Jabin

Jabin, a Canaanite king of Hazor, oppressed Israel for twenty years until he was defeated by Deborah and Barak.

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.

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 (Judg. 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 (Judg. 4:10-16; comp. Ps. 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 (Judg. 5:31).