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

[swan_tower]

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.

Comments

[ombriel.livejournal.com]

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

Someone told me that once.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

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.

[ombriel.livejournal.com]

Actually, she probably could have. Though she'd choose not to. I'm told.

[thespisgeoff.livejournal.com]

Yes, but she was "Jay-elle."

Please, please, please, if you do name your daughter this, don't use the bastardized, Romanized spelling, confusing people who know equal parts Spanish, Hebrew, and Latin. It's "Yael," and not an uncommon Israeli name.

[oddsboy.livejournal.com]

Hmm, methinks Yale might not go over so much...

-RC

[thespisgeoff.livejournal.com]

It's pronounced "Yah-elle" no matter how you spell it - but yes, I can understand the worry with the correctly transliterated spelling..

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Yeah, methinks Kyle and I might be obligated not to name any kid of ours Yale.
(Where's a Harvard icon when I need one?)

[thespisgeoff.livejournal.com]

You could name her Halvah - sweet sesame candy that sounds quite like "Harvard" in semitic and Asian dialects..

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

<lol:> We'll keep that in mind.

[grimorie.livejournal.com]

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.

[frankwu.livejournal.com]

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

[kythiaranos.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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

[katfeete.livejournal.com]

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.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Judith I have heard of. Jael was a new one on me.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

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.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but naming your kid She-Ra might be asking for trouble. <g>

[mastergode.livejournal.com]

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. ^^

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Just don't get her angry when tent pegs are handy. :-)

[mastergode.livejournal.com]

So what you're saying is that I shouldn't take her out for a stake dinner? <grins>

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

You're fired.

[mastergode.livejournal.com]

=D

[d-c-m.livejournal.com]

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