Jael was a woman mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Old Testament. She played an important role in the victory of the Israelites over the Canaanites. Here is an overview of who Jael was and what her story teaches us:
Jael’s Family Background
Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite (Judges 4:17). The Kenites were a nomadic tribe that originally descended from Midian. Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was a Kenite (Judges 1:16). Although the Kenites were not ethnically Israelites, they allied themselves with the Israelites during the time of the judges. Heber had separated from the rest of the Kenites and pitched his tent near Kedesh, where Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, fled after his defeat by Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:11, 17).
Jael’s Encounter with Sisera
After Sisera’s army was routed by Deborah and Barak at the battle of Mount Tabor, Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Heber and Jael. Jael invited Sisera into her tent and covered him with a blanket. She brought him milk to drink and seemingly offered him refuge. However, while he was asleep from exhaustion, Jael took a tent peg and hammered it through Sisera’s temple all the way into the ground, killing him (Judges 4:17-22).
It was an act of hospitality betrayal, whereby Jael lured Sisera into her tent with false assurances of protection, only to assassinate him in his sleep. She later showed Sisera’s lifeless body to Barak when he came looking for him, demonstrating that the victory over Sisera was complete (Judges 4:22).
Jael’s Motivations
Jael’s actions suggest mixed motivations. On the one hand, the text presents Jael as acting in support of Israel against their enemy. Deborah later sang of Jael being blessed among women for this loyal act (Judges 5:24). Her cold-blooded murder of Sisera completed Israel’s victory over their oppressors. Jael chose solidarity with Israel over Canaan.
On the other hand, Jael’s murder of Sisera violated standards of hospitality toward strangers seeking refuge. Her actions cast ambiguity over her moral character. Perhaps she saw Sisera’s defeat as inevitable and acted ruthlessly to endear herself to the winning side. Or she may have been driven by other unknown personal, political, or religious motives rather than any allegiance to Israel’s God or Israel itself.
Whatever Jael’s true motives, her courage and initiative, however morally dubious, were significant in the deliverance of Israel from Jabin’s oppression. For this, Jael earned a memorable, if also unsettling, place in Israel’s history.
Deborah’s Prophecy of Jael
In Judges 4:9, Deborah the prophetess issues a stark prophecy about Jael: “And she said, I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”
This prophecy came true when Jael acted to kill Sisera. Deborah recognized that God would use Jael to accomplish His sovereign purpose. The defeat of Israel’s enemies would come through an unexpected vessel – a Kenite woman acting treacherously.
Deborah knew that Barak would not ultimately get the glory for Sisera’s defeat. God had destined it to come through Jael’s hand. This shows that God uses all kinds of people in His plans, including those outside Israel. He is not limited by human assumptions about gender, ethnicity, or morality when working His will in history.
Jael in Deborah’s Song
After the victory over Jabin and Sisera, Deborah and Barak sang a song recounting God’s deliverance of Israel (Judges 5). In the song, Jael’s moment is memorialized:
“Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
He asked for water and she gave him milk;
she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl.
She sent her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet;
she struck Sisera;
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
Between her feet he sank, he fell;
there he lay still;
between her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell—dead.” (Judges 5:24-27)
Jael is praised for her cunning and boldness in assassinating Israel’s enemy. The song focuses on the gory details of Jael hammering the tent peg through Sisera’s head, leaving him dead between her feet. It is a vivid celebration of Jael’s violent but significant role in Yahweh’s purpose.
Lessons from Jael’s Story
Here are some key lessons that can be drawn from the account of Jael in Judges 4-5:
– God uses unexpected people in His plans. Jael was an obscure Kenite woman, yet God used her mightily. God often chooses the weak to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27).
– God is sovereign, even over the wicked plans of people. Jael acted treacherously, but within God’s sovereign plan. Her evil actions served His ultimately good purpose of rescuing Israel.
– Appearances can be deceiving. Jael first appeared welcoming and generous to Sisera. In reality, she set a trap to assassinate him.
– Victory comes from the Lord. Despite Jael’s significance, the song attributes the victory to God’s power: “So may all your enemies perish, O Lord!” (Judges 5:31).
– God cares about the oppressed. Israel’s oppression moved God to raise Deborah and Barak to deliver them. God hears the cries of the suffering and works justice.
– Courageous faith is needed in the battles of life. Deborah and Barak courageously obeyed God’s call to fight against overwhelming odds. Jael also showed initiative and courage, however morally ambiguous. God calls us to similar bravery in the struggles of life.
– God is mighty to save. The deliverance of Israel in Judges 4-5 displays God’s awesome power to rescue His people from danger and oppression. This foreshadows the ultimate salvation He won through Jesus.
Jael’s story is unsettling and problematic. Yet God ultimately used her questionable actions within His glorious plan of redemption. This account calls us to recognize God’s sovereignty and wisdom, even amid the evil that exists in a fallen world.
Other Biblical References to Jael
Apart from Judges 4-5, Jael is mentioned one other time in the Old Testament:
– In Psalm 83, Jael is grouped among a list of enemies that conspired against Israel: “Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.” Make them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane! Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.” (Psalm 83:9-18)
This shows that Jael was remembered for her part in defeating the Canaanites, likened to earlier enemies of Israel. The psalmist uses her story as a plea for God to similarly defeat the newer enemies facing Israel.
Jael is not mentioned in the New Testament. But the author of Hebrews references Barak’s faith in Hebrews 11:32. The writer may have left out Jael due to the moral ambiguity of her actions.
Historical Interpretations of Jael’s Character
Throughout history, Jael’s story has elicited debate over how to interpret her character from a moral and theological point of view:
– **Early Jewish Tradition:** The rabbis sought to reconcile Jael’s violation of hospitality laws with her hero status. Some suggested that Jael only intended to mislead Sisera about offering refuge, but did not actually violate hospitality once he entered her tent. Or that she obtained Heber’s consent before the killing. Overall, Jael was seen positively as acting for Israel’s deliverance from oppression.
– **Early Christian Views:** In contrast to Jewish interpreters, early church fathers were often critical of Jael’s ethics. Augustine held that God’s use of Jael did not justify her deceitful actions. Clement of Alexandria used Jael as an example of how Scripture records even unlawful acts. Most patristic authors condemned Jael’s means, despite acknowledging her role in God’s plans.
– **Medieval Interpretations:** Thomas Aquinas considered whether Jael’s actions violated the just war principles of his day. He proposed that her killing of Sisera was permissible because she was acting under the authority of the leaders of Israel. Others argued she was justified in defending herself from Sisera’s potential abuse of her. Speculation also arose that she was protecting Israelite fugitives hidden in her tent from Sisera’s discovery.
– **Reformation Views:** Protestant Reformers upheld Jael as a positive example of God’s use of the weak and unexpected for His glory. John Knox preached an inflammatory sermon praising Jael’s courage to justify rebellion against “unjust” rulers. His praise for Jael’s tyrannicide stirred great controversy.
– **Modern Scholarship:** Enlightenment critics discounted Jael’s story as primitive mythology. Feminist interpreters since the 1900s have seen Jael’s daring actions as subversive of patriarchal views about power and gender. Others contend Jael’s ambiguous morals reflect the complexity of Israel’s early tribal life and the difficult choices it required. Postcolonial readings regard Jael’s story as resistance against Canaanite imperialism.
These diverse interpretations testify to the nuanced legacy of Jael’s story as both troubling and inspirational for different eras and communities throughout history. Her character continues to stimulate reflection on ethics, gender, violence, nationalism and other challenging themes.
Significance and Legacy
In summary, Jael holds a small but significant place in the biblical story of Israel’s early years:
– As a woman used by God in decisive victory over Israel’s enemy, despite acting outside expected gender roles for her time.
– As an outsider, neither Israelite nor Canaanite, yet playing a pivotal part in God’s purpose for Israel.
– As an morally questionable agent whom God employed within His sovereign plan, despite the deceitful and violent means she used.
– As a vivid demonstration of God’s power to save His people and overcome oppression, through whoever and whatever means He chooses.
For these reasons, Jael’s story has endured as a testimony to God’s mysterious and at times unsettling providence in working out His redemptive plans in a fallen world. Her legacy continues to prompt reflection, debate and reinterpretation from generation to generation.