Jabin

Two kings, both of the city of Hazor, are mentioned in the Old Testament.

1. "Jabin king of Hazor" is first mentioned in Jos 11:1ff as the king who called together a large coalition of other northern kings and peoples to fight against Joshua and Israel when they first came into the land. The coalition was defeated, Jabin was captured and killed by Joshua, while the city was razed (v10).

2. One of the outstanding marks of the Israelite conquest of Canaan was how often cities that had first been captured or destroyed were left unoccupied and were soon reoccupied by the Canaanites. Such was the case with Hazor, and soon Deborah would lead her people to deal with another "Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor" (Judg 4:1). Equipped with "nine hundred iron chariots," he oppressed Israel for twenty years before Deborah called Israel to arms to fight the tyrant. The importance of the war to Israel's survival as a nation is reflected in the fact that the account that would be given an entire chapter of the book of Judges, and Deborah's victory over him given over to a song that occupies another chapter (Judg 5). Jabin's commander Sisera and his army were defeated on the battle field, whereupon Sisera fled and was later killed by Jael, Heber's wife. Though no details are provided, the text does assert that Israel "destroyed Jabin king of Canaan" (4:24). The event was remembered long afterwards a prayer for help in Psm 83:9.

In both accounts the defeat of Jabin serve to emphasize what the people of God can achieve, despite all odds, when they trust and obey.