Jael or Yael ( he, יָעֵל ''Yāʿēl'') is the name of the heroine who delivered
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
from the army of King
Jabin
Jabin ( he, יָבִין ''Yāḇīn'') is a Biblical name meaning 'discerner', or 'the wise'. It may refer to:
* A king of Hazor at the time of the entrance of Israel into CanaanJoshua 11:1, whose overthrow and that of the northern chiefs with w ...
of
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
in the
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom i ...
of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
. After
Barak
Barak ( or ; he, בָּרָק; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; ar, البُراق ''al-Burāq'' "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, ...
demurred at the behest of the prophetess
Deborah
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', " bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
, God turned
Sisera
Sisera ( he, סִיסְרָא ''Sîsərā'') was commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin of Hazor, who is mentioned in of the Hebrew Bible. After being defeated by the forces of the Israelite tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali under the comm ...
over to Jael, who killed him by driving a tent peg through his skull after he entered her tent near the great tree in Zaanannim near
Kedesh
Kedesh (alternate spellings: Cadesh, Cydessa) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite settlement in Upper Galilee, mentioned few times in the Hebrew Bible. Its remains are located in Tel Kedesh, 3 km northeast of the modern Kibbutz M ...
.
Name
The Hebrew ''ya'el'' means
ibex
An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. ...
, a nimble, sure-footed mountain goat native to that region. It literally translates to "he shall ascend or go up".
As of 2016, ''Yael'' was one of the most common female first names in contemporary
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Family
Jael has often been understood to be the wife of
Heber the Kenite
Jael or Yael ( he, יָעֵל ''Yāʿēl'') is the name of the heroine who delivered Israel from the army of King Jabin of Canaan in the Book of Judges of the Hebrew Bible. After Barak demurred at the behest of the prophetess Deborah, God turned ...
.
[Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. "Jael: Bible." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive]
(Viewed on April 25, 2020) However, the Hebrew phrase translated this way could also mean "a woman of the group of the Kenites".
The
Kenite
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Kenites ( or ; he, ''Qēinī'') were a nomadic tribe in the ancient Levant. The Kenites were coppersmiths and metalworkers. According to some scholars, they are descendants of Cain, Harris, Stephen L., Underst ...
s were a nomadic tribe, some of whom lived in close proximity to the Israelites. The
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
records a number of cases of intermarriage; the father-in-law of
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
was apparently a Kenite, but it is not clear whether this was
Jethro. The Kenites may have been a part of the
Midian
Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...
ite group.
Heber the Kenite
Heber the Kenite () was, according to the
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom i ...
in the Bible, a descendant of
Reuel
Reuel or Raguel (; Edomite: 𐤓𐤏𐤀𐤋, ''RʿʾL''), meaning "God shall pasture" or more specifically " El shall pasture" (as a shepherd does with his flock) is a Hebrew name associated with several biblical and religious figures.
Biblical ...
the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses. He had separated himself and his wife Jael from the other
Kenites
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Kenites ( or ; he, ''Qēinī'') were a nomadic tribe in the ancient Levant. The Kenites were coppersmiths and metalworkers. According to some scholars, they are descendants of Cain, Harris, Stephen L., Underst ...
and pitched their tent in the plain of
Zaanaim Zaanaim, Zaanannim or Bezaanaim is a place name applied to one or two locations in the Hebrew Bible. According to Serge Frolov (2013), its location "cannot be determined with any degree of certainty."
Zaanaim means "wanderings", "the unloading of t ...
, which is near
Kedesh
Kedesh (alternate spellings: Cadesh, Cydessa) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite settlement in Upper Galilee, mentioned few times in the Hebrew Bible. Its remains are located in Tel Kedesh, 3 km northeast of the modern Kibbutz M ...
in the tribal territory of
Naphtali
According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Bilhah (Jacob's sixth son). He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali.
Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali'' ma ...
. Heber lived approximately during the 12th century BC in the
Hula Valley
The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior t ...
