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She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/judges/4-21.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/17/07_Jdg_04_21.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Judges 4:21 - Jael Kills Sisera" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion, Heber's wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. 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She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died. <a href="/nlt/judges/4.htm">New Living Translation</a> But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died. <a href="/esv/judges/4.htm">English Standard Version</a> But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. 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. So he died. <a href="/bsb/judges/4.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a> But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died. <a href="/kjv/judges/4.htm">King James Bible</a> Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. <a href="/nkjv/judges/4.htm">New King James Version</a> Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. <a href="/nasb_/judges/4.htm">New American Standard Bible</a> But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. <a href="/nasb/judges/4.htm">NASB 1995</a> But Jael, Heber&#8217s wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. <a href="/nasb77/judges/4.htm">NASB 1977 </a> But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. <a href="/lsb/judges/4.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a> Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and placed a hammer in her hand and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. <a href="/amp/judges/4.htm">Amplified Bible</a> But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand, and came up quietly to him and drove the peg through his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. <a href="/csb/judges/4.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a> While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife, Jael, took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died. <a href="/hcsb/judges/4.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a> While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber&#8217s wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died. <a href="/asv/judges/4.htm">American Standard Version</a> Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died. <a href="/cev/judges/4.htm">Contemporary English Version</a> Sisera was exhausted and soon fell fast asleep. Jael took a hammer and drove a tent-peg through his head into the ground, and he died. <a href="/erv/judges/4.htm">English Revised Version</a> Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died. <a href="/gwt/judges/4.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a> When Sisera had fallen sound asleep from exhaustion, Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and walked quietly toward him with a hammer in her hand. She hammered the tent peg through his temples into the ground. So Sisera died. <a href="/gnt/judges/4.htm">Good News Translation</a> Sisera was so tired that he fell sound asleep. Then Jael took a hammer and a tent peg, quietly went up to him, and killed him by driving the peg right through the side of his head and into the ground. <a href="/isv/judges/4.htm">International Standard Version</a> But Heber's wife Jael grabbed a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other, crept up to him quietly, and drove the tent peg right through his temple into the ground below after he had fallen sound asleep from exhaustion. That's how he died. <a href="/msb/judges/4.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a> But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion, Heber?s wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died. <a href="/net/judges/4.htm">NET Bible</a> Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground while he was asleep from exhaustion, and he died. <a href="/nheb/judges/4.htm">New Heart English Bible</a> Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he died. <a href="/wbt/judges/4.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a> Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep, and weary. So he died. <a href="/web/judges/4.htm">World English Bible</a> Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground, for he was in a deep sleep; so he fainted and died. <div class="vheading2">Literal Translations</div><a href="/lsv/judges/4.htm">Literal Standard Version</a> And Jael wife of Heber takes the pin of the tent, and takes the hammer in her hand, and goes to him gently, and strikes the pin into his temples, and it fastens in the earth—and he has been fast asleep, and is weary—and he dies. <a href="/ylt/judges/4.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a> And Jael wife of Heber taketh the pin of the tent, and taketh the hammer in her hand, and goeth unto him gently, and striketh the pin into his temples, and it fasteneth in the earth -- and he hath been fast asleep, and is weary -- and he dieth. <a href="/slt/judges/4.