Judges 4:19

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.

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 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.
20 And he said to her, "Stand [at] the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you, and says, 'Is there anyone here?' You must answer, 'No.'"
21 But Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, took in her hand a tent peg and a hammer, and she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; he [was] fast asleep since he was exhausted, and he died.
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