(anciently known as Zaanaim) of northern
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
during the time of the Israelite judges. According to
Jack Sasson
Jack M. Sasson (born 1941) is the Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies and Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Emeritus and previously Professor of Classics at Vanderbilt University. From 1977 to 1999, he was a professor at the U ...
, there are reasons to doubt whether the events narrated in
Judges 4
Judges 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel,Gilad, ElonWho Really Wrote the Biblical Books of Kings and the Prophets? ...
ever occurred.
Jael in the Book of Judges
Deborah
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', " bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
, a prophetess and
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
, advised
Barak
Barak ( or ; he, בָּרָק; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; ar, البُراق ''al-Burāq'' "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, ...
to mobilize the tribes of
Naphtali
According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Bilhah (Jacob's sixth son). He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali.
Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali'' ma ...
and
Zebulon
Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Book of Genesis, Genesis and Book of Numbers, Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the ...
on
Mount Tabor
Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee.
In the Hebrew Bible (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges), Mount Tabor is the sit ...
to do battle against King
Jabin
Jabin ( he, יָבִין ''Yāḇīn'') is a Biblical name meaning 'discerner', or 'the wise'. It may refer to:
* A king of Hazor at the time of the entrance of Israel into CanaanJoshua 11:1, whose overthrow and that of the northern chiefs with w ...
of
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
. Barak demurred, saying he would go, provided she would also. Deborah agreed, but prophesied that the honor of defeating Jabin's army would then go to a woman. Jabin's army was led by Sisera (Judg. 4:2). The armies met on the plain of
Esdraelon
The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...
, where Sisera's iron-bound chariots became hampered by the mud caused by a downpour during the night that caused the Wadi Kishon to overflow its banks. The Canaanites were defeated, and Sisera fled the scene.
[
Sisera arrived on foot at the tent of Heber on the plain of ]Zaanaim Zaanaim, Zaanannim or Bezaanaim is a place name applied to one or two locations in the Hebrew Bible. According to Serge Frolov (2013), its location "cannot be determined with any degree of certainty."
Zaanaim means "wanderings", "the unloading of t ...
. Heber and his household were at peace with Jabin, the king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Jael, however, sympathized with the Israelites because of the twenty-year period of harsh oppression inflicted on them by Jabin, his commander Sisera, and his nine hundred iron chariots. Jael (whose tent would have been separate from Heber's) welcomed Sisera into her tent and covered him with a blanket. Sisera asked Jael for a drink of water; she gave him milk instead. He commanded Jael to watch over the tent and tell any inquirers that no one was there. Quietly, Jael took a mallet and drove a tent peg through Sisera's temple into the ground while he was sleeping, killing him instantly.[ Jael was then the woman with the honor of defeating Jabin's army, as prophesied by Deborah, and she showed Barak Sisera's dead body in her tent.] The "Song of Deborah" (Judg. 5:24–26) recounts:
Scholars have long recognized that the Song of Deborah
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', " bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
, on the basis of linguistic evidence (archaic biblical Hebrew), is one of the oldest parts of the Bible, dating back to the 12th century BCE.
In ancient and medieval literature
Pseudo-Philo
Pseudo-Philo is the name commonly used for the unknown, anonymous author of ''Biblical Antiquities''. This text is also commonly known today under the Latin title ''Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum'' (Book of Biblical Antiquities), a title that is no ...
refers to Jael in the book, ''Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum'':
Now Jael took a stake in her left hand and approached him, saying, "If God will work this sign with me, I know that Sisera will fall into my hands. Behold I will throw him down on the ground from the bed on which he sleeps; and if he does not feel it, I know that he has been handed over." And Jael took Sisera and pushed him onto the ground from the bed. But he did not feel it, because he was very groggy.
And Jael said, "Strengthen in me today, Lord, my arm on account of you and your people and those who hope in you." And Jael took the stake and put it on his temple and struck it with a hammer.
And while he was dying, Sisera said to Jael, "Behold pain has taken hold of me, Jael, and I die like a woman."
