Jabin

Biblical Account

In Joshua 11, Jabin is king of Hazor, a city in northern Canaan. On hearing that Israel had conquered the south, he assembled several northern kings, including Jobab king of Madon. Their combined forces encamped at the waters of Merom but were defeated by Joshua. Joshua captured Hazor, put its king to the sword, and burned Hazor alone of those cities (Joshua 11:10-13). The text explains that "Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms." The king of Hazor also appears in the list of conquered kings in Joshua 12:19.

Judges 4 introduces "Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor" (Judges 4:2). After the death of Ehud, when Israel did evil, God sold Israel into the hand of Jabin. With nine hundred chariots of iron, Jabin mightily oppressed Israel for twenty years (Judges 4:3). The army itself was led by his commander, Sisera. Under the leadership of Deborah, a judge and prophetess, and Barak, whom she summoned, Israel came down from Mount Tabor and defeated Sisera's army near the river Kishon. Sisera fled on foot and was killed by Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Judges 4:23-24 concludes that God subdued Jabin on that day and that Israel grew ever stronger until they had destroyed him. In the Song of Deborah that follows in Judges 5, Jabin is not named; the text speaks only of "the kings of Canaan."

Significance Within Scripture

Jabin plays the role of oppressor in the recurring cycle of Judges: sin, oppression, crying out, and deliverance. Psalm 83:9, a prayer asking God to overthrow His enemies, asks Him to do to them "as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison." In this verse Jabin is remembered as a precedent for God's defeat of His enemies. The event is also mentioned in 1 Samuel 12:9, but that verse names only "Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor."

The New Testament does not mention Jabin directly, although Barak appears in the list of the faithful in Hebrews 11:32.

Interpretation and Debate

The central issue is that a king of Hazor named Jabin appears in Judges even though Joshua had already killed the king of Hazor and burned the city.

• Two different individuals: This view is widely held by conservative commentators. It holds that Hazor was rebuilt and that a later king bore the same name. Some also interpret Jabin as a dynastic title of the kings of Hazor, similar to Pharaoh.
• A single event: Some critical scholars hold that the same tradition was arranged differently in the two books.

The name is sometimes interpreted as meaning roughly "he discerns," though this interpretation does not affect the reading of the text. Scripture gives no specific account of Jabin's character or his end. Descriptions added in sermons or storybooks should be distinguished from what the text records.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Jabin is generally treated not as a subject in his own right but as a background figure in the story of Deborah and Barak. In Sunday school curricula and sermons, the story serves as a text illustrating Israel's sin and repentance and God's deliverance during the period of the judges. In this context Jabin is presented as a powerful oppressor, symbolized by his "nine hundred chariots of iron."