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Judges 4:20

in Judges 4

“Stand at the entrance to the tent,” he said, “and if anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

KJV

Again 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.

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This verse in Judges 4

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
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.

This site's exposition

Please give me a little water to drink

on Judges 4:19-21

He asks for water and is given milk, which 5:25 tells again as curds "In a magnificent bowl". Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call the act murder, Matthew Henry holds she acted under a divine impulse as Ehud did, and Albert Barnes weighs that age's treachery against her faith and gives her due praise. Judges 5:24 calls her "Most blessed among women", and this chapter passes no sentence.

This site's exposition

Stand at the entrance to the tent

John Gill hears the request as a plea. He notes that Jael gives no recorded answer to it. When a man does come in verse 22, Jael shows him the man he is seeking.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

We must not sin against God, no, not to oblige those we would show ourselves most observant of. Lastly, We must suppose she kept her tent as quiet as she could, and free from noise, that he might sleep the sooner and the faster. And now was Sisera least safe when he was most secure.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

he said unto her, . . . when any man doth come and enquire of thee and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No--The privacy of the harem, even in a tent, cannot be intruded on without express permission.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Stand in the door of the tent - As no man would intrude into the women’s apartment without permission, her simply saying, there is no man in my tent, would preclude all search.
Stand in the door ... - The characteristic duplicity of the Oriental character, both in Sisera and Joel, is very forcibly depicted in this narrative. It is only by the light of the Gospel that the law of truth is fully revealed.

The words behind it

16 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • אֵלֶ֔יהָto her

    ʾeleihaH413 →5510 times

  • עֲמֹ֖דstand

    ʾamodH5975 →521 times

  • פֶּ֣תַח[the] opening of

    petachH6607 →164 times

  • הָאֹ֑הֶלthe tent

    haohelH168 →345 times

  • וְהָיָה֩and it will be

    vehayahH1961 →3559 times

  • אִם־if

    ʾim-H518 →1069 times

  • אִ֨ישׁanyone

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • יָב֜וֹאhe will come

    yavo'H935 →2568 times

  • וּשְׁאֵלֵ֗ךְand he will ask you

    usheelekhH7592 →171 times

  • וְאָמַ֛רand he will say

    veamarH559 →5305 times

  • הֲיֵֽשׁ־¿ [is] there

    hayesh-H3426 →140 times

  • פֹּ֥הhere

    pohH6311 →82 times

  • אִ֖ישׁanyone

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • וְאָמַ֥רְתְּand you will say

    veamartH559 →5305 times

  • אָֽיִן׃no

    ʾayinH369 →789 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

2 in all, six open

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 17:20

    When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They have crossed over the brook,” she replied. The men searched but did not find them, so…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 1:19

      The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

    • 1 Samuel 27:11–12

      David did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Otherwise they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” And this was David’s custom the…

    • 1 Samuel 21:2

      “The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission or charge. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a…

    • 1 Samuel 19:12–17

      So Michal lowered David from the window, and he ran away and escaped.

    • Joshua 2:22–23

      So the spies went out into the hill country and stayed there three days, until their pursuers had returned without finding them, having searched all along the road.

Where this verse is studied

About Judges

Jael Kills Sisera — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Jael Kills Sisera — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Judges 4 →