Judges 4:19

19 He said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink - I'm thirsty." She opened a goatskin of milk, gave him some to drink, and covered him up again.

Judges 4:19 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 4:19

And he said unto her, give me, I pray thee, a little water to
drink, for I am thirsty
Which might be occasioned by the heat of the battle, and by the heat of the day, and by heat in running; he asks for a little water, that being very desirable by persons athirst. Some think he did not ask for wine, because he knew the Kenites did not drink any, and so of course kept none in their tents; but though this was the custom of the Rechabites, who were the same with the Kenites, ( Jeremiah 35:8 ) ; yet it is very probable this custom had not yet obtained among them, since it was enjoined by Jonadab their father, who lived in the times of Jehu, ( 2 Kings 10:15 ) ;

and she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink;
which she did either out of courtesy, being a better liquor, or with design to throw him into a sleep, which milk inclines to, making heavy, as all the Jewish commentators observe; though Josephus F14 has no authority to say, as he does? that the milk she gave him was bad and corrupt:

and covered him:
again, after he had taken a draught of milk, which it seems she poured into a dish with the cream on it, see ( Judges 5:25 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F14 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 1.)

Judges 4:19 In-Context

17 However, Sisra ran on foot to the tent of Ya'el the wife of Hever the Keini, because there was peace between Yavin the king of Hatzor and the family of Hever the Keini.
18 Ya'el went out to meet Sisra and said to him, "Come in, my lord; stay here with me; and don't be afraid." So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
19 He said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink - I'm thirsty." She opened a goatskin of milk, gave him some to drink, and covered him up again.
20 He said to her, "Stand at the entrance to the tent; and if anyone asks you if somebody is here, say, 'No.'"
21 But when he was deeply asleep, Ya'el the wife of Hever took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand, crept in to him quietly and drove the tent peg into his temple, right through to the ground; so that he died without waking up.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.