A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Jaakan - (he shall surround), the same as Jakan, the forefather of Bene-Jaakan. (10:6)
Jaakobah - (supplanter), one of the princes of the families of Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:36) (B. C. About 710.)
Jaala - (wild she-goat). Bene-Jaala were among the descendants of "Solomon's slaves" who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. (Nehemiah 7:58) (B. C. Before 536.) The name also occurs as Ja-alah.
Jaalah - (wild goat). (Ezra 2:56)
Jaalam - (whom God hides), a son of Esau, (Genesis 36:5,14,18) comp. 1Chr 1:35 And a head of a tribe of Edom. (B. C. 1790.).
Jaanai - (whom Jehovah answers), a chief man in the tribe of Gad. (1 Chronicles 5:12)
Jaareoregim - (forests of the weavers), (2 Samuel 21:19) a Bethlehemite, and the father of Elhanan who slew Goliath. In the parallel passage, (1 Chronicles 20:5) Jair is found instead of Jaare, and Oregim is omitted. (B. C. 1063.)
Jaasau - (whom Jehovah made), one of the Bene-Bani who had married a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:37) (B. C. 459.)
Jaasiel - (whom God comforts), son of the great Abner. (1 Chronicles 27:21) (B. C. 1046-1014.)
Jaazaniah - (whom Jehovah hears).
Jaazer, Or Jazer - (Jehovah helps), a town on the east of Jordan, in or near to Gilead. (Numbers 32:1,3; 1 Chronicles 26:31) We first hear of it in possession of the Amorites, and as taken by Israel after Heshbon, and on their way from thence to Bashan. (Numbers 21:32) It seems to have given its name to a district of dependent or "daughter" towns, (Numbers 21:32) Authorized Version "villages," 1 Macc. 5:8, the "land of Jazer. " (Numbers 32:1)
Jaaziah - (whom Jehovah comforts), apparently a third son, or a descendant, or Merari the Levite. (1 Chronicles 24:26,27) (B. C. Before 1014).
Jaaziel - (whom Jehovah comforts), one of the Levites appointed by David to perform the musical service before the ark. (1 Chronicles 15:18) (B. C. 1014).
Jabal - (stream), the son of Lamech and Adah, (Genesis 4:20) and brother of Jubal. He is described as the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle.
Jabbok - (emptying), a stream which intersects the mountain range of Gilead, comp. (Joshua 12:2,5) and falls into the Jordan on the east about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. It was anciently the border of the children of Ammon. (Numbers 21:24; 2:37; 3:16) It was on the south bank of the Jabbok that the interview took place between Jacob and Esau, (Genesis 32:22) and this river afterward became, toward its western part, the boundary between the kingdoms of Sihon and Og. (Joshua 12:2,5) Its modern name is Wady Zurka.
Jabneh - (building of God), (2 Chronicles 26:6) [Jabneel]
Jachan - (affliction), one of seven chief men of the tribe of Gad. (1 Chronicles 5:13)
Jachin - (he shall establish).
Jacinth - a precious stone, forming one of the foundations of the walls of the new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:20) Called hyacinth in the Revised Version. This is simply a different English rendering of the same Greek original. It is probably identical with the lighure of (Exodus 28:19) The Jacinth or hyacinth is a red variety of zircon, which is found in square prisms of a white, gray, red, reddish-brown, yellow or pale-green color. The expression in (Revelation 9:17) "of jacinth," is descriptive simply of a dark-purple color.
Jacob - (supplanter), the second son of Isaac and Rebekah. He was born with Esau, probably at the well of Lahai-roi, about B. C. 1837. His history is related in the latter half of the book of Genesis. He bought the birthright from his brother Esau, and afterward acquired the blessing intended for Esau, by practicing a well-known deceit on Isaac. (Jacob did not obtain the blessing because of his deceit, but in spite of it. That which was promised he would have received in some good way; but Jacob and his mother, distrusting God's promise, sought the promised blessing in a wrong way, and received with it trouble and sorrow. ED.) Jacob, in his 78th year, was sent from the family home to avoid his brother, and to seek a wife among his kindred in Padan-aram. As he passed through Bethel, God appeared to him. After the lapse of twenty-one years he returned from Padan-aram with two wives, two concubines, eleven sons and a daughter, and large property. He escaped from the angry pursuit of Laban, from a meeting with Esau, and from the vengeance of the Canaanites provoked by the murder of Shechem; and in each of these three emergencies he was aided and strengthened by the interposition of God, and in sign of the grace won by a night of wrestling with God his name was changed at Jabbok into Israel. Deborah and Rachel died before he reached Hebron; Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was sold into Egypt eleven years before the death of Isaac; and Jacob had probably exceeded his 130th year when he went tither. He was presented to Pharaoh, and dwelt for seventeen years in Rameses and Goshen, and died in his 147th year. His body was embalmed, carried with great care and pomp into the land of Canaan, and deposited with his fathers, and his wife Leah, in the cave of Machpelah. The example of Jacob is quoted by the first and the last of the minor prophets. Besides the frequent mention of his name in conjunction with the names of the other two patriarchs, there are distinct references to the events in the life of Jacob in four books of the New Testament - (John 1:51; 4:5,12; Acts 7:12,16; Romans 9:11-13; Hebrews 11:21; 12:16)
Jacobs Well - a deep spring in the vicinity of Shechem (called Sychar in Christ's time and Nablus at the present day). It was probably dug by Jacob whose name it bears. On the curb of the well Jesus sat and discoursed with the Samaritan woman. (John 4:5-26) It is situated about half a mile southeast of Nablus, at the foot of Mount Gerizim. It is about nine feet in diameter and 75 feet deep. At some seasons it is dry; at others it contains a few feet of water.
Jada - (wise), son of Onam and brother of Shammai, in the genealogy of the sons of Jerahmeel by his wife Atarah. (1 Chronicles 2:28,32) (B. C. After 1445.)
Jadau - (loving), one of the Bene-Nebo who had taken a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:43) (B. C. 459.)
Jadon - (judge), the Meronothite, who assisted to repair the wall of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 3:7) (B. C. 446.)
Jael - (mountain goat), the wife of Heber the Kenite. (B. C. 1316.) In the headlong rout which followed the defeat of the Canaanites by Barak, at Megiddo on the plain of Esdraelon, Sisera, their general, fled to the tent of the Kenite chieftainess, at Kedesh in Naphtali, four miles northwest of Lake Merom. He accepted Jael's invitation to enter, and she flung a mantle over him as he lay wearily on the floor. When thirst prevented sleep, and he asked for water, she brought him buttermilk in her choicest vessel. At last, with a feeling of perfect security, he feel into a deep sleep. Then it was that Jael took one of the great wooden pins which fastened down the cords of the tent, and with one terrible blow with a mallet dashed it through Sisera's temples deep into the earth. (Judges 5:27) She then waited to meet the pursuing Barak, and led him into her tent that she might in his presence claim the glory of the deed! Many have supposed that by this act she fulfilled the saying of Deborah, (Judges 4:9) and hence they have supposed that Jael was actuated by some divine and hidden influence. But the Bible gives no hint of such an inspiration.
Jagur - (lodging),a town of Judah, one of those farthest to the south, on the frontier of Edom. (Joshua 15:21)
Jah - (Jehovah), the abbreviated form of Jehovah, used only in poetry. It occurs frequently in the Hebrew, but with a single exception, (Psalms 68:4) is rendered "Lord" in the Authorized Version. The identity of Jah and Jehovah is strongly marked in two passages of Isaiah-- (Isaiah 12:2; 26:4) [Jehovah].
Jahaz, Also Jahaza, Jahazah And Juhzah - (trodden down). Under these four forms is given in the Authorized Version the name of a place which in the Hebrew appears as Yahats and Yahtsah. At Jahaz the decisive battle was fought between the children of Israel and Sihon king of the Amorites. (Numbers 21:23; 2:32; Judges 11:20) It was in the allotment of Reuben. (Joshua 13:18) Like many others relating to the places east of the Dead Sea, the question of its site must await further research.
Jahaza - (trodden down). (Joshua 13:18) [Jahaz, so Jahaza, Jahazah And Juhzah#]
Jahazah - (trodden down). (Joshua 21:36; Jeremiah 48:21) [Jahaz, Also Jahaza, Jahazah And Juhzah]
Jahaziel - (whom God watches over)
Jahdai - (whom Jehovah directs), a man who appears to be thrust abruptly into the genealogy of Caleb, as the father of six sons. (1 Chronicles 2:47)
Jahdiel - (whom Jehovah makes joyful), a chieftain of Manasseh on the east of Jordan. (1 Chronicles 5:24) (B. C. 320.)
Jahdo - (united), a Gadite, (1 Chronicles 5:14) son of Buz and father of Jeshishai.
Jahleel - (hoping in Jehovah), the third of the three sons of Zebulun, (Genesis 46:14; Numbers 26:26) founder of the family of Jahleelites. (B. C. 1706.)
Jahmai - (whom Jehovah guards), a man of Issachar, one of the heads of the house of Tolah. (1 Chronicles 7:2) (B. C. 1491)
Jahnziah - (whom Jehovah watches over), son of Tikvah, apparently a priest. (Ezra 10:15)
Jahzah - (trodden down). (1 Chronicles 6:78) [Jahaz, Also Jahaza, Jahazah And Juhzah]
Jahzeel - (whom God allots), the first of the four sons of Naphtali, (Genesis 46:24) founder of the family of the Jahzeelites. (Numbers 26:48) (B. C. 1306.)
Jahzerah - (whom God leads back), a priest of the house of Immer. (1 Chronicles 9:12)
Jahziel - (whom God allots), the same as Jahzeel. (1 Chronicles 7:13)
Jairite - (descendant of Jair). The Ira THE JAIRITE was a priest (Authorized Version "chief ruler") to David (2 Samuel 20:26)
Jairus - (whom God enlightens).
Jakamean - (who gathers the people together), a Levite in the time of King David; fourth of the sons of Hebron, the son of Kohath. (1 Chronicles 23:19; 24:23) (B. C. 1014.)
Jakan - (sagacious), son of Ezer the Horite. (1 Chronicles 1:42) The same as Jaakan Akan. [And see Akan]
Jakeh - (pious). [Proverbs, Book Of]
Jalon - (abiding), one of the sons of Ezra. (1 Chronicles 4:17)
Jambres - [Jannes and JAMBRES]
James - (the Greek form of Jacob, supplanter).
James - The Less called the Less because younger or smaller in stature than James the son of Zebedee. He was the son of Alpheus or Clopas and brother of our Lord (see above); was called to the apostolate, together with his younger brother Jude, in the spring of the year 28. At some time in the forty days that intervened between the resurrection and the ascension the Lord appeared to him. (1 Corinthians 15:7) Ten years after we find James on a level with Peter, and with him deciding on the admission of St. Paul into fellowship with the Church at Jerusalem; and from henceforth we always find him equal, or in his own department superior, to the very chiefest apostles, Peter, John and Paul. (Acts 9:27; Galatians 1:18,19) This pre- eminence is evident throughout the after history of the apostles, whether we read it in the Acts, in the epistles or in ecclesiastical writers. (Acts 12:17; 15:13,19; 21:18; Galatians 2:9) According to tradition, James was thrown down from the temple by the scribes and Pharisees; he was then stoned, and his brains dashed out with a fuller's club.
James, The General Epistle Of - The author of this epistle was in all probability James the son of Alphaeus, and our Lord's brother It was written from Jerusalem, which St. James does not seem to have ever left. It was probably written about A. D. 62, during the interval between Paul's two imprisonments. Its main object is not to teach doctrine, but to improve morality. St. James is the moral teacher of the New Testament. He wrote for the Jewish Christians, whether in Jerusalem or abroad, to warn them against the sins to which as Jews they were most liable, and to console and exhort them under the sufferings to which as Christians they were most exposed.
Jamlech - (whom God makes king), one of the chief men of the tribe of Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:34)
Jamnin - [Jabneel]
Janna - (flourishing), son of Joseph, and father of Melchi, in the genealogy of Christ. (Luke 3:24) In the Revised Version written JANNAI.
Jannes - and Jam'bres, the names of two Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses. Exod 7:9-13; 2Tim 3:8,9. (B. C. 1492.)
Janoah - (rest), a place apparently in the north of Galilee, or the "land of Naphtali,"--one of those taken by Tiglath-pileser in his first incursion into Palestine. (2 Kings 15:29) No trace of it appears elsewhere.
Janohah - (rest), a place on the boundary of Ephraim (Joshua 16:6,7) east of Neapolis. A little less than twelve miles from Nablus and about southeast in direction, two miles from Akrabeh is the village of Yanun, doubtless identical with the ancient Janohah.
Janum - (slumber), a town of Judah in the mountain district, apparently not far from Hebron. (Joshua 15:53)
Japheth - (enlargement), one of the three sons of Noah. The descendants of Japheth occupied the "isles of the Gentiles," (Genesis 10:5)--i. E. The coast lands of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe and Asia Minor-- whence they spread northward over the whole continent of Europe and a considerable portion of Asia.
| I. | (splendid). |
| II. | (splended) The boundary of Zebulun ascended from Daberath to Japhia, and thence passed to Gath- hepher. (Joshua 19:12) Yafa, two miles south of Nazareth. ,is not unlikely to be identical with Japhin. |
Japhleli - (the Japhletite). The boundary of the "Japhletite" is one of the landmarks on the south boundary line of Ephraim. (Joshua 16:3)
Japhlet - (whom God delivers) a descendant of Asher through Beriah. (1 Chronicles 7:32,33)
Japho - (beauty). (John 19:46) The Hebrew form for the better-known Joppa, Or Japho. (2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7; Jonah 1:3) In its modern garb it is Yafa.
Jarah - (honey), a descendant of Saul; son of Micah and great-grandson of Mephibosheth. (1 Chronicles 9:42) comp. 1Chr 9:40
Jareb - (adversary) is to be explained either as the proper name of a country or person, as a noun in apposition, or as a verb from a root, rub, "to contend plead. " All these senses are represented in the Authorized Version and the marginal readings, (Hosea 5:13; 10:6) and the east preferable has been inserted in the text. Jareb is most probably the name of some city of Assyria or another name of the country itself.
Jared - (descent), one of the antediluvian patriarchs, and further of Enoch (Genesis 5:15,16,18-20; Luke 3:37) In the lists of Chronicles the name is given in the Authorized Version Jered.
Jaresiah - (whom Jehovah nourishes),a Benjamite, one of the Bene-Jehoram. (1 Chronicles 8:17)
Jarha - the Egyptian servant of Sheshan, about the time of Eli, to whom his master gave his daughter and heir in marriage; (1 Chronicles 2:34,35) (B. C. Before 1491.)
Jarimoth - (heights). 1 Esd. 9:28. [Jeremoth]
Jaroah - (moon), a chief man of the tribe of Gad (1 Chronicles 5:14)
Jashen - (sleeping). Bene-Jashen--"sons of Jashen"-- are named in the catalogue of the heroes of David's guard in (2 Samuel 23:32) (B. C. 1046.)
