Judges 4:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

NIV: And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.

NASB: And the hand of the sons of Israel pressed harder and harder upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had eliminated Jabin the king of Canaan.

CSB: The power of the Israelites continued to increase against King Jabin of Canaan until they destroyed him.

NLT: And from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin until they finally destroyed him.

KJV: And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

NKJV: And the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Jabin, king of Canaan, had cruelly oppressed Israel for twenty years through the overwhelming force of his army and their 900 iron chariots. Now, though, the Lord has given victory to Israel over that army and that army's feared general Sisera. This has all happened in just one day (Judges 4:1–3, 15–16, 23).

The chapter ends noting that the Israelites pushed back against Jabin's Canaanite forces until they destroyed him. With his major army and Sisera entirely wiped out, Jabin would have had little hope of resisting the Israelites. Defeat would have only been a matter of time.

Still, the text has been clear that Jabin's defeat came at the hand of God, first and foremost. He made use of Deborah (Judges 4:4–7), Barak (Judges 4:8–10), and Jael (Judges 4:21–22) to accomplish His will. Judges reveals over and again that God is ultimately responsible for Israel's repeated punishment for their wickedness, and their repeated rescue from oppression when they cry to Him for help (Judges 2:14–18).

That pattern will repeat several more times. Before the next cycle begins—through the story of Gideon (Judges 6:11)—Scripture will make use of poetry to tell the story of Deborah and Barak from a different perspective.

Judges 4:17–24 reveals the fulfillment of Deborah's prophecy. As Israel routs and destroys an army, the enemy commander flees on foot. Sisera runs to the home of a man allied with his king, Jabin. Heber's wife, Jael, reassures Sisera and hides him under a rug inside a tent. However, when Sisera falls asleep, she kills him by driving a tent peg through his skull and into the ground. She then tells Barak, the Israeli judge in pursuit of Sisera, what has happened. The people of Israel follow through on this victory until Jabin is also defeated.

In response to their sin, God allows Israel to fall into oppression under Jabin, king of the Canaanites. Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, cruelly abuses the Israelites for twenty years. Through His prophetess Deborah, the Lord raises up Barak to lead a massive Israeli army. This force wipes out Canaan's army. Sisera flees on foot and hides in the tent of Heber's wife Jael. Once he is asleep, she kills him and then shows Barak the body. The Israelites soon destroy King Jabin and are freed from Canaanite oppression.

Judges 4 begins with the death of Ehud, the assassin-leader of chapter 3 who freed Israel from the Moabites. After the Israelite people return to wickedness, God submits them to Jabin and the Canaanites. After twenty years, the Lord raises up a deliverer called Barak through His prophetess Deborah. Israel obliterates the enemy army, and the general is slaughtered in his sleep by a woman. Jabin and the Canaanites are defeated. The next chapter poetically retells these events, followed by the introduction of an especially famous judge in chapter 6: Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).