Judges 4:15
Ver. 15. And the Lord discomfited Sisera and all [his] chariots, and all [his] host,.... Frightened them, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, or disturbed them with a noise and tumult, as the word signifies; with a noise in the heavens, which were in their ears, as Abarbinel observes, like the noise of a large army, as was the case of the Syrians, 2Ki 7:6; and they saw, he says, horses and chariots of fire, and the like, which terrified them; and all this he supposes was done before Barak descended from the mountain, so that he had nothing to do when he came but to pursue and kill, whereby it plainly appeared it was the Lord's doing. Josephus {i} says there was a great tempest of rain and hail, and the wind blew the rain in their faces, which so blinded their eyes, that their slings and arrows were of no use to them; and they that bore armour were so benumbed, that they could not hold their swords. Something of this kind is intimated by Deborah in her song, Jud 5:20; and this was accompanied or followed by a slaughter
with the edge of the sword before Barak; the fright and dread they were put into was increased by the appearance of Barak, who fell upon them in their confusion, and cut them to pieces:
so that Sisera lighted down off [his] chariot, and fled away on his feet; being very probably swift of foot; and besides thought it safest to quit his chariot, which in the confusion was in danger of being run against by others; as also he might judge he should not be so easily discerned who he was when on foot, as a common soldier, as in his splendid chariot; and this he might do in his fright, not considering his horses were swifter than he: thus Homer represents a Trojan warrior leaping out of his chariot to escape Diomedes, and another as doing the same to get clear of Achilles {k}.{i} Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 1.) sect. 4. {k} Vid. Iliad. 5. & 20. Judges 4:16Ver. 16. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles,.... The place from whence they came, and to which they endeavoured to escape: but he followed them, so close all that way, and made such havoc of them, thatall the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword, [and] there was not a man left; no, not one, excepting Sisera, as in Jud 4:17; or "even to one" {l}, as in the original text; not one escaped to Hazor to acquaint Jabin of the loss of his army. Philo Byblius says, that nine hundred and ninety seven thousand of Sisera's army were slain.{l} dxa de "usque ad unum", Montanus. Judges 4:17Ver. 17. Howbeit, Sisera fled away on his feet,.... Got off, and made his escapeto the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; before spoken of, Jud 4:11; and he made to that, because he might think himself safer in a tent than in a town; and especially in the tent of a woman, where he might imagine no search would be made; for women of note, in those times, had separate tents, see Ge 24:67; and the rather he made his escape hither for a reason that follows:for [there was] peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite; which Jabin might the more readily come into, because these were not Israelites, nor did they make any claim to the country, and lived only in tents, and attended their flocks, and were a quiet people, and not at all disposed to war; and it might be so ordered by the providence of God, as a rebuke to the Israelites for their sins, when those who were only proselytes kept close to the worship of God, and so enjoyed liberty, peace, and prosperity. Judges 4:18Ver. 18. And Jael went out to meet Sisera,.... Seeing him coming, and knowing him full well, she stepped forward towards him, to invite him into her tent: some think she was looking out, that if she saw Israelite in distress to take him in; and very probably had been some time at her tent door, to inquire the battle went, and which, no doubt, living so near Kedesh, she knew was expected:and said unto him, turn in, my lord; that is, into her tent: and she addresses him with the title of "lord", for the sake of honour, having been general of a large army; and not because her husband was a servant, and in subjection to him, as Abarbinel suggests:turn in to me, fear not; she repeats the invitation, to show she was hearty and sincere, and that he had nothing to fear from her, nor in her house; and it may be at first she had no thought of doing what she afterwards did to him, it put into her heart after this:and when he had turned in unto her in the tent; and laid himself down upon the ground, being weary:she covered him with a mantle; either to hide him, should any search be made for him, or it may be to keep him from catching cold, being in a sweat through his flight, and being also perhaps inclined to sleep through weariness. The word for a mantle, according to Kimchi, signifies such a garment which has locks of wool on both sides of it, a sort of rug, and so very fit to cover with, and keep warm. So David de Pomis {m} describes it, as having locks and threads hanging down here and there.