Judges 4:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

NIV: Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.

NASB: Now Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

CSB: Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.

NLT: Meanwhile, Sisera ran to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because Heber’s family was on friendly terms with King Jabin of Hazor.

KJV: Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

NKJV: However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

The feared general of Canaan's army has run away from his battle with Barak and the Israelites. Recognizing that the battle was lost, Sisera abandoned his iron chariot and fled on foot to avoid being captured and killed. Given that he flees in one direction, while his army is pursued and defeated in another, suggests he left as soon as the Israelites attacked (Judges 4:12–16).

Sisera now arrives at the tent of a woman called Jael. She is the wife of Heber the Kenite, the man introduced in a sidenote earlier in this passage (Judges 4:11). The Kenite people, who had been allies of the Israelites, had settled in southern Israel. Heber, though, had broken away from his people and settled in the north. His location was not far from Kedesh and Mount Tabor.

Heber had struck some peace agreement with King Jabin of Hazor: the Canaanite king oppressing Israel (Judges 4:1–3). This implies some formalized alliance between Heber's clan and the Canaanites. This means Heber was technically allied against Israel. This may be why Sisera, desperate to find a place to hide from Barak and his soldiers, comes to Heber's tents looking for refuge.

Judges 4:17–24 reveals the fulfillment of Deborah's prophecy. As Israel routs and destroys an army, the enemy commander flees on foot. Sisera runs to the home of a man allied with his king, Jabin. Heber's wife, Jael, reassures Sisera and hides him under a rug inside a tent. However, when Sisera falls asleep, she kills him by driving a tent peg through his skull and into the ground. She then tells Barak, the Israeli judge in pursuit of Sisera, what has happened. The people of Israel follow through on this victory until Jabin is also defeated.

In response to their sin, God allows Israel to fall into oppression under Jabin, king of the Canaanites. Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, cruelly abuses the Israelites for twenty years. Through His prophetess Deborah, the Lord raises up Barak to lead a massive Israeli army. This force wipes out Canaan's army. Sisera flees on foot and hides in the tent of Heber's wife Jael. Once he is asleep, she kills him and then shows Barak the body. The Israelites soon destroy King Jabin and are freed from Canaanite oppression.

Judges 4 begins with the death of Ehud, the assassin-leader of chapter 3 who freed Israel from the Moabites. After the Israelite people return to wickedness, God submits them to Jabin and the Canaanites. After twenty years, the Lord raises up a deliverer called Barak through His prophetess Deborah. Israel obliterates the enemy army, and the general is slaughtered in his sleep by a woman. Jabin and the Canaanites are defeated. The next chapter poetically retells these events, followed by the introduction of an especially famous judge in chapter 6: Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).