Jael

Jael or Yael
Jacopo Amigoni, Jael and Sisera, 1739
Residence	Tent in the plain of Zaanaim, near Kedesh.
Nationality	Kenite
Other names	Ya'el
Spouse(s)	Heber the Kenite

Jael or Yael (Hebrew Ya'el, יָעֵל, 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.

Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite. The Kenites were a nomadic tribe, some of whom lived in close proximity to the Israelites. The Bible records a number of cases of intermarriage; the father-in-law of Moses was apparently a Kenite, but it is not clear if this was Jethro. The Kenites may have been a part of the Midianite group.

Deborah, a prophetess and judge, advises Barak to mobilize the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon on Mount Tabor to do battle against King Jabin of Canaan. Barak demurred, saying he would go, provided she would also. Deborah agreed but prophesied that the honour of defeating Jabin's army would then go to a woman. Jabin's army was led by Sisera (Judg. 4:2). The armies met on the plain of Esdraelon, where Sisera's iron-bound chariots became hampered by the mud caused by a downpour during the night that caused the Wadi Kishon to overflow its banks. The Canaanites were defeated and Sisera fled the scene.

Sisera arrived on foot at the tent of Heber the Kenite on the plain of Zaanaim. Heber's wife Jael (whose tent would have been separate from Heber's) welcomed Sisera into her tent and covered him with a blanket. As he was thirsty, she gave him a jug of milk. Exhausted, Sisera lay down and soon fell asleep. While he was sleeping, Jael took a mallet and drove a tent peg into his temple, killing him instantly. The "Song of Deborah" (Judg. 5:24-26) recounts: