Deborah used to hold court under a date tree (Tomer Devorah) in the Mountains of Ephraim, between Ramah and Beth-El. One reason for this "open-air office" was that she was wary of being alone with men who came to seek her counsel and therefore chose to meet them in plain sight. It was her who conveyed God’s message to General Barak that he should go to war against the Canaanites, who had been oppressing the people of Israel. Barak only agreed to go to war if Deborah would go with him. She obliged, the Israelites won, and the land was tranquil for the coming 40 years.