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a> And Jael, Heber's wife, will take a peg of the tent, and will put a hammer in her hand, and will go to him softly, and will drive the peg into his temples, and it will go down into the earth; and he was in a deep sleep and was wearied. And he will die.<div class="vheading2">Catholic Translations</div><a href="/drb/judges/4.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a> So Jahel Haber's wife took a nail of the tent, and taking also a hammer: and going in softly, and with silence, she put the nail upon the temples of his head, and striking it With the hammer, drove it through his brain fast into the ground: and so passing from deep sleep to death, he fainted away and died. <a href="/cpdv/judges/4.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a> And so Jael, the wife of Heber, took a spike from the tent, and also took a mallet. And entering unseen and with silence, she placed the spike over the temple of his head. And striking it with the mallet, she drove it through his brain, as far as the ground. And so, joining deep sleep to death, he fell unconscious and died. <a href="/nabre/judges/4.htm">New American Bible</a> Jael, wife of Heber, got a tent peg and took a mallet in her hand. When Sisera was in a deep sleep from exhaustion, she approached him stealthily and drove the peg through his temple and down into the ground, and he died. <a href="/nrsvce/judges/4.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a> But Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground—he was lying fast asleep from weariness—and he died.<div class="vheading2">Translations from Aramaic</div><a href="/lamsa/judges/4.htm">Lamsa Bible</a> Then Anael, Heber's wife, got a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand and went to him as he was sleeping, and drove the peg into his temples, and pounded it into the ground while he was fast asleep, and he shivered and died. <a href="/hpbt/judges/4.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a> And Anayl the wife of Khubar took a peg of the tent and she seized a mallet in her hand and she went into him when he slept and she knocked the peg into his temples and it sank into the ground as he slept and he was shattered and he died<div class="vheading2">OT Translations</div><a href="/jps/judges/4.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a> Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died. <a href="/sep/judges/4.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a> And Jael the wife of Chaber took a pin of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him, and fastened the pin in his temple, and it went through to the earth, and he fainted away, and darkness fell upon him and he died. <a href="/parallel/judges/4-21.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv">Audio Bible</div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AjzBiIYY2Dc?start=1135" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="vheadingv">Context</div><a href="/bsb/judges/4.htm">Jael Kills Sisera</a> …20“Stand at the entrance to the tent,” he said, “and if anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’ ” 21<a href="/hebrew/1931.htm" title="1931: wə·hū- (Conj-w:: Pro-3ms) -- He, she, it. ">But as he</a> <a href="/hebrew/7290.htm" title="7290: nir·dām (V-Nifal-Prtcpl-ms) -- To be in or fall into heavy sleep. A primitive root; to stun, i.e. Stupefy.">lay sleeping</a> <a href="/hebrew/5888.htm" title="5888: way·yā·‘ap̄ (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms) -- To be faint. A primitive root; to languish.">from exhaustion,</a> <a href="/hebrew/2268.htm" title="2268: ḥe·ḇer (N-proper-ms) -- A Kenite, also several Isr. The same as cheber; community; Cheber, the name of a Kenite and of three Israelites.">Heber’s</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self."></a> <a href="/hebrew/802.htm" title="802: ’ê·šeṯ- (N-fsc) -- Woman, wife, female. Feminine of 'iysh or 'enowsh; irregular plural, nashiym; a woman.">wife</a> <a href="/hebrew/3278.htm" title="3278: yā·‘êl (N-proper-fs) -- A Canaanite woman. The same as ya'el; Jael, a Canaanite.">Jael</a> <a href="/hebrew/3947.htm" title="3947: wat·tiq·qaḥ (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs) -- To take. A primitive root; to take.">took</a> <a href="/hebrew/168.htm" title="168: hā·’ō·hel (Art:: N-ms) -- A tent. From 'ahal; a tent.">a tent</a> <a href="/hebrew/3489.htm" title="3489: yə·ṯaḏ (N-fsc) -- A peg, pin. From an unused root meaning to pin through or fast; a peg.">peg,</a> <a href="/hebrew/7760.htm" title="7760: wat·tā·śem (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs) -- To put, place, set. Or siym; a primitive root; to put.">grabbed</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self."></a> <a href="/hebrew/4718.htm" title="4718: ham·maq·qe·ḇeṯ (Art:: N-fs) -- A hole, excavation. From naqab; properly, a perforator, i.e. A hammer; also a perforation, i.e. A quarry.">a hammer,</a> <a href="/hebrew/3027.htm" title="3027: bə·yā·ḏāh (Prep-b:: N-fsc:: 3fs) -- Hand (indicating power, means, direction, etc.)"></a> <a href="/hebrew/935.htm" title="935: wat·tā·ḇō·w (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs) -- To come in, come, go in, go. A primitive root; to go or come.">and went</a> <a href="/hebrew/3814.htm" title="3814: bal·lāṭ (Prep-b, Art:: N-ms) -- Muffled, silently. From la'at; properly, muffled, i.e. Silently.">silently</a> <a href="/hebrew/413.htm" title="413: ’ê·lāw (Prep:: 3ms) -- To, into, towards. ">to Sisera.</a> <a href="/hebrew/8628.htm" title="8628: wat·tiṯ·qa‘ (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs) -- A primitive root; to clatter, i.e. Slap, clang; by analogy, to drive; by implication, to become bondsman by handclasping).">She drove</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self."></a> <a href="/hebrew/3489.htm" title="3489: hay·yā·ṯêḏ (Art:: N-fs) -- A peg, pin. From an unused root meaning to pin through or fast; a peg.">the peg</a> <a href="/hebrew/7541.htm" title="7541: bə·raq·qā·ṯōw (Prep-b:: N-fsc:: 3ms) -- The temple (part of the head). Feminine of raq; properly, thinness, i.e. The side of the head.">through his temple</a> <a href="/hebrew/6795.htm" title="6795: wat·tiṣ·naḥ (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs) -- To descend. A primitive root; to alight; to cause to descend, i.e. Drive down.">and</a> <a href="/hebrew/776.htm" title="776: bā·’ā·reṣ (Prep-b, Art:: N-fs) -- Earth, land. From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth.">into the ground,</a> <a href="/hebrew/4191.htm" title="4191: way·yā·mōṯ (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms) -- To die. A primitive root: to die; causatively, to kill.">and he died.</a> 22When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man you are seeking.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera dead, with a tent peg through his temple.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div> <a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><a href="/judges/5-24.htm">Judges 5:24-27</a> Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. / He asked for water, and she gave him milk. In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds. / She reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera and crushed his skull; she shattered and pierced his temple. ... <a href="/genesis/3-15.htm">Genesis 3:15</a> And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” <a href="/psalms/68-21.htm">Psalm 68:21</a> Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways. <a href="/isaiah/41-15.htm">Isaiah 41:15-16</a> Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. / You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel. <a href="/habakkuk/3-13.htm">Habakkuk 3:13-14</a> You went forth for the salvation of Your people, to save Your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked and stripped him from head to toe. Selah / With his own spear You pierced his head, when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though ready to secretly devour the weak. <a href="/1_samuel/17-49.htm">1 Samuel 17:49-51</a> Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. / Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. / David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him, and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. <a href="/2_samuel/18-14.htm">2 Samuel 18:14-15</a> But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree. / And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him. <a href="/2_kings/9-24.htm">2 Kings 9:24</a> Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot. <a href="/2_kings/9-33.htm">2 Kings 9:33</a> “Throw her down!” yelled Jehu. So they threw her down, and her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses as they trampled her underfoot. <a href="/psalms/110-5.htm">Psalm 110:5-6</a> The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath. / He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide. <a href="/matthew/1-5.htm">Matthew 1:5</a> Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, <a href="/matthew/27-35.htm">Matthew 27:35</a> When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots. <a href="/mark/15-25.htm">Mark 15:25</a> It was the third hour when they crucified Him. <a href="/luke/1-52.htm">Luke 1:52</a> He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble. <a href="/luke/23-33.htm">Luke 23:33</a> When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.</div> <a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div>Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.took<a href="/judges/3-21.htm">Judges 3:21,31</a> And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: … <a href="/judges/5-26.htm">Judges 5:26</a> She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.<a href="/judges/15-15.htm">Judges 15:15</a> And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.a nail.<a href="/exodus/35-18.htm">Exodus 35:18</a> The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,and took.<a href="/psalms/3-7.htm">Psalm 3:7</a> Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.he died<a href="/judges/5-27.htm">Judges 5:27</a> At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.<div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/genesis/41-5.htm">Asleep</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/33-13.htm">Deep</a> <a href="/judges/4-1.htm">Died</a> <a href="/exodus/25-31.htm">Hammer</a> <a href="/judges/4-14.htm">Hand</a> <a href="/judges/4-18.htm">Jael</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/23-13.htm">Nail</a> <a href="/zechariah/10-4.htm">Peg</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/32-42.htm">Pierced</a> <a href="/ezekiel/15-3.htm">Pin</a> <a href="/judges/3-28.htm">Seized</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/31-16.htm">Sleep</a> <a href="/judges/3-31.htm">Smote</a> <a href="/genesis/33-14.htm">Softly</a> <a href="/judges/3-31.htm">Struck</a> <a href="/lamentations/2-12.htm">Swooned</a> <a href="/leviticus/19-27.htm">Temples</a> <a href="/judges/4-20.htm">Tent</a> <a href="/judges/5-26.htm">Tent-Pin</a> <a href="/joshua/7-3.htm">Weary</a> <a href="/judges/4-17.htm">Wife</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/1_samuel/26-7.htm">Asleep</a> <a href="/1_samuel/17-49.htm">Deep</a> <a href="/judges/8-32.htm">Died</a> <a href="/judges/5-26.htm">Hammer</a> <a href="/judges/4-24.htm">Hand</a> <a href="/judges/4-22.htm">Jael</a> <a href="/judges/4-22.htm">Nail</a> <a href="/judges/4-22.htm">Peg</a> <a href="/judges/5-26.htm">Pierced</a> <a href="/judges/5-26.htm">Pin</a> <a href="/judges/12-6.htm">Seized</a> <a href="/judges/7-21.htm">Sleep</a> <a href="/judges/5-26.htm">Smote</a> <a href="/ruth/3-7.htm">Softly</a> <a href="/judges/5-26.htm">Struck</a> <a href="/lamentations/2-12.htm">Swooned</a> <a href="/judges/4-22.htm">Temples</a> <a href="/judges/4-22.htm">Tent</a> <a href="/judges/5-26.htm">Tent-Pin</a> <a href="/judges/8-4.htm">Weary</a> <a href="/judges/5-24.htm">Wife</a><div class="vheading2">Judges 4</div>1. <a href="/judges/4-1.htm">Deborah and Barak deliver them from Jabin and Sisera</a> 17. <a href="/judges/4-17.htm">Jael kills Sisera</a> </div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/judges/4.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/judges/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/judges/4.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div>But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, fled on foot after his defeat by the Israelites led by Deborah and Barak. Exhausted from battle and seeking refuge, he found himself in the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. The Kenites were a nomadic tribe with connections to the Israelites through Moses' father-in-law, Jethro. Sisera's exhaustion symbolizes the complete defeat and vulnerability of those who oppose God's people.Heber’s wife Jael took a tent peg Jael's actions are significant in the cultural context of the time. Women were typically responsible for setting up tents, making Jael familiar with using a tent peg and hammer. Her choice of weapon is symbolic, as it represents using what is available and familiar to fulfill God's purposes. This act also highlights the unexpected ways God can deliver His people, using those who might seem unlikely or unqualified.grabbed a hammer The hammer, a tool of domestic life, becomes an instrument of divine justice. This reflects the theme throughout Scripture where God uses ordinary means and people to accomplish His extraordinary plans. The hammer and tent peg together symbolize the strength and decisiveness required to carry out God's will.and went silently to Sisera Jael's stealth and determination are crucial to the success of her mission. Her silence can be seen as a metaphor for the quiet yet powerful ways God often works behind the scenes. This moment of silence before the act of judgment parallels the calm before a storm, emphasizing the sudden and decisive nature of God's intervention.She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground This act of driving the peg through Sisera's temple is both literal and symbolic. It signifies the complete and utter defeat of the enemy, as well as the fulfillment of Deborah's prophecy that a woman would claim the victory over Sisera. The temple, a vulnerable part of the body, represents the vulnerability of those who oppose God's plans. The peg going into the ground signifies the finality and permanence of Sisera's defeat.and he died Sisera's death marks the end of Canaanite oppression over Israel, fulfilling God's promise of deliverance. This event foreshadows the ultimate victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ. Just as Jael's unexpected role in delivering Israel points to God's sovereignty, Christ's victory through His death and resurrection demonstrates God's power to save through seemingly unlikely means.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <a href="/topical/j/jael.htm">Jael</a> The wife of Heber the Kenite, Jael is a pivotal figure in this account. Her decisive action against Sisera is both bold and unexpected, highlighting her role in God's deliverance of Israel. 2. <a href="/topical/h/heber_the_kenite.htm">Heber the Kenite</a> Heber is Jael's husband, a member of the Kenite clan, which had separated from the other Kenites and pitched their tent near Kedesh. His alliance with Jabin, king of Canaan, sets the stage for Jael's actions. 3. <a href="/topical/s/sisera.htm">Sisera</a> The commander of Jabin's army, Sisera is the antagonist in this account. His defeat and death at the hands of Jael mark a turning point in the battle against the Canaanites. 4. <a href="/topical/t/tent_peg_and_hammer.htm">Tent Peg and Hammer</a> These tools, typically used by women in nomadic cultures for setting up tents, become instruments of deliverance in Jael's hands, symbolizing God's use of the ordinary for extraordinary purposes. 5. <a href="/topical/k/kedesh.htm">Kedesh</a> A city of refuge in Naphtali, near where Heber had pitched his tent. It serves as the geographical backdrop for the unfolding events.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><a href="/topical/g/god_uses_the_unexpected.htm">God Uses the Unexpected</a> Jael's account reminds us that God often uses unexpected people and means to accomplish His purposes. We should be open to how God might use us in ways we do not anticipate. <a href="/topical/c/courage_in_obedience.htm">Courage in Obedience</a> Jael's boldness in a dangerous situation exemplifies the courage that comes from trusting in God's plan. We are called to act courageously in obedience to God, even when it seems risky. <a href="/topical/t/the_power_of_the_ordinary.htm">The Power of the Ordinary</a> The tent peg and hammer, ordinary tools, become powerful in God's hands. This teaches us that God can use our everyday skills and resources for His glory. <a href="/topical/d/divine_justice.htm">Divine Justice</a> Sisera's death is a reminder of God's justice. While His timing and methods may be unexpected, God ultimately brings justice to those who oppose Him.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_judges_4.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Judges 4</a> <a href="/q/who_was_jael_and_what_did_she_do.htm">Who was Jael and what did she do?</a> <a href="/q/who_was_sisera_in_the_bible.htm">Who was Sisera in the Bible?</a> <a href="/q/is_judges_4_9_a_later_editorial_addition.htm">Judges 4:9 features a prophecy about Sisera’s defeat by a woman—could this be a later editorial addition that conflicts with the main story? </a> <a href="/q/are_there_sources_supporting_jael's_act.htm">Judges 4:21 tells of Jael killing Sisera with a tent peg--are there archaeological or extra-biblical sources supporting the historicity of this event?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/judges/4.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(21) Then.--Many commentators have ventured to assume that at this instant Jael received a Divine intimation of what she was to do. To make such an assumption as a way of defending an act of assassination peculiarly terrible and peculiarly treacherous seems to be to the last degree unwarrantable. If any readers choose to adopt such methods for themselves they ought not to attempt the enforcement of such "private interpretations" on others. The mind which is unsophisticated by the casuistry of exegesis will find little difficulty in arriving at a fair estimate of Jael's conduct without resorting to dangerous and arbitrary interpolations of supposition into the simple Scripture narrative.Heber's wife.--This addition, being needless, might be regarded as emphatic, and as involving an element of condemnation by calling prominent attention to the "peace between Jabin and the house of Heber," which has been mentioned where last his name occurs (<a href="/judges/4-17.htm" title="However, Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.">Judges 4:17</a>). It is, however, due in all probability to the very ancient and inartificial character of the narrative.A nail of the tent.--Probably one of the great tent-pegs used to fasten down the cords which keep the tent in its place (<a href="/exodus/27-19.htm" title="All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.">Exodus 27:19</a>; <a href="/isaiah/22-23.htm" title="And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.">Isaiah 22:23</a>; <a href="/isaiah/54-2.htm" title="Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes;">Isaiah 54:2</a>, &c). Josephus says an iron nail, but there is nothing to show whether it was of iron or of wood, and the LXX., by rendering it passalon ("a wooden plug "), seem to have understood the latter.An hammer.--Rather, the hammer. The ponderous wooden mallet kept in every tent to beat down the cord-pegs. The word is Makkebeth, from which is derived the word Maccabee. The warrior-priests, to whom that title was given, were the "hammers" of their enemies, and Karl received the title of Martel for a similar reason. . . . <div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/judges/4.