Jabin

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

1. King of Hazor in northern Palestine, near the Merom waters. Headed the confederacy of northern kings (Jobab of Madon, the kings of Shimron, Achshaph, etc., N. of the mountains of Naphtali and in the Arabah S. of Chinneroth, i.e. the Ghor, S. of the sea of Galilee, etc.) against Israel: Joshua 11:1-4. Their army was "even as the sand upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many." Lest Joshua should be affrighted at this formidable array, Jehovah in vision promised "I will deliver them up all slain before Israel"; I am infinitely more than a match for them, and I am on thy side.

The "I" is emphatic in the Hebrew. Joshua suddenly fell upon them and "chased them unto great Zidon (then the metropolis of Phoenicia, but later in David's time outstripped by Tyre), and Misrephoth Maim and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward, until they left them none remaining." (See MISREPHOTH MAIM.) Then he "houghed" (lamed by cutting the hoof sinew) their horses, and burnt their chariots. The cities he did not burn except Hazor, which he burnt and slew its king, probably on account of some renewed hostility (Joshua 11:1-13).

2. The king of Hazor whose general, Sisera, was defeated by Deborah and Barak. (See DEBORAH; BARAK; HAROSHETH.) "For 20 years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel," until their "cry unto the Lord" brought a deliverer (Judges 4-5).

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Another king of Hazor, called "the king of Canaan," who overpowered the Israelites of the north one hundred and sixty years after Joshua's death, and for twenty years held them in painful subjection. The whole population were paralyzed with fear, and gave way to hopeless despondency (Judges 5:6-11 ), till Deborah and Barak aroused the national spirit, and gathering together ten thousand men, gained a great and decisive victory over Jabin in the plain of Esdraelon (Judges 4:10-16; Compare Psalm 83:9 ). This was the first great victory Israel had gained since the days of Joshua. They never needed to fight another battle with the Canaanites (Judges 5:31 ).

Copyright StatementThese dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. Entry for 'Jabin'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/j/jabin.html. 1897.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

JABIN (‘[God] perceives’). A Canaanite king who reigned in Hazor, a place near the Waters of Merom, not far from Kedesh. In the account, in Judges 4:1-24 , of the defeat of Jabin’s host under Sisera, the former takes up quite a subordinate position. In another account ( Joshua 11:1-9 ) of this episode the victory of the two tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali is represented as a conquest of the whole of northern Canaan by Joshua. Both accounts ( Joshua 11:1-9 , Judges 4:1-24 ) are fragments taken from an earlier, and more elaborate, source; the Jabin in each passage is therefore one and the same person.

W. O. E. Oesterley.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ja'bin. (whom God observes).

1. King of Hazor, who organized a confederacy of the northern princes against the Israelites. Joshua 11:1-3, Joshua surprised the allied forces by the waters of Merom, Joshua 11:7, and utterly routed them. (B.C. 1448). During the ensuing wars, Joshua again attacked Jabin, and burnt his city. Joshua 11:1-14.

2. A king of Hazor, whose general, Sisera, was defeated by Barak. Judges 4:2; Judges 4:13. (B.C. 1316).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. King of Hazor in the north, who, with confederate kings, raised an enormous army 'as the sand that is upon the sea shore,' but was signally defeated by Joshua, after he had overthrown the confederacy in the south. Joshua 11:1-11 . Thus early in the history of Israel the kings of the south and the north appear on the scene, and perish.

2. Another king of Hazor, who oppressed Israel twenty years; he was defeated by Deborah and Barak. Judges 4:2-24 . Psalm 83:9 calls upon God to do to the great northern confederacy in the last days as was done to this king.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Jabin (jâ'bin), whom he—i.e., God—observes. 1. King of Hazor, a northern district of Canaan. Joshua 11:1. He and his allies were utterly defeated in a battle with Joshua at Merom, the city of Hazor was taken, and Jabin put to death. 2. Another king of the same name and place, who had great wealth and power, and oppressed the children of Israel for 20 years. Judges 4:2. His army was defeated by Deborah and Barak, and Sisera, Ms principal general, put to death.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

1. A powerful king in the time of Joshua, at Hazor in the north of Canaan. The league which he organized to crush Joshua, only made his own ruin more complete, Joshua 11:1-23 B. C. 1450.

