Sisera 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. He said to herThis phrase introduces the interaction between Sisera and Jael. Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, is speaking to Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. The context here is crucial: Sisera is on the run after his army has been defeated by the Israelites, led by Deborah and Barak. The Hebrew root for "said" (אָמַר, 'amar) often implies not just speaking, but conveying intention or desire. In this moment, Sisera is vulnerable and seeking refuge, highlighting the dramatic irony of the situation, as he is unaware of Jael's allegiance to Israel. Please give me a little water to drink
Sisera's request for water is a simple, human need, yet it carries deeper significance. Water, in the arid climate of the ancient Near East, symbolizes life and sustenance. Sisera's plea underscores his desperation and exhaustion. The Hebrew word for "please" (נָא, na) indicates a polite request, showing his reliance on Jael's hospitality. This moment foreshadows the reversal of expectations, as the one who seeks life will soon face death. for I am thirsty
Sisera's thirst is both literal and metaphorical. Literally, he is parched from battle and flight. Metaphorically, his thirst represents his need for safety and survival. In the broader biblical narrative, thirst often symbolizes spiritual need or longing (e.g., Psalm 42:1-2). Sisera's physical thirst contrasts with his spiritual blindness, as he fails to recognize the danger he is in. So she opened a container of milk
Jael's response is unexpected. Instead of water, she offers milk, which in the ancient context, was a sign of hospitality and care. The Hebrew word for "container" (נֹאד, nod) suggests a skin or vessel, often used for storing liquids. Milk, being more nourishing than water, might have been intended to lull Sisera into a false sense of security. This act of hospitality is laden with irony, as it sets the stage for Jael's decisive action. gave him a drink
Jael's act of giving Sisera a drink fulfills his request, yet it is a pivotal moment in the narrative. The Hebrew verb for "gave" (שָׁקָה, shaqah) implies providing sustenance. This act of giving is a prelude to the fulfillment of Deborah's prophecy that a woman would claim victory over Sisera (Judges 4:9). Jael's actions are both nurturing and strategic, reflecting the complex roles women play in the biblical narrative. and covered him
The act of covering Sisera is both protective and deceptive. The Hebrew verb (כָּסָה, kasah) can mean to cover, conceal, or hide. Jael's covering of Sisera with a rug or blanket is an act of apparent care, yet it also signifies the concealment of his impending doom. This action foreshadows the ultimate covering of Sisera in death, as Jael will soon fulfill her role in God's deliverance of Israel. The covering symbolizes both the temporary safety Sisera feels and the finality of his fate. Persons / Places / Events 1. SiseraThe commander of the Canaanite army under King Jabin, who fled to the tent of Jael after being defeated by the Israelites. 2. JaelThe wife of Heber the Kenite, who played a crucial role in the defeat of Sisera by offering him hospitality and then killing him. 3. Heber the KeniteJael's husband, who was allied with King Jabin of Canaan. 4. The TentThe setting where Jael offered Sisera milk instead of water, leading to his eventual demise. 5. The EventSisera's request for water and Jael's offering of milk, which is a pivotal moment leading to his death. Teaching Points The Power of Godly CourageJael's actions demonstrate the courage to act decisively in alignment with God's purposes, even when it involves personal risk. Divine ProvidenceThe account illustrates how God can use unexpected people and means to accomplish His will, reminding us to be open to His leading. Hospitality and DeceptionWhile hospitality is a virtue, Jael's account shows that discernment is necessary, as not all hospitality is genuine. The Role of Women in God's PlanJael's significant role in the defeat of Sisera highlights the importance of women in God's redemptive history. Spiritual WarfareThe account serves as a metaphor for spiritual vigilance, reminding believers to be alert and prepared for spiritual battles. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Jael's action in Judges 4:19 reflect the theme of divine justice, and what can we learn about God's sovereignty from this event? 2. In what ways does the account of Jael and Sisera challenge traditional views of hospitality, and how can we apply this understanding in our interactions with others? 3. How does the role of Jael in this account encourage us to consider the impact of women in ministry and leadership within the church today? 4. What parallels can be drawn between Jael's actions and the concept of spiritual warfare in the New Testament, and how can we apply these lessons in our daily lives? 5. How does the account of Jael and Sisera connect with other biblical accounts of unexpected deliverance, and what does this teach us about trusting God's plan? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 18The hospitality of Abraham, who offers water and food to the three visitors, contrasts with Jael's deceptive hospitality. Proverbs 25:21-22The idea of giving food and drink to one's enemy, which can lead to unexpected outcomes. Psalm 23:5The imagery of being provided for in the presence of enemies, reflecting God's provision and protection. Hebrews 11:32-34The mention of the judges, including Barak, who worked alongside Deborah, highlighting faith and victory over enemies. James 2:25The reference to Rahab, another woman who played a crucial role in Israel's history through her actions, similar to Jael. People Abinoam, Barak, Deborah, Ehud, Heber, Hobab, Israelites, Jabin, Jael, Kenites, Lapidoth, Naphtali, Sisera, ZebulunPlaces Bethel, Canaan, Harosheth-hagoyim, Hazor, Kedesh, Kedesh-naphtali, Kishon River, Moab, Mount Tabor, Ramah, ZaanannimTopics Bottle, Cover, Covered, Covereth, Drink, Giveth, Milk, Opened, Openeth, Opening, Please, Skin, ThirstyDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 4:19 4293 water
4480 milk
5234 bottle Library Sin Slain
I want to picture to you to-night, if I can, three acts in a great history--three different pictures illustrating one subject. I trust we have passed through all three of them, many of us; and as we shall look upon them, whilst I paint them upon the wall, I think there will be many here who will be able to say, I was in that state once;" and when we come to the last, I hope we shall be able to clap our hands, and rejoice to feel that the last is our case also, and that we are in the plight of the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860Whether the Grace of the Word of Wisdom and Knowledge is Becoming to Women?
