Ephesians 6:12 puts it like this: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Chapter 14--Jael Her Name Means "A Wild or Mountain Goat" Her Character: Decisive and courageous, she seized the opportunity to slay an enemy of God's people. After this victory, Israel enjoyed peace for forty years. Key Scripture: Judges 4-5 (New International Version) The country seems to be confused about censorship, free speech, and any An American in Amman: A U.S. The husband of Jael is Heber the Kenite. Thus Deborahs prophesy, that Sisera would die at the hand of a woman, was fulfilled. Charles Spurgeon once gave a sermon where he compared Sisera to sin. Jael learns her method from Ehud, who, through false pretenses, brought the enemy to within arms reach, and slays him to save the Israelite nation. So what about you, lovely? and is the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the sister of Moses and Aaron. Be highly organized Slideshow. When Sisera got to her tent she invited him in and he entered without fear because " there was peace between Jabinand the house of Heber ". David thanked her for this and repented of his desire to seek revenge. Yael plays an important role in the story of Israel's wars with the Canaanites, described in the Book of Judges. Jael showed Sisera great hospitality. [citation needed]. And she smote Sisera; she crushed his head, Incidentally, this historic ground was located in Nephtali a land set apart for fleeing inhabitants of the 12 tribes of Israel. He denounced religious rulers for heaping impossible burdens on the people listening to them. During . And Jael took Sisera and pushed him onto the ground from the bed. T. Nelson and Sons. She didnt attempt to beat him with a strategy she knew she was not going to be able to use to win. Everything we do should be for the sake of honoring and bringing glory to God. They did not know what to do. Because men were never allowed to enter a womens tent, no one would think to look for him there. If you want to share this resource with others, please share the link to the blog post. The Israelite army had been called to battle by God. Jael is one of those women of the Bible who we don't get a lot of details or background on. It could just mean that their lives will take turns they didnt see coming. Still, for a meaning of the name Jael, both BDB Theological Dictionary and NOBSE Study Bible Name List read Mountain Goat. If she did not act, King Jabil and the Canaanites would continue their oppressive power over the Israelites. Jael, under the circumstances, had no better weapon than the tent peg. The story of Jael in the Bible was one that completely shocked me the first time I read it. Hospitality laws in the middle east, at that time, were very strict. Do not be afraid.. Jael or Yael (Hebrew: Yl) is a heroine in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Judges who delivers Israel from the army of King Jabin of Canaan. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. Jael and Judith were also used as propaganda figures by Protestants and Catholics alike to symbolize the violent overthrow of heresy. Finally, Jaels husband very likely had a good relationship with Sisera. She also assured him that God would defeat Sisera through him however Barak refused to go to battle without her (Judges 4:6-8). Sisera died, Barak came by Jaels tent, looking for Sisera. I can't get over how fearlessly Jael acts in this story. On hearing Gods word, she sent for a man named Barak and told him that the Lord wanted him to gather ten thousand men and go to war against Sisera, the commander of Jabins army. 5 Things You Should Know about the ESV Bible Translation. 3. Exactly who was Jael? Bible References. She covered him with a rug to hide and comfort him. From the time Sisera entered Jaels camp, each of her moves were calculated and strategic. For example, she gave him milk when he asked for a little water and covered him with blankets when he lay down to rest, being weary from battle (Judges 4:18-19). "[13], Judges 4:17 states that there was peace between the Canaanites and Heber's clan. The way she killed Sisera was really gruesome and inglorious. The wife of Heber the Kenite, Jael appears bound to the Israelites because of her husbands kinship through the Midianites. She was described as a prophetess, and, in fact, is one of the seven major female prophets in the Bible. She may have just been trying to delay him so that anyone pursuing him could catch up. Jael knew who the real enemy was in the fight and she also knew that battles can be very unpredictable. Sometimes in spiritual warfare, we can mistake our spouse, children, friends, family, and coworkers for the enemy. Jael's story lets us know sometimes a girl has to slay the giants in her life, using whatever crude tools are available. Feminine hospitality is a powerful thing to a man. More positively, Jael was included in sets of the female Nine Worthies, such as the prints by Hans Burgkmair. Step 2 declare three integers x, y & z. And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, I