Jasher - (upright),Book of ("the book of the upright"), alluded to in two passages only of the Old Testament. (Joshua 10:13) and 2Sam 1:18 It was probably written in verse; and it has been conjectured that it was a collection of ancient records of honored men or noble deeds. It is wholly lost.
Jashobeam - (to whom the people turn), named first among the chief of the mighty men of David. (1 Chronicles 11:11) (B. C. 1046.) He came to David at Ziklag. His distinguishing exploit was that he slew 300 (or 800,) (2 Samuel 23:8) men at one time.
Jashubilehem - (turner back for food), a person or a place named among the descendants of Shelah, the son of Judah by Bath-shua the Canaanitess. (1 Chronicles 4:22)
Jasiel - (whom God made), the last named on the list of David's heroes in (1 Chronicles 11:47)
Jason - (one who will heal), called the Thessalonian, entertained Paul and Silas, and was in consequence attacked by the Jewish mob. (Acts 17:5,6,7,9) (A. D. 48.) He is probably the same as the Jason mentioned in (Romans 16:21) It is conjectured that Jason and Secundus, (Acts 20:4) were the same.
Jasper - a precious stone frequently noticed in Scripture. It was the last of the twelve inserted in the high priest's breastplate, (Exodus 28:20; 39:13) and the first of the twelve used in the foundations of the new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:19) The characteristics of the stone as far as they are specified in Scripture, (Revelation 21:11) are that it "was most precious," and "like crystal;" we may also infer from (Revelation 4:3) that it was a stone of brilliant and transparent light. The stone which we name "jasper" does not accord with this description. There can be no doubt that the diamond would more adequately answer to the description in the book of Revelation.
Jathniel - (whom God gives), a Korhite Levite, the fourth of the family of Meshelemiah. (1 Chronicles 26:2) (B. C. 1014.)
Jattir - (pre-eminent), a town of Judah in the mountain districts, (Joshua 15:48) one of the group containing Socho, Eshtemoa, etc. See also (Joshua 21:14; 1 Samuel 30:27; 1 Chronicles 6:57) By Robinson it is identified with 'Attir, six miles north of Molada and ten miles south of Hebron.
Javelin - [Arms, Armor]
Jazer - (Jehovah helps). [Jaazer, Or Jazer]
Jaziz - (whom God moves), a Hagarite who had charge of the flocks of King David. (1 Chronicles 27:31) (B. C. 1046.)
Jearim - (forests), Mount, a place named in specifying the northern boundary of Judah. (Joshua 15:10) The boundary ran from Mount Seir to "the shoulder of Mount Jearim, which is Cesalon"--that is, Cesalon was the landmark on the mountain. Kesla, seven miles due west of Jerusalem, stands on a high point on the north slope of a lofty ridge, which is probably Mount Jearim.
Jeaterai - (whom Jehovah leads), a Gershonite Levite, son of Zerah. (1 Chronicles 6:21)
Jeberechiah - (whom Jehovah blesses), father of a certain Zechariah, in the reign of Ahaz, mentioned (Isaiah 8:2) (B. C. About 739.)
Jebus - (threshing-floor), one of the names of Jerusalem, the city of the Jebusites, are called Jebusi. (Joshua 15:8; 18:16,28; Judges 19:10,11; 1 Chronicles 11:4,5) [Jerusalem]
Jebusi - (from Jebus), the name employed for the city of Jebus. (Joshua 15:8; 18:16,28)
Jebusites - (descendants of Jebus), The, were descended from the third son of Canaan. (Genesis 10:16; 1 Chronicles 1:14) The actual people first appear in the invaluable report of the spies. (Numbers 13:29) When Jabin organized his rising against Joshua, the Jebusites joined him. (Joshua 11:3) "Jebus, which is Jerusalem," lost its king in the slaughter of Beth-horon, (Joshua 10:1,5,26) comp. Josh 12:10 Was sacked and burned by the men of Judah, (Judges 1:21) and its citadel finally scaled and occupied by David. (2 Samuel 5:6) After this they emerge from the darkness but once, in the person of Araunah the Jebusite, "Araunah the king," who appears before us in true kingly dignity in his well-known transaction with David. (2 Samuel 24:23; 1 Chronicles 21:24,25)
Jecamiah - (whom Jehovah gathers), one of seven who were introduced into the royal line, on the failure of it in the person of Jehoiachin. (1 Chronicles 3:18)
Jecholiah - (strong through Jehovah) wife of Amaziah king of Judah, and mother of Azariah or Uzziah his successor. (2 Kings 15:2) (B. C. 824-807.)
Jecoliah - The same as Jecholiah. (2 Chronicles 26:3)
Jeconiah - (whom Jehovah establishes). [See Jehoiachin]
Jeconias - the Greek form of Jeconiah, an altered form of Jehoiachin. [Jehoiachin]
| I. |
| II. | (praise Jehovah). |
Jedidah - (one beloved), queen of Amon and mother of the good king Josiah. (2 Kings 22:1) (B. C. 648.)
Jedidiah - (beloved of Jehovah), Jedid-jah (darling of Jehovah), the name bestowed, through Nathan the prophet, on David's son Solomon. (2 Samuel 12:25)
Jeduthun - (praising), a Levite of the family of Merari, is probably the same as Ethan. Comp. (1 Chronicles 15:17,19) with 1Chr 16:41,42; 25:1,3,6; 2Chr 35:15 His office was generally to preside over the music of the temple service, Jeduthun's name stands at the head of the 39th, 62d and 77th Psalms, indicating probably that they were to be sung by his choir. (B. C. 1014.)
Jeezer - (father of help), (Numbers 26:30) the name of a descendant of Manasseh and founder of the family of the Jeezerites. In parallel lists the name is given as ABI-EZER.
Jegarsahadutha - (heap of testimony), the Aramaean name given by Laban the Syrian to the heap of stones which he erected as a memorial of the compact between Jacob and himself. (Genesis 31:47) Galeed, a "witness heap," which is given as the Hebrew equivalent, does not exactly represent Jegar-sahadutha.
Jehaleleel - (who praises God). Four men of the Bene-Jehaleleel are introduced abruptly into the genealogies of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:16)
Jehalelel - (who praises God), a Merarite Levite, father of Azariah. (2 Chronicles 29:12)
Jehdeiah - (whom Jehovah makes glad).
Jehezekel - (whom God makes strong), a priest to whom was given by David the charge of the twentieth of the twenty-four courses in the service of the house of Jehovah. (1 Chronicles 24:16) (B. C. 1014.)
Jehiah - (Jehovah lives), "doorkeeper for the ark" at the time of its establishment in Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 15:24) (B. C. 1043.)
| I. | (treasured of God), a perfectly distinct name from the last. |
| II. | (God lives). |
Jehieli - (a Jehielite), according to the Authorized Version a Gershonite Levite of the family of Laadan. (1 Chronicles 26:21,22)
Jehizkiah - (Jehovah strengthens), son of Shallum, one of the heads of the tribe of Ephraim in the time of Ahaz. (2 Chronicles 28:12) comp. 2Chr 28:8,13,15 (B. C. 738.)
Jehoadah - (whom Jehovah adorns), one of the descendants of Saul. (1 Chronicles 8:36)
Jehoaddan - (Whom Jehovah adorns), queen to King Josiah, and mother of Amaziah of Judah. (2 Kings 14:2; 2 Chronicles 25:1) (B. C. 862-837.)
Jehoahaz - (whom the Lord sustains).
Jehoash - (given by the Lord), the uncontracted form of Joash.
Jehohanan - (whom Jehovah gave), a name of which John is the contraction.
Jehoiachin - (whom Jehovah has appointed), son of Jehoiakim, and for three months and ten days king of Judah. (B. C. 597.) At his accession Jerusalem was quite defenseless, and unable to offer any resistance to the army which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it. (2 Kings 24:10,11) In a very short time Jehoiachin surrendered at discretion; and he, and the queen-mother, and all his servants, captains and officers, came out and gave themselves up to Nebuchadnezzar, who carried them, with the harem and the eunuchs, to Babylon. (Jeremiah 29:2; Ezekiel 17:12; 19:9) There he remained a prisoner, actually in prison and wearing prison garments, for thirty-six years, viz. , till the death of Nebuchadnezzar, when Evilmerodach, succeeding to the throne of Babylon, brought him out of prison, and made him sit at this own table. The time of his death is uncertain.
Jehoiakim - (whom Jehovah sets up), called Eliakim, son of Josiah and king of Judah. After deposing Jehoahaz, Pharaoh-necho set Eliakim, his elder brother, upon the throne, and changed his name to Jehoiakim, B. C. 608-597. For four years Jehoiakim was subject toi Egypt, when Nebuchadnezzar, after a short siege, entered Jerusalem, took the king prisoner, bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon, and took also some of the precious vessels of the temple and carried them to the land of Shinar. Jehoiakim became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar after his invasion of Judah, and continued so for three years, but at the end of that time broke his oath of allegiance and rebelled against him. (2 Kings 24:1) Nebuchadnezzar sent against him numerous bands of Chaldeans, with Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites, (2 Kings 24:7) and who cruelly harassed the whole country. Either in an engagement with some of these forces or else by the hand of his own oppressed subjects Jehoiakim came to a violent end in the eleventh year of his reign. His body was cast out ignominiously on the ground, and then was dragged away and buried "with the burial of an ass," without pomp or lamentation, "beyond the gates of Jerusalem. " (Jeremiah 22:18,19; 36:30) All the accounts we have of Jehoiakim concur in ascribing to him a vicious and irreligious character. (2 Kings 23:37; 24:9; 2 Chronicles 36:5) The reign of Jehoiakim extends from B. C. 609 to B. C. 598, or, as some reckon, 599.
Jehoiarib - (whom Jehovah defends), head of the first of the twenty-four courses of priests. (1 Chronicles 24:7)
Jehonadab - (whom Jehovah impels) and Jon'adab, the son of Rechab, founder of the Rechabites, an Arab chief. When Jehu was advancing, after the slaughter of Betheked, on the city of Samaria, he was suddenly met by Jehonadab, who joined with him in "slaying all that remained unto Ahab. " (2 Kings 10:15-17)
Jehonathan - (whom Jehovah gave).
Jehoram - (whom Jehovah has exalted).
Jehoshabeath - (whose oath is Jehovah). (2 Chronicles 22:11) [See Jehosheba]
Jehoshaphat - (whom Jehovah judges.)
Jehoshaphat, Valley Of - (valley of the judgment of Jehovah), a valley mentioned by Joel only, as the spot in which, after the return of Judah and Jerusalem from captivity, Jehovah would gather all the heathen, (Joel 3:2) and would there sit to judge them for their misdeeds to Israel. Ch. (Joel 3:12) The scene of "Jehovah's judgment" as been localized, and the name has come down to us attached to that deep ravine which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, through which at one time the Kedron forced its stream. At what period the name "valley of Jehoshaphat" was first applied to this spot is unknown. It is not mentioned in the Bible or Josephus, but is first encountered in the middle of the fourth century. Both Moslems and Jews believe that the last judgment is to take place there. The steep sides of the ravine, wherever a level strip affords the opportunity, are crowded--in places almost paved-- by the sepulchres of the Moslems, or the simpler slabs of the Jewish tombs, alike awaiting the assembly of the last judgment. The name is generally confined by travellers to the upper part of the glen. (Others suppose that the name is only an imaginary one, "the valley of the judgment of Jehovah" referring to some great victories of God's people in which judgment was executed upon the heathen; or perhaps, as Keil, etc. , to the end of the world. ED.)
Jehosheba - (Jehovah's oath), daughter of Joram king of Israel, and wife of jehoiada the high priest. (2 Kings 11:2) Her name in the Chronicles is given Jehoshabeath. (B. C. 882.) As she is called, (2 Kings 11:2) "the daughter of Joram, sister of Ahaziah," it has been conjectured that she was the daughter, not of Athaliah, but of Joram by another wife. She is the only recorded instance of the marriage of a princess of the royal house with a high priest.
Jehoshua - (whose help is Jehovah; Help of Jehovah or savoiur). In this form is given the name of Joshua in (Numbers 13:16) Once more only the name appears,--as Jehosh'uah.
Jehoshuah - in the genealogy of Ephraim. (1 Chronicles 7:27)
Jehovah - (I am; the eternal living one). The Scripture appellation of the supreme Being, usually interpreted as signifying self-derived and permanent existence. The Jews scrupulously avoided every mention of this name of God, substituting in its stead one or other of the words with whose proper vowel-points it may happen to be written. This custom, which had its origin in reverence, was founded upon an erroneous rendering of (Leviticus 24:16) from which it was inferred that the mere utterance of the name constituted a capital offence. According to Jewish tradition, it was pronounced but once a year, by the high priest on the day of atonement when he entered the holy of holies; but on this point there is some doubt. When Moses received his commission to be the deliverer of Israel, the Almighty, who appeared in the burning bush, communicated to him the name which he should give as the credentials of his mission: "And God said unto Moses, "I AM THAT I AM (ehyea asher ehyeh); and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. " That this passage is intended to indicate the etymology of Jehovah, as understood by the Hebrews, no one has ventured to doubt. While Elohim exhibits God displayed in his power as the creator and governor of the physical universe, the name Jehovah designates his nature as he stands in relation to man, as the only almighty, true, personal, holy Being, a spirit and "the father of spirits," (Numbers 16:22) comp. John 4:24 Who revealed himself to his people, made a covenant with them, and became their lawgiver, and to whom all honor and worship are due.
Jehovahjireh - (Jehovah will see or provide), the name given by Abraham to the place on which he had been commanded to offer Isaac, to commemorate the interposition of the angel of Jehovah, who appeared to prevent the sacrifice, (Genesis 22:14) and provided another victim.
Jehovahnissi - (Jehovah my banner), the name given by Moses to the altar which he built in commemoration of the discomfiture of the Amalekites. (Exodus 17:15)
Jehovahshalom - (Jehovah (is) peace), or, with an ellipsis, "Jehovah the God of peace. " The altar erected by Gideon in Orphrah was so called in memory of the salutation addressed to him by the angel of Jehovah, "Peace be unto thee. " (Judges 6:24)
Jehozabad - (whom Jehovah gave).
Jehozadak - (Jehovah justifies), usually called Jozadak or Josedech. He was the son of the high priest Seraiah. (1 Chronicles 6:14,15) When his father was slain at Riblah by order of Nebuchadnezzar, (2 Kings 25:18,21) Jehozadak was led away captive to Babylon. (1 Chronicles 6:15) (B. C. 588.) He himself never attained the high priesthood, but he was the father of Jeshua the high priest, and of all his successors till the pontificate of Alcimus. (Ezra 3:2; Nehemiah 12:26), etc.
| 1. | He did not destroy the calf-worship of Jeroboam |
| 2. | The transjordanic tribes suffered much from the ravages of Hazael. (2 Kings 10:29-33) He was buried in state in Samaria, and was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. (2 Kings 10:35) His name is the first of the Israelite kings which appears in the Assyrian monuments. |
Jehubbah - (protected), a man of Asher, son of Shamer or Shomer, of the house of Beriah. (1 Chronicles 7:34) (B. C. Perhaps about 1450.)