Objection 1: It would seem that the grace of the word of wisdom and knowledge is becoming even to women. For teaching is pertinent to this grace, as stated in the foregoing Article. Now it is becoming to a woman to teach; for it is written (Prov. 4:3,4): "I was an only son in the sight of my mother, and she taught me [*Vulg.: 'I was my father's son, tender, and as an only son in the sight of my mother. And he taught me.']." Therefore this grace is becoming to women. Objection 2: Further, the grace …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The First Blast of the Trumpet
The English Scholar's Library etc. No. 2. The First Blast of the Trumpet &c. 1558. The English Scholar's Library of Old and Modern Works. No. 2. The First Blast of the Trumpet &c. 1558. Edited by EDWARD ARBER, F.S.A., etc., LECTURER IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, ETC., UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON. SOUTHGATE, LONDON, N. 15 August 1878. No. 2. (All rights reserved.) CONTENTS. Bibliography vii-viii Introduction …
John Knox—The First Blast of the Trumpet A Nation's Struggle for a Home and Freedom.
ISRAEL'S VICTORIES OVER THE CANAANITES.--Josh. 2-9; Judg. 1, 4, 5. Parallel Readings. Hist. Bible II,1-4.1. Prin. of Politics X. That the leaders took the lead in Israel, That the people volunteered readily, Bless Jehovah! Zebulun was a people who exposed themselves to deadly peril, And Naphtali on the heights of the open field. Kings came, they fought; They fought, the kings of Canaan, At Taanach by the Waters of Megiddo, They took no booty of silver. Prom heaven fought the stars, From their …
Charles Foster Kent—The Making of a Nation Gamala. Chorazin.
These things determine the situation of Gamala:--1. It was "in lower Gaulon," in which, as we have seen, Bethsaida was. 2. It was "upon the lake [of Gennesaret]." 3. It was "over-against Tarichee." Compare the maps, whether in their placing of it they agree with these passages. Here was Judas born, commonly called 'Gaulanites,' and as commonly also, the 'Galilean.' So Peter and Andrew and Philip were Gaulanites; of Bethsaida, John 1:44; and yet they were called 'Galileans.' While we are speaking …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Beth-El. Beth-Aven.
Josephus thus describes the land of Benjamin; "The Benjamites' portion of land was from the river Jordan to the sea, in length: in breadth, it was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." Let these last words be marked, "The breadth of the land of Benjamin was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." May we not justly conclude, from these words, that Jerusalem and Beth-el were opposite, as it were, in a right line? But if you look upon the maps, there are some that separate these by a very large tract of land, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica A Cloud of Witnesses.
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.... By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Country of Jericho, and the Situation of the City.
Here we will borrow Josephus' pencil, "Jericho is seated in a plain, yet a certain barren mountain hangs over it, narrow, indeed, but long; for it runs out northward to the country of Scythopolis,--and southward, to the country of Sodom, and the utmost coast of the Asphaltites." Of this mountain mention is made, Joshua 2:22, where the two spies, sent by Joshua, and received by Rahab, are said to "conceal themselves." "Opposite against this, lies a mountain on the other side Jordan, beginning from …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Miscellaneous Subjects.
Woman's Freedom. The Scriptural right for women to labor in the gospel as exhorters, teachers, preachers, etc., is questioned by many. To deny women such a privilege is contrary to the Christian spirit of equality, and a serious obstruction to pure gospel light. We (male and female) are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:28. In the kingdom of grace man and woman are on an equal footing so far as concerns the work of God. To explain some texts that seem to prohibit women from laboring in the gospel …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day Judges
For the understanding of the early history and religion of Israel, the book of Judges, which covers the period from the death of Joshua to the beginning of the struggle with the Philistines, is of inestimable importance; and it is very fortunate that the elements contributed by the later editors are so easily separated from the ancient stories whose moral they seek to point. That moral is most elaborately stated in ii. 6-iii. 6, which is a sort of programme or preface to iii. 7-xvi. 31, which constitutes …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Judges 4:19 NIVJudges 4:19 NLTJudges 4:19 ESVJudges 4:19 NASBJudges 4:19 KJV
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