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div>Verse 21. - Then Jael, etc. Sisera, having taken every precaution, had lain him down to rest; not, like David, trusting to the Lord to make him dwell in safety, but confiding in Jael's friendship and his own crafty directions. But no sooner had he fallen into a deep sleep, than the crafty and courageous woman, into whose hands Sisera was to be sold, took a tent pin and the heavy hammer with which they drove the pin into the ground, and with a desperate blow forced it through his temples, and pinned him to the ground. Without a struggle, he swooned and died. Instead of and fastened it into the ground, it is better to translate, that it (the pin) came down to the ground. It is the same word as is translated lighted <a href="/joshua/15-18.htm">Joshua 15:18</a>. In the last clause put the full-stop after asleep, and read, So he swooned and died. It is impossible for us to view Jael's act in the same light as her contemporaries did, on account of its treachery and cruelty; but we can admire her faith in the God of Israel, her lave for the people of God, and her marvellous courage and strength of mind in carrying out her purpose, and make allowance for the age in which she lived. <a href="/commentaries/judges/4-21.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a> <a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div>But as he וְהֽוּא־ (wə·hū-) Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_1931.htm">Strong's 1931: </a> He, self, the same, this, that, as, are lay sleeping נִרְדָּ֥ם (nir·dām) Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7290.htm">Strong's 7290: </a> To be in or fall into heavy sleep from exhaustion, וַיָּ֖עַף (way·yā·‘ap̄) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5774.htm">Strong's 5774: </a> To fly, to faint Heber’s חֶ֠בֶר (ḥe·ḇer) Noun - proper - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2268.htm">Strong's 2268: </a> Heber -- a Kenite, also several Israelites wife אֵֽשֶׁת־ (’ê·šeṯ-) Noun - feminine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_802.htm">Strong's 802: </a> Woman, wife, female Jael יָעֵ֣ל (yā·‘êl) Noun - proper - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3278.htm">Strong's 3278: </a> Jael -- a Canaanite woman took וַתִּקַּ֣ח (wat·tiq·qaḥ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3947.htm">Strong's 3947: </a> To take a tent הָאֹ֜הֶל (hā·’ō·hel) Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_168.htm">Strong's 168: </a> A tent peg, יְתַ֨ד (yə·ṯaḏ) Noun - feminine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3489.htm">Strong's 3489: </a> A peg, pin grabbed וַתָּ֧שֶׂם (wat·tā·śem) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7760.htm">Strong's 7760: </a> Put -- to put, place, set a hammer, הַמַּקֶּ֣בֶת (ham·maq·qe·ḇeṯ) Article | Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_4718.htm">Strong's 4718: </a> A perforator, a hammer, a perforation, a quarry and went וַתָּב֤וֹא (wat·tā·ḇō·w) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_935.htm">Strong's 935: </a> To come in, come, go in, go silently בַּלָּ֔אט (bal·lāṭ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3909.htm">Strong's 3909: </a> Covered, secret, incantation, secrecy, covertly to Sisera. אֵלָיו֙ (’ê·lāw) Preposition | third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_413.htm">Strong's 413: </a> Near, with, among, to She drove וַתִּתְקַ֤ע (wat·tiṯ·qa‘) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_8628.htm">Strong's 8628: </a> To clatter, slap, clang, to drive, to become bondsman the peg הַיָּתֵד֙ (hay·yā·ṯêḏ) Article | Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3489.htm">Strong's 3489: </a> A peg, pin through his temple בְּרַקָּת֔וֹ (bə·raq·qā·ṯōw) Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7541.htm">Strong's 7541: </a> Thinness, the side of the head [and] וַתִּצְנַ֖ח (wat·tiṣ·naḥ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_6795.htm">Strong's 6795: </a> To alight, to cause to descend, drive down into the ground, בָּאָ֑רֶץ (bā·’ā·reṣ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_776.htm">Strong's 776: </a> Earth, land and he died. וַיָּמֹֽת׃ (way·yā·mōṯ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_4191.htm">Strong's 4191: </a> To die, to kill <div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 NIV</a> <a href="/nlt/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 NLT</a> <a href="/esv/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 ESV</a> <a href="/nasb/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 NASB</a> <a href="/kjv/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 KJV</a> <a href="//bibleapps.com/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 BibleApps.com</a> <a href="//bibliaparalela.com/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 Biblia Paralela</a> <a href="//holybible.com.cn/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 Chinese Bible</a> <a href="//saintebible.com/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 French Bible</a> <a href="/catholic/judges/4-21.htm">Judges 4:21 Catholic Bible</a> <a href="/judges/4-21.htm">OT History: Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent (Jd Judg. Jdg) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/judges/4-20.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Judges 4:20"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Judges 4:20" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/judges/4-22.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Judges 4:22"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Judges 4:22" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>