Judges 5:24
in Judges 5Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Blessed above women shall Jael be, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
KJV
Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
⋯
This verse in Judges 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBlessed above women shall Jael - be - She shall be highly celebrated as a most heroic woman; all the Israelitish women shall glory in her. I do not understand these words as expressive of the Divine approbation towards Jael. See the observations at the end of Jdg 4:24 (note). The word bless, both in Hebrew and Greek, often signifies to praise, to speak well of, to celebrate. This is most probably its sense here.
This site's exposition
Blessed above women shall Jael
on Judges 5:24-25
The blessing on Jael runs close to the words spoken of Mary at Luke 1:42, and Matthew Henry is among the writers who set the two lines side by side. She is a Kenite, outside Israel by descent from the father in law of Moses according to 4:11, and the song puts its highest blessing on a foreign woman living in a tent. The prose at 4:19 has Sisera ask for water and Jael open a bottle of milk, and the song keeps that exchange and adds the lordly dish.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Judges 5:24) Blessed among women, Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Among women, namely Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, and almost all women. Let her be blessed in the temple, the Lord is understood, so that her memorial may be there, just like Judith. And the reason why she is blessed is given, namely because she acted wisely and prudently, in that she gave milk to the one asking for water. Therefore, she gave milk, so that the fleeing enemy would find a stronger faith in her.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Blessed - Celebrated, and endowed with all sorts of blessings more than they. In the tent - In her tent or habitation, in her house and family, and all her affairs: for she and hers dwelt in tents. The tent is here mentioned as an allusion to the place where the fact was done.
Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be,....
Jael in the tent wins as rich a blessing as Barak in the field. Nothing is more confounding, grievous, and shameful, than disappointment, and Deborah here does most elegantly describe two great disappointments, the shame of which was typical of sinners' everlasting shame. Sisera found a fatal enemy where he expected a firm and faithful friend.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The blessing here pronounced is in strong contrast with the curse of Meroz. Deborah speaks of Jael’s deed by the light of her own age, which did not make manifest the evil of guile and bloodshed; the light in ours does.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תְּבֹרַךְ֙ | tevorakh | she will be blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
| מִנָּשִׁ֔ים | minashim | more than women | H802 → | 781 times |
| יָעֵ֕ל | yael | Jael | H3278 → | 6 times |
| אֵ֖שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| חֶ֣בֶר | chever | Heber | H2268 → | 11 times |
| הַקֵּינִ֑י | hakeini | the Kenite | H7017 → | 12 times |
| מִנָּשִׁ֥ים | minashim | more than women | H802 → | 781 times |
| בָּאֹ֖הֶל | baohel | in the tent | H168 → | 345 times |
| תְּבֹרָֽךְ׃ | tevorakh | she will be blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
תְּבֹרַךְ֙she will be blessed
tevorakhH1288 →330 times
מִנָּשִׁ֔יםmore than women
minashimH802 →781 times
יָעֵ֕לJael
yaelH3278 →6 times
אֵ֖שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
חֶ֣בֶרHeber
cheverH2268 →11 times
הַקֵּינִ֑יthe Kenite
hakeiniH7017 →12 times
מִנָּשִׁ֥יםmore than women
minashimH802 →781 times
בָּאֹ֖הֶלin the tent
baohelH168 →345 times
תְּבֹרָֽךְ׃she will be blessed
tevorakhH1288 →330 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Luke 1:28The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
it leads to
- Judges 6:12
And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
- Daniel 10:19
“Do not be afraid, you who are highly precious,” he said. “Peace be with you! Be strong now; be very strong!” As he spoke with me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord,…
- Luke 1:30
So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
- Ephesians 1:6
to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- Daniel 9:21–23
while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
- Judges 6:12
Through
Proverbs 31:31Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the gates.
it leads to
- Psalms 128:2
For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.
- Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
- Romans 16:1–4
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
- Psalms 128:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on the Song of Deborah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.