Easton's Bible Dictionary
Jehovah-tsidkenu — Jubal
Jehovah-tsidkenu
Jehovah-tsidkenu — Jehovah our rightousness, rendered in the Authorized Version, “The LORD our righteousness,” a title given to the Messiah (Jeremiah 23:6, marg.), and also to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 33:16, marg.).
Jehozabad
Jehozabad — Jehovah-given. (1.) The son of Obed-edom (1 Chronicles 26:4), one of the Levite porters.
(2.) The son of Shomer, one of the two conspirators who put king Jehoash to death in Millo in Jerusalem (2 Kings 12:21).
(3.) 2 Chronicles 17:18.
Jehozadak
Jehozadak — Jehovah-justified, the son of the high priest Seraiah at the time of the Babylonian exile (1 Chronicles 6:14, 1 Chronicles 6:15). He was carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, and probably died in Babylon. He was the father of Jeshua, or Joshua, who returned with Zerubbabel.
Jehu
Jehu — Jehovah is he. (1.) The son of Obed, and father of Azariah (1 Chronicles 2:38).
(2.) One of the Benjamite slingers that joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:3).
(3.) The son of Hanani, a prophet of Judah (1 Kings 16:1, 1 Kings 16:7; 2 Chronicles 19:2; 2 Chronicles 20:34), who pronounced the sentence of God against Baasha, the king of Israel.
(4.) King of Israel, the son of Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 9:2), and grandson of Nimshi. The story of his exaltation to the throne is deeply interesting. During the progress of a war against the Syrians, who were becoming more and more troublesome to Israel, in a battle at Ramoth-gilead Jehoram, the king of Israel, had been wounded; and leaving his army there, had returned to Jezreel, whither his ally, Ahaziah, king of Judah, had also gone on a visit of sympathy with him (2 Kings 8:28, 2 Kings 8:29). The commanders, being left in charge of the conduct of the war, met in council; and while engaged in their deliberations, a messenger from Elisha appeared in the camp, and taking Jehu from the council, led him into a secret chamber, and there anointed him king over Israel, and immediately retired and disappeared (2 Kings 9:5, 2 Kings 9:6). On being interrogated by his companions as to the object of this mysterious visitor, he informed them of what had been done, when immediately, with the utmost enthusiasm, they blew their trumpets and proclaimed him king (2 Kings 9:11-14). He then with a chosen band set forth with all speed to Jezreel, where, with his own hand, he slew Jehoram, shooting him through the heart with an arrow (2 Kings 9:24). The king of Judah, when trying to escape, was fatally wounded by one of Jehu’s soldiers at Beth-gan. On entering the city, Jehu commanded the eunchs of the royal palace to cast down Jezebel into the street, where her mangled body was trodden under foot by the horses. Jehu was now master of Jezreel, whence he communicated with the persons in authority in Samaria the capital, commanding them to appear before him on the morrow with the heads of all the royal princes of Samaria. Accordingly on the morrow seventy heads were piled up in two heaps at his gate. At “the shearing-house” (2 Kings 10:12-14) other forty-two connected with the house of Ahab were put to death (2 Kings 10:14). As Jehu rode on toward Samaria, he met Jehonadab (q.v.), whom he took into his chariot, and they entered the capital together. By a cunning stratagem he cut off all the worshippers of Baal found in Samaria (2 Kings 10:19-25), and destroyed the temple of the idol (2 Kings 10:27).
Notwithstanding all this apparent zeal for the worship of Jehovah, Jehu yet tolerated the worship of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel. For this the divine displeasure rested upon him, and his kingdom suffered disaster in war with the Syrians (2 Kings 10:29-33). He died after a reign of twenty-eight years (B.C. 884-856), and was buried in Samaria (2 Kings 10:34-36). “He was one of those decisive, terrible, and ambitious, yet prudent, calculating, and passionless men whom God from time to time raises up to change the fate of empires and execute his judgments on the earth.” He was the first Jewish king who came in contact with the Assyrian power in the time of Shalmaneser II.
Jehucal
Jehucal — able, the son of Shelemiah. He is also called Jucal (Jeremiah 38:1). He was one of the two persons whom Zedekiah sent to request the prophet Jeremiah to pray for the kingdom (Jeremiah 37:3) during the time of its final siege by Nebuchadnezzar. He was accompanied by Zephaniah (q.v.).
