Judges 5:19–27

“The kings came and fought,
Then the kings of Canaan fought
In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
They took no spoils of silver.
They fought from the heavens;
The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.
The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon.
O my soul, march on in strength!
Then the horses’ hooves pounded,
The galloping, galloping of his steeds.
‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD,
‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly,
Because they did not come to the help of the LORD,
To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’ ”

“Most blessed among women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Blessed is she among women in tents.
He asked for water, she gave milk;
She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.
She stretched her hand to the tent peg,
Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
he pounded Sisera, she pierced his head,
he split and struck through his temple.
At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still;
At her feet he sank, he fell;
Where he sank, there he fell dead.”

The Hebrew word translated as “torrent” (נַ֤חַל, na-hahl) typically means valley, gorge, or stream. Some na-hahls can be dangerous as they’re normally dry, but a cloudburst can transform them suddenly into torrents. You might not have time to get out before being swept away. Thus, 900 chariots caught in one of these flash floods would be a catastrophe. That’s apparently what happened, so na-hahl is “torrent” here.

But Sisera is not a fool. He wouldn’t send his army of chariots into the Kishon na-hahl when there’s much chance of a storm. Thus, many commentators assume this was a freak storm during the dry season.

This was the help of the LORD against the mighty.

Jael gave Sisera milk to make him sleepy and then killed him. Since she was an ally, this is surprising. But, as we’ll see in the next lesson, she had ample justification for this. Thus, the song hails her as a hero.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.