Commentaire sur Les Juges 4:4

The wife of Lapidos. She fashioned wicks for the sanctuary.³Megilah, 14:a. לַפּׅיד is translated as “torch”.

The wife of Lappidot: That is to say, a woman of valor, zealous in her deeds as a torch afire. And this is poetic, and in the way that people speak.

And here it was that Devorah judged Israel. And I think because [it is written] "at that time" that when Israel returned to God she would judge them. And she made the rounds so that they would return to God because when [God seemed] far [from them] Israel would do evil in the eyes of God. And Devorah would not rebuke them about this. And she was a prophet. Here it also points to what we said: [The text] said "she judged Israel at that time" [i.e. she would only sit in judgment when they had returned to God]. And it called her "a wife of Lappidoth" because her husband was named Barak [lightning] and lightning and flame are close in concept or there will be a translation of "eishet lappidoth" according to phrasing of a Woman of Valor that she was a fiery woman [?], and "torches" [lappidim, cf Exodus 20:15] and "Lappidoth" are one conceptually. [But] the purpose in it [the expression] is that the vastness of [?] prophecy had already arrived to the extent that torches were seen in the place at which a prophetic message arrived to her, as it is said in the Torah regarding our Teacher our Rabbi (may peace be upon him) [i.e. Moshe, cf Mekhilta 20:15 (2)].

Lapidot: They said that he is Barak the son of Avinoam, since Barak (lightning] and Lapidot (torches) are close (in meaning). But in the Midrash, she is called eshet lapidot (in this sense, woman of torches), because she made wicks for the sanctuary.

She judged: This elevated status came to her on account of her being a prophet, and zealous in her deeds; thus, she was judging Israel.

She judged: It is a verb in the past tense in the main structure (binyan) ... or [present, as in the verb usage,] eating straw.