Proverbs: The Wisdom of God's WordНамуна

A Real Hero

Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all. — Proverbs 31:29

Of all the great women in the Bible, for obvious reasons I have always been drawn to Jael, or Yael, from the Book of Judges. Because my parents gave me her name, I’ve always felt connected to her since I was a little girl.

If you remember the story, in the days of the prophet Deborah, war had broken out between the Canaanites and Israel. During the war, the Canaanite general, Sisera, became separated from his men.

As he searched for somewhere to hide, he came upon the house of Heber the Kenite. He felt that he would be safe as there were peaceful relations between the Canaanite king and the Kenites, who were not part of Israel. Jael, or Yael, the wife of Heber, called out to Sisera offering safety.

Jael invited Sisera in, telling him he’d be safe there. After he fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael picked up a tent peg and a hammer and quietly approached him. Jael drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died. (See Judges 4:18-21.)

Even though Jael’s act took place in private, with no one else to see it, her heroism earned her eternal praise in the Bible. In the words of Deborah, “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.” (Judges 5:24).

This praise reminds us of the final verses of the Woman of Valor poem in Proverbs 31: “‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate” (vv. 29-31).

The Hebrew for “valor” is chayil, which implies courage, decisiveness, and leadership. Jael’s behavior was the very definition of Chayil—valor. She showed courage, decisiveness, and wisdom. How easy would it have been for her to simply do nothing? But Jael was “a woman who fears the LORD.” Because she feared God, she feared nothing else. She rose to the moment and acted.

Jael was a woman of the home, a “tent-dweller,” and yet, “her actions praise her at the gates.” Her great deeds have become known by all, for generations past and for generations to come! Now that’s a true superhero!

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