The story of Jael is quite an usual one. During Jaels adult life, the Israelites were being horrifically oppressed for over twenty years by the Canaanites King Jabin. She brought out cream in a lordly bowl. Deborah started the battle to defeat the enemy of Israel and Jael finished it. (LogOut/ Jael proved herself to be resourceful and courageous. 1 Clearly one of the Bible's most outstanding figures, she served ancient Israel as a prophet, 2 judge, military leader, songwriter, and minstrel (Judges 4-5). So he died. There is no need to wait for someone else to fight your battles- Jael didnt. Women, especially Jael, then had every reason to be terrified for fear of being raped at the hand of her guest. And Jael was living amongst the Canaanites, harboring a Canaanite general, knowing full well the evil he was capable of. I will make Sisera, the commander of King Jabins army, come to you. Eve - First Woman. Schenk notes that Sisera was Jael's guest, "was in the sanctuary of her home, and protected by the laws of hospitality. He is the one who gives life; he is the one who cancels our debts; he is the one who nails our sins to the cross once and for all. Tweet. Judges 4 and 5. Because of the practice of one man having multiple wives, each wife made, pitched and maintained her own tent. Jaels actions did not make sense in the moment. With no one else around, Ehud tells the king of a private dream he wanted to share, and whispered for the king to come close. He insisted that Deborah, the prophetess and God-appointment judge in Israel, go with him. T. Nelson and Sons. Deborah agreed, but prophesied that the honor of defeating Jabin's army would then go to a woman. She has much to teach us about the fact that God can and will use anybody as His chosen vessel. Today our battle isnt against a person; it is against the powers of darkness. During the time of the Exodus the Kenites acted in kindness to Moses and the Israelites. When the Israelites came at Sisera with 10,000 men, Sisera fled. But Jael also knows that her faithful God will break the bonds of slavery as long as the Israelites humble themselves, and turn back to the One True God of their nation. The irony of this battle was Baal, the main god of the Canaanites was considered god of storms and weather. They are thus able to go several days without drinking water. Heber, Jaels husband, was a smart enough businessman so as to keep peace with Jabin, the king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor and who had oppressed the Israelites for the past twenty years. All the chariots got stuck in the mud. The portability of Java-based software (which means that you can write your code in a system and run it anywhere) is one of the most important characteristics of Java. He sees our potential in Him, which is why it is important that we dont disqualify ourselves from going towards the things that we know that He has called us be, do or have. The Lord will allow a woman to defeat Sisera (Judges 4:9). She was judge of Israel at that time. Jael went out to meet Barak and said, Come in here, and I will show you the man you are looking for. So Barak entered the tent with Jael. What are some of the outstanding qualities of Jael based on the little that has been revealed about her in the Bible? Folktales are thus . Jael has often been understood to be the wife of Heber the Kenite. Jael would also be familiar with the legendary Ehud, a Benjamite who recently drove a knife into the heart of King Eglon of the Moabites during Israels last cycle of oppression. Jael was married to a Kenanite named Heber, a man descended from Jethro (Moses father-in-law of the Midianites). It can be easy to think that we must possess great skills in order to be used by the Lord to do great things for His kingdom. Common jackals are a little smaller than wolves and are recognizable by their bushy tails. The name Delilah in Hebrew means "weak; poor.". After this victory, Israel enjoyed peace for forty years. Susan runs on Jesus, coffee, and not enough sleep. The text in Judges 5 is very explicit about Jael's efficiency in killing Sisera. Terms of Use: The contents of this blog post are restricted to your personal use only. The war wasnt won by this one deed, but this was the beginning of the end of the Canaanites reign over Israel. Most Blessed of Women? First, Sisera should have gone to Hebers tent. As I said before, Jael was vigilant so when Sisera showed up, she knew him. Judges 5:7 distinctly describes her leadership as of a maternal variety: she nourishes Israel; she does not try to adopt a man's hardness or masculinity. The Israelites finally destroyed him, Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite. Deborah, also spelled Debbora, prophet and heroine in the Old Testament (Judg. Brave: we often think that bravery is the absence of fear. We can learn much from this Old Testament lady of faith. