God Subdues Jabin

Jabin's power over Israel is broken following Sisera's defeat, while Israel's strength against him continues to grow.

Deborah had conveyed a promise concerning Sisera, the Lord routed his army, and Jael killed the fleeing commander. Verses 23-24 widen the outcome from Sisera to Jabin's rule, assigning the turning point to God and subsequent pressure to Israel. Judges 5 begins a song by Deborah and Barak about the deliverance; its poetic retelling is not part of these prose closing lines.

God's subduing of Jabin begins a sustained Israelite advance that ends his rule.

Understanding the Big Idea

The narrator closes the battle account by naming God as the one who subdued Jabin king of Canaan before Israel on that day. Israel's hand then grows stronger against Jabin until he is destroyed. The decisive turning point and the continuing campaign are both reported, without saying that Jabin died on the day Sisera was killed or explaining how his end came.

To close the chapter by naming God as the decisive agent in Jabin's subduing and distinguishing that decisive day from Israel's continuing campaign against the king.

God's subduing of Jabin is a specific historical rescue for Israel. The gospel announces Christ's death and resurrection for sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), a saving event of a different order; this military outcome gives no commission to attack present peoples.

1. Who does verse 23 say subdued Jabin?
2. What does 'on that day' modify?
3. How does verse 24 describe Israel's strength afterward?
4. What details about Jabin's final destruction are left unstated?
5. How does chapter 5 change the literary mode of response to this deliverance?