Jehucal - (able), son of Shelemiah; one of two persons sent by King Zedekiah to Jeremiah to entreat his prayers and advice. (Jeremiah 37:3) (B. C. 589.)
Jehud - (praised), one of the towns of the tribe of Dan, (Joshua 19:45) named between Baalath and Bene-berak.
Jehudi - (a Jew), son of Nethaniah, a man employed by the princes of Jehoiakim's court to fetch Baruch to read Jeremiah's denunciation, (Jeremiah 36:14) and then by the king to fetch the volume itself and read it to him. Vs. (Jeremiah 36:21,23) (B. C. 605.)
Jehudijah - (the Jewess). There is really no such name in the Hebrew Bible as that which our Authorized Version exhibits at (1 Chronicles 4:18) If it is a proper name at all, it is Ha-jehudijah, like Hammelech, Hak-koz, etc. ; and it seems to be rather an appellative, "the Jewess. "
Jehush - (to whom God hastens), son of eshek, a remote descendant of Saul. (1 Chronicles 8:39)
Jekabzeel - (what God gathers), a fuller form of the name of Kabzeel, the most remote city of Judah on the southern frontier. (Nehemiah 11:25)
Jekamiah - (whom Jehovah gathers), son of Shallum, in the line of Ahlai. (1 Chronicles 2:41) (B. C. About 588.)
Jekuthiel - a man recorded in the genealogies of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:18)
Jemima - (dove), the eldest of the three daughters born to Job after the restoration of his prosperity. (Job 42:14)
Jemuel - (day of God), the eldest son of Simeon. (Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15) (B. C. 1706.)
Jephthae - (whom God sets free), (Hebrews 11:32) the Greek form of the name Jephthah.
Jephthah - (whom God sets free), A judge about B. C. 1143-1137. His history is contained in (Judges 11:1; Judges 12:8) He was a Gileadite, the son of Gilead and a concubine. Driven by the legitimate sons from his father's inheritance, he went to Tob and became the head of a company of freebooters in a debatable land probably belonging to Ammon. (2 Samuel 10:6) (This land was east of Jordan and southeast of Gilead, and bordered on the desert of Arabia. ED.) His fame as a bold and successful captain was carried back to his native Gilead; and when the time was ripe for throwing off the yoke of Ammon, Jephthah consented to become the captain of the Gileadite bands, on the condition, solemnly ratified before the Lord in Mizpeh, that int he event of his success against Ammon he should still remain as their acknowledged head. Vowing his vow unto God, (Judges 11:31) that he would offer up as a burn offering whatsoever should come out to meet him if successful, he went forth to battle. The Ammonites were routed with great slaughter; but as the conqueror returned to Mizpeh there came out to meet him his daughter, his only child, with timbrels and dancing. The father is heart- stricken; but the maiden asks only for a respite of two months in which to prepare for death. When that time was ended she returned to her father, who "did with her according to his vow. " The tribe of Ephraim challenged Jephthah's right to go to war as he had done, without their concurrence, against Ammon. He first defeated them, then intercepted the fugitives at the fords of Jordan, and there put forty-two thousand men to the sword. He judged Israel six years, and died. It is generally conjectured that his jurisdiction was limited to the transjordanic region. That the daughter of Jephthah was really offered up to God in sacrifice is a conclusion which it seems impossible to avoid. (But there is no word of approval, as if such a sacrifice was acceptable to God. Josephus well says that "the sacrifice was neither sanctioned by the Mosaic ritual nor acceptable to God. " The vow and the fulfillment were the mistaken conceptions of a rude chieftain, not acts pleasing to God. ED.)
Jephunneh - (for whom a way is prepared).
Jerah - (the moon), the fourth in order of the sons of Joktan, (Genesis 10:26; 1 Chronicles 1:20) and the progenitor of a tribe of southern Arabia.
Jerahmeelites - (descendants of Jerahmeel), The, the tribe descended from the first of the foregoing persons. (1 Samuel 27:10) They dwelt in the south of Judah.
Jeremai - (dwelling in heights), a layman, one of the Bene-Hashum, who was compelled by Ezra to put away his foreign wife. (Ezra 10:33) (B. C. 459.)
| I. | Seven other persons bearing the same name as the prophet are mentioned in the Old Testament: |
| II. | (whom Jehovah has appointed) was "the son of Hilkiah of the priests that were in Anathoth. " (Jeremiah 1:1) |
| A. | History. He was called very young (B. C. 626) to the prophetic office, and prophesied forty-two years; but we have hardly any mention of him during the eighteen years between his call and Josiah's death, or during the short reign of Jehoahaz. During the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, B. C. 607-598, he opposed the Egyptian party, then dominant in Jerusalem, and maintained that they only way of safety lay in accepting the supremacy of the Chaldeans. He was accordingly accused of treachery, and men claiming to be prophets had the "word of Jehovah" to set against his. (Jeremiah 14:13; 23:7) As the danger from the Chaldeans became more threatening, the persecution against Jeremiah grew hotter. Ch. 18. The people sought his life; then follows the scene in (Jeremiah 19:10-13) he was set, however, "as a fenced brazen wall," ch. (Jeremiah 15:20) and went on with his work, reproving king and nobles and people. The danger which Jeremiah had so long foretold at last came near. First Jehoiakim, and afterwards his successor Jehoiachin, were carried into exile, 2Kin 24; but Zedekiah, B. C. 597-586, who was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, was more friendly to the prophet, though powerless to help him. The approach of an Egyptian army, and the consequent departure of the Chaldeans, made the position of Jeremiah full of danger, and he sought to effect his escape from the city; but he was seized and finally thrown into a prison-pit to die, but was rescued. On the return of the Chaldean army he showed his faith in God's promises, and sought to encourage the people by purchasing the field at Anathoth which his kinsman Hanameel wished to get rid of. (Jeremiah 32:6-9) At last the blow came. The city was taken, the temple burnt. The king and his princes shared the fate of Jehoiachin. The prophet gave utterance to his sorrow in the Lamentations. After the capture of Jerusalem, B. C. 586, by the Chaldeans, we find Jeremiah receiving better treatment; but after the death of Gedaliah, the people, disregarding his warnings, took refuge in Egypt, carrying the prophet with them. In captivity his words were sharper and stronger than ever. He did not shrink, even there, from speaking of the Chaldean king once more as "the servant of Jehovah. " (Jeremiah 43:10) After this all is uncertain, but he probably died in Egypt. |
| B. | Character. Canon Cook says of Jeremiah, "His character is most interesting. We find him sensitive to a most painful degree, timid, shy, hopeless, desponding, constantly complaining and dissatisfied with the course of events, but never flinching from duty. . . Timid in resolve, he was unflinching in execution; as fearless when he had to face the whole world as he was dispirited and prone to murmuring when alone with God. Judged by his own estimate of himself, he was feeble, and his mission a failure; really, in the hour of action and when duty called him, he was in very truth 'a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land. ' ch. (Jeremiah 1:18) he was a noble example of the triumph of the moral over the physical nature. " (It is not strange that he was desponding when we consider his circumstances. He saw the nation going straight to irremediable ruin, and turning a deaf ear to all warnings. "A reign of terror had commenced (in the preceding reign), during which not only the prophets but all who were distinguished for religion and virtue were cruelly murdered. " "The nation tried to extirpate the religion of Jehovah;" "Idolatry was openly established," "and such was the universal dishonesty that no man trusted another, and society was utterly disorganized. " How could one who saw the nation about to reap the awful harvest they had been sowing, and yet had a vision of what they might have been and might yet be, help indulging in "Lamentations"?- -ED.) |
Jeremiah, Book Of - "There can be little doubt that the book of Jeremiah grew out of the roll which Baruch wrote down at the prophet's mouth in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Ch. (Jeremiah 36:2) Apparently the prophets kept written records of their predictions, and collected into larger volumes such of them as were intended for permanent use. "--Canon Cook. In the present order we have two great divisions:
| I. | Chs. 1-45. Prophecies delivered at various times, directed mainly to Judah, or connected with Jeremiah's personal history. |
| II. | Chs. 46-51. Prophecies connected with other nations. Looking more closely into each of these divisions, we have the following sections: |
| A. | Chs. 1-21, including prophecies from the thirteenth year of Josiah to the fourth of Jehoiakim; ch. 21; belongs to the later period. |
| B. | Chs. 22-25. Shorter prophecies, delivered at different times, against the kings of Judah and the false prophets. Ch. (Jeremiah 25:13,14) evidently marks the conclusion of a series of prophecies; and that which follows, ch. (Jeremiah 25:15-38) the germ of the fuller predictions in chs. 46-49, has been placed here as a kind of completion to the prophecy of the seventy years and the subsequent fall of Babylon. |
| C. | Chs. 26-28. The two great prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem, and the history connected with them. |
| D. | Chs. 29-31. The message of comfort for the exiles in Babylon. |
| E. | Chs. 32-44. The history of the last two years before the capture of Jerusalem, and of Jeremiah's work int hem and in the period that followed. |
| F. | Chs. 46-51. The prophecies against foreign nations, ending with the great prediction against Babylon. |
| G. | The supplementary narrative of ch. 52. |
Jeremias - the Greek form of the name of Jeremiah the prophet. (Matthew 16:14)
Jeremy - the prophet Jeremiah. (Matthew 2:17; 27:9)
Jeriah - a Kohathite Levite, chief of the great house of Hebron when David organized the service. (1 Chronicles 23:19; 24:23) B. C. 1014. The same man is mentioned again as Jerijah. (1 Chronicles 26:31)
Jeribai - (whom Jehovah defends), one of the Bene-Elnaan, named among the heroes of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 11:46)
Jericho - (place of fragrance), a city of high antiquity, situated in a plain traversed by the Jordan, and exactly over against where that river was crossed by the Israelites under Joshua. (Joshua 3:16) It was five miles west of the Jordan and seven miles northwest of the Dead Sea. It had a king. Its walls were so considerable that houses were built upon them. Ch. (Joshua 2:15) The spoil that was found in it betokened its affluence. Jericho is first mentioned as the city to which the two spies were sent by Joshua from Shittim. (Joshua 2:1-21) It was bestowed by him upon the tribe of Benjamin, ch. (Joshua 18:21) and from this time a long interval elapses before Jericho appears again upon the scene. Its second foundation under Hiel the Bethelite is recorded in (1 Kings 16:34) Once rebuilt, Jericho rose again slowly into consequence. In its immediate vicinity the sons of the prophets sought retirement from the world; Elisha "healed the spring of the waters;" and over against it, beyond Jordan, Elijah "went up by a whirlwind into heaven. " (2 Kings 2:1-22) In its plains Zedekiah fell into the hands of the Chaldeans. (2 Kings 25:5; Jeremiah 39:5) In the return under Zerubbabel the "children of Jericho," 345 in number, are comprised. (Ezra 2:34; Nehemiah 7:36) Under Herod the Great it again became an important place. He fortified it and built a number of new palaces, which he named after his friends. If he did not make Jericho his habitual residence, he at last retired thither to die, and it was in the amphitheater of Jericho that the news of his death was announced to the assembled soldiers and people by Salome. Soon afterward the palace was burnt and the town plundered by one Simon, slave to Herod; but Archelaus rebuilt the former sumptuously, and founded a new town on the plain, that bore his own name; and, most important of all, diverted water from a village called Neaera to irrigate the plain which he had planted with palms. Thus Jericho was once more "a city of palms" when our Lord visited it. Here he restored sight to the blind. (Matthew 20:30; Mark 10:46; Luke 18:35) Here the descendant of Rahab did not disdain the hospitality of Zaccaeus the publican. Finally, between Jerusalem and Jericho was laid the scene of his story of the good Samaritan. The city was destroyed by Vespasian. The site of ancient (the first) Jericho is placed by Dr. Robinson in the immediate neighborhood of the fountain of Elisha; and that of the second (the city of the New Testament and of Josephus) at the opening of the Wady Kelt (Cherith), half an hour from the fountain. (The village identified with jericho lies a mile and a half from the ancient site, and is called Riha. It contains probably 200 inhabitants, indolent and licentious and about 40 houses. Dr. Olin says it is the "meanest and foulest village of Palestine;" yet the soil of the plain is of unsurpassed fertility. ED.)
Jeriel - (people of God), a man of Issachar, one of the six heads of the house of Tola. (1 Chronicles 7:2)
Jerijah - (people of Jehovah). [See Jeriah]
Jerioth - (curtains), one of the elder Caleb's wives. (1 Chronicles 2:18)
Jeroboam - (whose people are many).
Jerubbaal, Or Jerubbaal - (contender with Baal), the surname of Gideon, which he acquired in consequence of destroying the altar of Baal, when his father defended him from the vengeance of the Abiezrites. (Judges 6:32)
Jerubbesheth - (contender with the shame), a name of Gideon. (2 Samuel 11:21)
Jeruel - (founded by God), The wilderness of, the place in which Jehoshaphat was informed by Jahaziel the Levite that he should encounter the hordes of Ammon, Moab and the Mehunims. (2 Chronicles 20:16) The name has not been met with.