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Deborah was the first. They did not know what to do. Before we talk anymore about Jael, we have to talk about what was going on in Israel at the time. The Kenites, being Nomadic, lived near Jericho but moved south to the region of Negev. Worse, he did this when she was alone. (Matthew 8:3), He healed on the Sabbath even though no work was supposed to be done. They also can tolerate dehydration and high body temperatures. Your email address will not be published. What character qualities, positive or negative, do we see demonstrated in Jael's life? Therefore, Jael had some family ties to Israel. Sisera appears to have gone into Jaels tent, at her beckoning, instead of her husband Hebers tent. "[12], There is also a reference to the story of Jael in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Jael's business went well for six months. Siseras army was quickly losing, so in one last ditch effort to save his life Sisera got out of his chariot and fled on foot, Jael saw Sisera and came out to meet him. The Antiquities of the Jews, translated by William Whiston. Siseras murder was a major act of treachery on Jaels part. Both sides in the conflict would have considered the Kenites a neutral party. She quietly went to Sisera. [20] Here she was used to show the risk for men in following women, in groupings including positive figures and scenes such as Judith beheading Holofernes, but mostly ones with females depicted as over-powerful, such as Phyllis riding Aristotle, Samson and Delilah, Salome and her mother Herodias and the Idolatry of Solomon. (Judges 5:24-27) She stretched forth her hand to the nail, 5), putatively composed by her, is perhaps the oldest section of the . The Israelites were clearly able to see their God, Yahweh, was superior to the Canaanite god, Baal. The name Jael is pronounced the same as the word for mountain goat, but distinctions in pronunciation were added many centuries after this text was written. The husband of Jael is Heber the Kenite. midrash praises Yael, wife of Heber the Kenite, and includes her among the devout women converts, together with Hagar, Asenath, Zipporah, Shiphrah, Puah, the daughter of Pharaoh, Rahab, and Ruth (Yalkut Shimoni on Joshua, para . Jael [N] [H] [S] mountain-goat, the wife of Heber the Kenite ( Judges 4:17-22 ). Sisera was, however, unaware that Hebers wife, Jael, whose tent he ran to, sympathized with the Israelites because of the twenty years of oppression by Jabin, his commander Sisera, and his 900 iron chariots. She used a bowl of milk and a tent peg. Israel was at war with the Canaanites. Jal was an ally by blood of the Israelitish nation; [Sisera, the general of] their chief oppressor, who had mightily oppressed them for the space of twenty years, now lay defenseless before her; and he was, moreover, one of those whom Israel was bound by the command of Jehovah to extirpate. Jezebel Who was Jezebel? Jael's actions are mentioned in the song. Further to this, at this point in time women did not usually go to war; therefore, Baraks insistence that Deborah came to battle with him was hugely unorthodox. A folktale is a fictional story that has been orally passed down over hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years. The wife of Heber the Kenite, and is the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the sister of Moses and Aaron. Situations are ever-changing in this life and opportunities pass by quickly. She is materialistic and she loves power. And Jael took Sisera and pushed him onto the ground from the bed. (Matthew 23), He touched lepers even though the rules of his day said that doing so would make him unclean. Jael had a front row seat to the vicious cycle of idolatry and judgment upon the nation of Israel namely the destruction of the lands and the assimilation of pagan practices. During the time of the Judges There was a woman prophet named Deborah. 5. The biggest battle we will fight in this life is the battle against sin. Dont get me wrongJesus never broke rules to be rude or needlessly provoke people. He commanded Jael to watch over the tent and tell any inquirers that no one was there. The story of Jael in the Bible is short but it is power-packed with lessons about spiritual warfare. Be patient, and wait for the opportune time when God will use you, while staying faithful and steadfast to His laws and commands. Being killed by a woman would shame both the dead Canaanite general and the live Israelite general, who should have been the one to slay the enemy. But if you will not go withme, I will not go. I will go with you,she said, but you will receive nohonor on the road you are aboutto take, because the Lord willsell Sisera into a womans hand.Judges 4:8, 9. A woman who, akin to the Virgin Mary, courageously helped save the Israelite nation despite the oppressive cultural norms for women, and chose Gods people over her own reputation. Barak and his men defeated Siseras army, but Sisera left his chariot and ran away on foot, ran away to the tent where a woman named Jael lived. Then she tucked him into bed like a baby. These nuts claim that God ", "Maybe what happened to you was simply something going on in your mind or heart ", "Medical science has progressed tremendously in the last 200 years. He entered the tent of a married woman. During the