Judges 4:21

Judges 4:21

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.

a. ASV: Then Jael Heber’s wife took a tent-pin, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died.

b. YLT: And Jael wife of Heber taketh the pin of the tent, and taketh the hammer in her hand, and goeth unto him gently, and striketh the pin into his temples, and it fasteneth in the earth -- and he hath been fast asleep, and is weary -- and he dieth.

c. Amplified Bible Classic: But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent pin and a hammer in her hand and went softly to him and drove the pin through his temple and into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep from weariness. So he died.

d. Septuagint: And Jael the wife of Chaber took a pin of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him, and fastened the pin in his temple, and it went through to the earth, and he fainted away, and darkness fell upon him and he died.

e. Rubin Edition Early Prophets Joshua & Judges: Jael, wife of Heber, took a tent peg, placed a hammer in her hand, came to him stealthily, and drove the peg into his temple and it went through into the ground, [while] he was sleeping deeply and exhausted, and he died.

1. “Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand…”

a. [Then] Jael [Strong: 3278 Yâʻêl, yaw-ale'; the same as H3277; Jael, a Canaanite:—Jael.]

b. Heber’s [Strong: 2268 Cheber, kheh'-ber; the same as H2267; community; Cheber, the name of a Kenite and of three Israelites:—Heber.]

c. wife [Strong: 802 ʼishshâh, ish-shaw'; feminine of H376 or H582; irregular plural, נָשִׁים nâshîym;(used in the same wide sense as H582) a woman:—(adulter) ess, each, every, female, × many, none, one, together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.

d. took [Strong: 3947 lâqach, law-kakh'; a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications):—accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, × many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.

e. [a] nail [Strong: 3489 yâthêd, yaw-thade'; from an unused root meaning to pin through or fast; a peg:—nail, paddle, pin, stake.]

f. [of the] tent [Strong: 168 ʼôhel, o'-hel; from H166; a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance):—covering, (dwelling) (place), home, tabernacle, tent.]

g. [and] took [Strong: sûwm, soom; or שִׂים sîym; a primitive root; to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically):—× any wise, appoint, bring, call (a name), care, cast in, change, charge, commit, consider, convey, determine, disguise, dispose, do, get, give, heap up, hold, impute, lay (down, up), leave, look, make (out), mark, name, × on, ordain, order, paint, place, preserve, purpose, put (on), regard, rehearse, reward, (cause to) set (on, up), shew, stedfastly, take, × tell, tread down, (over-)turn, × wholly, work.]

h. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

i. [an] hammer [Strong: 4718 maqqebeth, mak-keh'-beth; from H5344; properly, a perforator, i.e. a hammer (as piercing); also (intransitively) a perforation, i.e. a quarry:—hammer, hole.]

j. [in her] hand [Strong: 3027 yâd, yawd; a primitive word; a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from 3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote [as follows]:—( be) able, × about, armholes, at, axletree, because of, beside, border, × bounty, broad, (broken-) handed, × by, charge, coast, consecrate, creditor, custody, debt, dominion, × enough, fellowship, force, × from, hand(-staves, -y work), × he, himself, × in, labour, large, ledge, (left-) handed, means, × mine, ministry, near, × of, × order, ordinance, × our, parts, pain, power, ×presumptuously, service, side, sore, state, stay, draw with strength, stroke, swear, terror, × thee, × by them, × themselves, × thine own, × thou, through, × throwing, thumb, times, × to, × under, × us, × wait on, (way-) side, where, wide, × with (him, me, you), work, yield, × yourselves.]

2. “...and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples…”

a. [and] went [Strong: 935 bôwʼ, bo; a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):—abide, apply, attain, × be, befall, besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, ×certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, ×doubtless again, eat, employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, have, × indeed, (in-) vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, × (well) stricken (in age), × surely, take (in), way.]

b. softly [Strong: 3814 lâʼṭ, lawt; from H3813 (or perhaps for active participle of H3874); properly, muffled, i.e. silently:—softly.]

c. unto [him] [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

d. [and] smote [Strong: 8628 tâqaʻ, taw-kah'; a primitive root; to clatter, i.e. slap (the hands together), clang (an instrument); by analogy, to drive (a nail or tent-pin, a dart, etc.); by implication, to become bondsman by hand clasping):—blow (a trumpet), cast, clap, fasten, pitch (tent), smite, sound, strike, × suretiship, thrust.]

e. [the] nail [Strong: 3489 yâthêd, yaw-thade'; from an unused root meaning to pin through or fast; a peg:—nail, paddle, pin, stake.]

f. [into his] temples [Strong: 7541 raqqâh, rak-kaw'; feminine of H7534; properly, thinness, i.e. the side of the head:—temple.

3. “...and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.”

a. [and] fastened [it] [Strong: 6795 tsânach, tsaw-nakh'; a primitive root; to alight; (transitive) to cause to descend, i.e. drive down:—fasten, light (from off).]

b. [to the] ground [Strong: 776 ʼerets, eh'-rets; from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):—× common, country, earth, field, ground, land, × natins, way, + wilderness, world.]

c. [for] he [Strong: 1931 huw' hoo of which the feminine (beyond the Pentateuch) is hiyw {he}; a primitive word, the third person pronoun singular, he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are:--he, as for her, him(-self), it, the same, she (herself), such, that (...it), these, they, this, those, which (is), who.]

d. [was fast] asleep [Strong: 7290 râdam, raw-dam'; a primitive root; to stun, i.e. stupefy (with sleep or death):—(be fast a-, be in a deep, cast into a dead, that) sleep(-er, -eth).]

e. [and] weary [Strong: 5774 ʻûwph, oof; a primitive root; to cover (with wings or obscurity); hence (as denominative from H5775) to fly; also (by implication of dimness) to faint (from the darkness of swooning):—brandish, be (wax) faint, flee away, fly (away), × set, shine forth, weary.]

f. [So he] died [Strong: 4191 mûwth, mooth; a primitive root; to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill:—× at all, × crying, (be) dead (body, man, one), (put to, worthy of) death, destroy(-er), (cause to, be like to, must) die, kill, necro(-mancer), × must needs, slay, × surely, × very suddenly, × in (no) wise.

1). Jael nailed Sisera’s head to the ground.

a). Judges 5:24-26 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

5:25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

5:26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.