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Judges 4:18

in Judges 4

Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Do not be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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

KJV

And 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.

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This verse in Judges 4

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Jael went out to meet Sisera - He preferred the woman’s tent because of secrecy; for, according to the etiquette of the eastern countries, no person ever intrudes into the apartments of the women. And in every dwelling the women have a separate apartment.

This site's exposition

fled on foot to the tent of Jael

on Judges 4:17-18

The peace between Jabin and "the house of Heber the Kenite" is stated first, so the reader knows why Sisera runs to that door. Adam Clarke notes that a man would not enter the women's quarters without leave, which made it the one place a pursuer would pass by.

This site's exposition

Jael went out to greet Sisera

Jael goes out to greet Sisera here, and in verse 22 she goes out to greet Barak in the same words of the narrative. The blanket returns in verse 19, when she covers him again. Adam Clarke adds that every eastern dwelling kept a separate apartment for the women.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Was he weary? she finds him a very convenient place to repose himself in, and recruit his strength. Was he thirsty? well he might. Did he want a little water to cool his tongue? the best liquor her tent afforded was at his service, and that was milk (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And Jael went out to meet Sisera,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

All expressions of care for his safety. Only when he desired her to tell a lie for him, and to say he was not there, she declined making any such promise,

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

And Sisera had fled: He did not flee to the place that his camp fled, as they fled towards their land, which was Haroshet-hagoyim; and Barak and his people chased after them and smote them with the edge of the sword. But Sisera knew that he could not escape by [just] fleeing, for they would catch up to him. So he fled to another place, in which they would not notice him and chase after him.
Radak: Provence, 1160–1235 · Radak on Judges 4:17:1, via Sefaria, Sefaria Community Translation

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

17 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.

  • וַתֵּצֵ֣אand she went out

    vatetze'H3318 →1067 times

  • יָעֵל֮Jael

    yaelH3278 →6 times

  • לִקְרַ֣אתto meet

    likratH7122 →139 times

  • סִֽיסְרָא֒Sisera

    sisera'H5516 →21 times

  • וַתֹּ֣אמֶרand she said

    vatomerH559 →5305 times

  • אֵלָ֗יוto him

    ʾelavH413 →5510 times

  • סוּרָ֧הturn aside !

    surahH5493 →299 times

  • אֲדֹנִ֛יO lord my

    ʾadoniH113 →333 times

  • סוּרָ֥הturn aside !

    surahH5493 →299 times

  • אֵלַ֖יto me

    ʾelaiH413 →5510 times

  • אַל־may not

    ʾal-H408 →724 times

  • תִּירָ֑אyou be afraid

    tira'H3372 →315 times

  • וַיָּ֤סַרand he turned aside

    vaiyasarH5493 →299 times

  • אֵלֶ֙יהָ֙to her

    ʾeleihaH413 →5510 times

  • הָאֹ֔הֱלָהthe tent towards

    haohelahH168 →345 times

  • וַתְּכַסֵּ֖הוּand she covered him

    vatekhasehuH3680 →

  • בַּשְּׂמִיכָֽה׃with the covering

    basemikhahH8063 →

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 Kings 6:19

    And Elisha told them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are seeking.” And he led them to Samaria.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 16:24

      Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

    • 2 Samuel 16:18–19

      “Not at all,” Hushai answered. “For the one chosen by the LORD, by the people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and with him I will remain.

    • Mark 8:34

      Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

    • Luke 24:16

      But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.

    • Luke 9:23

      Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Judges 4 →