Jabin יָבִין
Canaanite king who oppressed Israel; defeated by Deborah and Barak.
Who is Jabin in the Bible?
Jabin was a Canaanite king of Hazor who oppressed the Israelites for twenty years with a powerful army led by his commander Sisera, which included nine hundred iron chariots (Judges 4:2-3). When the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance, he raised up Deborah, a prophetess and judge, who summoned Barak to lead an army against Jabin's forces. Deborah and Barak defeated Jabin's army in a divinely orchestrated victory, with Barak pursuing Jabin while Sisera was killed by a woman named Jael (Judges 4:7, 23-24). Jabin's defeat is remembered in Psalm 83:9 as an example of God's power to deliver his people from oppression and serves as a pivotal moment in the cycle of Israel's judges, demonstrating God's faithfulness to rescue his people when they repent and call upon him.
Biography
Jabin, a Canaanite king of Hazor, is mentioned in the book of Judges as an oppressor of Israel. During this time, the Israelites had done evil in the sight of the Lord, and as a result, God allowed Jabin to overpower them. Jabin had a commander named Sisera, who led a powerful army with nine hundred chariots of iron (Jdg.4.2-3).
For twenty years, Jabin oppressed the Israelites, until they cried out to the Lord for help (Jdg.4.3). God raised up Deborah, a prophetess and judge, to deliver Israel. Deborah summoned Barak and instructed him to gather an army to fight against Sisera (Jdg.4.6-7).
Barak agreed to go only if Deborah would accompany him, to which she consented, but warned that the honor of the victory would go to a woman (Jdg.4.8-9). Deborah and Barak led the Israelite army against Sisera, and with the Lord's help, they defeated the Canaanite forces (Jdg.4.14-16).
Sisera fled on foot and sought refuge in the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Jael invited him in and covered him with a blanket, but while he slept, she drove a tent peg through his temple, killing him (Jdg.4.17-22).
On that day, God subdued Jabin before the Israelites, and they eventually destroyed him (Jdg.4.23-24). The defeat of Jabin and Sisera is also mentioned in Psalm Jdg.83.9 as an example of God's power to deliver His people from their enemies.
This account demonstrates the consequences of Israel's disobedience and the importance of crying out to God in times of oppression. It also highlights the role of women, such as Deborah and Jael, in God's plan of deliverance for His people.
In Scripture
2 biblical books ; 1 with study contentJudges 5 verses
- Judges 4:2
"So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim."
- Judges 4:7
"And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”"
- Judges 4:17
"Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite."
- Judges 4:23
"On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites."
- Judges 4:24
"And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him."
Psalms 1 verse
- Psalms 83:9
"Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,"
Study Psalms →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | יָבִין | Jabin , the name of two Canaanitish kings |
Jabin
r," the leading city in Northern Palestine, who led an alliance against Joshua. He was defeated at the waters of Merom, his city was taken and he was slain (Jos 11:1-9).
(2) "The king of Canaan, that reigned (or had reigned) in Hazor." It is not clear whether he dwelt in Hazor or Harosheth, the home of Sisera, the captain of his host at the time of the story narrated in Jgs. He oppressed Israel in the days preceding the victory of Deborah and Barak. To the Israelites he must have been but a shadowy figure as compared with his powerful captain, Sisera, for the song makes no mention of him and there is nothing to indicate that he even took part in the battle that freed Israel (Jud 4:2,7,17,23,24 bis; Ps 83:9,10).
Ella Davis Isaacs
jab'-ne-el, jab'-ne (yabhne'el, "God is builder"; Septuagint Lebna, Swete reads Lemna; the Apocrypha has Iamnia, Iamneia):
(1) A town on the northern border of the land assigned to Judah, near the wester