2. Another king of Hazor, a century and a half later, who sorely oppressed Israel for twenty years, till Deborah and Barak were raised up as deliverers, Judges 4:1-24 Psalm 83:9 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

Joshua 11:1Judges 4:1Psalm 83:10Joshua 12:19-24Judges 4:1-2Judges 4:1

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

King of Caanan. A mighty oppressor of Israel, (Judges 4:2-3) His name signifies to understand, from Binah.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Yabin', יָבַין , discerner; Sept. Ι᾿αβίς [v.r. Ι᾿αβίν, but Ι᾿αβείν in Psalms 83:9], Josephus Ι᾿αβῖνος , Ant. 5, 5, ), the name of two kings of the Canaanitish city Hazor. (See Hazor). It was possibly a royal title, like Agag among the Amalekites and Abimelech among the Philistines.

1. A king of Hazor, and one of the most powerful of all the princes who reigned in Canaan when it was invaded by the Israelites (Joshua 11:1-14). His dominion seems to have extended over all, the north part of the country; and after the ruin of the league formed against the Hebrews in the south by Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, he assembled his tributaries near the waters of Merom (the Lake Huleh), and called all the people to arms. This coalition was destroyed, as the one in the south had been, and Jabin himself perished in the sack of Hazor, his capital, B.C. cir. 1615. This prince was the last powerful enemy with whom Joshua combated, and his overthrow seems to have been regarded as the crowning act in the conquest of the Promised Land, leaving only the Anakim in the mountains of Judah and Ephraim to be dispossessed in detail (Joshua 11:21-23; comp. Joshua 14:6-15).

2. Another king of Hazor. and probably descended from the preceding (Judges 4:2-3), with whom some (Maurer, Comment. on Joshua 11; Hervey, Genealogies, p. 228) have confounded him (see Havernick, Einleit. II, i, 53; Keil, on Joshua 11:10-15). It appears that during one of the servitudes of the Israelites, probably, when they lay under the yoke of Cushan or Eglon, the:kingdom of Hazor was reconstructed. The narrative gives to this second Jabin even the title of "king of Canaan;" and this, with the possession of 900 iron-armed warchariots, implies unusual power and extent of dominion. The iniquities of the Israelites having lost them the divine protection, Jabin gained the mastery over them; and, stimulated by the memory of ancient hostilities, oppressed them heavily for twenty years, B.C. 14291409. From this thraldom they were relieved by the great victory won by Barak in the plain of Esdraelon over the hosts of Jabin, commanded by Sisera, one of the most renowned generals of those times (Judges 4:10-16). (See Sisera).

The well-compacted power of the king of Hazor was not yet, however, entirely broken. The war was still prolonged for a time, but-ended in the entire ruin of Jabin, and the subjugation of his territories by the Israelites (Judges 4:24). This is the Jabin whose name occurs in Psalms 83:10. (See Hazor).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Jabin, 1

Ja´bin (discerner), king of Hazor, and one of the most powerful of all the princes who reigned in Canaan when it was invaded by the Israelites. His dominion seems to have extended over all the north part of the country; and after the ruin of the league formed against the Hebrews in the south of Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, he assembled his tributaries near the waters of Merom (the Lake Huleh), and called all the people to arms. This coalition was destroyed, as the one in the south had been, and Jabin himself perished in the sack of Hazor, his capital, B.C. 1450. This prince was the last powerful enemy with whom Joshua combated, and his overthrow seems to have been regarded as the crowning act in the conquest of the Promised Land .

Jabin, 2

Jabin, King of Hazor, and probably descended from the preceding. It appears that during one of the servitudes of the Israelites, probably when they lay under the yoke of Cushan or Eglon, the kingdom of Hazor was reconstructed. The narrative gives to this second Jabin even the title of 'King of Canaan;' and this, with the possession of 900 iron-armed war-chariots, implies unusual power and extent of dominion. The iniquities of the Israelites having lost them the Divine protection, Jabin gained the mastery over them; and, stimulated by the remembrance of ancient wrongs, oppressed them heavily for twenty years. From this thralldom they were relieved by the great victory won by Barak in the plain of Esdraelon ever the hosts of Jabin, commanded by Sisera, one of the most renowned generals of those times, B.C. 1285. The well-compacted power of the King of Hazor was not yet, however, entirely broken. The war was still prolonged for a time, but ended in the entire ruin of Jabin, and the subjugation of his territories by the Israelites (Judges 4).

This is the Jabin whose name occurs in .

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

jā´bin ( יבין , yābhı̄n , "one who is intelligent," "discerning." The word may have been a hereditary royal title among the northern Canaanites. Compare the familiar usage of par‛ōh melekh micrayim ):

(1) "The king of Hazor," 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 (Joshua 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 (Judges 4:2 , Judges 4:7 , Judges 4:17 , Judges 4:23 , Judges 4:24 bis; Psalm 83:9 , Psalm 83:10 ).