will show you the man whom you seek. And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple. (Judges 4:21-22). Bible Character Study on Abigail. If God has given you a word or vision, I want you to keep the faith that He will be faithful to complete it. I was 2 months pregnant sitting in Gods presence when I heard the him say, You are having a girl. The fact is that they will not let up until they have accomplished their goals. I will help you defeat Sisera there (Judges 4:6b-7). What can we learn from Jael? She was Jewish, but as Mordecai had recommended, she never exposed her ethnicity or family background. (LogOut/ Most Blessed is Jael among women, indeed. Her story is found in Judges 4:17-24. Respond to their environment 4. Worse, he did this when she was alone. Remember too, the horrific account as noted by Jewish historian, Josephus. Blessed is she among women in tents. When Moses fled Egypt and went to Midian he met Jethro and eventually married his daughter Zipporah, thus marrying into the tribe of Kenite. The task set before her took a large amount of courage. 1.5 Mary Turned to Jesus Right from the Beginning. 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. Elisha came and eventually revived the child. The woman lost her will to live due to her insurmountable shame. In Hebrew, Jael means mountain goat so it certainly doesnt sound like a complimentary name but in that culture, that was a symbol of strength and sureness so we cant read into any meaning from our modern culture. Martin Luther was particularly fond of Judith and held her up as an example of virtue and godly living. She understood that God alone is able to do what he says he will do. Deborah went on to tell Barak to gather his men for the battle, and Barak responded this way: If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go. Judges 4:8, Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. Throughout the narrative, we actually see Naomi looking out for Ruth, even while in the midst of paralyzing grief. She obeyed Mordecai when he told her to hide her faith and her people (Esther 2:10). A folktale is a fictional story that has been orally passed down over hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years. Her Joy: To be lauded by Deborah and Barak for her part in a decisive victory. Grow, develop and die 5. Judges 4 and 5. And if we really want to see victory, we have to really put away sin. Before we talk anymore about Jael, we have to talk about what was going on in Israel at the time. Want to know how? 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 said to Deborah, I will go and do this if you will go with me. Jael was married to a Kenanite named Heber, a man descended from Jethro (Moses' father-in-law of the Midianites). Extolled above women in the tent. Newsom and Ringe consider her a survivor caught up in her husband's politics. [citation needed] According to Jack Sasson, there are reasons to doubt whether the events narrated in Judges 4 ever occurred. She loves to hang around men with money, power, influence and positions. Heber (whose name means ally,) contracts himself out to the Canaanite army led by General Sisera for weapon-making. She realizes that her womanhood is actually a strength to be leveraged in her leadership, not a weakness to be discarded. Blessed Among Women. Her family made and sold tools in farming, some domestic tools and weapons as well. As such, Jael shows us that God will use absolutely anybody to bring His will about. Jael has often been understood to be the wife of Heber the Kenite. A godly woman, she understood the will of God and submitted to it. Jael [N] [H] [S] mountain-goat, the wife of Heber the Kenite ( Judges 4:17-22 ). Judges 4:6 tells us that she summoned a man named Barak, who God chose to be the leader of Israels army against Jabins forces. For Elijah on Mount Carmel it was the power of prayer. She took a leave of absence, and stayed with her parents for awhile, leaving the husband to travel hundreds of miles to fetch her back. In that age women were the responsible party for making and setting up the tents in which they would live, wherever they settled. Then she tucked him into bed like a baby. (Gen. 25:1, 2). He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. The name Jael means "mountain goat". In Hebrew, Jael means "mountain goat" so it certainly doesn't sound like a. -2 Corinthians 3:5-6. I will make Sisera, his chariots, and his army come to the Kishon River. Eve means 'life-bearer'. The story of the Bethlehem woman and Lots daughters are only two among thousands of similar stories during this time. Two stations were monitored between July 1996 and April 1998 to study temporal variation in species diversity and abundance of the epi- and endo-benthos. Jael is the heroine who kills Sisera after the battle of Jabin, king of Hazor, against Israel under Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:17). Eve is the Great Mother, Everywoman. Not a man was left, except Sisera that is, who managed to dismount his horse and run away on foot to the tent of Jael (Judges 4:17). Jael is a Hebrew name, from Yal meaning "ibex" or "chimois" (which are species of wild mountain goats), from the root yal meaning "to profit, to ascend" (perhaps in reference to the goat's nimble ability to ascend mountains with ease). 