Berean Standard Bible
Judges 4:21
21But 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.
Judges 4:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)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.
Context of Judges 4:21
19Sisera said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. 20“Stand at the entrance to the tent,” he said, “and if anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’” 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. 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. 23On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites.
Read all of Judges 4Judges 4:21 word by word
וַתִּקַּ֣ח יָעֵ֣ל אֵֽשֶׁת־חֶ֠בֶר אֶת־יְתַ֨ד הָאֹ֜הֶל וַתָּ֧שֶׂם אֶת־הַמַּקֶּ֣בֶת בְּיָדָ֗הּ וַתָּב֤וֹא אֵלָיו֙ בַּלָּ֔אט וַתִּתְקַ֤ע אֶת־הַיָּתֵד֙ בְּרַקָּת֔וֹ וַתִּצְנַ֖ח בָּאָ֑רֶץ וְהֽוּא־נִרְדָּ֥ם וַיָּ֖עַף וַיָּמֹֽת׃Read the interlinear
- But as heהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
- lay sleepingרָדַםrâdam · to sleepH7290
- from exhaustionעִיף‛âyêph · be faintH5888
- Heber’sחֶ֫בֶרcheber · HeberH2268
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- Jaelיָעֵלyâ‛êl · JaelH3278
- tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- a tentאֹ֫הֶל'ôhel · tentH168
- pegיָתֵדyâthêd · pegH3489
- grabbedשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: takeH7760
- a hammerמַקֶּ֫בֶתmaqqebeth · hammerH4718
- a hammerיָדyâd · handH3027
- and wentבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- silentlyלָאטlâ'ţ · secretH3814
- to Siseraאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- She droveתָּקַעtâqa‛ · to blowH8628
- through his templeרַקָּהraqqâh · templeH7541
- ·צָנַחtsânach · to descendH6795
- into the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
- and he diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
Cross-references for Judges 4:21
- Judges 3:21And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.
- Judges 5:26She 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.
- Judges 15:15He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
- 1 Samuel 17:43“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
- Exodus 35:18the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, along with their ropes;
- Psalms 3:7Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
- Judges 5:27At her feet he collapsed, he fell, there he lay still; at her feet he collapsed, he fell; where he collapsed, there he fell dead.
Commentaries on Judges 4:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21A nail of the tent - One of the spikes by which they fasten to the ground the cords which are attached to the cloth or covering. He was fast asleep and weary - As he lay on one side, and was overwhelmed with sleep through the heat and fatigues of the day, the piercing of his temples must have in a moment put him past resistance.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21If we can overlook the treachery and violence which belonged to the morals of the age and country, and bear in mind Jael‘s ardent sympathies with the oppressed people of God, her faith in the right of Israel to possess the land in which they were now slaves, her zeal for the glory of Yahweh as against the gods of Canaan, and the heroic courage and firmness with which she executed her deadly purpose, we shall be ready to yield to her the praise which is…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-24Verses 17-24 Sisera's chariots had been his pride and his confidence. Thus are those disappointed who rest on the creature; like a broken reed, it not only breaks under them, but pierces them with many sorrows. The idol may quickly become a burden, Is 46:1; what we were sick for, God can make us sick of. It is probable that Jael really intended kindness to Sisera; but by a Divine impulse she was afterwards led to consider him as the determined enemy of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-22Jael achieved what she intended from the start. A more detailed description of the event is in Judges 5:26–27.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Then Jael took a nail of the tent--most probably one of the pins with which the tent ropes are fastened to the ground. Escape was almost impossible for Sisera. But the taking of his life by the hand of Jael was murder. It was a direct violation of all the notions of honor and friendship that are usually held sacred among pastoral people, and for which it is impossible to conceive a woman in Jael's circumstances to have had any motive, except that of…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 4:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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