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Easton's Bible Dictionary
mountain-goat, The wife of Heber the Kenite ( Judges
4:17 - 22 ). When the Canaanites were defeated by Barak, Sisera, the captain of
Jabin's army, fled and sought refuge with the friendly tribe of Heber, beneath
the oaks of Zaanaim. As he drew near, Jael invited him to enter her tent. He did
so, and as he lay wearied on the floor he fell into a deep sleep. She then took
in her left hand one of the great wooden pins ("nail") which fastened down the
cords of the tent, and in her right hand the mallet, or "hammer," used for driving
it into the ground, and stealthily approaching her sleeping guest, with one well-directed
blow drove the nail through his temples into the earth ( Judges 5:27 ). She then
led Barak, who was in pursuit, into her tent, and boastfully showed him what she
had done. (See SISERA; DEBORAH .)
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
he that ascends; a kid
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(mountain goat), The wife of Heber the Kenite. (B.C.
1316.) In the headlong rout which followed the defeat of the Canaanites by Barak,
at Megiddo on the plain of Esdraelon, Sisera, their general, fled to the tent
of the Kenite chieftainess, at Kedesh in Naphtali, four miles northwest of Lake
Merom. He accepted Jaels invitation to enter, and she flung a mantle over him
as he lay wearily on the floor. When thirst prevented sleep, and he asked for
water, she brought him buttermilk in her choicest vessel. At last, with a feeling
of perfect security, he feel into a deep sleep. Then it was that Jael took one
of the great wooden pins which fastened down the cords of the tent, and with one
terrible blow with a mallet dashed it through Sisera's temples deep into the earth.
( Judges 5:27 ) She then waited to meet the pursuing Barak, and led him into her
tent that she might in his presence claim the glory of the deed! Many have supposed
that by this act she fulfilled the saying of Deborah, ( Judges 4:9 ) and hence
they have supposed that Jael was actuated by some divine and hidden influence.
But the Bible gives no hint of such an inspiration.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ja'-el (ya`el, "a wild or mountain goat," as in Psalms
104:18; Iael):
The wife of Heber the Kenite and the slayer of Sisera (Judges 4:17 - 22 ; 5:2
- 31). Jael emerges from obscurity by this single deed, and by the kindest construction
can hardly be said to have reached an enviable fame. The history of this event
is clear. For years Jabin the king of Canaan had oppressed Israel. For twenty
years the Israelites had been subject to him, and, in largest measure, the instrument
of their subjugation had been Sisera, the king's general, the "man of the iron
chariots." Deborah, a prophetess of Israel, by her passion for freedom, had roused
the tribes of Israel to do battle against Sisera. They defeated him at "Taanach
by the waters of Megiddo," but Sisera sought in flight to save himself. He came
to the "oaks of the wanderers," where the tribe of Heber lived. Here he sought,
and was probably invited, to take shelter in the tent of Jael (Judges 4:17 - 18).
There are two accounts of the subsequent events--one a prose narrative (Judges
4:19 - 22), the other a poetic one, found in Deborah's song of triumph (Judges
5:24 - 27). The two accounts are as nearly in agreement as could be expected,
considering their difference in form.
It is evident that the tribe of Heber was regarded by both parties to the struggle
as being neutral. They were descendants of Jethro, and hence, had the confidence
of the Israelites. Though they had suffered somewhat at the hands of the Canaanites
they had made a formal contract of peace with Jabin. Naturally Sisera could turn
to the tents of Heber in Kedesh-naphtali with some confidence. The current laws
of hospitality gave an added element of safety. Whether Jael met Sisera and urged
him to enter her tent and rest (Judges 4:18), or only invited him after his appeal
for refuge, the fact remains that he was her guest, was in the sanctuary of her
home, and protected by the laws of hospitality:
She gave him milk to drink, a mantle for covering, and apparently acquiesced in
his request that she should stand guard at the tent and deny his presence to any
pursuers. When sleep came to the wearied fugitive she took a "tent-pin, and took
a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples"
(Judges 4:21), and having murdered him, goes forth to meet Barak the Israelite
general and claims the credit for her deed. Some critics suggest that Sisera was
not asleep when murdered, and thus try to convert Jael's treachery into strategy.
But to kill your guest while he is drinking the milk of hospitality is little
less culpable than to murder him while asleep. There is no evidence that Sisera
offered Jael any insult or violence, and but little probability that she acted
under any spiritual or Divine suggestion. It is really impossible to justify Jael's
act, though it is not impossible to understand it or properly to appreciate Deborah's
approval of the act as found in Judges 5:24. The motive of Jael may have been
a mixed one. She may have been a sympathizer with Israel and with the religion
of Israel. But the narrative scarcely warrants the interpretation that she felt
herself as one called to render "stern justice on an enemy of God" (Expositor's
Bible). Jael was unquestionably prudential. Sisera was in flight and Barak in
pursuit. Probably her sympathy was with Barak, but certainly reflection would
show her that it would not be wisdom to permit Barak to find Sisera in her tent.
She knew, too, that death would be Sisera's portion should he be captured--therefore
she would kill him and thus cement a friendship with the conqueror.
As to Deborah's praise of Jael (Judges 5:24), there is no call to think that in
her hour of triumph she was either capable of or intending to appraise the moral
quality of Jael's deed. Her country's enemy was dead and that too at the hand
of a woman. The woman who would kill Sisera must be the friend of Israel. Deborah
had no question of the propriety of meting out death to a defeated persecutor.
Her times were not such as to raise this question. The method of his death mattered
little to her, for all the laws of peace were abrogated in the times of war. Therefore
Jael was blessed among women by all who loved Israel. Whether Deborah thought
her also to be worthy of the blessing of God we may not tell. At any rate there
is no need for us to try to justify the treachery of Jael in order to explain
the words of Deborah.
C. E. Schenk
Tags:
barak, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, deborah, define, jael, killer of sisera, nail, pin to the temple, tent
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