For too long women of the Bible have been portrayed as stay at home moms who did what the men in their lives dictated – from whom they would marry to how they would dress. But that stereotype does not always betray the real picture. Long before women went to war as women do today, one woman marched with the men and another woman became an assassin. These women’s stories are recorded in the Old Testament, during the same time period and in the same war. And they did not collaborate ahead of time.
Deborah, the wife of Lapidoth, was both a prophetess and a judge in the land of Israel. She lived after the Hebrews had settled the Promised Land and before the time of the Israelite kings, and she was accepted by all the people. Judges 4:5 says that “the children of Israel came up to her for judgment,” so she was not usurping the authority of a man. Instead, people recognized her God-given ability to judge fairly and wisely and appointed her to act as judge. And they respected that she received messages from God.
One day, she called Barak with a special announcement. She told him that he was to gather 10,000 men of the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali and go to Mount Tabor and wait until God brought the Canaanite army to him. When the Canaanites came, he would fight against Sisera, the captain for Jabin, King of Canaan. Even though the Israelites inhabited the land, they had been oppressed by the Canaanites for 20 years. Sisera saw himself as undefeatable because he had 900 iron chariots plus footmen – and he had never lost a battle.
Apparently Barak wasn’t so certain that this particular message was from God. Even though he was a soldier, he did not want to go to war against Sisera, so he tested Deborah. “If you will go with me, then I will go, but if you will not go with me, then I will not go,” he said. He must have reasoned that her reaction would be the proof he needed that God indeed did want him to fight this war.
Deborah answered with confidence. “I will go with you; however, this battle will not bring honor to you, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”
Barak didn’t seem to care about honor; he only cared that Deborah went with him. He did not view Deborah as a woman for whose safety he should have had concern. Instead, he saw her as a talisman, a good luck charm, whose presence would ensure the safety of himself and his soldiers – not exactly the ideal man to be in charge of 10,000 men.
Nevertheless, Barak went to Kadesh with Deborah in tow and gathered together the 10,000 men and went to Mount Tabor and waited. Heber, the Kenite, who lived in the plain below the mountain and had made a peace treaty with King Jabin, reported the activity to Sisera, who came out in full force.
Now Sisera didn’t know what modern military strategists know – that the person on the hill has the advantage. Sisera thought that because he had 900 chariots there was no way that Barack’s foot soldiers could win the war. He soon learned his error. Everywhere around him, Canaanite soldiers lay dying and horses and chariots were fleeing. And maybe, for the first time in his life, Sisera was afraid. He was so afraid that he left his chariot and began to run – away from the battle. Barak’s army let him go. They pursued the chariots and other footmen until all were killed. Then, they realized no one could account for Sisera and they began to search.
Now Sisera had run to Heber’s wife, Jael, and hid himself in her tent – not the usual thing for a man to do in those times unless he had evil intentions – which he may have had, but first he had to rest. He begged Jael for water and she did better. She gave him milk, and Sisera fell into a deep sleep.
Where was Heber? The reader isn’t told. Perhaps he lay dead in the field with the other men since he had an agreement with Sisera, but he doesn’t seem to have been around and Jael had a serious problem. A man in a woman’s tent who wasn’t her husband was not good for her because a) he might rape her when he awoke; b) her husband, if he did return, might accuse her of adultery; and c) her life was in danger with Barak’s army if they found Sisera harbored in her tent.
When Sisera did not return from the battle, his mother began to worry, but then, she and the women who surrounded her, comforted themselves with the idea that he would bring a woman or two home with him along with rich garments, fitting to the victor of the battle. Sisera did not have a good reputation and Jael was stuck – but not for long. Jael knew how to take care of herself and gruesome as her solution was, she didn’t fail to act on it. When Sisera fell into deep sleep, she pulled up a stake of the tent and drove it through his temple, and that day, when the Israelites won the war against the Canaanites, Jael was honored for assassinating the one man who could raise another army to fight against them again.
Did she plan to be an assassin? Probably not, but in an effort to protect herself, she drew praise from the Israelite nation. Deborah and Barak sang a song about her that is remembered to this day. And she is the first recorded woman assassin.
(c.f. Judges 4&5)
Art: "Jael Smote Sisera, and Slew Him," by James Tissot in the collection of the Jewish Museum (New York).
No comments:
Post a Comment