovah dealt with and used her on the same plane as he would use, say, David in this instance. Women were not/are not lesser persons or lesser "males" to Jehovah, just different persons - "females". When Jehovah outlines a man, a husband, to be the head of a woman, I feel that was really to protect women because women were the gender to bear children, and because they would be consumed with children and their care Jehovah made it mandatory for the male, the father and husband, to be responsible to provide for them, thus the "head". It wasn't about a man or husband micromanaging his wife or children, it was about the family's big picture so to speak, that they were cared for financially, spiritually, emotionally. And then the woman wouldn't have to or be trying to do "everything". It would have both genders be together, helping each other.