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H42 · Hebrew · Old Testament
אֲבִינֹעַם
ʾĂḇînōʿam
Proper noun (personal name)
Abinoam

Definition

Father of Barak; name means 'My father is delight / pleasantness'

Full Definition

ʾĂḇînōʿam (ab + nōʿam, 'pleasantness/delight') is the father of Barak, the military commander whom the prophetess Deborah summoned to lead Israel against Sisera (Judges 4–5). The name appears four times, always in the phrase 'Barak son of Abinoam.' The root nōʿam (from which the name Naomi also derives) conveys beauty, pleasantness, and delight.

Usage & Theological Significance

Barak's father is named 'delight' — a quiet grace note in the account of Israel's deliverance. Deborah's song (Judges 5) is one of the oldest poems in the Bible, celebrating God as the true warrior who fights for Israel. The victory over Sisera was won not through human might but through divine intervention — a hailstorm, a woman with a tent peg, and the routing of the powerful. The name Abinoam reminds readers that God's delight (nōʿam) rests on those He calls, even from ordinary backgrounds. Barak is listed among the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:32.

Key Bible Verses

Judges 4:6
She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, 'The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you...'
Judges 5:1
On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song.
Judges 5:12
Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, Barak! Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.
Hebrews 11:32
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah...
Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask from the LORD... to gaze on the beauty [nōʿam] of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

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