And Jael said to him, "Go, boast before your father in hell and tell him that you have fallen into the hands of a woman."
There is also a reference to the story of Jael in Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
's ''The Canterbury Tales
''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...
''. During the Wife of Bath's Prologue, and whilst discussing her fifth husband's "book of wikked wives", Chaucer mentions some wives who "han drive nailes in hir brain, / Whil that they slepte, and thus they had hem slain."
Commentary
Judges 4:17 states that there was peace between the Canaanites and Heber's clan. They were familiar to the Israelites through the connection of Jethro to Moses, and their skill as metalworkers was welcomed wherever they camped. Both sides in the conflict would have considered the Kenites a neutral party. C.E. Schenk notes that Sisera was Jael's guest, "was in the sanctuary of her home, and protected by the laws of hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...
."[Schenk, C. E., "Jael", ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'', (James Orr, ed.) 1915]
/ref> According to Herbert Lockyer
Herbert Lockyer (1886–1984) was a minister and best-selling author of over 50 books, including the 21-volume "All" series.Meet Herbert Lockyer, http://www.christianbook.com/html/authors/3221.html He was educated at Glasgow Bible Institute, af ...
she may have acted out of practical necessity. Sisera was in flight and Barak in pursuit. It would not have been wise to allow Barak to find Sisera in her tent. She also knew that Sisera would be killed if captured; therefore, she would kill him and thus cement a friendship with the victor. Biblical commentaries have viewed Jael as either a heroine or someone much less so. Newsom and Ringe consider her a survivor caught up in her husband's politics. Parallels between the details of Jael's actions and Ehud's assassination of Eglon have led van Wijk-Bos to propose Jael as killing Sisera in a manner similar to his conquering army's use of rape. Jael, along with Ehud, is an example in Judges of the contrast between marginal heroes and well-armed enemies conquered by wit and stealth. Noting the maternal and erotic undertones of the text and some commentators' qualms about Jael's seductive and violent act, Bachmann points out that the Bible itself has nothing but praise for Jael, called most blessed of women in the Song of Deborah.
Christian moral theorists during the Renaissance extensively referred to Jael as an example of tyrannicide
Tyrannicide is the killing or assassination of a tyrant or unjust ruler, purportedly for the common good,
and usually by one of the tyrant's subjects. Tyrannicide was legally permitted and encouraged in the Classical period. Often, the term tyran ...
.
Artistic depictions of Jael
Medieval images of Jael, mostly in illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
s, depicted her as both a defender of Israel and a prefiguration
Prefiguration may refer to:
* Prefiguration (politics), the reflection of a future society being sought by a group
* Prefiguration (theology), a relationship between elements of the Hebrew Bible / Torah, and aspects of Jesus's life as depict ...
of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
. This can be seen in the Stavelot Bible
The Stavelot Bible is a Romanesque illuminated manuscript Bible in two volumes datable to 1093-1097. It was produced for, but not necessarily in, the Benedictine monastery of Stavelot, in the Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy of modern Belgium, a ...
, the Speculus Darmstadt, as well as several other texts. When not shown in the act of killing Sisera, she carries her hammer and sometimes the spike, making her easy to identify.
In Renaissance works the subject is one of the most commonly shown in the Power of Women
The "Power of Women" (german: Weibermacht) is a medieval and Renaissance artistic and literary topos, showing "heroic or wise men dominated by women", presenting "an admonitory and often humorous inversion of the male-dominated sexual hierarc ...
''topos'', with other biblical women who triumphed over men, such as Judith or Delilah
Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...
. Here she was used to show the risk for men in following women, in groupings including positive figures and scenes such as Judith beheading Holofernes
The account of the beheading of Holofernes by Judith is given in the deuterocanonical ''Book of Judith'', and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the story, Judith, a beautiful widow, is ab ...
, but mostly ones with females depicted as over-powerful, such as Phyllis riding Aristotle, Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
and Delilah, Salome
Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...
and her mother Herodias
Herodias ( el, Ἡρῳδιάς, ''Hērǭdiás''; ''c.'' 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with John the Baptist's execution.
Family relat ...
and the Idolatry of Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
. More positively, Jael was included in sets of the female Nine Worthies
The Nine Worthies are nine historical, scriptural, and legendary men of distinction who personify the ideals of chivalry established in the Middle Ages, whose lives were deemed a valuable study for aspirants to chivalric status. All were commonly ...
, such as the prints by Hans Burgkmair
Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473–1531) was a German Painting, painter and woodcut printmaker.
Background
Hans Burgkmair was born in Augsburg, the son of painter Thomas Burgkmair. His own son, Hans the Younger, later became a painter as well. From ...
. Ladies sometimes chose to have their portraits painted as Jael, a transformation achieved by holding a hammer and spike.
In the Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period, Jael continued to be a sexual figure in art. Works by Gregorio Lazzarini
Gregorio Lazzarini (1657 – 10 November 1730) was an Italian painter of mythological, religious and historical subjects, as well as portraits. One of the most successful Venetian artists of the day, a prominent teacher, and father to a signific ...
and Artemisia Gentileschi
Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (, ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing profess ...
are two examples of an attractive Jael, shown in the act of killing her foe.
Jael is portrayed in the French silent film '' Jael and Sisera'' (1911), directed by Henri Andréani.Jaël et Sisera at IMDb.com
December 15, 2010.
In popular culture
* Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
's novel ''The Last Chronicle of Barset
''The Last Chronicle of Barset'' is a novel by English author Anthony Trollope, published in 1867. It is the sixth and final book in the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'' series, preceded by '' The Small House at Allington''. The novel is set in the ...
'' contains a sub-plot in which the painter Conway Dalrymple paints the heiress Clara Van Siever as Jael driving a "nail" through the head of Sisera.
* P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
mentions Jael in several of his stories.
** In ''The Code of the Woosters
''The Code of the Woosters'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 7 October 1938, in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States by Doubleday, Doran, New York. It was previously serialised in ''The Sa ...
'', the narrator Bertie Wooster
Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intelligenc ...
describes the hangover
A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol, such as wine, beer, and liquor. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than 24 hours. Typical sympto ...
he is experiencing: "Indeed, just before Jeeves
Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie W ...
came in, I had been dreaming that some bounder was driving spikes through my head—not just ordinary spikes, as used by Jael the wife of Heber, but red-hot ones."
** Bertie also mentions "Jael, wife of Heber" in ''Right Ho, Jeeves
''Right Ho, Jeeves'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, the second full-length novel featuring the popular characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, after ''Thank You, Jeeves''. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 5 October 1934 by Herbert ...
'', "Well, as I say, look at Jael, the wife of Heber. Dug spikes into the guest’s coconut while he was asleep, and then went swanking about the place like a Girl Guide. No wonder they say, ‘Oh, woman, woman!"
** In ''Galahad at Blandings
''Galahad at Blandings'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 31 December 1964 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the title ''The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood'', and in the United Kingdom on 26 Au ...
'', when the severely hung-over Tipton Plimsoll shakes his head, the narrator remarks, "There are times when shaking the head creates the illusion one has met Jael the wife of Heber, incurred her displeasure and started her going into her celebrated routine."
** In ''Cocktail Time
''Cocktail Time'' is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 20 June 1958 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on 24 July 1958 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York. A condensed version of the sto ...
'', Frederick Twistleton describes the face of a member of the Drones Club with "...a look of ecstasy and exaltation such as Jael, the wife of Heber, must have worn when about to hammer the Brazil nut into the head of Sisera...".
** "Jael the wife of Heber" also appears in ''The Small Bachelor
''The Small Bachelor'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 28 April 1927 by Methuen & Co., London, and in the United States on 17 June 1927 by George H. Doran, New York.McIlvaine (1990), A37, pp. 51–53.
...
