Jael and Sisera

The words

1. Butter

   Curds, in the NET Bible.

   The song of Deborah and Barak says Jael brings butter in a lordly dish after Sisera asks for water, alongside its mention of milk.

   Judges 5:1 (opens a new tab) · Judges 5:25 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 5:24-27 (opens a new tab)

2. Canaan

   Jabin is called king of Canaan, ruling at Hazor with Sisera as commander; the account ends with Israel destroying him.

   Judges 4:2 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:23–24 (opens a new tab)

3. Hammer

   In the prose account, Jael uses a hammer with a tent peg to kill the sleeping Sisera; the song names a workmen’s hammer.

   Judges 4:21 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:17-22 (opens a new tab) · Judges 5:1 (opens a new tab) · Judges 5:26 (opens a new tab)

4. Heber

   Heber separates from the other Kenites and pitches his tent near Kedesh; his household is at peace with Jabin.

   Judges 4:11 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:17 (opens a new tab)

5. Jael

   Jael invites Sisera into her tent, covers him and gives him milk; while he sleeps, she kills him with a tent peg.

   Judges 4:18–19 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:21 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:17-22 (opens a new tab)

6. Kenite

   Judges identifies Heber as a Kenite and links the Kenites with the children of Hobab, whom the KJV calls Moses’s father-in-law.

   Did you know?

   Judges also describes descendants of Moses’s Kenite father-in-law moving with Judah from the city of palm trees into Judah’s wilderness.

   Judges 4:11 (opens a new tab) · Judges 1:16 (opens a new tab)

7. Lordly Dish

   A bowl fit for a king, in the NET Bible.

   The song puts butter in a “lordly dish” when Jael serves Sisera; the prose account describes her opening a bottle of milk.

   Judges 5:1 (opens a new tab) · Judges 5:25 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:19 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 5:24-27 (opens a new tab)

8. Mantle

   A blanket, in the NET Bible.

   Jael covers Sisera with a mantle after inviting him into her tent; after giving him milk, she covers him again.

   Judges 4:18–19 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:17-22 (opens a new tab)

9. Milk

   Sisera asks Jael for a little water because he is thirsty; she opens a bottle of milk and gives him a drink.

   Judges 4:19 (opens a new tab)

10. Nail

    The “nail of the tent” is the peg Jael uses to kill Sisera as he sleeps; Barak later finds it with his body.

    Judges 4:21–22 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:17-22 (opens a new tab)

11. Nine Hundred

    Sisera brings nine hundred iron chariots from Harosheth to Kishon; after his defeat, he abandons his chariot and escapes on foot.

    Judges 4:13–15 (opens a new tab)

12. Sisera

    Sisera flees the defeat on foot to Jael’s tent, where she kills him; Barak later arrives and finds him dead.

    Judges 4:17 (opens a new tab) · Judges 4:21–22 (opens a new tab)

13. Temples

    Judges uses “temples” for where the tent peg strikes Sisera; Barak finds him dead with the peg still in place.

    Judges 4:21–22 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:17-22 (opens a new tab)

14. Tent

    Sisera enters Jael’s tent after she invites him in; he asks her to deny his presence if anyone comes asking.

    Judges 4:18; Judges 4:20 (opens a new tab)

15. Zaanaim

    Zaanannim in the NET Bible.

    Zaanaim locates Heber’s camp near Kedesh after he separates from the Kenites; the KJV calls the site a plain.

    Judges 4:11 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 4:11 (opens a new tab)