Day 11: Netzach in Gevurah, Victory in Bravery
"Most blessed of women be Yael,
Wife of Heber the Kenite,
Most blessed of women in tents.
He asked for water, she offered milk;
In a princely bowl she brought him curds.
Her [left] hand reached for the tent pin,
Her right for the workmen's hammer.
She struck Sisera, crushed his head,
Smashed and pierced his temple.
At her feet he sank, lay outstretched,
At her feet he sank, lay still;
Where he sank, there he lay - destroyed." (Judges 5:24-27)
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| Jael and Sisera by Jacopo Amigoni, 1739 |
Yael is a badass; that's one of the reasons I chose Yael as my Hebrew name. According to the Tanakh, she defeated Sisera, the Canaanite army commander, by driving a tent spike through his head with such force that she drove it into the ground beneath him.
Sisera fled battle and ran to her tent to hide, because her husband was a Canaanite sympathizer and he believed that he would be safe with her. However, Yael had a mind of her own. Her brave actions defied expectations and definitively claimed victory over the Canaanite army.
Yael's actions also had consequences that we will explore when we talk about Sisera's mother on Day 24. Stay tuned!
She killed Sisera in self-defence for trying to rape her! That is why she is blessed among women and women in the tents!
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