If I have a daughter, I’m naming her Jael.

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From Slacktivist’s list of 7 biblical women’s names that deserve wider usage:

2. Jael. You meet plenty of people named after Mary, the other biblical character praised as “most blessed of women,” but I’ve never met or even heard of anyone named after Jael. Maybe it’s because the name translates, literally, as “mountain goat.” Or maybe it’s because “bad-ass” isn’t what most parents are looking for in a name for their baby girl. Jael was bad-ass. She took out Sisera, the general in charge of the invading army:

Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple — dead.

Don’t mess with Jael.

I need to read the more interesting parts of the Old Testament someday.

0 Responses to “If I have a daughter, I’m naming her Jael.”

  1. ombriel

    Jael was a contestant on American’s Next Top Model.

    Someone told me that once.

    • Marie Brennan

      I actually just googled the name to see if anybody famous had used it.

      That chick didn’t look like she could drive a tent stake through somebody’s head.

  2. grimorie

    Found you through reading list.

    Can I just say, this Jael pwns all? ‘Cause that is just the very definition of Old Testament. I didn’t even *know* there was a Jael.

  3. frankwu

    Jael was always one of my favorite bible characters! Yeah, tent peg!

  4. kythiaranos

    I think Jael (which I agree is a totally awesome name) is much more common in Israel. When my husband was in grad school, one of his classmates from Israel was named Yael.

    • wolfheart17

      It is certainly more common in Israel, and among Orthodox Jews who use hebrew names. I know several people named Yael.

  5. katfeete

    Well, there is Judith. We have a Judith working for us, a Mennonite girl, and when she first came the sales manager said something like, “Judith. Wasn’t that the good wife from the Bible?” (The sales manager is a sucker for — uh, for upright and female, actually.)

    “No, that’s Ruth,” I said, rather absently. “Judith’s the one who tricked the enemy general into her tent, seduced him, and cut off his head while he was sleeping.”

    I turned around to a roomful of incredulous stares.

    “No!” said the sales manager.

    “Dammit,” my mother said, “we raised you to be a heathen. Where do you get this stuff?”

    So there you go. Even if Jael got short shrift, there are some Judiths still around even though the Book of Judith got edited out of the Protestant Bible. Bad-ass Old Testament girls rule.

  6. rj_anderson

    Slacktivist mentioned Zelophehad’s daughters! Yay!

    But he left out one of my personal favorites — Sheerah, the woman who built three cities.

    Oh, and there’s also a guy in the book of Ezra who took his wife’s family name.

  7. mastergode

    You know, I have a friend name Yael. She’s Peruvian, so it’s just their pronounciation of ‘Jael’.

    I’ll pass this tidbit along to her. ^^

  8. d_c_m

    If I have a daughter, I’m naming her Jael.
    SWEEET!!!! I Jael has my vote!!

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