Jerusalem - (the habitation of peace), Jerusalem stands in latitude 31 degrees 46' 35" north and longitude 35 degrees 18' 30" east of Greenwich. It is 32 miles distant from the sea and 18 from the Jordan, 20 from Hebron and 36 from Samaria. "In several respects," says Dean Stanley, "its situation is singular among the cities of Palestine. Its elevation is remarkable; occasioned not from its being on the summit of one of the numerous hills of Judea, like most of the towns and villages, but because it is on the edge of one of the highest table-lands of the country. Hebron indeed is higher still by some hundred feet, and from the south, accordingly (even from Bethlehem), the approach to Jerusalem is by a slight descent. But from any other side the ascent is perpetual; and to the traveller approaching the city from the east or west it must always have presented the appearance beyond any other capital of the then known world--we may say beyond any important city that has ever existed on the earth--of a mountain city; breathing, as compared with the sultry plains of Jordan, a mountain air; enthroned, as compared with jericho or Damascus, Gaza or Tyre, on a mountain fastness. "--S. & P. 170, Jerusalem, if not actually in the centre of Palestine, was yet virtually so. "It was on the ridge, the broadest and most strongly-marked ridge of the backbone of the complicated hills which extend through the whole country from the plain of Esdraelon to the desert. " Roads. There appear to have been but two main approaches to the city:
| I. | Topography. To convey an idea of the position of Jerusalem, we may say, roughly, that the city occupies the southern termination of the table-land which is cut off from the country round it on its west, south and east sides by ravines more than usually deep and precipitous. These ravines leave the level of the table-land, the one on the west and the other on the northeast of the city, and fall rapidly until they form a junction below its southeast corner. The eastern one--the valley of the Kedron, commonly called the valley of Jehoshaphat--runs nearly straight from north by south. But the western one--the valley of Hinnom-- runs south for a time, and then takes a sudden bend to the east until it meets the valley of Jehoshaphat, after which the two rush off as one to the Dead Sea. How sudden is their descent may be gathered from the fact that the level at the point of junction -about a mile and a quarter from the starting-point of each-- is more than 600 feet below that of the upper plateau from which they began their descent. So steep is the fall of the ravines, so trench-like their character, and so close do they keep to the promontory at whose feet they run, as to leave on the beholder almost the impression of the ditch at the foot of a fortress rather than of valleys formed by nature. The promontory thus encircled is itself divided by a longitudinal ravine running up it from south to north, called the valley of the Tyropoeon, rising gradually from the south, like the external ones, till at last it arrives at the level of the upper plateau, dividing the central mass into two unequal portions. Of these two, that on the west is the higher and more massive, on which the city of Jerusalem now stands, and in fact always stood. The hill on the east is considerably lower and smaller, so that to a spectator from the south the city appears to slope sharply toward the east. Here was the temple, and here stands now the great Mohammedan sanctuary with its mosques and domes. The name of Mount, Mount, Mountain Zion has been applied to the western hill from the time of Constantine to the present day. The eastern hill, called Mount, Mount, Mountain Moriah in (2 Chronicles 3:1) was as already remarked, the site of the temple. It was situated in the southwest angle of the area, now known as the Haram area, and was, as we learn from Josephus, an exact square of a stadium, or 600 Greek feet, on each side. (Conder ("Bible Handbook," 1879) states that by the latest surveys the Haram area is a quadrangle with unequal sides. The west wall measures 1601 feet, the south 922, the east 1530, the north 1042. It is thus nearly a mile in circumference, and contains 35 acres. ED.) Attached to the northwest angle of the temple was the Antonia, a tower or fortress. North of the side of the temple is the building now known to Christians as the Mosque of Omar, but by Moslems called the Dome of the Rock. The southern continuation of the eastern hill was named Ophel, which gradually came to a point at the junction of the valleys Tyropoeon and Jehoshaphat; and the norther BEZETHA, "the new city," first noticed by Josephus, which was separated from Moriah by an artificial ditch, and overlooked the valley of Kedron on the east; this hill was enclosed within the walls of Herod Agrippa. Lastly, ACRA lay westward of Moriah and northward of Zion, and formed the "lower city" in the time of Josephus. |
| II. | Walls. These are described by Josephus. The first or old wall was built by David and Solomon, and enclosed Zion and part of Mount Moriah. (The second wall enclosed a portion of the city called Acra or Millo, on the north of the city, from the tower of Mariamne to the tower of Antonia. It was built as the city enlarged in size; begun by Uzziah 140 years after the first wall was finished, continued by Jotham 50 years later, and by Manasseh 100 years later still. It was restored by Nehemiah. Even the latest explorations have failed to decide exactly what was its course. (See Conder's Handbook of the Bible, art. Jerusalem.) The third wall was built by King Herod Agrippa, and was intended to enclose the suburbs which had grown out on the northern sides of the city, which before this had been left exposed. After describing these walls, Josephus adds that the whole circumference of the city was 33 stadia, or nearly four English miles, which is as near as may be the extent indicated by the localities. He then adds that the number of towers in the old wall was 60, the middle wall 40, and the new wall 99. |
| III. | Water Supply--(Jerusalem had no natural water supply, unless we so consider the "Fountain of the Virgin," which wells up with an intermittent action from under Ophel. The private citizens had cisterns, which were supplied by the rain from the roofs; and the city had a water supply "perhaps the most complete and extensive ever undertaken by a city," and which would enable it to endure a long siege. There were three aqueducts, a number of pools and fountains, and the temple area was honeycombed with great reservoirs, whose total capacity is estimated at 10,000,000 gallons. Thirty of these reservoirs are described, varying from 25 to 50 feet in depth; and one, call the great Sea, would hold 2,000,000 gallons. These reservoirs and the pools were supplied with water by the rainfall and by the aqueducts. One of these, constructed by Pilate, has been traced for 40 miles, though in a straight line the distance is but 13 miles. It brought water from the spring Elam, on the south, beyond Bethlehem, into the reservoirs under the temple enclosure. ED.) |
| IV. | Pools and fountains. A part of the system of water supply. Outside the walls on the west side were the Upper and Lower Pools of Gihon, the latter close under Zion, the former more to the northwest on the Jaffa road. At the junction of the valleys of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat was Enrogel, the "Well of Job," in the midst of the king's gardens. Within the walls, immediately north of Zion, was the "Pool of Hezekiah. " A large pool existing beneath the temple (referred to in Ecclus. 1:3) was probably supplied by some subterranean aqueduct. The "King's Pool" was probably identical with the "Fountain of the Virgin," at the southern angle of Moriah. It possesses the peculiarity that it rises and falls at irregular periods; it is supposed to be fed form the cistern below the temple. From this a subterranean channel cut through solid rock leads the water to the pool of Siloah, The Pool Of or Siloam, which has also acquired the character of being an intermittent fountain. The pool of which tradition has assigned the name of Bethesda is situated on the north side of Moriah; it is now named Birket Israil. |
| V. | Burial-grounds. The main cemetery of the city seems from an early date to have been where it is still--on the steep slopes of the valley of the Kedron. The tombs of the kings were in the city of David, that is, Mount Zion. The royal sepulchres were probably chambers containing separate recesses for the successive kings. |
| VI. | Gardens. The king's gardens of David and Solomon seem to have been in the bottom formed by the confluence of the Kedron and Himmon. (Nehemiah 3:15) The Mount of Olives, as its name, and the names of various places upon it seem to imply, was a fruitful spot. At its foot was situated the garden of Gethsemane. At the time of the final siege the space north of the wall of Agrippa was covered with gardens, groves and plantations of fruit trees, enclosed by hedges and walls; and to level these was one of Titus' first operations. We know that the Gennath (i. E. "of gardens") opened on this side of the city. |
| VII. | Gates. The following is a complete list of the gates named in the Bible and by Josephus, with the reference to their occurrence: |
| A. | Gate of Ephraim. (2 Chronicles 25:23; Nehemiah 8:16; 12:39) This is probably the same as the: |
| B. | Gate of Benjamin. (Jeremiah 20:2; 37:13; Zechariah 14:10) If so, it was 400 cubits distant from the: |
| C. | Corner gate. (2 Chronicles 25:23; 26:9; Jeremiah 31:38; Zechariah 14:10) |
| D. | Gate of Joshua, governor of the city. (2 Kings 23:8) |
| E. | Gate between the two walls. (2 Kings 25:4; Jeremiah 39:4) |
| F. | Horse gate. (Nehemiah 3:28; 2 Chronicles 23:15; Jeremiah 31:40) |
| G. | Ravine gate (i. E. Opening on ravine of Hinnom). (2 Chronicles 26:9; Nehemiah 2:13,15; 3:13) |
| H. | Fish gate. (2 Chronicles 33:14; Nehemiah 3:13; Zephaniah 1:10) |
| I. | Dung gate. (Nehemiah 2:13; 3:13) |
| J. | Sheep gate. (Nehemiah 3:1,32; 12:39) |
| K. | East gate. (Nehemiah 3:29) |
| L. | Miphkad. (Nehemiah 3:31) |
| M. | Fountain gate (Siloam?). (Nehemiah 12:37) |
| N. | Water gate. (Nehemiah 12:37) |
| O. | Old Gate. (Nehemiah 12:39) |
| P. | Prison gate. (Nehemiah 12:39) |
| Q. | Gate Harsith (perhaps the Sun; Authorized Version East gate). (Jeremiah 19:2) |
| R. | First gate. (Zechariah 14:10) |
| S. | Gate Gennath (gardens). Jos B. J. V. 4, - 4. |
| T. | Essenes' gate. Jos. B. J. 4, - 2. To these should be added the following gates to the temple |
| U. | Gate Sur, (2 Kings 11:6) called also gate of foundation. (2 Chronicles 23:5) |
| V. | Gate of the guard, or behind the guard, (2 Kings 11:6,19); called the high gate. (2 Kings 15:35; 2 Chronicles 23:20; 27:3) |
| W. | Gate Shallecheth. (1 Chronicles 26:16) |
| VIII. | Modern Gates. At present the chief gates are: |
| A. | The Zion's gate and the dung gate, in the south wall; |
| B. | St. Stephen's gate and the golden gate (now walled up), in the east wall; |
| C. | The Damascus gate and |
| D. | Herod's gate, in the north wall; and |
| E. | The Jaffa gate, in the west wall. |
| IIX. | Population. Taking the area of the city enclosed by the two old walls at 750,000 yards, and that enclosed by the wall of Agrippa at 1,500,000 yards, we have 2,250,000 yards for the whole. Taking the population of the old city at the probable number of the one person to 50 yards, we have 15,000 and at the extreme limit of 30 yards we should have 25,000 inhabitants for the old city, and at 100 yards to each individual in the new city about 15,000 more; so that the population of Jerusalem, in its days of greatest prosperity, may have amounted to from 30,000 to 45,000 souls, but could hardly ever have reached 50,000; and assuming that in times of festival one-half was added to this amount, which is an extreme estimate, there may have been 60,000 or 70,000 in the city when Titus came up against it. (Josephus says that at the siege of Jerusalem the population was 3,000,000; but Tacitus' statement that it was 600,000 is nearer the truth. This last is certainly within the limits of possibility. Streets, houses, etc. Of the nature of these in the ancient city we have only the most scattered notices. The "east street," (2 Chronicles 29:4) the "street of the city," i. E. The city of David, (2 Chronicles 32:6) the "street facing the water gate," (Nehemiah 8:1,3) or, according to the parallel account in 1 Esdr. 9:38, the "broad place of the temple towards the east;" the "street of the house of God," (Ezra 10:9) the "street of the gate of Ephraim," (Nehemiah 8:16) and the "open place of the first gate toward the east," must have been not "streets," in our sense of the word, so much as the open spaces found in easter towns round the inside of the gates. Streets, properly so called, there were, (Jeremiah 5:1; 11:13) etc. ; but the name of only one, "the bakers' street," (Jeremiah 37:21) is preserved to us. The Via Dolorosa, or street of sorrows, is a part of the street thorough which Christ is supposed to have been led on his way to his crucifixion. To the houses we have even less clue; but there is no reason to suppose that in either houses or streets the ancient Jerusalem differed very materially from the modern. No doubt the ancient city did not exhibit that air of mouldering dilapidation which is now so prominent there. The whole of the slopes south of the Haram area (the ancient Ophel), and the modern Zion, and the west side of the valley of Jehoshaphat, presents the appearance of gigantic mounds of rubbish. In this point at least the ancient city stood in favorable contrast with the modern, but in many others the resemblance must have been strong. |
| IX. | Annals of the city. If, as is possible, Salem is the same with Jerusalem, the first mention of Jerusalem is in (Genesis 14:18) about B. C. 2080. It is next mentioned in (Joshua 10:1) B. C. 1451. The first siege appears to have taken place almost immediately after the death of Joshua--cir. 1400 B. C. Judah and Simeon "fought against it and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. " (Judges 1:8) In the fifteen centuries which elapsed between this siege and the siege and destruction of the city by Titus, A. D. 70, the city was besieged no fewer than seventeen times; twice it was razed to the ground, on two other occasions its walls were levelled. In this respect it stands without a parallel in any city, ancient or modern. David captured the city B. C. 1046, and made it his capital, fortified and enlarged it. Solomon adorned the city with beautiful buildings, including the temple, but made no additions to its walls. The city was taken by the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Jehoram, B. C. 886, and by the Israelites in the reign of Amaziah, B. C. 826. It was thrice taken by Nebuchadnezzar, in the years B. C. 607, 597 and 586, in the last of which it was utterly destroyed. Its restoration commenced under Cyrus, B. C. 538, and was completed under Artaxerxes I. , who issued commissions for this purpose to Ezra, B. C. 457, and Nehemiah, B. C. 445. In B. C. 332 it was captured by Alexander the Great. Under the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae the town was prosperous, until Antiochus Epiphanes sacked it, B. C. 170. In consequence of his tyranny, the Jews rose under the Maccabees, and Jerusalem became again independent, and retained its position until its capture by the Romans under Pompey, B. C. 63. The temple was subsequently plundered by Crassus, B. C. 545, and the city by the Parthians, B. C. 40. Herod took up his residence there as soon as he was appointed sovereign, and restored the temple with great magnificence. On the death of Herod it became the residence of the Roman procurators, who occupied the fortress of Antonia. The greatest siege that it sustained, however, was at the hands of the Romans under Titus, when it held out nearly five months, and when the town was completely destroyed, A. D. 70. Hadrian restored it as a Roman colony, A. D. 135, and among other buildings erected a temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on the site of the temple. He gave to it the name of aelia Capitolina, thus combining his own family name with that of the Capitoline Jupiter. The emperor Constantine established the Christian character by the erection of a church on the supposed site of the holy sepulchre, A. D. 336. Justinian added several churches and hospitals about A. D. 532. It was taken by the Persians under Chosroes II in A. D. 614. The dominion of the Christians in the holy city was now rapidly drawing to a close. In A. D. 637 the patriarch Sophronius surrendered to the khalif Omar in person. With the fall of the Abassides the holy city passed into the hands of the Fatimite dynasty, under whom the sufferings of the Christians in Jerusalem reached their height. About the year 1084 it was bestowed upon Ortok, chief of a Turkman horde. It was taken by the Crusaders in 1099, and for eighty-eight years Jerusalem remained in the hand of the Christians. In 1187 it was retaken by Saladin after a siege of several weeks. In 1277 Jerusalem was nominally annexed to the kingdom of Sicily. In 1517 it passed under the sway of the Ottoman sultan Selim I. , whose successor Suliman built the present walls of the city in 1542. Mohammed Aly, the pasha of Egypt, took possession of it in 1832; and in 1840, after the bombardment of Acre, it was again restored to the sultan. (Modern Jerusalem, called by the Arabs el-Khuds, is built upon the ruins of ancient Jerusalem. The accumulated rubbish of centuries is very great, being 100 feet deep on the hill of Zion. The modern wall, built in 1542, forms an irregular quadrangle about 2 1/2 miles in circuit, with seven gates and 34 towers. It varies in height from 20 to 60 feet. The streets within are narrow, ungraded, crooked, and often filthy. The houses are of hewn stone, with flat roofs and frequent domes. There are few windows toward the street. The most beautiful part of modern Jerusalem is the former temple area (Mount Moriah), "with its lawns and cypress tress, and its noble dome rising high above the wall. " This enclosure, now called Haram esh-Sherif, is 35 acres in extent, and is nearly a mile in circuit. On the site of the ancient temple stands the Mosque of Omar, "perhaps the very noblest specimen of building-art in Asia. " "It is the most prominent as well as the most beautiful building in the whole city. " The mosque is an octagonal building, each side measuring 66 feet. It is surmounted by a dome, whose top is 170 feet from the ground. The church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is claimed, but without sufficient reason, to be upon the site of Calvary, is "a collection of chapels and altars of different ages and a unique museum of religious curiosities from Adam to Christ. " The present number of inhabitants in Jerusalem is variously estimated. Probably Pierotti's estimate is very near the truth,--20,330; of whom 5068 are Christians, 7556 Mohammedans (Arabs and Turks), and 7706 Jews. ED.) |
Jerusha - (possessed), daughter of Zadok and queen of Uzziah. (2 Kings 15:33) (B. C. 806.)
