Jael drove a tent peg through the head of the Canaanite general Sisera. The episode appears in Judges 4, during Israel’s conflict with Jabin, king of Hazor, whose army was commanded by Sisera.
After Sisera’s forces were defeated by the Israelite leader Barak, Sisera fled on foot and sought refuge in Jael’s tent. Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite, whose clan had peaceful relations with Jabin. She welcomed Sisera, gave him milk, and covered him while he rested. When he fell asleep, she used a hammer and tent peg to kill him.
The story is also celebrated in the poetic Song of Deborah in Judges 5, which praises Jael as “most blessed” among women. A common mix-up is Deborah: she was the prophet and judge who helped lead Israel and sent Barak into battle, but Jael—not Deborah—killed Sisera. Rahab and Esther are also biblical women, but their stories belong to different episodes and books.