{
  "id": "dict_002825",
  "term": "Jabneel",
  "slug": "jabneel",
  "letter": "J",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place_name",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Jabneel is a biblical place name that appears in Old Testament boundary lists. Scripture mentions one Jabneel in Judah and another on the border of Naphtali.",
  "simple_one_line": "A biblical place name found in Joshua’s territorial descriptions.",
  "tooltip_text": "Biblical place name in Joshua 15:11 and Joshua 19:33.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Joshua",
    "Judah",
    "Naphtali",
    "boundary lists",
    "biblical geography"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Joshua 15",
    "Joshua 19",
    "Jamnia/Yavne (possible historical identification)"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Jabneel is a place name in the Old Testament, used in territorial descriptions for both Judah and Naphtali.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Jabneel is a biblical geographic name recorded in Joshua's land-boundary lists.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Appears in Joshua 15:11 and Joshua 19:33 • Used for more than one location • Best treated as a geographic identifier, not a doctrine term • Later site identifications should be stated cautiously"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Jabneel appears in Old Testament territorial descriptions as a place name rather than a theological concept. Joshua 15:11 places it in the border description of Judah, and Joshua 19:33 includes it in the boundary of Naphtali. Because the name is used in more than one location, modern identifications must be handled cautiously.",
  "description_academic_full": "Jabneel is a biblical place name found in the Old Testament's territorial and boundary lists. In Joshua 15:11 it appears in connection with the border of Judah, and in Joshua 19:33 it is named in the boundary description of Naphtali. The repetition of the name indicates that more than one location bore the same designation. Some historical-geographical proposals connect the Judah location with later Jamnia or Yavne, but such identifications remain interpretive and are not stated explicitly in Scripture. A sound dictionary entry should therefore present Jabneel as a geographic term and avoid treating uncertain site identifications as settled fact.",
  "background_biblical_context": "In Joshua, place names often mark tribal borders, towns, and territorial transitions. Jabneel functions in that setting as part of the inspired record of Israel's land allotments.",
  "background_historical_context": "Historical geography has attempted to identify the Judah Jabneel with later Jamnia/Yavne, but the biblical text itself does not settle the question. The Naphtali reference is best treated as a separate location sharing the same name.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Ancient place names could recur in different regions, especially in boundary lists and settlement records. Later Jewish and historical traditions may preserve proposed identifications, but Scripture remains the controlling source for the entry.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Joshua 15:11",
    "Joshua 19:33"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Joshua 15:1-12",
    "Joshua 19:32-39"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew יַבְנְאֵל (Yabne'el), a place name; the etymology is not essential to the biblical identification in this entry.",
  "theological_significance": "Jabneel has no direct doctrinal meaning, but it contributes to the historical precision of Scripture's land descriptions and the concrete setting of Israel's inheritance.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Biblical geography matters because the Bible reports real people, places, and events within history. Place names like Jabneel anchor the text in a verifiable historical world.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not assume that every occurrence of the same place name refers to one site. Do not treat later historical identifications as certain when Scripture does not explicitly make them.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters treat the Judah and Naphtali references as distinct locations sharing one name. The exact modern identification of the Judah site remains debated.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "No doctrine depends on the identification of Jabneel. The entry should remain descriptive and historical rather than speculative or devotional.",
  "practical_significance": "Jabneel helps readers follow the boundary lists in Joshua and appreciate the care with which Scripture records Israel's territorial inheritance.",
  "meta_description": "Jabneel is a biblical place name in Joshua 15:11 and Joshua 19:33, used for more than one location in Israel’s territorial lists.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/jabneel/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/jabneel.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}