Jerushah - (possessed). (2 Chronicles 27:1) The same as the preceding.
Jesaiah - (salvation of Jehovah).
Jeshaiah - (salvation of Jehovah).
Jeshanah - (old), a town which, with its dependent villages, was one of the three taken from Jeroboam by Abijah. (2 Chronicles 13:19)
Jesharelah - (right before God), son of Asaph, and head of the seventh of the twenty-four wards into which the musicians of the Levites were divided. (1 Chronicles 25:14) [Asarelah] (B. C. 1014).
Jeshebeab - (father's seat), head of the fourteenth course of priests. (1 Chronicles 24:13) [Jehoiarib]
Jesher - (uprightness), one of the sons of Caleb the son of Hezron by his wife Azubah. (1 Chronicles 2:18) (B. C. Before 1491).
Jeshimon - (a wilderness), a name which occurs in (Numbers 21:20) and Numb 23:28 In designating the position of Pisgah and Peor; both described as "facing the Jeshimon. " Perhaps the dreary, barren waste of hills lying immediately on the west of the Dead Sea.
Jeshishai - (descended from an old man), one of the ancestors of the Gadites who dwelt in Gilead. (1 Chronicles 5:14)
Jeshohaiah - (whom Jehovah casts down), a chief of the Simeonites, descended from Shimei. (1 Chronicles 4:36) (B. C. About 711.)
| I. | (whom Jehovah helps), one of the towns reinhabited by the people of Judah after the return from captivity. (Nehemiah 11:26) It is not mentioned elsewhere. |
| II. | (a saviour), another form of the name of Joshua of Jesus. |
Jeshuah - a priest in the reign of David, (1 Chronicles 24:11) the same as Jeshua, No. 2. (B. C. 1014.)
Jeshurun - (supremely happy), and once by mistake in Authorized Version Jesurun, (Isaiah 44:2) a symbolical name for Israel in (32:15; 33:5,26; Isaiah 44:2) It is most probably derived from a root signifying "to be blessed. " With the intensive termination Jeshurun would then denote Israel as supremely happy or prosperous, and to this signification the context in (32:15) points.
Jesiah - (whom Jehovah lends).
Jesimiel - (whom God makes), a Simeonite chief of the family of Shimei. (1 Chronicles 4:36) (B. C. About 711.)
Jesse - (wealthy), the father of David, was the son of Obed, who again was the fruit of the union of Boaz and the Moabitess Ruth. His great-grandmother was Rahab the Canaanite, of Jericho. (Matthew 1:5) Jesse's genealogy is twice given in full in the Old Testament, viz. , (Ruth 4:18-22) and 1Chr 2:5-12 He is commonly designated as "Jesse the Bethlehemite," (1 Samuel 16:1,18; 17:58) but his full title is "the Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah. " ch. (1 Samuel 17:12) He is an "old man" when we first meet with him, (1 Samuel 17:12) with eight sons, ch. (1 Samuel 16:10; 17:12) residing at Bethlehem. Ch (1 Samuel 16:4,5) Jesse's wealth seems to have consisted of a flock of sheep and goats, which were under the care of David. Ch. (1 Samuel 16:11; 17:34,35) After David's rupture with Saul he took his father and his mother into the country of Moab and deposited them with the king, and there they disappear from our view in the records of Scripture. (B. C. 1068-61.) Who the wife of Jesse was we are not told.
Jesui - (even, level), the son of Asher, whose descendants the Jesuites were numbered in the plains of Moab at the Jordan of Jericho. (Numbers 26:44) (B. C. 1451.) He is elsewhere called Isui, (Genesis 46:17) and Ishuai. (1 Chronicles 7:30)
Jesuites - (the posterity of Jesui), The, a family of the tribe of Asher. (Numbers 26:44)
Jesurun - [Jeshurun]
| I. | Called Jestus, a Christian who was with St. Paul at Rome. (Colossians 4:11) (A. D. 57.) |
| II. | (saviour). |
Jesus Christ - "The life and character of Jesus Christ," says Dr. Schaff, "is the holy of holies in the history of the world. "
| I. | NAME. The name Jesus signifies saviour. It is the Greek form of Jehoshua (Joshua). The name Christ signifies anointed. Jesus was both priest and king. Among the Jews priests were anointed, as their inauguration to their office. (1 Chronicles 16:22) In the New Testament the name Christ is used as equivalent to the Hebrew Messiah (anointed), (John 1:41) the name given to the long-promised Prophet and King whom the Jews had been taught by their prophets to expect. (Matthew 11:3; Acts 19:4) The use of this name, as applied to the Lord, has always a reference to the promises of the prophets. The name of Jesus is the proper name of our Lord, and that of Christ is added to identify him with the promised Messiah. Other names are sometimes added to the names Jesus Christ, thus, "Lord," "a king," "King of Israel," "Emmanuel," "Son of David," "chosen of God. " |
| II. | BIRTH. Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, God being his father, at Bethlehem of Judea, six miles south of Jerusalem. The date of his birth was most probably in December, B. C. 5, four years before the era from which we count our years. That era was not used till several hundred years after Christ. The calculations were made by a learned monk, Dionysius Exiguus, in the sixth century, who made an error of four years; so that to get the exact date from the birth of Christ we must add four years to our usual dates; i. E. A. D. 1882 is really 1886 years since the birth of Christ. It is also more than likely that our usual date for Christmas, December 25, is not far from the real date of Christ's birth. Since the 25th of December comes when the longest night gives way to the returning sun on his triumphant march, it makes an appropriate anniversary to make the birth of him who appeared in the darkest night of error and sin as the true Light of the world. At the time of Christ's birth Augustus Caesar was emperor of Rome, and Herod the Great king of Judea, but subject of Rome. God's providence had prepared the world for the coming of Christ, and this was the fittest time in all its history. |
| A. | All the world was subject to one government, so that the apostles could travel everywhere: the door of every land was open for the gospel. |
| B. | The world was at peace, so that the gospel could have free course. |
| C. | The Greek language was spoken everywhere with their other languages. |
| D. | The Jews were scattered everywhere with synagogues and Bibles. |
| III. | EARLY LIFE. Jesus, having a manger at Bethlehem for his cradle, received a visit of adoration from the three wise men of the East. At forty days old he was taken to the temple at Jerusalem; and returning to Bethlehem, was soon taken to Egypt to escape Herod's massacre of the infants there. After a few months stay there, Herod having died in April, B. C. 4, the family returned to their Nazareth home, where Jesus lived till he was about thirty years old, subject to his parent, and increasing "in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. " The only incident recorded of his early life is his going up to Jerusalem to attend the passover when he was twelve years old, and his conversation with the learned men in the temple. But we can understand the childhood and youth of Jesus better when we remember the surrounding influences amid which he grew. |
| A. | The natural scenery was rugged and mountainous, but full of beauty. He breathed the pure air. He lived in a village, not in a city. |
| B. | The Roman dominion was irksome and galling. The people of God were subject to a foreign yoke. The taxes were heavy. Roman soldiers, laws, money, every reminded them of their subjection, when they ought to be free and themselves the rulers of the world. When Jesus was ten years old, there was a great insurrection, (Acts 5:37) in Galilee. He who was to be King of the Jews heard and felt all this. |
| C. | The Jewish hopes of a Redeemer, of throwing off their bondage, of becoming the glorious nation promised in the prophet, were in the very air he breathed. The conversation at home and in the streets was full of them. |
| D. | Within his view, and his boyish excursions, were many remarkable historic places,--rivers, hills, cities, plains,--that would keep in mind the history of his people and God's dealings with them. |
| E. | His school training. Mr. Deutsch, in the Quarterly Review, says, "Eighty years before Christ, schools flourished throughout the length and the breadth of the land: education had been made compulsory. While there is not a single term for 'school' to be found before the captivity, there were by that time about a dozen in common usage. Here are a few of the innumerable popular sayings of the period: 'Jerusalem was destroyed because the instruction of the young was neglected. ' 'The world is only saved by the breath of the school-children. ' 'Even for the rebuilding of the temple the schools must not be interrupted. '" |
| F. | His home training. According to Ellicott, the stages of Jewish childhood were marked as follows: "At three the boy was weaned, and word for the first time the fringed or tasselled garment prescribed by (Numbers 15:38-41) and Deuteronomy 22:12 His education began at first under the mother's care. At five he was to learn the law, at first by extracts written on scrolls of the more important passages, the Shema or creed of (2:4) the Hallel or festival psalms, Psalm 114, 118, 136, and by catechetical teaching in school. At twelve he became more directly responsible for his obedience of the law; and on the day when he attained the age of thirteen, put on for the first time the phylacteries which were worn at the recital of his daily prayer. " In addition to this, Jesus no doubt learned the carpenter's trade of his reputed father Joseph, and, as Joseph probably died before Jesus began his public ministry, he may have contributed to the support of his mother. |
| IV. | PUBLIC MINISTRY. All the leading events recorded of Jesus' life are given at the end of this volume in the Chronological Chart and in the Chronological Table of the life of Christ; so that here will be given only a general survey. Jesus began to enter upon his ministry when he was "about thirty years old;" that is, he was not very far from thirty, older or younger. He is regarded as nearly thirty-one by Andrews (in the tables of chronology referred to above) and by most others. Having been baptized by John early in the winter of 26-27, he spent the larger portion of his year in Judea and about the lower Jordan, till in December he went northward to Galilee through Samaria. The next year and a half, from December, A. D. 27, to October or November, A. D. 29, was spent in Galilee and norther Palestine, chiefly in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee. In November, 29, Jesus made his final departure from Galilee, and the rest of his ministry was in Judea and Perea, beyond Jordan, till his crucifixion, April 7, A. D. 30. After three days he proved his divinity by rising from the dead; and after appearing on eleven different occasions to his disciples during forty days, he finally ascended to heaven, where he is the living, ever present, all-powerful Saviour of his people. Jesus Christ, being both human and divine, is fitted to be the true Saviour of men. In this, as in every action and character, he is shown to be "the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. " As human, he reaches down to our natures, sympathizes with us, shows us that God knows all our feelings and weaknesses and sorrows and sins, brings God near to us, who otherwise could not realize the Infinite and Eternal as a father and friend. He is divine, in order that he may be an all-powerful, all-loving Saviour, able and willing to defend us from every enemy, to subdue all temptations, to deliver from all sin, and to bring each of his people, and the whole Church, into complete and final victory. Jesus Christ is the centre of the world's history, as he is the centre of the Bible. ED.) |
Jesus - The Son Of Sirach [Ecclesiasticus]
Jetheth - (a nail), one of the "dukes" who came of Esau. (Genesis 36:40; 1 Chronicles 1:51)
Jethlah - (height), one of the cities of the tribe of Dan. (Joshua 19:42)
Jethro - (his excellence) was priest or prince of Midian. Moses married his daughter Zipporah. (B. C. 1530.) On account if his local knowledge he was entreated to remain with the Israelites throughout their journey to Canaan. (Numbers 10:31,33) (He is called Raguel, Or Reuel, Reuel in (Exodus 2:18) And Raguel, Or Reuelin (Numbers 10:29), The same word int he original for both). Reuel is probably his proper name, and Jethro his official title. ED.)
Jetur - (an enclosure). (Genesis 25:15; 1 Chronicles 1:31; 5:19) [Ituraea]
Jeuel - a chief man of Judah, one of the Bene-Zerah. (1 Chronicles 9:6) comp. 1Chr 9:2 [Jeiel]
Jeuz - (counsellor), head of a Benjamite house. (1 Chronicles 8:10)
Jew - (a man of Judea). This name was properly applied to a member of the kingdom of Judah after the separation of the ten tribes. The term first makes its appearance just before the captivity of the ten tribes. The term first makes it appearance just before the captivity of the ten tribes. (2 Kings 16:6) After the return the word received a larger application. Partly from the predominance of the members of the old kingdom of Judah among those who returned to Palestine, partly from the identification of Judah with the religious ideas and hopes of the people, all the members of the new state were called Jews (Judeans) and the name was extended to the remnants of the race scattered throughout the nations. Under the name of "Judeans" the people of Israel were known to classical writers. (Tac. H. V. 2, etc.) The force of the title "Jew" is seen particularly in the Gospel of St. John, who very rarely uses any other term to describe the opponents of our Lord. At an earlier stage of the progress of the faith it was contrasted with Greek as implying an outward covenant with God, (Romans 1:16; 2:9,10; Colossians 3:11) etc. , which was the correlative of Hellenist [Hellenist], and marked a division of language subsisting within the entire body, and at the same time less expressive than Israelite, which brought out with especial clearness the privileges and hopes of the children of Jacob. (2 Corinthians 11:22; John 1:47)
Jewel - [Stones, Precious, PRECIOUS]
Jewess - a woman of Hebrew birth, without distinction of tribe. (Acts 16:1; 24:24)
Jewish - of or belonging to Jews; an epithet applied to their rabbinical legends. (Titus 1:14)
Jewry - (the country of Judea), the same word elsewhere rendered Judah and Judea. It occurs several times in the Apocalypse and the New Testament, but once only in the Old Testament-- (Daniel 5:13) Jewry comes to us through the Norman-French, and is of frequent occurrence in Old English.
Jezaniah - (whom Jehovah hears), the son of Hoshaiah the Maachathite, and one of the captains of the forces who had escaped from Jerusalem during the final attack of the beleaguering army of the Chaldeans. (B. C. 588.) When the Babylonians had departed, Jezaniah, with the men under his command, was one of the first who returned to Gedaliah at Mizpah. In the events which followed the assassination of that officer Jezaniah took a prominent part. (2 Kings 25:23; Jeremiah 40:8; 42:1; 43:2)
Jezebel - (chaste), wife of Ahab king of Israel. (B. C. 883.) She was a Phoenician princess, daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians. In her hands her husband became a mere puppet. (1 Kings 21:25) The first effect of her influence was the immediate establishment of the Phoenician worship on a grand scale in the court of Ahab. At her table were supported no less than 450 prophets of Baal and 400 of Eastward. (1 Kings 16:31,21; 18:19) The prophets of Jehovah were attacked by her orders and put to the sword. (1 Kings 18:13; 2 Kings 9:7) At last the people, at the instigation of Elijah, rose against her ministers and slaughtered them at the foot of Carmel. When she found her husband east down by his disappointment at being thwarted by Naboth, (1 Kings 21:7) she wrote a warrant in Ahab's name, and sealed it with his seal. To her, and not to Ahab, was sent the announcement that the royal wishes were accomplished, (1 Kings 21:14) and on her accordingly fell the prophet's curse, as well as on her husband, (1 Kings 21:23) a curse fulfilled so literally by Jehu, whose chariot-horses trampled out her life. The body was left in that open space called in modern eastern language "the mounds," where offal is thrown from the city walls. (2 Kings 9:30-37)
Jezer - (power), the third son of Naphtali, (Genesis 46:24; Numbers 26:49; 1 Chronicles 7:13) and father of the family of Jezerites.
