A tent-pin, also referred to as a tent-peg or stake, is a pointed object used to secure a tent to the ground. In biblical times, tent-pins were essential components of nomadic life, particularly for the Israelites, who lived in tents during their wilderness wanderings and in other periods of their history. The tent-pin is mentioned in several biblical narratives, often symbolizing stability and security.

Biblical References:

1. Judges 4:21 : One of the most notable mentions of a tent-pin is in the account of Jael and Sisera. "But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died." This account highlights the tent-pin as a tool of deliverance and divine justice, as Jael's act led to the victory of Israel over the Canaanite army.

2. Judges 5:26 : In the Song of Deborah, Jael's deed is celebrated: "She reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple." This poetic retelling emphasizes the tent-pin's role in God's deliverance of His people.

3. Isaiah 54:2 : The tent-pin is also used metaphorically in the prophetic literature. "Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back; lengthen your ropes and drive your stakes deep." Here, the tent-pin symbolizes the expansion and establishment of God's people, encouraging them to prepare for growth and blessing.

Cultural and Historical Context:

In the ancient Near East, tents were the primary dwellings for nomadic tribes, including the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Tent-pins were typically made of wood or metal and were driven into the ground to secure the tent's structure against wind and weather. The stability of a tent depended significantly on the strength and placement of its pins.

The use of a tent-pin in the account of Jael and Sisera reflects the domestic responsibilities of women in nomadic cultures, as women were often tasked with setting up and maintaining the family tent. Jael's familiarity with the tent-pin and hammer underscores her resourcefulness and courage in a time of crisis.

Symbolic Significance:

In biblical symbolism, the tent-pin can represent security, permanence, and the establishment of one's dwelling place. It serves as a reminder of God's provision and protection, as well as the call to expand and strengthen one's spiritual territory. The imagery of driving tent-pins deep into the ground conveys a sense of commitment and readiness to embrace God's promises.

The tent-pin's role in the narrative of Jael and Sisera also illustrates the theme of unexpected deliverance, where God uses unlikely individuals and means to achieve His purposes. This account serves as an encouragement to trust in God's sovereignty and His ability to bring victory through humble and ordinary means.8628. taqa -- to thrust, clap, give a blow, blast
... A primitive root; to clatter, ie Slap (the hands together), clang (an instrument);
by analogy, to drive (a nail or tent-pin, a dart, etc.); by implication, to ...
/hebrew/8628.htm - 6k

Women who Saved a Nation
... She put her hand to the tent-pin, Her right hand to the workman's hammer. She struck
Sisera, crushing his head, She shattered, she pierced his temples. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/women who saved a nation.htm

God's Use of Weak Things.
... A nail or tent-pin, only a wooden peg, in the hands of a woman with a hammer helps
to make the enemy's defeat more decisive.[27] Three hundred young men with ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks on service/gods use of weak things.htm

The Marvels of Holy Scripture, --Moral and Physical. --Jael's Deed ...
... With a faith strong and undoubting as Rahab's, Jael,"weak woman as she is,"seizes
the wooden tent-pin and the mallet, (the only weapons which are within ...
/.../burgon/inspiration and interpretation/sermon vii the marvels of.htm

High Doctrine
... He did not leave so much as one tent-pin, one single line or yard of canvas to be
afterwards arranged; the whole of the tabernacle was given by pattern in the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 6 1860/high doctrine.htm

Sleep Not
... sin; for, lo! she cometh stealthily, the tent pin is in her left hand, and
in her right hand the workman's hammer. Many mighty has ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/sleep not.htm

Hearken and Look; Or, Encouragement for Believers
... His was the faith which could drive the tent-pin into a foreign soil, or
roll up the canvas and seek another unknown halting place. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 27 1881/hearken and look or encouragement.htm

A Homily for Humble Folks
... His greatest victories were won by a hammer and a tent-pin, by an ox-goad, by
the jawbone of an ass, by a sling and a stone, and such like. ...
/.../spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/a homily for humble folks.htm

The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
... According to the prose version (iv.17-22), Jael slew Sisera while he was
asleep with a tent-pin, which she drove into his temple. ...
/.../chapter iiithe hebrews and the.htm

Against Jovinianus.
The Principal Works of St. Jerome. <. ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/against jovinianus.htm

Tent-pin (4 Occurrences)
Tent-pin. Tent-makers, Tent-pin. Tent-pins . Multi-Version Concordance
Tent-pin (4 Occurrences). Judges 4:21 Then Jael ...
/t/tent-pin.htm - 7k

Pin (10 Occurrences)
... 16:14, where Delilah fastened Samson's hair with the "pin"); or as a peg for hanging
(Ezekiel 15:3; compare Isaiah 22:23 Ezra 9:8); or as a tent-pin, such as ...
/p/pin.htm - 13k

Driving (144 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent-pin and a hammer and went up to
him quietly, driving the pin into his head, and it went through his head into ...
/d/driving.htm - 37k

You're (8 Occurrences)
... searching for. So he came into her tent and saw, and there was Sisera stretched
out dead with the tent-pin in his head. (See NIV). Judges ...
/y/you're.htm - 8k

Quietly (30 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent-pin and a hammer and went up to
him quietly, driving the pin into his head, and it went through his head into ...
/q/quietly.htm - 16k

Nail (9 Occurrences)
... (2) As pin or peg (for tents, or driven into the wall) the word is yathedh (in Judges
4:21 the Revised Version (British and American), "tent-pin"); in Isaiah 22 ...
/n/nail.htm - 14k

Jael (6 Occurrences)
... When sleep came to the wearied fugitive she took a "tent-pin, and took a hammer
in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples ...
/j/jael.htm - 14k

Wounding (24 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Judges 5:26 She put out her hand to the tent-pin, and her right hand to the
workman's hammer; and she gave Sisera a blow, crushing his head, wounding and ...
/w/wounding.htm - 13k

Workman's (1 Occurrence)
... Judges 5:26 She put out her hand to the tent-pin, and her right hand to the workman's
hammer; and she gave Sisera a blow, crushing his head, wounding and ...
/w/workman's.htm - 6k

Weariness (44 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent-pin and a hammer and went up to
him quietly, driving the pin into his head, and it went through his head into ...
/w/weariness.htm - 19k

What was the tent of meeting? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Jael in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Sisera in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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