Jehudi
Jehudi — a Jew, son of Nethaniah. He was sent by the princes to invite Baruch to read Jeremiah’s roll to them (Jeremiah 36:14, Jeremiah 36:21).
Jeiel
Jeiel — snatched away by God. (1.) A descendant of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 9:35; 1 Chronicles 8:29).
(2.) One of the Levites who took part in praising God on the removal of the ark to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16:5).
(3.) 2 Chronicles 29:13. A Levite of the sons of Asaph.
(4.) 2 Chronicles 26:11. A scribe.
(5.) 1 Chronicles 5:7. A Reubenite chief.
(6.) One of the chief Levites, who made an offering for the restoration of the Passover by Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:9).
(7.) Ezra 8:13.
(8.) Ezra 10:43.
Jemima
Jemima — dove, the eldest of Job’s three daughters born after his time of trial (Job 42:14).
Jephthah
Jephthah — whom God sets free, or the breaker through, a “mighty man of valour” who delivered Israel from the oppression of the Ammonites (Judges 11:1-33), and judged Israel six years (Judges 12:7). He has been described as “a wild, daring, Gilead mountaineer, a sort of warrior Elijah.” After forty-five years of comparative quiet Israel again apostatized, and in “process of time the children of Ammon made war against Israel” (Judges 11:5). In their distress the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob, to which he had fled when driven out wrongfully by his brothers from his father’s inheritance (Judges 11:2), and the people made him their head and captain. The “elders of Gilead” in their extremity summoned him to their aid, and he at once undertook the conduct of the war against Ammon. Twice he sent an embassy to the king of Ammon, but in vain. War was inevitable. The people obeyed his summons, and “the spirit of the Lord came upon him.” Before engaging in war he vowed that if successful he would offer as a “burnt-offering” whatever would come out of the door of his house first to meet him on his return. The defeat of the Ammonites was complete. “He smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards [Heb. ‘Abel Keramim], with a very great slaughter” (Judges 11:33). The men of Ephraim regarded themselves as insulted in not having been called by Jephthah to go with him to war against Ammon. This led to a war between the men of Gilead and Ephraim (Judges 12:4), in which many of the Ephraimites perished. (See SHIBBOLETH.) “Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead” (Judges 12:7).
Jephthah’s vow
Jephthah’s vow — (Judges 11:30, Judges 11:31). After a crushing defeat of the Ammonites, Jephthah returned to his own house, and the first to welcome him was his own daughter. This was a terrible blow to the victor, and in his despair he cried out, “Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low … I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and cannot go back.” With singular nobleness of spirit she answered, “Do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth.” She only asked two months to bewail her maidenhood with her companions upon the mountains. She utters no reproach against her father’s rashness, and is content to yield her life since her father has returned a conqueror. But was it so? Did Jephthah offer up his daughter as a “burnt-offering”? This question has been much debated, and there are many able commentators who argue that such a sacrifice was actually offered. We are constrained, however, by a consideration of Jephthah’s known piety as a true worshipper of Jehovah, his evident acquaintance with the law of Moses, to which such sacrifices were abhorrent (Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:2-5; Deuteronomy 12:31), and the place he holds in the roll of the heroes of the faith in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:32), to conclude that she was only doomed to a life of perpetual celibacy.
Jephunneh
Jephunneh — nimble, or a beholder. (1.) The father of Caleb, who was Joshua’s companion in exploring Canaan (Numbers 13:6), a Kenezite (Joshua 14:14). (2.) One of the descendants of Asher (1 Chronicles 7:38).
Jerahmeel
Jerahmeel — loving God. (1.) The son of Hezron, the brother of Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:9, 1 Chronicles 2:25, 1 Chronicles 2:26, etc.).
(2.) The son of Kish, a Levite (1 Chronicles 24:29).
(3.) Son of Hammelech (Jeremiah 36:26).
Jeremiah
Jeremiah — raised up or appointed by Jehovah. (1.) A Gadite who joined David in the wilderness (1 Chronicles 12:10).
(2.) A Gadite warrior (1 Chronicles 12:13).
(3.) A Benjamite slinger who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:4).
(4.) One of the chiefs of the tribe of Manasseh on the east of Jordan (1 Chronicles 5:24).
(5.) The father of Hamutal (2 Kings 23:31), the wife of Josiah.
