The Meaning of Judges 4:23 Explained

Judges 4:23

KJV: So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

YLT: And God humbleth on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the sons of Israel,

Darby: So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.

ASV: So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So God  subdued  on that day  Jabin  the king  of Canaan  before  the children  of Israel. 

What does Judges 4:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 4:14-24 - A Woman Executioner
"The Lord discomfited Sisera and all his host." When General Gordon rode off alone on his camel to break up the camps of the Arab slave-drivers, he realized, as he went over the desert with Thomas à Kempis' immortal book in his hand, that God was already discomfiting them; and as he rode into their midst, he discovered that God had made the way perfectly clear. Yes, it is as Deborah sang, in words afterward quoted by our Lord, "They that love Him are as the sun when he goeth forth in his might," Judges 5:31; Matthew 13:43. The soul that is united to Christ is irresistible.
Jael's deed is narrated at length again in Judges 5:24. It was a most unusual breach of Arab hospitality. Was it that she was aggrieved by Sisera's treatment of her sex, Judges 5:30? Or was it the expression of her faith in Jehovah and of her identification with His people? If the latter, may we not believe that then, as always, the Almighty understood the impulse that lay beneath the crude expression? How often we give blundering expression to noble impulses, which Jesus interprets truly! Ah, how blessed it is to have a Savior who understands the motives of our hearts! [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 4

1  Deborah and Barak deliver them from Jabin and Sisera
17  Jael kills Sisera

What do the individual words in Judges 4:23 mean?

So subdued God on day that - Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the sons of Israel
וַיַּכְנַ֤ע אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא אֵ֖ת יָבִ֣ין מֶֽלֶךְ־ כְּנָ֑עַן לִפְנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

וַיַּכְנַ֤ע  So  subdued 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּנַע  
Sense: to be humble, be humbled, be subdued, be brought down, be low, be under, be brought into subjection.
אֱלֹהִים֙  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
בַּיּ֣וֹם  on  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַה֔וּא  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
אֵ֖ת  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יָבִ֣ין  Jabin 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָבִין  
Sense: a king of Hazor who organised a confederacy of the northern princes against Joshua; confederacy routed by the waters of Merom.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
כְּנָ֑עַן  of  Canaan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּנַעַן 
Sense: the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.
לִפְנֵ֖י  in  the  presence 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
בְּנֵ֥י  of  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.