Sisera

Jaël and Sisara (1620) by Artemisia Gentileschi

Sisera ( Hebrew סִיסְרָא) was a Canaanite military leader under King Jabin .

Biblical representation

Sisera is mentioned in Ri 4–5 EU and 1 Sam 12,9 EU . 1 Sam 12.9 is a note referring to the story in the book of judges . There the place of residence becomes Siseras with Haroschet-Hagojimחרשת הגויםindicated what is rendered in translations with Haroschet the Gentiles. The place is not exactly identified. At the Kishon brook , Sisera's army met the Israelite armed forces under the leadership of Barak and Deborah . At the sight of the Israelites, Sisera fled with his warriors as far as Haroschet-Hagoyim. There the Canaanites were defeated while Sisera managed to escape. He found refuge with Jaël , an ally of Jabin. He asked Jael for water because he was thirsty. But she opened a tube with milk in it, gave him something to drink and covered him again. Jaël killed Sisera while he was sleeping by driving a tent peg through his temple with a hammer. The motive for this act remains unclear. In Ri 5 Sisera is mentioned in the victory song of Debora .

Etymology of the name

The name Sisera is not of Semitic origin. The name probably comes from the area of the sea peoples .

Midrash

The midrash Yalḳuṭ Shim'oni to Judges 4,3 adorns the heroic deeds of Sisera in order to make him appear as a more dangerous opponent and thus to further emphasize the victory of the Israelites. This is in contrast to the humorous coloring of the biblical story, according to which Sisera is depicted as a fearful rabbit.

Effect in art and literature

Johann Simon Mayr : Sisara , Oratorio, Venice 1793
Artemisia Gentileschi : Jael and Sisera , Budapest 1620
Jacopo Palma the Younger : Giaele uccide Sisara , painting
James Tissot : Jael murders Sisera , painting
Gustave Doré : Jael kills Sisera , 1866

literature

Andreas Scherer : Sisera. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.

Web links

Commons : Jael and Sisera - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ probably Tell el-Amur - based on: Wolfgang Zwickel : Calwer Bibelatlas, Stuttgart 2007, 2nd edition, p. 48.
↑ Heinz-Dieter Neef : Article Sisera - in: Calwer Bibellexikon, Vol. 2: LZ, Stuttgart 2003, pp. 1247f.

personal data
SURNAME	Sisera
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	סִיסְרָא (Hebrew)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Kannanean military leader of the Bible
DATE OF BIRTH	13th century BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH	Haroschet-Hagoyim
DATE OF DEATH	13th century BC Chr.

[1] robably Tell el-Amur - based on: Wolfgang Zwickel : Calwer Bibelatlas, Stuttgart 2007, 2nd edition, p. 48.

[2] Heinz-Dieter Neef : Article Sisera - in: Calwer Bibellexikon, Vol. 2: LZ, Stuttgart 2003, pp. 1247f.