''. When George Finch meets his future mother-in-law for the first time she gives him a disapproving look. "It was the kind of look which Sisera might have surprised in the eye of Jael the wife of Heber, had he chanced to catch it immediately before she began operations with the spike."
* Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
winner A.S. Byatt
Dame Antonia Susan Duffy ( Drabble; born 24 August 1936), known professionally by her former marriage name as A. S. Byatt ( ), is an English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer. Her books have been widely translated, into more than t ...
's 1998 collection of short fiction ''Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice'' contains a short story entitled "Jael", which is intricately related to the biblical story of Jael.
* In a half-hour radio drama, '' Butter in a Lordly Dish'' (1948), Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
has her protagonist drug a lawyer's coffee; after revealing her true identity, she hammers a nail into his head.
* The main character in L. P. Hartley
Leslie Poles Hartley (30 December 1895 – 13 December 1972) was a British novelist and short story writer. Although his first fiction was published in 1924, his career was slow to take off. His best-known novels are the '' Eustace and Hilda'' ...
's 1960 dystopian novel ''Facial Justice
''Facial Justice'' is a dystopian novel by L. P. Hartley, published in 1960. The novel depicts a post-apocalyptic society that has sought to banish privilege and envy, to the extent that people will even have their faces surgically altered i ...
'' is named for Jael.
* The central image of Aritha van Herk's novel ''The Tent Peg'' refers to the story of Jael and Sisera.
* A chapter in Martin Sugarman's book ''Fighting Back: British Jewry's Military Contribution in the Second World War'' (Valentine Mitchell, 2010) is headed "Daughters of Yael: Two Jewish Heroines of the SOE". The author uses the name to illustrate the courage of ATS Denise Bloch
Denise Madeleine Bloch (; 21 January 1916 – 5 February 1945) was an agent working with the clandestine British Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in the Second World War. Captured by the Germans, she was executed at Ravensbrück ...
and WAAF Muriel Byck
Muriel Byck (4 June 1918 – 23 May 1944) was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in France during World War II. She died of meningitis.
Early life
Muriel Tamara Byck was the daughter ...
of the Special Operation Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...
, who were killed in action operating behind German lines in France.
* A section of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (born July 11, 1938) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian specializing in early America and the history of women, and a professor at Harvard University. Her approach to history has been described as a tribute to ...
's book ''Good Wives'' is entitled "Jael".
* The Christian metalcore
Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and U ...
band Oh, Sleeper
Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas that formed in 2006 with former members of Terminal. In over a decade's span, Oh, Sleeper has released four full-length albums, two EPs, and toured worldwide as an opening act. Af ...
has a song entitled "Hush Yael" on their album ''Children of Fire''.
* Showtime Original Series WEEDS featured character Yael Hoffman (Meital Dohan) in 2006. Andy Botwin (Justin Kirk) goes to a Rabbinical school to dodge military service where he meets Yael Hoffman. In one episode she tells him the biblical story of her first name.
* Stephen Vincent Benet
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
in his poem ''John Brown's Body'' refers to Jael and her anger at an enemy "when the hot dry hands went seeking the nail".
* In Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
's sixth season episode "Pro Se" the main suspect suffers from delusions – evoked by his diagnosed schizophrenia – that he is Sisera and is paranoid about women being Jael.
* In '' Waking the Dead'' s4ep1, "In Sight of The Lord", a series of murders are committed with a large nail through the head fixing the victim to the floor. The biblical meaning of the act is explored in the process of solving the murders.
* Ezra Glenn's song "Sisera Sleeps" from 2020's "Two-Heel Sandwich" refers to Jael's actions.
Citations
General and cited sources
Further reading
* "Jael". ''The Wordsworth Encyclopedia of World Religions''. Ware: Wordsworth Edictions, 1999.
External links
Jael the Kenite
at th
Christian Iconography
Web site
{{Authority control
12th-century BC women
Assassins
Biblical murderers
Biblical women in ancient warfare
Book of Judges
Hebrew-language names
Kenites
Women in the Hebrew Bible