Yael in the book of judges

Various lines of evidence suggest that the yael episode, and the accompanying supplements, emerged within the framework of the books editing in the postexilic period. The canaanite general sisera is killed by yael in her tent but in an older version of the story, he died in battle at the hands of the israelite general, barak. Zertal and oren cohen proposed that the excavation at elahwat, between katzirharish and nahal. Jael was the wife of heber the kenite in the book of judges. Yaeltook a tent peg, placed a hammer in her hand, came to him stealthily, and drove the peg into his temple given the inherent difficulty of her task, why does yael choose such seemingly roundabout means, rather than using a sword or some other conventional weapon. After being defeated by the forces of the israelite tribes of zebulun and naphtali under the command of barak and deborah, sisera was. Judges 4 common english bible ceb deborah, barak, and jael. In the narrative about the military heroine deborah, jael kills sisera, the canaanite general of king jabin, after he escapes from the battle with deborahs general, barak. Deborah and yael judges 4 elie assis department of bible studies bar ilan university, israel. Book of judges, an old testament book that, along with deuteronomy, joshua, i and ii samuel, and i and ii kings, belongs to a specific historical tradition deuteronomic history that was first committed to writing about 550 bc, during the babylonian exile. According to the biblical book of judges, yael, sometimes spelled jael, was the wife of heber the kenite. A modern thriller with biblical roots adam lebor the blogs. The book of judges is the second book in neviim prophets, the second section of the tanach hebrew bible. His army commander was sisera, who lived in haroshethhagoyim.

Yael is a modernized spelling of yael, a figure discussed in the book of judges in the hebrew bible. As a result of the biblical yael s actions in the book of judges, the people of israel were saved. Social security administration list of most popular baby names. Judges contains several of the more dynamic women in the tanach. She killed sisera, the general of the canaanites, by driving a tent peg through his head while he was asleep. Its origin is english variant of the hebrew name yael. While the heroes of the book are military leaders who save israel from its. When god told deborah to raise an army and deliver israel from jabin, she commanded her general, barak, to assemble men and lead them into battle. Judges 4 tlv deborah, barak and yael but bible gateway. Deborah lived somewhere about 1150 bce, about a century or so after the hebrews entered canaan. Yaeltook a tent peg, placed a hammer in her hand, came to him stealthily, and. Yael, meaning ibex is a woman mentioned in the book of judges in the hebrew bible, as the heroine who killed sisera to deliver israel from the troops of king jabin.

Events within the book of judges span the geographical breadth of the nation, happening in a variety of cities, towns, and battlefields. Deborah, barak, and jael after ehud had died, the israelites again did things that the lord saw as evil. Yael or jael is a character mentioned in the book of judges in the hebrew bible, as the heroine who killed. According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborahs private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. The main body of the book consists of narratives about the judges. Deborah, barak and yael but bneiyisrael again did what was evil in adonais eyes after ehud had died. Jael or yael hebrew yael, meaning ibex is a woman mentioned in the book of judges in the hebrew bible, as the heroine who killed sisera to deliver israel from the. The canaanite general sisera is killed by yael in her tent but in an older version of. These stories were eventually recast by the editors of the book of judges to. The israeli scholar and archaeologist adam zertal identifies sisera with the sea people called shardana or sherden, arguing that sisera came from the island of sardinia. As a result of the biblical yaels actions in the book of judges, the people of israel were saved. Jael in the bible 5 powerful lessons from this unusual story.

In the narrative about the military heroine deborah, yael kills sisera, the canaanite general of king yabin, after he escapes from the battle with deborahs general, barak. Yaels story begins with the hebrew leader and prophetess deborah. This suggests that judges were seen as gods people, and their gender was unimportant. Scholars believe some of the judges ruled simultaneously in. Jan 31, 2020 the book of judithconsidered canonical by roman catholics, apocrypha literature by protestants, and noncanon by jewstells the story of the ignominious defeat of the assyrians, an army bent on world domination, by the hand of a hebrew woman judith. Those someones are called judges, and there are 12 of them in the book of judges. At the time a prophetess named deborah was judge over israel, and people went to her in matters of justice. The israelites cried out to the lord because sisera had nine hundred iron chariots and had oppressed the israelites cruelly for. Yael or jael hebrew yael, the name of the nubian ibex is a woman mentioned in the book of judges in the bible, as the heroine who killed sisera to deliver israel from the troops of king jabin. Jael features in the book of judges as a heroic woman who killed sisera, the leader of king jabins canaanite army. While the heroes of the book are military leaders who save israel from its enemies, the protagonist of judges 4 is a woman who is not active in the battle against the canaanites. Jael features in the book of judges as a heroic woman who killed sisera, the leader of king jabin s canaanite army.

The deborah narrative is unique in the book of judges. She received her ba from stern college and an ma and ph. Jan 23, 2014 prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. God told deborah a prophetess and leader that she would deliver israel from jabin. However, barak protested and demanded that deborah accompany him into battle. The core of the book of judges, namely chapters 316, are built upon brief and disparate preexilic accounts of israelite local heroes. Early on we find deborah and yael judges 45, who are both strong and courageous. Jabin was trying to conquer israel, which was at that time under the leadership of. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the book of judges. While the heroes of the book are military leaders who save israel from its enemies, the protagonist of judges 4 is a woman who is not active in the battle against. Yael in the book of judges yaels story begins with the hebrew leader and prophetess deborah. The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge.

Yael is considered blessed, and the song of deborah judges 5 begins, extolled above all women is yael. Jael or yael is a woman mentioned in the book of judges in the hebrew bible, as the heroine who killed sisera to deliver israel from the troops of king jabin. Yael in the book of judges yael s story begins with the hebrew leader and prophetess deborah. In the narrative about the military heroine deborah, jael kills sisera, the canaanite general of king jabin, after he escapes from the battle with deborah s general, barak. Information and translations of yael in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Learn about her courage and prophecy in this video, part of our judges series and curriculum.

Yael or jael hebrew yael, the name of the nubian ibex is a character mentioned in the book of judges in the hebrew bible, as the heroine who killed sisera to deliver israel from the troops of king jabin. Deborah, barak and yael but bneiyisrael again did what was evil in adonais eyes after ehud had. So adonai sold them over into the hand of jabin king of canaan, who reigned in hazor. So the lord gave them over to king jabin of canaan, who reigned in hazor. Book of judges overview insight for living ministries. Yael ziegler is a senior lecturer in tanakh at herzog college and matan. They are sometimes considered minor judges, since their accounts are shorter than some of the other judges such as gideon or samson, yet each of their accounts includes important information and lessons for the books. The book of judithconsidered canonical by roman catholics, apocrypha literature by protestants, and noncanon by jewstells the story of the ignominious defeat of the assyrians, an army bent on world domination, by the hand of a hebrew woman judith. The wife of heber the kenite, yael plays an important role in the story of israels wars with the canaanites, described in the book of judges. Deborah called barak to make up an army to lead into battle against jabin on the plain of esdraelon. Background today we are going to study the book of judges, but i think it always helps to understand the context of a book before you study it, so first i want to show how judges fits into the history of the nation of israel. They are sometimes considered minor judges, since their accounts are shorter than some of the other judges such as gideon or samson, yet each of their accounts includes important information.

Jael in the bible was the wife of a man named heber, who was a kenite. Tola, jair, ibzan, elon, and abdon were each judges who led israel and are mentioned in judges 1012. There jael takes him in, promises to feed him, and hide him from. Deborah and jaelbrave women in the bible bible story. Many scholars see a parallel between the general decay in israel and the treatment of women as the book of judges progresses. The book does not say that three of the judges shamgar, gideon, and abimelech served as judges. It is considered part of the deuteronomic history that begins in the last book of the torah and ends with the second book of kings. Yael went out toward sisera and he turned aside to her to the tentshe opened a skin of. Jael was the wife of heber the kenite who is celebrated in the song of deborah in the book of judges in chapter five.

The topic of the canvas is taken from the book of judges, verses 4. The book of judges acts as the sequel to the book of joshua, linked by comparable accounts of joshuas death joshua 24. The book of judges, the third of the series of five books that reflect the theological viewpoint of the deuteronomic historian, the introduction is an account of the conquest of canaan 1. These books tell of the israelites reign over the land of canaan and have a heavy focus on divine reward and punishment. In the bible, yael was the wife of heber the kenite.

The kenites were a nomadic tribe, some of whom lived in close proximity. Othniel, ehud, shamgar, deborah, gideon, tola, jair, jephthah, ibzan, elon, abdon, and of course the big guy, samson. She is credited with killing sisera and thereby freeing israel from the grasp of king jabin. This summary of the book of judges provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of judges. Jael and sisera is a painting by the italian baroque artist artemisia gentileschi, executed around 1620. The new testament mentions another judge and some sources add another female judge who they say was an israelite, yael. The book of ruth, with its focus on the exemplary behavior of ruth and boaz, stands at the crossroads between society s downward trajectory during the era of the judges and its ascent during the era of the monarchy. Judges 4 ceb deborah, barak, and jael after ehud bible. Siseras name has been variously identified as philistine, hittite, hurrian, or egyptian sesra, servant of ra. It teaches the timeless lesson of how two individuals can act in accordance with their own conscience and, through small acts of.

At that time deborah, a prophetess, wife of lappidoth, was judging israel. Yaels greeting and invitation parallel the call of a prostitute sic in the book of proverbs. Prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. The story was revised as part of a broader theme in judges, to weaken the image of male military heroes through women and give the power to god. The title refers to the leaders israel had from the time of the elders who outlived joshua until the time of the monarchy. Yael or jael is a character mentioned in the book of judges in the hebrew bible, as.

Jael one of the twin cherubim on the mercy seat of the. But two of the people who help israel are women named deb. It depicts the moment in which jael is about to murder sisera, a defeated canaanite general. Joshua was the first judge, and some of the judges after him were named oth. Deborah agreed but prophesied that the honour of the killing of the other armys captain would. Jehovah answers them by giving brave leaders to help them. But barak demanded that deborah would accompany him into the battle. The commander of his army was sisera, and he was stationed in haroshethhagoiim. Yael can be considered a biblical name because there is a character in the bible by this name in the book of judges. During the time of the judges there was a woman prophet named deborah. One of its passages recounts how she single handedly kills sisera, general of the canaanite army attacking her people. There were only fourteen judges if shamgar, which some rabbis and scholars consider one of the judges, was a nonisraelite. Ziegler has lectured widely on various tanakh topics in israel, the united states, south africa, australia, and europe.

Robert chisholms hebrew class at dallas theological seminary. Yael or alternately, jael hebrew yael, the hebrew name of the nubian ibex is a character mentioned in the book of judges in the hebrew bible, as the heroine who killed sisera to deliver israel from the troops of king jabin. Yael went out toward sisera and he turned aside to her to the tentshe opened a skin of milk, gave him to drink, and covered him. The wife of heber the kenite, jael plays an important role in the story of israels wars with the canaanites, described in the book of judges. So bneiyisrael cried out to adonai, for he had 900 iron chariots, and had harshly oppressed bneiyisrael for 20 years.