Jeziah - (whom Jehovah expiates), a descendant of Parosh, who had married a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:25)
Jeziel - (the assembly of God), a Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:3) (B. C. 1055.)
Jezliah - (whom God will preserve), a Benjamite of the sons of Elpaal. (1 Chronicles 8:18) (B. C. 588.)
Jezoar - (whiteness), the son of Helah, one of the wives of Asher. (1 Chronicles 4:7)
Jezrahiah - (produced by Jehovah), a Levite, the leader of the choristers at the solemn dedication of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 12:42) (B. C. 446.)
| I. |
| II. | (seed of God), a descendant of the father or founder of Etam, of the line of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:3) (B. C. About 1445). |
Jezreelitess - a woman of Jezreel. (1 Samuel 27:3; 30:5; 2 Samuel 2:2; 3:2; 1 Chronicles 3:1)
Jibsam - (pleasant), one of the sons of Tola, the son of Issachar. (1 Chronicles 7:2) (B. C. 1017.)
Jidlaph - (weeping), a son of Nahor. (Genesis 22:22)
Jimna - (prosperity), the first-born of Asher. (Numbers 26:44) He is elsewhere called in the Authorized Version Jimnah, (Genesis 46:17) and Imnah. (1 Chronicles 7:30)
Jimnah - [Jimna, Imnah] (Genesis 46:17)
Jimnites, The - descendants of the preceding. (Numbers 26:44)
Jinah - (lamentation), a city of Judah, on the extreme south boundary of the tribe, next to Edom. (Joshua 15:22)
Jiphtah - (whom God sets free), one of the cities of Judah in the maritime lowland, or Shefelah. (Joshua 15:43) It has not yet been met with.
Jiphthahel - (which God opens), The valley of, a valley which served as one of the landmarks for the boundary of both Zebulun, (Joshua 19:14) and Asher. (Joshua 19:27) Dr. Robinson suggests that Jiphthah-el was identical with Jotapata, and that they survive in the modern Jefat, a village in the mountains of Galilee, halfway between the Bay of Accre and the Lake of Gennesareth.
Jirjathaim - (the two cities).
Joaada - (whom Jehovah favors), high priest after his father Eliashib. (Nehemiah 13:28) (B. C. After 446.)
Joab - (whose father is Jehovah), the most remarkable of the three nephews of David, the children of Zeruiah, David's sister. (B. C. 1053-1012.) Joab first appears after David's accession to the throne at Hebron. Abner slew in battle Asahel, the youngest brother of Joab; and when David afterward received Abner into favor, Joab treacherously murdered him. [Abner] There was now no rival left in the way of Joab's advancement, and at the siege of Jebus he was appointed for his prowess commander-in-chief--"captain of the host. " In the wide range of wars which David undertook, Joab was the acting general. He was called by the almost regal title of "lord," (2 Samuel 11:11) "the prince of the king's army. " (1 Chronicles 27:34) In the entangled relations which grew up in David's domestic life he bore an important part, successfully reinstating Absalom in David's favor after the murder of Amnon. (2 Samuel 14:1-20) When the relations between father and son were reversed by the revolt of Absalom, Joab remained true to the king, taking the rebel prince's dangerous life in spite of David's injunction to spare him, and when no one else had courage to act so decisive a part. (2 Samuel 18:2,11-15) (B. C. 1023). The king transferred the command to Amasa, which so enraged Joab that he adroitly assassinated Amasa when pretending to welcome him as a friend. (2 Samuel 20:10) Friendly relations between himself and David seem to have existed afterward, (2 Samuel 24:2) but at the close of his long life, his loyalty, so long unshaken, at last wavered. "Though he had not turned after Absalom, he turned after Adonijah. " (1 Kings 2:28) This probably filled up the measure of the king's long-cherished resentment. The revival of the pretensions of Adonijah after David's death was sufficient to awaken the suspicions of Solomon. Joab fled to the shelter of the altar at Gibeon, and was here slain by Benaiah. (B. C. About 1012.)
Joah - (whose brother (i. E. Helper) is Jehovah).
Joahaz - (whom Jehovah holds), the father of Joah, the chronicler or keeper of the records to King Josiah. (2 Chronicles 34:8) (B. C. Before 623.)
Joanan - In Revised Version for Joanna, 1. (Luke 3:27)
Joanna - (grace or gift of God) (in Revised Version spelled Joanan).
Joash - (to whom Jehovah hastens, i. E. To help), contracted from Jehoash.
Joatham - Jotham the son of Uzziah. (Matthew 1:9)
| I. | The patriarch, from whom one of the books of the Old Testament is named. His residence in the land of Uz marks him as belonging to a branch of the Aramean race, which had settled in the lower part of Mesopatamia (Probably to the south or southeast of Palestine, in Idumean Arabia), adjacent to the Sabeans and Chaldeans. The opinions of Job and his friends are thus peculiarly interesting as exhibiting an aspect of the patriarchal religion outside of the family of Abraham, and as yet uninfluenced by the legislation of Moses. The form of worship belongs essentially to the early patriarchal type; with little of ceremonial ritual, without a separate priesthood, it is thoroughly domestic in form and spirit. Job is represented as a chieftain of immense wealth and high rank, blameless in all the relations of life. What we know of his history is given in the book that bears his name. |
| II. | (persecuted), the third son of Issachar, (Genesis 46:13) called in another genealogy Jashub. (1 Chronicles 7:1) |
Job, Book Of - This book has given rise to much discussion and criticism, some believing the book to be strictly historical; others a religious fiction; others a composition based upon facts. By some the authorship of the work was attributed to Moses, but it is very uncertain. Luther first suggested the theory which, in some form or other, is now most generally received. He says, "I look upon the book of Job as a true history, yet I do not believe that all took place just as it is written, but that an ingenious, pious and learned man brought it into its present form. " The date of the book is doubtful, and there have been many theories upon the subject. It may be regarded as a settled point that the book was written long before the exile, probably between the birth of Abraham and the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt--B. C. 2000-1800. If by Moses, it was probably written during his sojourn in Midian. "The book of Job is not only one of the most remarkable in the Bible, but in literature. As was said of Goliath's sword, 'There is none like it;' none in ancient or in modern literature. "--Kitto. "A book which will one day, perhaps, be seen towering up alone far above all the poetry of the world. "--J. A. Froude. "The book of Job is a drama, and yet subjectively true. The two ideas are perfectly consistent. It may have the dramatic form, the dramatic interest, the dramatic emotion, and yet be substantially a truthful narrative. The author may have received it in one of three ways: the writer may have been an eyewitness; or have received it from near contemporary testimony; or it may have reached him through a tradition of whose substantial truthfulness he has no doubt. There is abundant internal evidence that the scenes and events recorded were real scenes and real events to the writer. He gives the discussions either as he had heard them or as they had been repeated over and over in many an ancient consensus. The very modes of transmission show the deep impression it had made in all the East, as a veritable as well as marvellous event. "--Tayler Lewis. The design of the book. Stanley says that "The whole book is a discussion of that great problem of human life: what is the intention of Divine Providence in allowing the good to suffer?" "The direct object is to show that, although goodness has a natural tendency to secure a full measure of temporal happiness, yet that in its essence it is independent of such a result. Selfishness in some form is declared to be the basis on which all apparent goodness rests. That question is tried in the case of Job. "--Cook. Structure of the book. -The book consists of five parts:
| I. | Chs. 1-3. The historical facts. |
| II. | Chs. 4-31. The discussions between Job and his three friends. |
| III. | Chs. 32-37. Job's discussion with Elihu. |
| IV. | Chs. 38-41. The theophany--God speaking out of the storm. |
| V. | Ch. 42. The successful termination of the trial. It is all in poetry except the introduction and the close. The argument. |
| A. | One question could be raised by envy: may not the goodness which secures such direct and tangible rewards be a refined form of selfishness? Satan, the accusing angel, suggests the doubt, "Doth Job fear God for nought ?" and asserts boldly that if those external blessings were withdrawn, Job would cast off his allegiance" he will curse thee to thy face. " The problem is thus distinctly propounded which this book is intended to discuss and solve: can goodness exist irrespective of reward ? The accuser receives permission to make the trial. He destroys Job's property, then his children; and afterward, to leave no possible opening for a cavil, is allowed to inflict upon him the most terrible disease known in the East. Job's wife breaks down entirely under the trial. Job remains steadfast. The question raised by Satan is answered. |
| B. | Then follows a discussion which arises in the most natural manner from a visit of condolence on the part of three men who represent the wisdom and experience of the age. Job's friends hold the theory that there is an exact and invariable correlation between sin and suffering. The fact of suffering proves the commission of some special sin. They apply this to Job, but he disavows all special guilt. He denies that punishment in this life inevitably follows upon guilt, or proves its commission. He appeals to facts. Bad men do sometimes prosper. Here, at ch. 14, there is a pause. In the second colloquy the three friends take more advanced ground. They assume that Job has been actually guilty of sins, and that the sufferings and losses of Job are but an inadequate retribution for former sins. This series of accusations brings out the in most thoughts of Job. He recognizes God's hand in his afflictions, but denies they are brought on by wrong-doing; and becomes still clearer in the view that only the future life can vindicate God's justice. In his last two discourses, chs. 26-31, he states with incomparable force and eloquence his opinion of the chief point of the controversy: man cannot comprehend God's ways; destruction sooner or later awaits the wicked; wisdom consists wholly in the fear of the Lord and departing from evil. "--Cook. |
| C. | Elihu sums up the argument "The leading principle of Elihu's statement is that calamity, in the shape of triad, is inflicted on comparatively the best of men; but that God allows a favorable turn to take place as soon as its object has been realized. " The last words are evidently spoken while a violent storm is coming on. |
| D. | It is obvious that many weighty truths have been developed in the course of the discussion: nearly every theory of the objects and uses of suffering has been reviewed, while a great advance has been made toward the apprehension of doctrines hereafter to be revealed, such as were known only to God. But the mystery is not us yet really cleared up; hence the necessity for the theophany. Ch. (Job 38:41) From the midst of the storm Jehovah speaks. In language of incomparable grandeur he reproves and silences the murmurs of Job. God does not condescend, strictly speaking to argue with his creatures. The speculative questions discussed in the colloquy are unnoticed, but the declaration of God's absolute power is illustrated by a marvellously beautiful and comprehensive survey of the glory of creation and his all-embracing providence. A second address completes the work. It proves that a charge of injustice against God involves the consequence that the accuser is more competent that he to rule the universe. |
Jochebed - (whose glory is Jehovah), the wife and at the same time the aunt of Amram and the mother of Moses and Aaron. (Exodus 2:1; 6:20; Numbers 26:59)
Joda - in Revised Version for Juda. (Luke 3:26)
Joed - (for whom Jehovah is witness), a Benjamite, the son of Pedaiah. (Nehemiah 11:7)
Joel - (to whom Jehovah is God).
Joelah - (Jehovah helps), son of Jerohoam of Gedor. (1 Chronicles 12:7)
Joezer - (whose help is Jehovah), a Korhite, one of David's captains. (1 Chronicles 12:6) (B. C. 1155.)
Jogbehah - (lofty), one of the cities on the east of Jordan which were built and fortified by the tribe of Gad when they took possession of their territory. (Numbers 32:35)
Jogli - (led into exile), the father of Bukki, a Danite chief. (Numbers 34:22)
Johanan - (gift or grace of God).
John - the same name as Johanan, a contraction of Jehoanan, Jehovah's gift.
John - The Apostle was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee, and of Salome, and brother of James, also an apostle. Peter and James and John come within the innermost circle of their Lord's friends; but to John belongs the distinction of being the disciple whom Jesus loved. He hardly sustains the popular notion, fostered by the received types of Christian art, of a nature gentle, yielding, feminine. The name Boanerges, (Mark 3:17) implies a vehemence, zeal, intensity, which gave to those who had it the might of sons of thunder. [James] The three are with our Lord when none else are, in the chamber of death, (Mark 5:37) in the glory of the transfiguration, (Matthew 17:1) when he forewarns them of the destruction of the holy city, (Mark 13:3) in the agony of Gethsemane. When the betrayal is accomplished, Peter and John follow afar off. (John 18:15) The personal acquaintance which exited between John and Caiaphas enables him to gain access to the council chamber, praetorium of the Roman procurator. (John 18:16,19,28) Thence he follows to the place of crucifixion, and the Teacher leaves to him the duty of becoming a son to the mother who is left desolate. (John 19:26,27) It is to Peter and John that Mary Magdalene first runs with the tidings of the emptied sepulchre, (John 20:2) they are the first to go together to see what the strange words meant, John running on most eagerly to the rock-tomb; Peter, the least restrained by awe, the first to enter in and look. (John 20:4-6) For at least eight days they continue in Jerusalem. (John 20:26) Later, on the Sea of Galilee, John is the first to recognize in the dim form seen in the morning twilight the presence of his risen Lord; Peter the first to plunge into the water and swim toward the shore where he stood calling to them. (John 21:7) The last words of John's Gospel reveal to us the deep affection which united the two friends. The history of the Acts shows the same union. They are together at the ascension on the day of Pentecost. Together they enter the temple as worshippers, (Acts 3:1) and protest against the threats of the Sanhedrin. Ch (Acts 4:13) The persecution which was pushed on by Saul of Tarsus did not drive John from his post. Ch. (Acts 8:1) Fifteen years after St. Paul's first visit he was still at Jerusalem, and helped to take part in the settlement of the great controversy between the Jewish and the Gentile Christians. (Acts 15:6) His subsequent history we know only by tradition. There can be no doubt that he removed from jerusalem and settled at Ephesus, though at what time is uncertain. Tradition goes on to relate that in the persecution under Domitian he is taken to Rome, and there, by his boldness, though not by death, gains the crown of martyrdom. The boiling oil into which he is thrown has no power to hurt him. He is then sent to labor in the mines, and Patmost is the place of his exile. The accession of Nerva frees him from danger, and he returns to Ephesus. Heresies continue to show themselves, but he meets them with the strongest possible protest. The very time of his death lies within the region of conjecture rather than of history, and the dates that have been assigned for it range from A. D. 89 to A. D. 120.
