Who Was Jael In The Bible? A Character Study

Exactly who was Jael? Why is it important for us to know?

Who was Jael?

Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite who is celebrated in the Song of Deborah in the Book of Judges in chapter five. In Hebrew, Jael means “mountain goat” so it certainly doesn’t sound like a complimentary name but in that culture, that was a symbol of strength and sureness so we can’t read into any meaning from our modern culture. Jael could have easily been included in Hebrews chapter eleven, the so-called Hall of Faith because she was a heroine who snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat in helping Israel defeat a much larger, more experienced, and far superior Canaanite army during the time called “the time of the Judges.”

Israel Attacks the Canaanites

During the time of the Judges “There was a woman prophet named Deborah. She was the wife of a man named Lappidoth. She was judge of Israel at that time. One day Deborah was sitting under the Palm Tree of Deborah, and the Israelites came up to her to ask what to do about Sisera. (The Palm Tree of Deborah is between the cities of Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim” (Judges 4:4-5) and Deborah sent a message “to Barak, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go and gather 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Lead them to Mount Tabor. I will make Sisera, the commander of King Jabin’s army, come to you. I will make Sisera, his chariots, and his army come to the Kishon River. I will help you defeat Sisera there” (Judges 4:6b-7). “Barak said to Deborah, “I will go and do this if you will go with me. But if you will not go with me, I will not go” (Judges 4:8) and Deborah the Judge agreed to go but told Barak “But because of your attitude, you will not be honored when Sisera is defeated. The Lord will allow a woman to defeat Sisera” (Judges 4:9). Sisera was the commander of the Canaanite forces and so “Barak and his men attacked Sisera. During the battle, the Lord confused Sisera and his army and chariots. They did not know what to do. Barak and his men defeated Sisera’s army, but Sisera left his chariot and ran away on foot” (Judges 4:15) but Sisera got away “ran away to the tent where a woman named Jael lived. Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite. His family was at peace with King Jabin of Hazor. That is why Sisera ran to Jael’s tent” (Judges 4:17) because he believed that he would be safe there.

Jael’s Heroic Acts

It so happened that “Jael saw him coming, so she went out to meet him and said, “Sir, come into my tent. Come in. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera went into Jael’s tent, and she covered him with a blanket” (Judges 4:18) and Sisera thought he would be safe there after his Canaanite forces had been defeated since “Not one of Sisera’s men was left alive” (Judges 4:16b). Then “Sisera said to Jael, “Go stand at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say, ‘No’” (Judges 4:20) “But Jael found a tent peg and a hammer. She quietly went to Sisera. Sisera was very tired, so he was sleeping. She put the tent peg to the side of Sisera’s head and hit it with a hammer. The tent peg went through the side of his head and into the ground. Sisera died” (Judges 4:21). At that very moment “Barak came by Jael’s tent, looking for Sisera. 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. There Barak found Sisera lying dead on the ground, with the tent peg through the side of his head” (Judges 4:22). This was a great day for Israel as “God defeated King Jabin of Canaan for the Israelites. So the Israelites became stronger and stronger until they defeated King Jabin of Canaan. The Israelites finally destroyed him” (Judges 4:23-24) which is why it was written that “Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite. She will be blessed above all women” (Judges 5:24) because of her heroic act. That is why the Song of Deborah was written for “On the day that the Israelites defeated Sisera, Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song” (Judges 5:2-31) in tribute, first and foremost to God but Jael was hailed as a heroine and was part if this Song of Deborah and gave Jael a right and fitting place in the history of Israel.

Conclusion

Today, this godly woman, along with the heroine Deborah the Judge, are part of the recorded history of the nation of Israel and hailed as women who courageously obeyed God, even at the risk of their own lives. They were responsible for Israel’s great victory over the Canaanites but ultimately, it was because of God (Judges 4:14-16).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.