(6.) One of the “greater prophets” of the Old Testament, son of Hilkiah (q.v.), a priest of Anathoth (Jeremiah 1:1; Jeremiah 32:6). He was called to the prophetical office when still young (Jeremiah 1:6), in the thirteenth year of Josiah (B.C. 628). He left his native place, and went to reside in Jerusalem, where he greatly assisted Josiah in his work of reformation (2 Kings 23:1-25). The death of this pious king was bewailed by the prophet as a national calamity (2 Chronicles 35:25).
During the three years of the reign of Jehoahaz we find no reference to Jeremiah, but in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the enmity of the people against him broke out in bitter persecution, and he was placed apparently under restraint (Jeremiah 36:5). In the fourth year of Jehoiakim he was commanded to write the predictions given to him, and to read them to the people on the fast-day. This was done by Baruch his servant in his stead, and produced much public excitement. The roll was read to the king. In his recklessness he seized the roll, and cut it to pieces, and cast it into the fire, and ordered both Baruch and Jeremiah to be apprehended. Jeremiah procured another roll, and wrote in it the words of the roll the king had destroyed, and “many like words” besides (Jeremiah 36:32).
He remained in Jerusalem, uttering from time to time his words of warning, but without effect. He was there when Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city (Jeremiah 37:4, Jeremiah 37:5), B.C. 589. The rumour of the approach of the Egyptians to aid the Jews in this crisis induced the Chaldeans to withdraw and return to their own land. This, however, was only for a time. The prophet, in answer to his prayer, received a message from God announcing that the Chaldeans would come again and take the city, and burn it with fire (Jeremiah 37:7, Jeremiah 37:8). The princes, in their anger at such a message by Jeremiah, cast him into prison (Jeremiah 37:15-38:13). He was still in confinement when the city was taken (B.C. 588). The Chaldeans released him, and showed him great kindness, allowing him to choose the place of his residence. He accordingly went to Mizpah with Gedaliah, who had been made governor of Judea. Johanan succeeded Gedaliah, and refusing to listen to Jeremiah’s counsels, went down into Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch with him (Jeremiah 43:6). There probably the prophet spent the remainder of his life, in vain seeking still to turn the people to the Lord, from whom they had so long revolted (Jeremiah 44). He lived till the reign of Evil-Merodach, son of Nebuchadnezzar, and must have been about ninety years of age at his death. We have no authentic record of his death. He may have died at Tahpanhes, or, according to a tradition, may have gone to Babylon with the army of Nebuchadnezzar; but of this there is nothing certain.
Jeremiah, Book of
Jeremiah, Book of — consists of twenty-three separate and independent sections, arranged in five books. I. The introduction, ch. Jeremiah 1. II. Reproofs of the sins of the Jews, consisting of seven sections, (1.) ch. Jeremiah 2; (2.) ch. Jeremiah 3-6; (3.) ch. Jeremiah 7-10; (4.) ch. Jeremiah 11-13; (5.) ch. Jeremiah 14-17:18; (6.) ch. Jeremiah 17:19-ch. Jeremiah 20; (7.) ch. Jeremiah 21-24. III. A general review of all nations, in two sections, (1.) ch. Jeremiah 46-49; (2.) ch. Jeremiah 25; with an historical appendix of three sections, (1.) ch. Jeremiah 26; (2.) ch. Jeremiah 27; (3.) ch. Jeremiah 28, Jeremiah 29. IV. Two sections picturing the hopes of better times, (1.) ch. Jeremiah 30, Jeremiah 31; (2.) ch. Jeremiah 32,Jeremiah 33; to which is added an historical appendix in three sections, (1.) ch. Jeremiah 34:1-7; (2.) ch. Jeremiah 34:8-22; (3.) ch. Jeremiah 35. V. The conclusion, in two sections, (1.) ch. Jeremiah 36; (2.) ch. Jeremiah 45.
In Egypt, after an interval, Jeremiah is supposed to have added three sections, viz., ch. Jeremiah 37-39; Jeremiah 40-43; and Jeremiah 44.
The principal Messianic prophecies are found in Jeremiah 23:1-8; Jeremiah 31:31-40; and Jeremiah 33:14-26.
Jeremiah’s prophecies are noted for the frequent repetitions found in them of the same words and phrases and imagery. They cover the period of about 30 years. They are not recorded in the order of time. When and under what circumstances this book assumed its present form we know not.
