Jael: a decisive and courageous woman who becomes a hero

Jael is an interesting woman in the Bible. Her story only takes place in a few short verses but her story has lasting effects. Little is known about her. She is never mentioned again in the Bible. She is a decisive and courageous woman who seized the opportunity to kill an enemy of God’s people. According to the Jewish tradition, she was so beautiful that her voice would arouse lust in men (Kadari). In Judges 5:24, Deborah calls her the “most blessed of women in tents.” Women in tents refers to Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah, the Four Matriarchs (Kadari). Why would Jael’s actions be more blessed than the Four Matriarchs? What is the current take on her actions? What does her story tell us about God? What would we do if we were in Jael’s place? 

Jael was the wife of Heber from the Kenites. The Kenites were a nomadic tribe who survived by staying clear of local disputes. However, they didn’t follow this particular rule. Heber was on friendly terms with Jabin, king of Hazar (Judges 4:17) so when Sisera saw Jael at her tent, he must have thought he would be safe from discovery. Jael welcomes him into the tent, he asks for water, she gives him a skin of milk. As soon as he falls asleep, she takes a tent peg and a hammer and quickly thrusts the peg through his temple and into the ground. Sisera was dead at the hands of a woman, just as Deborah had predicted in Judges 4:9. Later, Jael will show Barak Sisera, dead, in her tent (Judges 4: 22). While she is praised by Deborah and Barak in their song in Judges 5, Jael is most blessed of women in tents. One explanation for this statement is that without Jael, the Israelities may have faced possible extinction and when she killed Sisera, she ensured “the continued existence of the people of Israel” (Kadari). 

I use the devotional “Women of the Bible” by Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda as a guide for these studies. I have used it for many years, however, this study on Jael caught my attention, a detail I didn’t notice before. They asked if Jael was bloodthirsty because she killed Sisera in such a violent manner? This question didn’t sit well with me. Just because she’s a woman, she’s supposed to be dainty and a “damsel in distress” to wait for a man to rescue her? Why couldn’t she do the rescuing herself? My impression is that the authors’ feelings because she chose to kill a man rather than expose his whereabouts makes her brutal. However, my thoughts on Jael’s actions is that she thought it would be safer to kill him first rather than expose his whereabouts. While Deborah’s words to Barak were that God would deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman (Judges 4:9) could have meant different scenarios, it could have been Jael’s motives that made the differences. Did she kill Sisera out of loyalty for God and Israel? Did she fear for herself when he awoke? Whatever her motives, her story considers her actions to be the will of God (Frymer-Kensky). 

Whether you agree with Jael’s actions or not, her story is another example of God’s promise to never forget his people. When hope seems dim and prospects of victory are impossible, God is at work, bringing his plan to fruition in ways we could never imagine. In the times of the judges, the people’s faith wavered between two extremes. When times were good, they forgot God and his promises. When times were bad, they ran to him for deliverance. Nehemiah 9:28 shows this wavering behavior and God’s willingness to help them time after time. The story of the wavering people still happens today. God is, as he was in the days of the judges, always there, always willing to help us when we call and always ready to forgive. We never know if we could be God’s instrument to bring deliverance to another. We never know when we are someone’s answer to prayer. We also never know when we have been given help sent by God in the form of another. Remember Hebrews 13:1-2, “Continue in brotherly love. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”

In conclusion, I love this statement: “When the outside world of national battles comes into her domestic space, Jael takes up a domestic “weapon of opportunity” and becomes a heroine” (Frymer-Kensky). I think this is the best way to view Jael and her actions. If anyone came into our home, we would not do anything we would to defend it? Yes, Jael welcomed him in and Sisera assumed he was safe as her husband was on friendly terms with the king. But that doesn't mean that Jael was. She may have known Sisera’s cruelty and did what she could to protect herself as well as others who would face his brutality. A brutal man met a brutal end at the hands of a woman. Despite her means, Jael is a hero and an example to be decisive and courageous. 

References

Frymer-Kensky, Tikva (no date). Jael: Bible. Jewish Women’s Archives. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jael-bible. Retrieved February 21, 2021. 

Kadari, Tamar (no date). Jael Wife of Heber The Kenite: Midrash and Aggadah. Jewish Women's Archives. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jael-wife-of-heber-kenite-midrash-and-aggadah. Retrieved February 21, 2021.