John - The Baptist was of the priestly race by both parents, for his father, Zacharias, was himself a priest of the course of Abia or Abijah, (1 Chronicles 24:10) and Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron. (Luke 1:5) His birth was foretold by an angel sent from God, and is related at length in Luke 1. The birth of John preceded by six months that of our Lord. John was ordained to be a Nazarite from his birth. (Luke 1:15) Dwelling by himself in the wild and thinly-peopled region westward of the Dead Sea, he prepared himself for the wonderful office to which he had been divinely called. His dress was that of the old prophets--a garment woven of camel's hair, (2 Kings 1:8) attached to the body by a leathern girdle. His food was such as the desert afforded--locusts, (Leviticus 11:22) and wild honey. (Psalms 81:16) And now the long-secluded hermit came forth to the discharge of his office. His supernatural birth, his life, and the general expectation that some great one was about to appear, were sufficient to attract to him a great multitude from "every quarter. " (Matthew 3:5) Many of every class pressed forward to confess their sins and to be baptized. Jesus himself came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. [Jesus Christ] From incidental notices we learn that John and his disciples continued to baptize some time after our Lord entered upon his ministry. See (John 3:23; 4:1; Acts 19:3) We gather also that John instructed his disciples in certain moral and religious duties, as fasting, (Matthew 9:14; Luke 5:33) and prayer. (Luke 11:1) But shortly after he had given his testimony to the Messiah, John's public ministry was brought to a close. In daring disregard of the divine laws, Herod Antipas had taken to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; and when John reproved him for this, as well as for other sins, (Luke 3:19) Herod cast him into prison. (March, A. D. 28.) The place of his confinement was the castle of Machaerus, a fortress on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It was here that reports reached him of the miracles which our Lord was working in Judea. Nothing but the death of the Baptist would satisfy the resentment of Herodias. A court festival was kept at Machaerus in honor of the king's birthday. After supper the daughter of Herodias came in and danced the king by her grace that he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. Salome, prompted by her abandoned mother, demanded the head of John the Baptist. Herod gave instructions to an officer of his guard, who went and executed John in the prison, and his head was brought to feast the eyes of the adulteress whose sins he had denounced. His death is supposed to have occurred just before the third passover, in the course of the Lord's ministry. (March, A. D. 29.)
John, Gospel Of - This Gospel was probably written at Ephesus about A. D. 78. (Canon Cook places it toward the close of John's life, A. D. 90-100. ED.) The Gospel was obviously addressed primarily to Christians, not to heathen. There can be little doubt that the main object of St. John, who wrote after the other evangelists, is to supplement their narratives, which were almost confined to our Lord's life in Galilee. (It was the Gospel for the Church, to cultivate and cherish the spiritual life of Christians, and bring them into the closest relations to the divine Saviour. It gives the inner life and teachings of Christ as revealed to his disciples. Nearly two-thirds of the whole book belong to the last six months of our Lord's life, and one-third is the record of the last week. ED.) The following is an abridgment of its contents: A. The Prologue. Ch. (John 1:1 -18) B. The History, ch. (John 1:19; John 20:29) (a) Various events relating to our Lord's ministry, narrated in connection with seven journeys, ch. (John 1:19; John 12:50)
John, The First Epistle General Of - There can be no doubt that the apostle John was the author of this epistle. It was probably written from Ephesus, and most likely at the close of the first century. In the introduction, ch. (1 John 1:1-4) the apostle states the purpose of his epistle: it is to declare the word of life to those whom he is addressing, in order that he and they might be united in true communion with each other, and with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. His lesson throughout is that the means of union with God are, on the part of Christ, his atoning blood, ch. (1 John 1:7; 2:2; 3:5; 4:10,14; 5:6) and advocacy, ch. (1 John 2:1) on the part of man, holiness, ch. (1 John 1:6), obedience, ch. (1 John 2:3) purity, ch. (1 John 3:3) faith, ch. (1 John 3:23; 4:3; 5:5) and above all love. Ch. (1 John 2:7; 3:14; 4:7; 5:1)
John, The Second And Third Epistles Of - The second epistle is addressed to an individual woman. One who had children, and a sister and nieces, is clearly indicated. According to one interpretation she is "the Lady Electa," to another, "the elect Kyria," to a third, "the elect Lady. " The third epistle is addressed to Caius or Gaius. He was probably a convert of St. John, Epist. (3 John 1:4) and a layman of wealth and distinction, Epits. (3 John 1:5) in some city near Ephesus. The object of St. John in writing the second epistle was to warn the lady to whom he wrote against abetting the teaching known as that of Basilides and his followers, by perhaps an undue kindness displayed by her toward the preachers of the false doctrine. The third epistle was written for the purpose of commending to the kindness and hospitality of Caius some Christians who were strangers in the place where he lived. It is probably that these Christians carried this letter with them to Caius as their introduction.
Joiakim - (whom Jehovah sets up), a high priest, son of the renowned Jeshua. (Nehemiah 12:10) (B. C. Before 446.)
Joiarib - (whom Jehovah defends.)
Jokdean - (possessed by the people), a city of Judah, in the mountains, (Joshua 15:56) apparently south of Hebron.
Jokim - (whom Jehovah has set up), one of the sons of Shelah the son of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:22)
Jokmeam - (gathered by the people), a city of Ephraim, given with its suburbs to a Kohathite Levites. (1 Chronicles 6:68) The situation of Jokmeam (in Authorized Version Jokneam) is to a certain extent indicated in (1 Kings 4:12) where it is named with places which we know to have been in the Jordan valley at the extreme east boundary of the tribe.
Jokneam - (possessed by the people), a city of the tribe of Zebulun, allotted with its suburbs to the Merarite Levites. (Joshua 21:34) Its modern site is Tell Kaimon, an eminence which stands just below the eastern termination of Carmel.
Jokshan - (fowler), a son of Abraham and Keturah, (Genesis 25:2,3; 1 Chronicles 1:32) whose sons were Sheba and Dedan.
Joktan - (small), son of Eber, (Genesis 10:25; 1 Chronicles 1:19) and the father of the Joktanite Arabs. (Genesis 10:30) (B. C. About 2200.)
Jona - (a dove) (Greek form of Jonah), the father of the apostle Peter, (John 1:42) who is hence addressed as Simon Barjona (i. E. Son of Jona) in (Matthew 16:17)
Jonadab - (whom Jehovah impels).
Jonah - (dove), the fifth of the minor prophets, was the son of Amittai, and a native of Gath-hepher. (2 Kings 14:25) He flourished in or before the reign of Jeroboam II. , about B. C. 820. Having already, as it seems, prophesied to Israel, he was sent to Nineveh. The time was one of political revival in Israel; but ere long the Assyrians were to be employed by God as a scourge upon them. The prophet shrank from a commission which he felt sure would result, (Jonah 4:2) in the sparing of a hostile city. He attempted therefore to escape to Tarshish. The providence of God, however, watched over him, first in a storm, and then in his being swallowed by a large fish (a sea monster, probably the white shark) for the space of three days and three nights. [On this subject see article Whale] After his deliverance, Jonah executed his commission; and the king, "believing him to be a minister form the supreme deity of the nation," and having heard of his miraculous deliverance, ordered a general fast, and averted the threatened judgment. But the prophet, not from personal but national feelings, grudged the mercy shown to a heathen nation. He was therefore taught by the significant lesson of the "gourd," whose growth and decay brought the truth at once home to him, that he was sent to testify by deed, as other prophets would afterward testify by word, the capacity of Gentiles for salvation, and the design of God to make them partakers of it. This was "the sign of the prophet Jonas. " (Luke 11:29,30) But the resurrection of Christ itself was also shadowed forth in the history of the prophet. (Matthew 12:39,41; 16:4) The mission of Jonah was highly symbolical. The facts contained a concealed prophecy. The old tradition made the burial-place of Jonah to be Gath-hepher; the modern tradition places it at Nebi-Yunus, opposite Mosul.
Jonam - (gift or grace of God), the form given to Jonan in the Revised Version of (Luke 3:30)
Jonan - (perhaps a contraction of Johnana, gift or grace of God), son of Eliakim, in the genealogy of Christ. (Luke 3:30) (B. C. Before 876.)
Jonathan - that is, "the gift of Jehovah, " the eldest son of King Saul. (B. C. About 1095-1056.) He was a man of great strength and activity. (2 Samuel 1:23) He was also famous as a warrior, (1 Chronicles 12:2) as is shown by the courage he showing in attacking the garrison of the Philistines, in company with is armor-bearer only, slaying twenty men and putting an army to flight. (1 Samuel 14:6-16) During the pursuit, Jonathan, who had not heard of the rash curse, ch. (1 Samuel 14:24) which Saul invoked on any one who ate before the evening, tasted the honey which lay on the ground. Saul would have sacrificed him; but the people interposed in behalf of the hero of that great day, and Jonathan was saved. Ch. (1 Samuel 14:24-45) The chief interest of Jonathan's career is derived from the friendship with David, which began on the day of David's return from the victory over the champion of Gath, and continued till his death. Their last meeting was in and forest of Ziph, during Saul's pursuit of David. (1 Samuel 23:16-18) From this time forth we hear no more till the battle of Gilboa. In that battle he fell. (1 Samuel 31:2,8) (B. C. 1056.) His ashes were buried first at Jabesh- gilead, ch. (1 Samuel 31:13) but were afterward removed with those of his father to Zelah in Benjamin. (2 Samuel 21:12) The news of his death occasioned the celebrated elegy of David. He left a son, Mephibosheth. [Mephibosheth]
Jonathelemrechokim - (a dumb love of (in) distant places), a phrase found once only in the Bible, as a heading to the 56th psalm. Aben Ezra, who regards Jonath-elem-rechokim as merely indicating the modulation or the rhythm of the psalm, appears to come the nearest to the meaning of the passage.
Joppa, Or Japho - (beauty), now Jaffa, a town on the southwest coast of Palestine, in the portion of Dan. (Joshua 19:46) Having a harbor attached to it--though always, as still, a dangerous one--it became the port of Jerusalem in the days of Solomon, and has been ever since. Here Jonah "took ship to flee from the presence of his Maker. " Here, on the house-top of Simon the tanner, "by the seaside," St. Peter had his vision of tolerance. (Acts 11:5) The existing town contains about 4000 inhabitants.
Jorah - (the early rain), the ancestor of a family of 112 who returned from Babylon with Ezra. (Ezra 2:18) In (Nehemiah 7:24) he appears under the name Hariph, or more correctly the same family are represented as the Bene-Hariph.
Jorai - (whom Jehovah teaches), one of the Gadites dwelling at Gilead in Bashan, in the reign of Jothan king of Judah. (1 Chronicles 5:13)
Joram - (whom Jehovah has exalted).
Jordan - (the descender), the one river of Palestine, has a course of little more than 200 miles, from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the head of the Dead Sea. (136 miles in a straight line. Schaff.) It is the river of the "great plain" of Palestine--the "descender," if not "the river of God" in the book of Psalms, at least that of his chosen people throughout their history. There were fords over against Jericho, to which point the men of Jericho pursued the spies. (Joshua 2:7) comp. Judg 3:28 Higher up where the fords or passages of Bethbarah, where Gideon lay in wait for the Midianites, (Judges 7:24) and where the men of Gilead slew the Ephraimites. Ch. (Judges 12:6) These fords undoubtedly witnessed the first recorded passage of the Jordan in the Old Testament. (Genesis 32:10) Jordan was next crossed, over against Jericho, by Joshua. (Joshua 4:12,13) From their vicinity to Jerusalem the lower fords were much used. David, it is probable, passed over them in one instance to fight the Syrians. (2 Samuel 10:17; 17:22) Thus there were two customary places at which the Jordan was fordable; and it must have been at one of these, if not at both, that baptism was afterward administered by St. John and by the disciples of our Lord. Where our Lord was baptized is not stated expressly, but it was probably at the upper ford. These fords were rendered so much more precious in those days from two circumstances. First, it does not appear that there were then any bridges thrown over or boats regularly established on the Jordan; and secondly, because "Jordan overflowed all his banks all the time of harvest. " (Joshua 3:15) The channel or bed of the river became brimful, so that the level of the water and of the banks was then the same. (Dr. Selah Merrill, in his book "Galilee in the Time of Christ" (1881), says, "Near Tarichaea, just below the point where the Jordan leaves the lake (of Galilee), there was (in Christ's time) a splendid bridge across the river, supported by ten piers. "--ED.) The last feature which remains to be noticed in the scriptural account of the Jordan is its frequent mention as a boundary: "over Jordan," "this" and "the other side," or "beyond Jordan," were expressions as familiar to the Israelites as "across the water," "this" and "the other side of the Channel" are to English ears. In one sense indeed, that is, in so far as it was the eastern boundary of the land of Canaan, it was the eastern boundary of the promised land. (Numbers 34:12) The Jordan rises from several sources near Panium (Banias), and passes through the lakes of Merom (Huleh) and Gennesaret. The two principal features in its course are its descent and its windings. From its fountain heads to the Dead Sea it rushes down one continuous inclined plane, only broken by a series of rapids or precipitous falls. Between the Lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea there are 27 rapids. The depression of the Lake of Gennesaret below the level of the Mediterranean is 653 feet, and that of the Dead Sea 1316 feet. (The whole descent from its source to the Dead Sea is 3000 feet. Its width varies form 45 to 180 feet, and it is from 3 to 12 feet deep. -Schaff.) Its sinuosity is not so remarkable in the upper part of its course. The only tributaries to the Jordan below Gennesaret are the Yarmuk (Hieromax) and the Zerka (Jabbok). Not a single city ever crowned the banks of the Jordan. Still Bethshan and Jericho to the west, Gerasa, Pella and Gadara to the east of it were important cities, and caused a good deal of traffic between the two opposite banks. The physical features of the Ghor, through which the Jordan flows, are treated of under Palestina and Palestine.
Jorim - (whom Jehovah has exalted), son of Matthat, in the genealogy of Christ. (Luke 3:29)
Jorkoam - (paleness of the people), either a descendant of Caleb the son of Hezron, or the name of a place in the tribe of Judah. (1 Chronicles 2:44)
Josabad - (whom Jehovah bestows), properly Jozabad the Gederathite, one of the warriors of Benjamin who joined David at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:4) (B. C. 1055.)
Josaphat - Jehoshaphat king of Judah. (Matthew 1:8)
Jose - (another form of Joses), son of Eliezer, in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. (Luke 3:29)
Josech - the form of name given in the Revised Version for Joseph, in (Luke 3:26) It is not found in the Old Testament.
Josedech - Jehozadak (whom Jehovah makes just), the son of Seraiah. (Haggai 1:1,12,14; 2:2,4; Zechariah 6:11)
Joshah - (whom Jehovah lets dwell), a prince of the house of Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:34,38-41)
Joshaphat - (whom Jehovah judges), the Mithnite, one of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 11:43)
Joshaviah - (whom Jehovah makes dwell), the son of Elnaam, and one of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 11:46) (B. C. 1046.)
Joshbekashah - (a seat in a hard place), son of Heman, head of the seventeenth course of musicians. (1 Chronicles 25:4,25) (B. C. 1014.)
