Judges 4:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he said to her, "Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’"

NIV: "Stand in the doorway of the tent," he told her. "If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’ "

NASB: And he said to her, 'Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’?'

CSB: Then he said to her, "Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’"

NLT: Stand at the door of the tent,' he told her. 'If anybody comes and asks you if there is anyone here, say no.'

KJV: Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

NKJV: And he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’ ”

Sisera has run, on foot, quite some distance to arrive at the encampment of a man named Heber (Judges 4:11, 15–17). Sisera expected to find shelter, since Heber shared a peace treaty with Jabin, king of Hazor and leader of the Canaanites who were oppressing Israel (Judges 4:1–3).

Heber does not appear in the story, however. Instead, Heber's wife Jael sees the feared commander of the Canaanite army approaching. She goes out to meet him. She convinces him to hide in a tent, anticipating the inevitable soldiers who will come from Israel's army. She covers him with a rug, likely a thick sheepskin or goatskin, and obliges his request for a drink by giving him milk (Judges 4:18–19). This act implies that she intends to extend full middle eastern hospitality—protecting a guest, affirmed as such when they are given food.

Perhaps Sisera recognizes that fatigue from his escape is catching up with him. He knows he will sleep soon. Before he does, he gives specific instructions to Jael. He tells her to stand guard and lie if anyone asks if someone is inside. Satisfied that he is somewhat safe with Jael's protection, Sisera soon falls asleep inside the tent. As the next verse shows, he won't stand up again (Judges 4:21).

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).