Heber the Kenite
Encyclopedia
Heber the Kenite is a man in the Book of Judges
in the Tanakh
and the Holy Bible. He is a descendant of Jethro
, the father-in-law of Moses
. Heber had separated himself and his wife Jael
from the other Kenites; he pitched their tent in the plain of Zaanaim
, which is near Kedesh
.
According to Judges chapters 4-5, Heber and King Jabin
had peace between each other; Sisera knew this and so fled to Heber's tent. Jael, who sympathized with the Israelites because of his and Jabin's cruelty and hostility toward Yahweh
's people, greeted Sisera. After serving Sisera a skin of milk he fell asleep, exhausted. She drove a tent peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
in the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
and the Holy Bible. He is a descendant of Jethro
Jethro
In the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, Jethro |Shu-ayb]]) is Moses' father-in-law, a Kenite shepherd and priest of Midian. He is also revered as a prophet in his own right in the Druze religion, and considered an ancestor of the Druze.-In Exodus:...
, the father-in-law of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
. Heber had separated himself and his wife Jael
Yael
Yael is a character mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible, as the heroine who killed Sisera to deliver Israel from the troops of king Jabin...
from the other Kenites; he pitched their tent in the plain of Zaanaim
Zaanaim
Zaanaim is a place in northwest of Lake Merom, near Kedesh, in Naphtali; currently sited in Hulah Valley, Israel. Here Sisera was slain by Jael, "the wife of Heber the Kenite," who had pitched his tent in the "plain [R.V., 'as far as the oak'] of Zaanaim" ....
, which is near Kedesh
Kedesh
The ruins of the ancient Canaanite village of Kedesh are located within the modern Kibbutz Malkiya in Israel on the Israeli-Lebanese border....
.
According to Judges chapters 4-5, Heber and King Jabin
Jabin
Jabin is a Biblical name meaning 'discerner', or 'the wise'. It may refer to:* A king of Hazor, at the time of the entrance of Israel into Canaan , whose overthrow and that of the northern chief with whom he had entered into a confederacy against Joshua was the crowning act in the conquest of the...
had peace between each other; Sisera knew this and so fled to Heber's tent. Jael, who sympathized with the Israelites because of his and Jabin's cruelty and hostility toward Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
's people, greeted Sisera. After serving Sisera a skin of milk he fell asleep, exhausted. She drove a tent peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.