The LXX. Version of this book is, in its arrangement and in other particulars, singularly at variance with the original. The LXX. omits Jeremiah 10:6-8; Jeremiah 27:19-22; Jeremiah 29:16-20; Jeremiah 33:14-26; Jeremiah 39:4-13; Jeremiah 52:2, Jeremiah 52:3, Jeremiah 52:15, Jeremiah 52:28-30, etc. About 2,700 words in all of the original are omitted. These omissions, etc., are capricious and arbitrary, and render the version unreliable.
Jericho
Jericho — place of fragrance, a fenced city in the midst of a vast grove of palm trees, in the plain of Jordan, over against the place where that river was crossed by the Israelites (Joshua 3:16). Its site was near the ‘Ain es-Sultan, Elisha’s Fountain (2 Kings 2:19-22), about 5 miles west of Jordan. It was the most important city in the Jordan valley (Numbers 22:1; Numbers 34:15), and the strongest fortress in all the land of Canaan. It was the key to Western Palestine.
This city was taken in a very remarkable manner by the Israelites (Joshua 6). God gave it into their hands. The city was “accursed” (Heb. herem, “devoted” to Jehovah), and accordingly (Joshua 6:17; comp. Leviticus 27:28, Leviticus 27:29; Deuteronomy 13:16) all the inhabitants and all the spoil of the city were to be destroyed, “only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron” were reserved and “put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah” (Joshua 6:24; comp. Numbers 31:22, Numbers 31:23, Numbers 31:50-54). Only Rahab “and her father’s household, and all that she had,” were preserved from destruction, according to the promise of the spies (Joshua 2:14). In one of the Amarna tablets Adoni-zedec (q.v.) writes to the king of Egypt informing him that the ‘Abiri (Hebrews) had prevailed, and had taken the fortress of Jericho, and were plundering “all the king’s lands.” It would seem that the Egyptian troops had before this been withdrawn from Palestine.
This city was given to the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:21), and it was inhabited in the time of the Judges (Judges 3:13; 2 Samuel 10:5). It is not again mentioned till the time of David (2 Samuel 10:5). “Children of Jericho” were among the captives who returned under Zerubbabel Ezra 2:34; Nehemiah 7:36). Hiel (q.v.) the Bethelite attempted to make it once more a fortified city (1 Kings 16:34). Between the beginning and the end of his undertaking all his children were cut off.
In New Testament times Jericho stood some distance to the south-east of the ancient one, and near the opening of the valley of Achor. It was a rich and flourishing town, having a considerable trade, and celebrated for the palm trees which adorned the plain around. It was visited by our Lord on his last journey to Jerusalem. Here he gave sight to two blind men (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52), and brought salvation to the house of Zacchaeus the publican (Luke 19:2-10).
The poor hamlet of er-Riha, the representative of modern Jericho, is situated some two miles farther to the east. It is in a ruinous condition, having been destroyed by the Turks in 1840. “The soil of the plain,” about the middle of which the ancient city stood, “is unsurpassed in fertility; there is abundance of water for irrigation, and many of the old aqueducts are almost perfect; yet nearly the whole plain is waste and desolate … The climate of Jericho is exceedingly hot and unhealthy. This is accounted for by the depression of the plain, which is about 1,200 feet below the level of the sea.”
There were three different Jerichos, on three different sites, the Jericho of Joshua, the Jericho of Herod, and the Jericho of the Crusades. Er-Riha, the modern Jericho, dates from the time of the Crusades. Dr. Bliss has found in a hollow scooped out for some purpose or other near the foot of the biggest mound above the Sultan’s Spring specimens of Amorite or pre-Israelitish pottery precisely identical with what he had discovered on the site of ancient Lachish. He also traced in this place for a short distance a mud brick wall in situ, which he supposes to be the very wall that fell before the trumpets of Joshua. The wall is not far from the foot of the great precipice of Quarantania and its numerous caverns, and the spies of Joshua could easily have fled from the city and been speedily hidden in these fastnesses.
Jerimoth
Jerimoth — heights. (1.) One of the sons of Bela (1 Chronicles 7:7).
(2.) 1 Chronicles 24:30, a Merarite Levite.
(3.) A Benjamite slinger who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:5).
(4.) A Levitical musician under Heman his father (1 Chronicles 25:4).
(5.) 1 Chronicles 27:19, ruler of Naphtali.
(6.) One of David’s sons (2 Chronicles 11:18).
(7.) A Levite, one of the overseers of the temple offerings (2 Chronicles 31:13) in the reign of Hezekiah.
