The wife of Heber the Kenite Her name is a compound of Jah and El. Her history is but short, yet truly blessed. We have it Judg. 4: 17 to the end. And the Holy Ghost hath recorded her heroic act of faith, Judg. v. 24 - 27. Some have wantonly "traduced the character of Jael, and charged her with a breach of hospitality in slaughtering one who fled to her for protection, and especially as she had taken Sisera into her haram. And it hath been farther said, that the refreshment Jael gave him was, according to the custom of eastern nations, a pledge of friendship. But to both of these I answer, it becomes no breach of hospitality to destroy the known foes of God. Besides, Sisera asked for refreshment, and requested her to tell a lie. It was not Jael’s offer, neither did she give him a promise of security. The tyranny of this man, and zeal for God’s glory and his people’s safety, prompted her generous mind to deliver Israel from his oppression. Add to these, the Lords hand must have been in this transaction, as Deborah the prophetess foretold the event, Judg.4: 9. But let men say what they may, God the Holy Ghost hath honoured her memory for ever, and declared it blessed. And I cannot but conclude, that she is one of those worthies, of whom the Holy Ghost hath again spoken so hononrably in the New Testament, "who through faith subdued kingdoms." &c. (Heb. xi. 33.)
Ja´el (wild goat), wife of Heber, the Kenite. When Sisera, the general of Jabin, had been defeated, he alighted from his chariot, hoping to escape best on foot from the hot pursuit of the victorious Israelites. On reaching the tents of the nomad chief, he remembered that there was peace between his sovereign and the house of Heber; and, therefore, applied for the hospitality and protection to which he was thus entitled. This request was very cordially granted by the wife of the absent chief, who received the vanquished warrior into the inner part of the tent, where he could not be discovered by strangers without such an intrusion as Eastern customs would not warrant. She also brought him milk to drink, when he asked only water; and then covered him from view, that he might enjoy repose the more securely. As he slept, a horrid thought occurred to Jael, which she hastened too promptly to execute. She took one of the tent nails, and with a mallet, at one fell blow, drove it through the temples of the sleeping Sisera. Soon after, Barak and his people arrived in pursuit, and were shown the lifeless body of the man they sought.
It does not seem difficult to understand the object of Jael in this painful transaction. Her motives seem to have been entirely prudential, and, on prudential grounds, the very circumstance which renders her act the more odious—the peace subsisting between the nomad chief and the King of Hazor—must, to her, have seemed to make it the more expedient. She saw that the Israelites had now the upper hand, and was aware that, as being in alliance with the oppressors of Israel, the camp might expect very rough treatment from the pursuing force; which would be greatly aggravated if Sisera were found sheltered within it. This calamity she sought to avert, and to place the house of Heber in a favorable position with the victorious party. She probably justified the act to herself, by the consideration that, as Sisera would certainly be taken and slain, she might as well make a benefit out of his inevitable doom, as incur utter ruin in the attempt to protect him. We have been grieved to see the act vindicated as authorized by the usages of ancient warfare, of rude times, and of ferocious manners. There was not warfare, but peace between the house of Heber and the prince of Hazor; and, for the rest, we will venture to affirm that there does not now, and never did exist, in any country a set of usages under which the act of Jael would be deemed right.
Wife of Heber the Kenite, slew Sisera, general of the Canaanitish army, who had fled to her tent, which was then temporarily on the western border of the plain of Esdraelon. Jael took her opportunity, and while he was sleeping, drove a large nail or tent-pin through his temples, Jdg 4:17-23 . The life of Sisera was undoubtedly forfeited to the Israelites by the usages of war, and probably to society by his crimes. Besides this, the life or honor of Jael may have been in danger, or her feelings of hospitality may have been overpowered by a sudden impulse to avenge the oppressed Israelites, with whom she was allied by blood. The song of Deborah celebrates the act as one of justice and heroism, and as a divine judgement which, as well as the defeat of Sisera’s host, was the more disgraceful to him for being wrought by a woman, Jdg 5:1 ; 21:25,25.\par
Ja’el. (mountain goat). The wife of Hebe, r 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 Jael’s 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. Jdg 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, Jdg 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.
