Yael
1160 BCE · Biblical · Kedesh of Naphtali (Tel Kedesh)
Yael was the wife of Heber the Kenite. Heber had separated from the other Kenites, the clan descended from Moshe's father-in-law, and pitched his tent near Kedesh (Judges 4:11). His family was at peace with Yavin, king of Hazor, so when Sisera, Yavin's general, fled on foot from his defeat by Barak, he came to Yael's tent (Judges 4:17). She invited him in, covered him with a blanket, and gave him milk when he asked for water. When he fell asleep she drove a tent pin through his temple with a mallet (Judges 4:18-21). When Barak arrived in pursuit, she showed him the dead general (Judges 4:22). This fulfilled Devorah's warning that God would deliver Sisera 'into the hands of a woman' (Judges 4:9). The Song of Deborah calls her 'most blessed of women in tents' and retells the killing in vivid poetry (Judges 5:24-27). It also speaks of 'the days of Jael' as a time when roads were deserted (Judges 5:6). The Talmud (Nazir 23b) cites her as its example of 'a transgression committed for the sake of Heaven'.
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Kedesh of Naphtali (Tel Kedesh)Upper Galilee (Israel), near the Lebanese border
What they did here
Heber had pitched his tent 'at Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh' (Judges 4:11), and Sisera died there (Judges 4:17-22). The exact spot is unknown. Which Kedesh is meant is debated: Tel Kedesh in Upper Galilee, where the pin is, or Khirbet Qedish near the Sea of Galilee, which many think fits Sisera's flight on foot better.
In Kedesh of Naphtali (Tel Kedesh) at the same time
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In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with Yael’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
In the same tradition
Works
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