The Meaning of Judges 4:17 Explained

Judges 4:17

KJV: Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

YLT: And Sisera hath fled on his feet unto the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for peace is between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite;

Darby: But Sis'era fled away on foot to the tent of Ja'el, the wife of Heber the Ken'ite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Ken'ite.

ASV: Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Howbeit Sisera  fled away  on his feet  to the tent  of Jael  the wife  of Heber  the Kenite:  for [there was] peace  between Jabin  the king  of Hazor  and the house  of Heber  the Kenite. 

What does Judges 4:17 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 4:14-24 - A Woman Executioner
"The Lord discomfited Sisera and all his host." When General Gordon rode off alone on his camel to break up the camps of the Arab slave-drivers, he realized, as he went over the desert with Thomas à Kempis' immortal book in his hand, that God was already discomfiting them; and as he rode into their midst, he discovered that God had made the way perfectly clear. Yes, it is as Deborah sang, in words afterward quoted by our Lord, "They that love Him are as the sun when he goeth forth in his might," Judges 5:31; Matthew 13:43. The soul that is united to Christ is irresistible.
Jael's deed is narrated at length again in Judges 5:24. It was a most unusual breach of Arab hospitality. Was it that she was aggrieved by Sisera's treatment of her sex, Judges 5:30? Or was it the expression of her faith in Jehovah and of her identification with His people? If the latter, may we not believe that then, as always, the Almighty understood the impulse that lay beneath the crude expression? How often we give blundering expression to noble impulses, which Jesus interprets truly! Ah, how blessed it is to have a Savior who understands the motives of our hearts! [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 4

1  Deborah and Barak deliver them from Jabin and Sisera
17  Jael kills Sisera

What do the individual words in Judges 4:17 mean?

And However Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite for [there was] peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house the Kenite
וְסִֽיסְרָא֙ נָ֣ס בְּרַגְלָ֔יו אֶל־ אֹ֣הֶל יָעֵ֔ל אֵ֖שֶּׁת‪‬‪‬ חֶ֣בֶר הַקֵּינִ֑י כִּ֣י שָׁל֗וֹם בֵּ֚ין יָבִ֣ין מֶֽלֶךְ־ חָצ֔וֹר וּבֵ֕ין בֵּ֖ית הַקֵּינִֽי

וְסִֽיסְרָא֙  And  However  Sisera 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: סִיסְרָא  
Sense: the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael.
נָ֣ס  had  fled  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נוּס  
Sense: to flee, escape.
בְּרַגְלָ֔יו  on  foot 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, fdc, third person masculine singular
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.
אֹ֣הֶל  the  tent 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֹהֶל  
Sense: tent.
יָעֵ֔ל  of  Jael 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יָעֵל  
Sense: the wife of Heber the Kenite who killed the general Sisera as he slept by driving a peg through his temples into the ground.
אֵ֖שֶּׁת‪‬‪‬  the  wife 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
חֶ֣בֶר  of  Heber 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶבֶר  
Sense: the Kenite, husband of Jael, who slew Sisera by driving a nail into his temple.
הַקֵּינִ֑י  the  Kenite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֵינִי  
Sense: the tribe from which the father-in-law of Moses was a member and which lived in the area between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai.
שָׁל֗וֹם  [there  was]  peace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֹום  
Sense: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.
בֵּ֚ין  between 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בַּיִן 
Sense: between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.
יָבִ֣ין  Jabin 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָבִין  
Sense: a king of Hazor who organised a confederacy of the northern princes against Joshua; confederacy routed by the waters of Merom.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
חָצ֔וֹר  of  Hazor 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: חָצֹור 
Sense: a royal city of northern Palestine allotted to Naphtali.
בֵּ֖ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
הַקֵּינִֽי  the  Kenite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֵינִי  
Sense: the tribe from which the father-in-law of Moses was a member and which lived in the area between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai.