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Judges 4

KJV · Chapter 4/21

1And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead.

2And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

3And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

4And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

5And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth–el in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh–naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

7And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

8And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

9And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

11Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

12And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.

13And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

14And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

15And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

16But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.

17Howbeit 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.

18And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

19And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

20Again 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.

21Then 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.

22And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

23So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

24And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The prophetess Deborah summons Barak to fight against Sisera, the Canaanite general. Victorious in battle, Sisera flees and is killed by Jael, who drives a tent peg through his head while he sleeps.

Explanation

Deborah stands out as a remarkable figure — a prophetess and judge in a patriarchal society, exercising spiritual and judicial leadership recognized throughout Israel. When Barak hesitates to go into battle alone and insists she accompany him, Deborah prophesies that the honor of the final victory would go to a woman — fulfilled in a surprising way by Jael, wife of an ally of the Canaanites, who acts with courage and cunning to kill the enemy general. The victory, attributed to the Lord who 'routed Sisera' (v.15), shows once again that deliverance comes from God, who uses unexpected people — women, in a context where military leadership was typically male.

Fun facts

  • Sisera's nine hundred iron chariots were advanced military technology for the time, but became useless in battle because of the rain and mud brought on by the victory, as detailed in the Song of Deborah in the following chapter.
  • Jael belonged to a Kenite family, descended from Moses's father-in-law (Hobab), but one that had broken away and made a peace treaty with the Canaanite king Jabin — making her betrayal of Sisera all the more strategic.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Judges 4:1After Ehud dies, Israel again does what is evil in the sight of the Lord, restarting the cycle of unfaithfulness described back in chapter 2.
  2. Judges 4:2God sells Israel into the hand of Jabin, a Canaanite king who reigns in Hazor, whose army commander, Sisera, lives in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
  3. Judges 4:3Israel cries out to the Lord because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots and had violently oppressed the people for twenty years.
  4. Judges 4:4Deborah is called a prophetess and was already judging disputes before any war began. She does not become a leader because of a military crisis, as most of the other judges do; rather, it is the crisis that needs her.
  5. Judges 4:5Deborah would sit and judge under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel, in the mountains of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go up to her to settle disputes.
  6. Judges 4:6Deborah sends for Barak and delivers a command from God: gather ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun and go up to mount Tabor.
  7. Judges 4:7God promises to draw Sisera, with his chariots and his army, to the river Kishon, and to deliver him into Barak’s hand.
  8. Judges 4:8Barak answers that he will only go to war if Deborah goes with him, showing that he depends on her presence for courage.
  9. Judges 4:9Deborah warns Barak that the honor of the victory will belong to a woman, not to him, since he hesitated to go to war without her at his side. The prophecy is fulfilled just a few verses later, but not through Deborah, through Jael instead.
  10. Judges 4:10Barak calls together Zebulun and Naphtali at Kedesh and goes up with ten thousand men; Deborah goes up with him, keeping what she had promised.
  11. Judges 4:11The text now introduces Heber, a Kenite descended from Moses’ father-in-law, who had separated from his own clan and pitched his tent near Kedesh. This geographical detail sets up the scene with Jael later on.
  12. Judges 4:12Word reaches Sisera that Barak has gone up to mount Tabor, alerting the enemy to the movement of the Israelite army.
  13. Judges 4:13Sisera gathers all his nine hundred iron chariots and all his people, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the river Kishon.
  14. Judges 4:14Deborah tells Barak to attack, saying that this is the day the Lord has delivered Sisera into his hands; Barak goes down from Tabor with ten thousand men behind him.
  15. Judges 4:15The Lord routs Sisera and his whole army before Barak; Sisera gets down from his chariot and flees on foot, with no army left to protect him.
  16. Judges 4:16Barak pursues the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth of the Gentiles, and Sisera’s entire army falls by the edge of the sword, with not a single man left.
  17. Judges 4:17Sisera flees on foot to the tent of Jael, Heber’s wife, because there was peace between king Jabin and that Kenite’s family. He thinks he will be safe there.
  18. Judges 4:18Jael goes out to meet Sisera and invites him in without fear, hiding him inside the tent under a covering.
  19. Judges 4:19Sisera asks for water because he is thirsty; Jael opens a bottle of milk and gives him a drink, tending to him as if she really meant to protect him.
  20. Judges 4:20Sisera asks her to stand at the door of the tent and, if anyone asks whether there is a man there, to say no, trying to secure his hiding place.
  21. Judges 4:21Jael drives a tent peg through Sisera’s head while he sleeps, after having welcomed him and hidden him as though offering him protection. The scene is shocking precisely because it breaks the hospitality expected of someone sheltering a fugitive.
  22. Judges 4:22When Barak arrives pursuing Sisera, Jael goes out to meet him and shows him the enemy already dead, with the peg driven through his head.
  23. Judges 4:23On that day God subdues Jabin, king of Canaan, before the children of Israel.
  24. Judges 4:24From then on, the hand of the children of Israel grows stronger and stronger against Jabin, until they destroy him completely.

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