He kept a neutral position, being at peace with both Jabin and Israel (Jdg 4:17) Her tent, not Heber’s, is specified as that to which Sisera fled, because the women’s tent seemed a more secure asylum and Jael herself "went out to meet" and invite him. She covered him with the mantle (Jdg 4:18, Hebrew), and allayed his thirst with curdled milk or buttermilk (Jdg 5:25), a favorite Arab drink. Often Palmer found in asking for water none had been in an encampment for days; milk takes its place. The "nail" with which she slew him was one of the great wooden pins which fastened down the tent cords, and the "hammer" was the mallet used to drive the nails into the ground. In Jdg 5:6 "Jael" is thought (Bertheau) to be a female judge before Deborah; but as no other record exists of such an one the meaning probably is, "although Jael, who afterward proved to be such a champion, was then alive, the highways were unoccupied," so helpless was Israel, "until I Deborah arose."
Jael (jâ’el), a wild goat. Wife of Heber, the Kenite who slew Sisera, general of the Canaanitish army. While Sisera was sleeping in her tent Jael drove a large nail or tent-pin through his temples. Jdg 4:17-23.
[Ja’el]
Wife of Heber the Kenite, a descendant of Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, who was head of an Arab clan which was established in the north of Palestine. When Sisera’s army was defeated by Barak and Deborah, he left his chariot and fled on foot to the tent of Jael, whose husband was at peace with Jabin. Jael invited him into her tent, and bade him not to fear, gave him milk to drink, and covered him up. Being weary he fell asleep, and Jael with a hammer drove a tent-peg through his temples till it entered the ground. Jdg 4:17-22; Jdg 5:6; Jdg 5:24.
Great indignation has been expressed at this act of Jael, and even Christians have blamed her severely; but it was foretold that Jehovah would "sell Sisera into the hand of a woman;" and immediately after the deed, it is added, "So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel." And Deborah, in her song of praise, pronounced Jael to be "blessed above women." It is clear from this song that Sisera was an enemy not only of God’s people, but of the Lord Himself, for she prophetically utters the words, "So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord." Compare Num 10:35. Hence God empowered Jael to take his life - as He had led Joshua in some instances to destroy the women and children of the places conquered by him. Where an act is clearly the execution of God’s righteous judgement, it rises altogether above what would be justifiable under ordinary circumstances of hospitality or of warfare. Of course in some instances the thing accomplished may be according to the will of God, but not the way in which it is effected.
JAEL.—The wife of Heber, the Kenite (Jdg 4:11; Jdg 4:17). The Kenites were on friendly terms both with the Israelites (Jdg 1:16) and with the Canaanites, to whom Jabin and his general, Sisera, belonged. On his defeat by the Israelites, Sisera fled to the tent of Jaei, a spot which was doubly secure to the fugitive, on account both of intertribal friendship and of the rules of Oriental hospitality. The act of treachery whereby Jael slew Sisera (Jdg 4:21) was therefore of the basest kind, according to the morals of her own time, and also to modern ideas. The praise, therefore, accorded to Jael and her deed in the Song of Deborah (Jdg 5:24-27) must be accounted for on the questionable moral principle that an evil deed, if productive of advantage, may be rejoiced over and commended by those who have not taken part in it. The writer of the Song of Deborah records an act which, though base, resulted in putting the seal to the Israelite victory, and thus contributed to the recovery of Israel from a ‘mighty oppression’ (Jdg 4:3); in the exultation over this result the woman who helped to bring it about by her act is extolled. Though the writer of the Song would probably have scorned to commit such a deed himself, he sees no incongruity in praising it for its beneficent consequences. This is one degree worse than ‘doing evil that good may come,’ for the evil itself is extolled; whereas, in the other case, it is deplored, and unwillingly acquiesced in because it is ‘necessary.’ The spirit which praises such an act as Jael’s is, in some sense, akin to that of a Jewish custom (Corban) which grew up in later days, and which received the condemnation of Christ, Mar 7:11; in each case a contemptible act is condoned, and even extolled, because of the advantage (of one kind or another) which it brings.
In Jdg 5:6 the words ‘in the days of Jael’ create a difficulty, which can be accounted for only by regarding them, with most scholars, as a gloss. See also Barak, Deborah, Sisera.
W. O. E. Oesterley.
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 (Jdg 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” (Jdg 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 Jdg 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 (Jdg 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.