battle, the Lord confused Sisera and his army and chariots. For Elijah on Mount Carmel it was the power of prayer. In order to be considered LIVING an organism must meet all 8 of the following criteria: 1. She would have had no settled home, moving from place to place as a way of obtaining food, finding pasture for livestock, or otherwise making a living. Jael is a woman of action - she goes out to meet Sisera, initiates conversation with him, invites him into her tent, and covers him up. Eve is the Great Mother, Everywoman. She was sympathetic and understanding even when the situation around her was difficult. Lead them to Mount Tabor. The Story of Miriam in the Bible. Heber is noticeably absent, probably killed on the battlefield. This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. Most Blessed is Jael among women, indeed. David thanked her for this and repented of his desire to seek revenge. Jael features in the book of Judges as a heroic woman who killed Sisera, the leader of King Jabin's Canaanite army. Even when we dont feel skilled or equipped or prepared, He ensures that we are for the sake of His glory. She is the only female judge, the only one to be called a prophet, and the only one described as performing a judicial function. It was divine intervention, then, that Jael was alone with General Sisera, and she seized upon it with the courage, wisdom, strength and vigilance as her predecessors. Jaels tent is seen as sacred ground, and this is why Sisera enters: he believes himself to be safe. They are shaggy animals, with white coats and moderately long horns. Who was Melchizedek and Why was He so Important?The Bible Story of Queen EstherThe Life of Ruth - 5 Essential Faith Lessons3 Things You Didnt Know About Mary (Mother of Jesus). However, Heber, along with his wife Jael, stayed in Canaan living north near Kedesh in the tribal territory of Naphtali. In the Hebrew Bible, Judges 4-5 tells the lurid story of the heroic figure of Jael, the formidable woman who saves Israel from the Canaanite army by seducing their general, Sisera, and then nailing his head to the ground with a tent-peg. Just a few years earlier, a woman born in Bethlehem was married to a Levite, and the couple argued constantly. And Sisera had no reason to be. but not ", Who Was Jael In The Bible? He was willing to give up his daughters than hand over his guests to the men of Sodom. The Canaanite men kidnap the Bethlehem wife, brutally beat, torture, gang-rape her, and leave her for dead. Their funerary iconography indicates that (at the least) they. We dont know if Jael originally intended to kill Sisera. Step 1 Start. At that time, Deborah was the ruling judge in Israel. In those days when men had multiple wives, each woman had a tent for herself. There was a woman prophet named Deborah. With the finger of God directing judgment on the oppressors, hail, sleet and hurricane-force winds were driven into the faces of the Canaanite army, blinding their vision and mucking the grounds into which the chariots iron wheels get buried. 5:2426) recounts: Extolled above women be Jael, Jael is best known for killing Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, in a bloody, gruesome manner. They lived in tents and moved about in order to find work. Most blessed among women is Jael, Respond to their environment 4. We should be constantly ready to run to him, confess our sins, and then bask in the victory of the cross. Hever the Kenite (.mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey Frank CLM","Frank Ruehl CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans} ) was, according to the Book of Judges in the Bible, a descendant of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses. And understandably, her virtue is at risk of being violated. [4] The Kenites were a nomadic tribe, some of whom lived in close proximity to the Israelites. That means that if anything, Jael should have been an ally to Sisera. The Jezebel Bible story comes to a close with the queen's gory death. A womans tent is the very last place anybody would look for a fugitive or a runaway army commander. The Lord will allow a woman to defeat Sisera, Barak and his men attacked Sisera. Barak said to her, If you will go withme, I will go. So the Israelites became stronger and stronger until they defeated King Jabin of Canaan. The other primary female character, Jael, has not been viewed so positively. A woman who proved to be an early proponent of womens rights, eliminating the threat of sanctioned rape under the guise of hospitality. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jaels people, the Kenites, were at peace with the Canaanites. Finally, Jaels husband very likely had a good relationship with Sisera. At her feet he sank, he fell; We need only to skip ahead in the Bible to the life of Jesus to read more stories of rules broken. She Was Weak In Loyalty. She was judge of Israel at that time. Moses lived among the Kenites in Midian until he was called by God to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. What can we learn from Jael? 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