Jael

Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia

(gazelle, wild goat) (Judg 4:18, 21; 5:6, 24) - wife of Heber the Kenite, who struck down Sisera, the commander of Jabin, king of Hazor; see Jabin. When Sisera fled after his defeat near Mount Tabor, Jael went out to meet him, invited him into her tent, covered him with a rug, and gave him milk to drink. Then, when he slept soundly from exhaustion, she drove a tent peg through his temple and showed his corpse to Barak (Judg 4). Her deed is forever enshrined in the lofty and triumphant song of Barak and Deborah (Judg 5). See Barak and Deborah.

Scripture cited

Judges 4:18

Related entries

Baal-tamar (place of palms) (Judg. 20:33) — a city of the tribe of Benjamin, lying near Gibeah of Benjamin. Near it the…
Barak (flash of lightning) (Judg. 4:5 [as given]; Heb. 11:32) — a well-known Israelite, mentioned by St. Paul the…
Chariots (Gen 45:19; 46 and elsewhere) - chariots were used among the Hebrews as early as horses. Genesis 41:43…
Deborah’s Palm (Judg. 4:5)—the palm beneath which the prophetess Deborah lived in the days of the Judges. It stood between…
Esdraelon (seed, or sowing, of God) (Judith 1:8; 3:9) — name of an extensive plain in lower Galilee, which took its…
Harosheth-hagoyim (Judg. 4:2, 13, 16)—Sisera’s base during the oppression under Jabin of Hazor. Deborah and Barak defeated his…
Hazor (settlement, fortress) (Josh. 11:1) — a city of the tribe of Naphtali, capital of the Canaanites, in which…
Heber (fellowship)—the name of several persons. (1) (Gen. 46:17; Num. 26:45; 1 Chron. 7:31) a son of Beriah,…
Hobab (beloved; Num. 10:29; Judg. 4:11)—a Midianite or Kenite relative of Moses, called the son of Reuel. Moses…
Kishon (winding, tortuous) (Judg 4:7; Ps 83:9) - a well-known Palestinian stream, called both river and brook,…

Search the whole Encyclopedia All 4,575 entries, searchable, with every entry linked to the verses it explains.