SISARA (Heb. Šišerā’). - 1. Military commander under Jabin, king of the Canaanite city of Hazor, who had his headquarters at Harosheth-hagoyim (el-Harijijh, southeast of Carmel), from where for 20 years he "harshly oppressed Israel." Against him Deborah (v.) exercised her judgeship, and for the military action she made use of Barak. The latter encamped on Tabor, counting especially on the presence of the prophetess among the fighting troops.
S., although he had taken the field with a superior number of armed men and 900 Canaanite war chariots, in the decisive clash that took place at the Kishon torrent, in the center of the Jezreel valley, a little north of the line between Taanach and Megiddo, had his forces overwhelmed by the enemy's enthusiasm and fled on foot. He headed toward his seat at Harosheth-hagoyim, but before reaching it, at Kedesh of Jezreel (Tell Abū Qudeja), exhausted by fatigue and thirst, he sought refuge with Jael, wife of the Kenite
Heber. The woman welcomed the fugitive, but when he had fallen asleep, she killed him, driving a tent peg into his skull with a blow of a hammer (Judg. 4:31). The shameful death of the defeated enemy is the subject of a large part of the epic-lyric celebration known as the "Song of Deborah" (Judg. 5).
2. One of the Nethinim (v.) who returned from exile with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:53).
Bibliography2 works
Giovanni Rinaldi