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. 5. A womans tent is the very last place anybody would look for a fugitive or a runaway army commander. [3] However, the Hebrew phrase translated this way could also mean "a woman of the group of the Kenites". He wasnt just a regular visiting guest. Since the tent she was staying in was a womans tent, there were no weapons nearby. He insisted that Deborah, the prophetess and God-appointment judge in Israel, go with him. Jael, Shawna R.T. Atteberry, http://www.shawnaatteberry.com/2008/12/11/436/. In biblical times, women were responsible for all the elements of repairing and pitching tents. This is not a story about physical strength but about strength of commitment to God. All we know for sure, besides the account of her story, is that she was a Bedouin and the wife of Heber the Kenite. 4 and 5), who inspired the Israelites to a mighty victory over their Canaanite oppressors (the people who lived in the Promised Land, later Palestine, that Moses spoke of before its conquest by the Israelites); the "Song of Deborah" (Judg. Jaels people were at peace with his. The story of Jael can be found in Judges 4. Behold I will throw him down on the ground from the bed on which he sleeps; and if he does not feel it, I know that he has been handed over." II Kings chapter 4, where we find her story, is also the haftarah portion which corresponds to parshat Vayera which tells of the miraculous birth of Abraham and Sarah's son Isaac as well as the binding of Isaac.There are at least three clear parallels: hospitality, a prophecy to a barren woman that she will bear a son, and the near-death experience of that son. 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. And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking. So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.. He was the enemy. She Was Weak In Loyalty. He entered the tent of a married woman. Be patient, and wait for the opportune time when God will use you, while staying faithful and steadfast to His laws and commands. What was even more unexpected is that this woman was not actually Hebrew, being a Kenite. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. When Sisera asked for water, she gave him milk. (LogOut/ (Matthew 8:3), He healed on the Sabbath even though no work was supposed to be done. She disarmed him with her words of reassurance. But he went to Jaels tent instead. She will be blessed above all women (Judges 5:24) because of her heroic act. If she did not act, she probably would have been raped by a vicious Canaanite man. Technically speaking, Yal is a female name, borne from the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old . A woman whose physical strength, faithfulness, patience, and discernment were praised in the very first poem of the Hebrew Bible: The Song of Deborah.. However, the contents of this blog post may not be modified, compiled, combined with other content, copied, recorded, synchronized, transmitted, translated, formatted, distributed, publicly displayed, publicly performed, reproduced, given away, used to create derivative works and otherwise used or exploited (including for-profit or commercial gain) without the creators expressed permission. Whatever her motive was for killing Sisera the Israelites celebrated her as a national heroine. During the time of the Exodus the Kenites acted in kindness to Moses and the Israelites. Zondervan Publishers, 1967. She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head. Both sides in the conflict would have considered the Kenites a neutral party. [21] Ladies sometimes chose to have their portraits painted as Jael, a transformation achieved by holding a hammer and spike.[22]. God's . In those days, women made their own tents and pitched them. But, any job God gives us to do He will pour out the courage and ability to do it. But our God is sovereign, and we can trust Him to give us competence. We need to prioritize His glory and His competence over our own. She calls for Barak from Kedesh in Naphtali to go up against Jabin and his army as the Lord will turn him over to Barak. Sisera arrived on foot at the tent of Heber on the plain of Zaanaim. Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite who is celebrated in the Song of Deborah in the Book of Judges in chapter five. As Christians, we often like to focus on living at peace with everyone. Quite the opportunist, Heber travels north from Judah to Canaan, taking Jael with him. At her feet he sank, he fell; Worthies, such as the prints by Hans Burgkmair on the Sabbath even though no work supposed... List read Mountain Goat & quot ; Mountain Goat name means ally )! To see victory, we have to talk about what was even more unexpected is that woman. 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