Judges 4:17

17 Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because [there was] peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

Judges 4:17 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 4:17

Howbeit, Sisera fled away on his feet
Got off, and made his escape

to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite;
before spoken of, ( Judges 4:11 ) ; and he made to that, because he might think himself safer in a tent than in a town; and especially in the tent of a woman, where he might imagine no search would be made; for women of note, in those times, had separate tents, see ( Genesis 24:67 ) ; and the rather he made his escape hither for a reason that follows:

for [there was] peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of
Heber the Kenite;
which Jabin might the more readily come into, because these were not Israelites, nor did they make any claim to the country, and lived only in tents, and attended their flocks, and were a quiet people, and not at all disposed to war; and it might be so ordered by the providence of God, as a rebuke to the Israelites for their sins, when those who were only proselytes kept close to the worship of God, and so enjoyed liberty, peace, and prosperity.

Judges 4:17 In-Context

15 And Yahweh threw Sisera and all his chariots and army into confusion before {the edge of Barak's sword}; and Sisera dismounted from [his] chariot and fled on foot.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all of Sisera's army fell to {the edge of the sword}; no one was left.
17 Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because [there was] peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera, and she said to him, "Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me and do not be afraid." So he turned aside into her tent, and she covered him {with a blanket}.
19 And he said to her, "Please, give me a drink of water, because I am thirsty." So she opened a skin vessel of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.