The subject is taken from Judges 4:12-24. The Caananite army was defeated by the Israelites, and one of the commanders, Sisera, fled from the battlefield. He sought refuge in the tent of Jael, who belonged to a tribe peaceful with the Caananites. Jael fed and rested Sisera, but whilst he was sleeping drove a tent peg through his skull, thereby nailing him to the ground. She then called an Israelite commander to witness the scene, and it is this moment that is portrayed in the present painting.