H3278 H3278
Jael — wife of Heber the Kenite, famed for killing the Canaanite general Sisera with a tent peg (Judges 4–5).
A Hebrew feminine name (יָעֵל) likely meaning 'mountain goat' or 'ibex,' borne by one of the most striking women in the Hebrew Bible. Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, offered hospitality to the fleeing Canaanite commander Sisera after his army's defeat, then drove a tent peg through his temple while he slept (Judg 4:17–22). Deborah's victory song celebrates her with the emphatic blessing 'most blessed of women is Jael' (Judg 5:24). The name may also appear in Judges 5:6 as a reference to an earlier figure, though some scholars read it as the same Jael in a different context. Remarkably uniform across translations — English, Spanish, French, and German all render it simply as 'Yael.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — The proper name Yāʿēl (יָעֵל, likely 'mountain goat, ibex'), identifying the wife of Heber the Kenite who killed Sisera. She appears in the prose narrative of Judges 4:17–22, where she lures the fleeing general into her tent and drives a tent peg through his skull, and in the Song of Deborah (Judg 5:24), where she is called 'most blessed among women.' Judges 5:6 may also reference her (or a different figure of the same name) in connection with abandoned roads. The multilingual glosses are strikingly uniform — 'Yael' in English, Spanish, French, and German alike — reflecting the name's phonological transparency. 6×
AR["ياعيلَ", "ياعيلُ"]·ben["যায়েল", "যায়েলের"]·DE["Yael"]·EN["Yael"]·FR["Yael"]·heb["יעל"]·HI["याएल", "याएल-के", "याएल-ने"]·ID["Yael"]·IT["Iael"]·jav["Yaél"]·KO["야엘", "야엘-의"]·PT["Ya'el"]·RU["Яели", "Яель", "Яэли", "Яэль"]·ES["Yael"]·SW["Yaeli"]·TR["Yael", "Yaelin"]·urd["یاعیل", "یاعیل-نے", "یاعیل-کا", "یاعیل-کے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
II. יָעֵל n.pr.f. wife of Heber the Kenite, slayer of Sisera Ju 4:17, 18, 21, 22; 5:24, prob. also v 6 (others find here name of a man, a ‘judge’).