Jael: A New Look at Our Head-crushing Heroine, Part Two

Why did she really kill him?

Jael.

As we examine the continuation of this scripture, Judges 4:4-24, (you can find Part One HERE) please remember that this is my interpretation derived from my own research. You can choose what you want to take from this but, if you are open to new ideas, I have a doozy of an insight for you to explore with me. 

Before we dig into our story, it is important to note a few cultural contexts during this Biblical time:

·      Most wives and husbands had separate tents. 

·      Tents were identified by unique stitching, as they were all primarily black.

·      Middle Eastern culture is based in hospitality, no matter what the cost is.

Here is the setting immediately prior to our introduction of Jael in Part Two.

15 and the Lord threw Sisera, all the chariots, and his entire army into a panic right in front of Barak. Then Sisera abandoned his chariot and escaped on foot 16 while Barak chased the chariots and army as far as Harosheth-Haggoyim.  Sisera’s entire army died in the battle—not even one soldier[j] remained. (Judges 4:15-16, ISV)

In Part One, (see here), we explored the battle prior Sisera’s arrival at Jael’s tent.  In Part Two, we contemplate what might have led Jael to savage murder.  Part Two includes my idea that the story entails Three Acts, but one act is not mentioned in the scripture.  Are you curious? 

Bedouin Camp, 1976

Act One: 

The scene starts with this scripture:

Meanwhile, Sisera had escaped on foot to a tent belonging to Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, since there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the household of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to greet Sisera. “Turn aside, sir!” she told him. “Turn aside to me! Don’t be afraid.” So he turned aside to her and entered her tent, where she concealed him behind a curtain. (some interpretations also say covered him with a blanket) (Judges 4:17-18, ISV) 

Jael was a woman, a wife, and part of a nomadic clan whose husband’s family was “friends” with Sisera.  Jael knew her husband, Heber, was at peace with Sisera’s boss, Jabor. 

On this day, Jael was probably working in her tent with other women and children nearby, as the copious daily chores required to sustain a nomadic lifestyle made it unlikely she would be alone.

She sees a lone man coming towards her tent.  Sisera would know it was her tent due to the unique markings on her tent fabric.  After running for hours, he would have been hot, sweaty, tired, and perhaps a bit angry due to the battle he just lost. 

As she sees him coming in the distance, I wonder if she recognized him.  Was he wearing something that identified his legal status of leader of his army?   It might have taken her a minute before she realized who he was.  However, when she did recognize him, she went to him.  Her first thought, I would assume, given her cultural norm of hospitality, was to offer him refuge, which she did.

Since women did not fraternize with men who were not their husbands, I believe she welcomed Sisera to safety, offered to hide him, intending to bring Heber, her husband, to her tent momentarily.  There is no reason in Act One to believe she has any doubts about protecting Sisera. 

Act Two:

SILENCE, except for my mind running.

Bedouin Girl making milk, 1976

Act Three:

Act Three opens with this scripture:

19 He asked her, “Please give me some water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” Instead, she opened a leather container of milk, gave him a drink, and then covered him up. 20 He told her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks ‘Is anybody here?’ say ‘No’.”

21 But Heber’s wife Jael grabbed a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other,[l] 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[m] he died.

22 Meanwhile, as Barak continued chasing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him. “Come with me,” she told him, “and I’ll show you the man you’re looking for!” (Judges 4:19-22, ISV).

Act Three describes a different Jael- a violent, angry, hostile, and combative woman.  She moves from welcoming Sisera into her tent to protect him, to intentionally drugging and murdering him in Act Three.  These are two exact opposite behaviors. 

What made her flip from hospitality to homicide?

Something was off for me as I started inhaling this story.  I felt like I was missing something.  

I trusted my intuition and began to dig. I knew women and men lived in separate tents.  The Bible said Sisera was heading for HER tent, because there was peace between the families.  Logically, that makes sense, except, why wouldn’t Sisera go directly to her husband’s tent?  It couldn’t have been that far away.

I believe Act Two has the solution. Here are two different outcomes for you to pick from.

Option 1:

Jael goes out, greets Sisera, asks him into her tent, while at the same time, and in spite of the treaty between her husband and Sisera,  she hates Sisera and wants to kill him.  She even goes to the extreme measure of giving him her prized milk that will relax him into a drugged stupor so she can violently stab him with a tent peg.  There is no Act Two. 

Option 2:

Jael goes out, greets Sisera, welcomes him into her tent because her husband and Sisera’s boss have a peace between them and their culture demands she behave hospitably.   She allows an exhausted, and probably highly irritated Sisera (due to his recent battle loss) into her tent. She wants her husband present, so she sends someone from her tent to go find Heber.  

Here’s where we pick up Act Two: While her helpers are getting her husband, what if, as she is attempting to hide Sisera, he makes unwanted sexual impositions?  What if he tries to rape her?  What if he did rape her?  If he did rape her, admission of rape would give her a death sentence from her community.  Her only choice for survival would be to kill Sisera.

I stumbled upon Option 2, in Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs.  (He read it in the Social World of Ancient Israel 1250-587 BCE, pages 87-95.) For the first time, this story made logical sense.  Jael would not have told anyone if she had been raped.  She would have been shunned and killed if she admitted to being raped.  Additionally, she would have been held accountable for the rape because she invited Sisera into her home/tent.  She would have been an embarrassment to her family. Jael had to kill him to save her own life.

If I assume the presumption of Sisera’s inappropriate behavior towards Jael, it makes sense why she also felt comfortable telling Barak about Sisera's death and letting Barak see the manor of death.  She was now a hero for the Israelites, instead of being shamed by her family. For these reasons, I think Act Two did not make it into our scripture.

Maybe the story isn’t about Barak and a woman saving Israel. 

Maybe the story is about a woman fighting for survival after a traumatic event.

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My curiosity in scripture intensified following the discovery of betrayal in my marriage. This event led me to experience profound and complex emotions. My mind was clouded by the trauma, compelling me to reassess my perspective on life. I became keenly aware of the importance of authenticity and the necessity to stay true to God's intentions for me… despite feeling emotionally drained, scared and so very alone.

Now, I appreciate the time to simply reflect with God, ask questions, and be open to new ideas created by intuition.  I’m not saying my ideas are all correct (I’ll check with Jael in Heaven!) but I’m thrilled to give myself the opportunity to be curious.

My mom and me, 1976

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