Joshua - (saviour, or whose help is Jehovah). His name appears in the various forms of Hoshea, Oshea, Oshea, Jehoshua, Jeshua and Jesus.
Joshua, Book Of - Named from Joshua the son of Nun, who is the principal character in it. The book may be regarded as consisting of three parts:
Josiah - (whom Jehovah heals).
Josias - Josiah, king of Judah. (Matthew 1:10,11)
Josibiah - (to whom God gives a dwelling), the father of Jehu, a Simeonite. (1 Chronicles 4:35)
Josiphiah - (whom Jehovah will increase), the father or ancestor of Shelomith, who returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:10) (B. C. 459.)
Jot - the English form of the Greek iota, i. E. , the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. The Hebrew is yod, or y formed like a comma ('). It is used metaphorically to express the minutest thing.
Jotbah - (goodness), the native place of Meshullemeth, the queen of Manasseh. (2 Kings 21:19)
Jotbath, Or Jotbathah - (goodness), (10:7; Numbers 33:33) a desert station of the Israelites.
Jotham - (Jehovah is upright).
Jozabad - (Jehovah justifies).
Jozachar - (whom Jehovah has remembered), one of the murderers of Joash king of Judah. (2 Kings 12:21) The writer of the Chronicles, (2 Chronicles 24:26) calls him Zabad. (B. C. 837.)
Jozadak - (whom Jehovah has made just). (Ezra 3:2,8; 5:2; 10:18; Nehemiah 12:26) The contracted form of Jehozadak.
Jubal - (music), a son of Lamech by Adah, and the inventor of the "harp and organ. " (Genesis 4:21)
Jucal - (powerful), son of Shelemiah. (Jeremiah 38:1)
Judaea, Or Judea - (from Judah), a territorial division which succeeded to the overthrow of the ancient landmarks of the tribes of Israel and Judah in their respective captivities. The word first occurs (Daniel 5:13) Authorized Version "Jewry," and the first mention of the "province of Judea" is in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 5:8) It is alluded to in (Nehemiah 11:3) (Authorized Version "Judah"). In the apocryphal books the word "province" is dropped, and throughout them and the New Testament the expressions are "the land of Judea," "Judea. " In a wide and more improper sense, the term Judea was sometimes extended to the whole country of the Canaanites, its ancient inhabitants; and even in the Gospels we read of the coasts of Judea "beyond Jordan. " (Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1) Judea was, in strict language, the name of the third district, west of the Jordan and south of Samaria. It was made a portion of the Roman province of Syria upon the deposition of Archelaus, the ethnarch of Judea, in A. D. 6, and was governed by a procurator, who was subject to the governor of Syria.
Judah - (praised, celebrated), the fourth son of Jacob and the fourth of Leah. (B. C. After 1753.) Of Judah's personal character more traits are preserved than of any other of the patriarchs, with the exception of Joseph, whose life he in conjunction with Reuben saved. (Genesis 37:26-28) During the second visit to Egypt for corn it was Judah who understood to be responsible for the safety of Benjamin, ch. (Genesis 43:3-10) and when, through Joseph's artifice, the brothers were brought back to the palace, he is again the leader and spokesman of the band. So too it is Judah who is sent before Jacob to smooth the way for him in the land of Goshen. Ch. (Genesis 46:28) This ascendancy over his brethren is reflected in the last words addressed to him by his father. The families of Judah occupy a position among the tribes similar to that which their progenitor had taken among the patriarchs. The numbers of the tribe at the census at Sinai were 74,600. (Numbers 1:26,27) On the borders of the promised land they were 76,500. (Genesis 26:22) The boundaries and contents of the territory allotted to Judah are narrated at great length, and with greater minuteness than the others, in (Joshua 15:20-63) The north boundary, for the most part coincident with the south boundary of Benjamin, began at the embouchure of the Jordan and ended on the west at Jabneel on the coast of the Mediterranean, four miles south of Joppa. On the east the Dead Sea, and on the west the Mediterranean, formed the boundaries. The southern line is hard to determine, since it is denoted by places many of which have not been identified. It left the Dead Sea at its extreme south end, and joined the Mediterranean at the Wady el-Arish. This territory is in average length about 45 miles, and in average breadth about 50.
| I. | Extent. When the disruption of Solomon's kingdom took place at Shechem, B. C. 975, only the tribe of Judah followed David, but almost immediately afterward the larger part of Benjamin joined Judah. A part, if no all, of the territory of Simeon, (1 Samuel 27:6; 1 Kings 19:3) comp. Josh 19:1 And of Dan, (2 Chronicles 11:10) comp. Josh 19:41,42 Was recognized as belonging to Judah; and in the reigns of Abijah and Asa the southern kingdom was enlarged by some additions taken out of the territory of Ephraim. (2 Chronicles 13:19; 15:8; 17:2) It is estimated that the territory of Judah contained about 3450 square miles. |
| II. | Advantages. The kingdom of Judah possessed many advantages which secured for it a longer continuance than that of Israel. A frontier less exposed to powerful enemies, a soil less fertile, a population hardier and more united, a fixed and venerated centre of administration and religion, a hereditary aristocracy in the sacerdotal caste, an army always subordinate, a succession of kings which no revolution interrupted; so that Judah survived her more populous and more powerful sister kingdom by 135 years, and lasted from B. C. 975 to B. C. 536. |
| III. | History--The first three kings of Judah seem to have cherished the hope of re-establishing their authority over the ten tribes; for sixty years there was war between them and the kings of Israel. The victory achieved by the daring Abijah brought to Judah a temporary accession of territory. Asa appears to have enlarged it still further. Hanani's remonstrance, (2 Chronicles 16:7) prepares us for the reversal by Jehoshaphat of the policy which Asa pursued toward Israel and Damascus. A close alliance sprang up with strange rapidity between Judah and Israel. Jehoshaphat, active and prosperous, commanded the respect of his neighbors; but under Amaziah Jerusalem was entered and plundered by the Israelites. Under Uzziah and Jotham, Judah long enjoyed prosperity, till Ahaz became the tributary and vassal of Tiglath-pileser. Already in the fatal grasp of Assyria, Judah was yet spared for a checkered existence of almost another century and a half after the termination of the kingdom of Israel. The consummation of the ruin came upon its people in the destruction of the temple by the hand of Nebuzaradan, B. C. 536. There were 19 kings, all from the family of David. |
| IV. | Population. We have a gage as to the number of the people at different periods in the number of soldiers. If we estimate the population at four times the fighting men, we will have the following table: |
| King | Date | Soldiers | Population |
| David | B.C. 1056-1015 | 500,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Rehoboam | B.C. 975-957 | 180,000 | 720,000 |
| Abijah | B.C. 957-955 | 400,000 | 1,600,000 |
| Asa | B.C. 955 -914 | 500,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Jehoshaphat | B.C. 914-889 | 1,160,000 | 4,640,000 |
| Amaziah | B.C. 839-810 | 300,000 | 1,200,000 |
| I. | Surnamed Barsabas, a leading member of the apostolic church at Jerusalem, (Acts 15:22) endued with the gift of prophesy, ver. (Acts 15:32) chosen with Silas to accompany Paul and Barnabas as delegates to the church at Antioch. (A. D. 47.) Later, Judas went back to Jerusalem. |
| II. | The Greek form of the Hebrew name Judah, occurring in the LXX, and the New Testament. |
| A. | The patriarch Judah. (Matthew 1:2,3) |
| B. | A man residing at Damascus, in "the street which is called Straight," in whose house Saul of Tarsus lodged after his miraculous conversion. (Acts 9:11) |
Judas Iscariot - (Judas of Kerioth). He is sometimes called "the son of Simon," (John 6:71; 13:2,26) but more commonly ISCARIOTES. (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:16) etc. The name Iscariot has received many interpretations more of less conjectural. The most probable is from Ish Kerioth, i. E. "man of Kerioth," a town in the tribe of Judah. (Joshua 15:25) Of the life of Judas before the appearance of his name in the lists of the apostles we know absolutely nothing. What that appearance implies, however, is that he had previously declared himself a disciple. He was drawn, as the others were, by the preaching of the Baptist, or his own Messianic hopes, or the "gracious words" of the new Teacher, to leave his former life, and to obey the call of the Prophet of Nazareth. The choice was not made, we must remember, without a provision of its issue. (John 6:64) The germs of the evil, in all likelihood, unfolded themselves gradually. The rules to which the twelve were subject in their first journey, (Matthew 10:9,10) sheltered him from the temptation that would have been most dangerous to him. The new form of life, of which we find the first traces in (Luke 8:3) brought that temptation with it. As soon as the twelve were recognized as a body, travelling hither and thither with their Master, receiving money and other offerings, and redistributing what they received to the poor, it became necessary that some one should act as the steward and almoner of the small society, and this fell to Judas. (John 12:6; 13:29) The Galilean or Judean peasant found himself entrusted with larger sums of money than before, and with this there came covetousness, unfaithfulness, embezzlement. Several times he showed his tendency to avarice and selfishness. This, even under the best of influences, grew worse and worse, till he betrayed his Master for thirty pieces of silver. (Why was such a man chosen to be one of the twelve?:
| 1. | Restitution of the silver did not undo the wrong; |
| 2. | It was restored in a wrong spirit,--a desire for relief rather than hatred of sin; |
| 3. | He confessed to the wrong party, or rather to those who should have been secondary, and who could not grand forgiveness; |
| 4. | "compunction is not conversion. " |
Judas Maccabaeus - [Maccabees]
Judas Of Galilee - the leader of a popular revolt "in the days of the taxing" (i. E. The census, under the prefecture of P. Sulp. Quirinus, A. D. 6, A. U. C. 759), referred to by Gamaliel in his speech before the Sanhedrin. (Acts 5:37) According to Josephus, Judas was a Gaulonite of the city of Gamala, probably taking his name of Galilean from his insurrection having had its rise in Galilee. The Gaulonites, as his followers were called, may be regarded as the doctrinal ancestors of the Zealots and Sicarii of later days.
Judas, The Lords Brother - Among the brethren of our Lord mentioned by the people of Nazareth. (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3) Whether this and the Jude above are the same is still a disputed point.
Jude, Epistle Of - Its author was probably Jude, one of the brethren of Jesus, the subject of the preceding article. There are no data from which to determine its date or place of writing, but it is placed about A. D. 65. The object of the epistle is plainly enough announced ver. 3; the reason for this exhortation is given ver. The remainder of the epistle is almost entirely occupied by a minute depiction of the adversaries of the faith. The epistle closes by briefly reminding the readers of the oft-repeated prediction of the apostles--among whom the writer seems not to rank himself--that the faith would be assailed by such enemies as he has depicted, vs. (Jude 1:17-19) exhorting them to maintain their own steadfastness in the faith, vs. (Jude 1:20,21) while they earnestly sought to rescue others from the corrupt example of those licentious livers, vs. (Jude 1:22,23) and commending them to the power of God in language which forcibly recalls the closing benediction of the epistle to the Romans. Vs. (Jude 1:24,25) cf. Roma 16:25-27 This epistle presents one peculiarity, which, as we learn from St. Jerome, caused its authority to be impugned in very early times--the supposed citation of apocryphal writings. Vs. (Jude 1:9,14,15) The larger portion of this epistle, vs. (Jude 1:3-16) is almost identical in language and subject with a part of the Second Epistle of Peter. (2 Peter 2:1-19)
Jude, Or Judas - called also LEBBEUS and Thaddeus, Authorized Version "Judas the brother of James," one of the twelve apostles. The name of Jude occurs only once in the Gospel narrative. (John 14:22; Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:16; John 14:22; Acts 1:13) Nothing is certainly known of the later history of the apostle. Tradition connects him with the foundation of the church at Edessa.
Judges - The judges were temporary and special deliverers, sent by God to deliver the Israelites from their oppressors; not supreme magistrates, succeeding to the authority of Moses and Joshua. Their power only extended over portions of the country, and some of them were contemporaneous. Their first work was that of deliverers and leaders in war; they then administered justice to the people, and their authority supplied the want of a regular government. Even while the administration of Samuel gave something like a settled government to the south, there was scope for the irregular exploits of Samson on the borders of the Philistines; and Samuel at last established his authority as judge and prophet, but still as the servant of Jehovah, only to see it so abused by his sons as to exhaust the patience of the people, who at length demanded a king, after the pattern of the surrounding nations. The following is a list of judges, whose history is given under their respective names:
More than likely some of these ruled simultaneously. On the chronology of the judges, see the following article.
Judges, Book Of - of which the book or Ruth formed originally a part, contains a history from Joshua to Samson. The book may be divided into two parts:
| 1. | The conquest of Laish by a portion of the tribe of Dan, and the establishment there of the idolatrous worship of Jehovah already instituted by Micah in Mount Ephraim. |
| 2. | The almost total extinction of the tribe of Benjamin. |
Judgment Hall - The word praetorium is so translated five times in the Authorized Version of the New Testament, and in those five passages it denotes two different places.
Judith - (Jewess, or praised).
Judith, The Book Of - one of the books of the Apocrypha, belongs to the earliest specimens of historical fiction. As to its authorship it belongs to the Maccabean period, B. C. 175-135, which it reflects not only in its general spirit, but even in its smaller traits.
Julia - (feminine of Julius), a Christian woman at Rome, probably the wife of Philologus, in connection with whom she is saluted by St. Paul. (Romans 16:15) (A. D. 55.)
Julius - (soft-haired), the centurion of "Augustus' band," to whose charge St. Paul was delivered when he was sent prisoner from Caesarea to Rome. (Acts 27:1,3) (A. D. 60.)
Junia - (belonging to Juno), a Christian at Rome, mentioned by St. Paul as one of his kinsfolk and fellow prisoners, of note among the apostles, and in Christ before St. Paul. (Romans 16:7) (A. D. 55).
Junias - Revised Version for Junia above. It is the more literal form.
Juniper - (1 Kings 19:4,5; Job 30:4; Psalms 120:4) a sort of broom, Genista monosperma, G. Raetam of Forskal, answering to the Arabic rethem. It is very abundant in the desert of Sinai, and affords shade and protection, in both heat and storm, to travellers. The rethem is a leguminous plant, and bears a white flower. It is found also in Spain. It is an erect shrub, with no main trunk, but many wand-like, slender branches, and is sometimes twelve feet high. Its use is very great in stopping the sand. ED.)
Jupiter - (a father that helps), the Greek Zeus. The Olympian Zeus was the national god of the Hellenic race, as well as the supreme ruler of the heathen world, and as such formed the true opposite to Jehovah. Jupiter or Zeus is mentioned in two passages of the New Testament, on the occasion of St. Paul's visit to Lystra, (Acts 14:12,13) where the expression "Jupiter, which was before their city," means that his temple was outside the city. Also in (Acts 19:35)
Jushabhesed - (whose love is returned), son of Zerubbabel. (1 Chronicles 3:20)
Juttah - (stretched out), a city in the mountain region of Judah, in the neighborhood of Maon and Carmel. (Joshua 15:55) The place is now known as Yutta.