Bible Dictionary
Jabneel
Jabneel was the name of two towns: one on Judah’s northern boundary, later called Jamnia, and another on the border of Naphtali.
Definition
Jabneel was the name of two towns. One stood on the northern boundary of Judah and was later called Jamnia or Yebna. The other lay on the border of Naphtali. The name means “built by God” or “building of God.”
Biblical Usage
Jabneel appears in the territorial descriptions of Judah and Naphtali. These references distinguish two towns bearing the same name.
Historical Background
The Judahite town was identified with Jamnia, eleven miles south of Jaffa, and later became a populous Judean city with a celebrated school. The Naphtalite town was later called Kefr Yemmah, near Lake Merom.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Built by God. (1.) A town in the north boundary of Judah (Josh. 15:11), called afterwards by the Greeks Jamnia, the modern Yebna, 11 miles south of Jaffa. After the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), it became one of the most populous cities of Judea, and the seat of a celebrated school. (2.) A town on the border of Naphtali (Josh. 19:33). Its later name was Kefr Yemmah, “the village by the sea,” on the south shore of Lake Merom.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(building of God).