Deborah Rising by Avraham Azrieli

Author:Avraham Azrieli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

When Deborah came to, she was lying on a soft bed of straw, a wet cloth resting on her forehead. She pulled it off and saw a cover above, like a tent, but with one side open, facing the fairgrounds and its many campfires. The city of Shiloh sparkled with torches and firepits, but the Holy Tabernacle was dark now.

“You are safe, child,” a woman said.

Deborah sat up. “Who’s there?”

“My name is Miriam.” The woman stood outside the small tent, barely visible in the dark. She wore a robe with a hood.

Trying to stand up, Deborah became dizzy.

“You should take it easy,” the woman said.

Lying back down, Deborah saw that the woman’s hands were wrapped in rags and her eyes glistened above a sheer veil that covered most of her face.

“Why am I here?”

“We saw you faint by the roadside and brought you here to recover.”

Deborah noticed several other tents nearby, dark figures sitting in front, also covered from head to toe like Miriam.

The lepers!

“Don’t be afraid,” Miriam said. “We won’t hurt you.”

Deborah got up—more slowly this time. There was a slight breeze from outside the tent, and it cooled her face, making her feel better. She cleared her throat. “Yahweh’s blessings on you for helping me.”

“We only returned a favor. When we brought our offerings this morning, you spoke up when everyone else wouldn’t even look at us. What is your name?”

“Deborah, daughter of Harutz.”

“Pray for us, Deborah.” Miriam bowed as if before a priest or a judge. “Pray the way you did earlier by the roadside. Ask God to lift our curse and heal us.”

Deborah was relieved to find the gates still open for workers cleaning up after the day. A sentry stopped her, extending his spear across her way. “Where are you going, girl?”

“I’m a guest at the house of Shatz Ha’Cohen.”

“Are you from Emanuel?”

She was surprised he knew. “Yes.”

“Go ahead,” he said, pointing the spear up the hill.

As she turned to go, a large group approached the gate. Deborah stepped aside and watched as armed men on horses led a few dozen slaves into the city. The men and women, wearing soiled sleeveless shirts and no shoes, were tied to each other in a long column. They entered Shiloh and turned left, away from the main street.

Remembering what Nehoshtan had said about the slave warden who recorded all sales, Deborah decided to follow them. She stayed in the dark as the slaves were led down a street along the tents and shacks of the poor, right under the perimeter wall. The sentries patrolling along the top of the wall whistled, and one of them yelled, “Send up a slave girl, will you? We’ll throw her back down in the morning.”

The armed men laughed and kept going.

A few minutes later, the slaves were pushed into large wooden cages—one for the men, one for the women. The cages, which already held other slaves, were backed up to the walls. A smaller cage held children, both boys and girls together.

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