{m} Tzemaeh David, fol. 216. 3. Judges 4:19Ver. 19. And he said unto her, give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty,.... Which might be occasioned by the heat of the battle, and by the heat of the day, and by heat in running; he asks for a little water, that being very desirable by persons athirst. Some think he did not ask for wine, because he knew the Kenites did not drink any, and so of course kept none in their tents; but though this was the custom of the Rechabites, who were the same with the Kenites, Jer 35:8; yet it is very probable this custom had not yet obtained among them, since it was enjoined by Jonadab their father, who lived in the times of Jehu, 2Ki 10:15;and she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink; which she did either out of courtesy, being a better liquor, or with design to throw him into a sleep, which milk inclines to, making heavy, as all the Jewish commentators observe; though Josephus {n} has no authority to say, as he does? that the milk she gave him was bad and corrupt:and covered him: again, after he had taken a draught of milk, which it seems she poured into a dish with the cream on it, see Jud 5:25.{n} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 1.) Judges 4:20Ver. 20. And he said unto her, stand in the door of the tent,.... This he said, not in an imperious way, as some think, but by entreaty:and it shall be, when any man shall come and inquire of thee; seeing her at the door, and where he desired she would stand to prevent their coming into the tent:and say, is there any man here? any besides what belongs to the family? or any of Sisera's army?that thou shalt say, no; there is no man; but to this she made no answer that is recorded. Judges 4:21Ver. 21. Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent,.... When she perceived he was fast asleep, and it being now put into her heart to kill him, having an impulse upon her spirit, which she was persuaded, by the effect it had upon her, that it was of God; not filling her with malice and revenge, but a concern for the glory of God, the interest of religion, and the good of Israel, she took this method to effect the death of this enemy of God, and his people; having no arms in the house, for the Kenites used none, she took up an iron pin, with which her tent was fastened to the ground:and took a hammer in her hand; which perhaps she knew full well how to handle, being used to drive the pins of the tents into the ground with it:and went softly unto him; lest she should awake himand smote the nail into his temples: as he lay on one side, these being the tenderest part of the head, from whence they have their name in the Hebrew language, and into which therefore a nail, or iron pin, might be more easily driven:and fastened it into the ground; she smote the nail with such force and violence, that she drove it through both his temples into the ground on which he lay; and then, as it seems, from Jud 5:26; cut off his head, to make sure work of it:for he was fast asleep and weary; and so heard not; when she came to him:so he died; not in the field of battle, but in a tent; not by the sword, but by a nail; not by the hand of a man, but of a woman, as Deborah foretold, Jud 4:9. Judges 4:22Ver. 22. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera,.... Knowing the way he took, at least as he supposed:Jael came out to meet him; as she did Sisera, but with greater pleasure:and said unto him, come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest; for she full well knew whom he was in pursuit of:and when he came into her [tent]; at her invitation:behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail [was] in his temples: which she did not attempt to draw out, but left it there, that it might be seen in what way she had dispatched him. Judges 4:23Ver. 23. So God subdued on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the children, of Israel. Freed Israel from subjection to him and delivered him into the hands of the Israelites; for Josephus {o} says, that as Barak went towards Hazor, he met Jabin, and slew him; who perhaps having heard of the defeat of his army under Sisera, came forth with another against Israel, which being overcome by them, he was slain, and the city utterly destroyed, as the same writer says; but by what follows it seems rather that the total conquest of him was afterwards and gradually accomplished.{o} Antiqu. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 4. Judges 4:24Ver. 24. And the hand of the children of Israel, prospered and prevailed against Jabin, the king of Canaan,.... They continued their wars with him, in which they were successful:until they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan; took him, and put him to death, and took his cities, and destroyed the inhabitants of them, and so acted more agreeably to the declared will of God, that they should not spare the Canaanites, but destroy them.
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