Inquiry:
When was king Jabin killed? Was he killed by Joshua (Joshua 11:1, 10-11) or was it 120 yearrs after Joshua’s death (Judges 1:1; 3:11, 30; 4:2, 24)? Is there a contradiction?
Response:
Joshua 11:10 clearly says Joshua “…took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword” (verse 1), whose name was Jabin. Thus, we must conclude that Jabin was killed in the days of Joshua.
However, using Judges 1:1: 3;l11, 30, the questioner revealed that at least 120 years passed since Joshua’s time. And then, we read in judges 4:2, 24:
…the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor… …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.
Joshua killed Jabin and destroyed Hazor (Joshua 11:10-11). Sometime in the next 120 years, Hazor was rebuilt, and another man named Jabin began to reign.
It is not uncommon in a monarchy for the same name to be worn by more than one king. Why think it strange that this was the case with the Jabin who came over a century after Joshua?
There is no contradiction.
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