Jeroboam
Jeroboam — increase of the people. (1.) The son of Nebat (1 Kings 11:26-39), “an Ephrathite,” the first king of the ten tribes, over whom he reigned twenty-two years (B.C. 976-945). He was the son of a widow of Zereda, and while still young was promoted by Solomon to be chief superintendent of the “burnden”, i.e., of the bands of forced labourers. Influenced by the words of the prophet Ahijah, he began to form conspiracies with the view of becoming king of the ten tribes; but these having been discovered, he fled to Egypt (1 Kings 11:29-40), where he remained for a length of time under the protection of Shishak I. On the death of Solomon, the ten tribes, having revolted, sent to invite him to become their king. The conduct of Rehoboam favoured the designs of Jeroboam, and he was accordingly proclaimed “king of Israel” (1 Kings 12:1-20). He rebuilt and fortified Shechem as the capital of his kingdom. He at once adopted means to perpetuate the division thus made between the two parts of the kingdom, and erected at Dan and Bethel, the two extremities of his kingdom, “golden calves,” which he set up as symbols of Jehovah, enjoining the people not any more to go up to worship at Jerusalem, but to bring their offerings to the shrines he had erected. Thus he became distinguished as the man “who made Israel to sin.” This policy was followed by all the succeeding kings of Israel.
While he was engaged in offering incense at Bethel, a prophet from Judah appeared before him with a warning message from the Lord. Attempting to arrest the prophet for his bold words of defiance, his hand was “dried up,” and the altar before which he stood was rent asunder. At his urgent entreaty his “hand was restored him again” (1 Kings 13:1-6, 1 Kings 13:9; comp. 2 Kings 23:15); but the miracle made no abiding impression on him. His reign was one of constant war with the house of Judah. He died soon after his son Abijah (1 Kings 14:1-18).
(2.) Jeroboam II., the son and successor of Jehoash, and the fourteenth king of Israel, over which he ruled for forty-one years, B.C. 825-784 (2 Kings 14:23). He followed the example of the first Jeroboam in keeping up the worship of the golden calves (2 Kings 14:24). His reign was contemporary with those of Amaziah (2 Kings 14:23) and Uzziah (2 Kings 15:1), kings of Judah. He was victorious over the Syrians (2 Kings 13:4; 2 Kings 14:26, 2 Kings 14:27), and extended Israel to its former limits, from “the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain” (2 Kings 14:25; Amos 6:14). His reign of forty-one years was the most prosperous that Israel had ever known as yet. With all this outward prosperity, however, iniquity widely prevailed in the land (Amos 2:6-8; Amos 4:1; Amos 6:6; Hosea 4:12-14). The prophets Hosea (Hosea 1:1), Joel (Joel 3:16; Amos 1:1, Amos 1:2), Amos (Amos 1:1), and Jonah (2 Kings 14:25) lived during his reign. He died, and was buried with his ancestors (2 Kings 14:29). He was succeeded by his son Zachariah (q.v.).
His name occurs in Scripture only in 2 Kings 13:13; 2 Kings 14:16, 2 Kings 14:23, 2 Kings 14:27, 2 Kings 14:28, 2 Kings 14:29; 2 Kings 15:1, 2 Kings 15:8; 1 Chronicles 5:17; Hosea 1:1; Amos 1:1; Amos 7:9, Amos 7:10, Amos 7:11. In all other passages it is Jeroboam the son of Nebat that is meant.
Jeroham
Jeroham — cherished; who finds mercy. (1.) Father of Elkanah, and grandfather of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1).
(2.) The father of Azareel, the “captain” of the tribe of Dan (1 Chronicles 27:22).
(3.) 1 Chronicles 12:7; a Benjamite.
(4.) 2 Chronicles 23:1; one whose son assisted in placing Joash on the throne.
(5.) 1 Chronicles 9:8; a Benjamite.
(6.) 1 Chronicles 9:12; a priest, perhaps the same as in Nehemiah 11:12.
Jerubbaal
Jerubbaal — contender with Baal; or, let Baal plead, a surname of Gideon; a name given to him because he destroyed the altar of Baal (Judges 6:32; Judges 7:1; Judges 8:29; 1 Samuel 12:11).
Jerubbesheth
Jerubbesheth — contender with the shame; i.e., idol, a surname also of Gideon (2 Samuel 11:21).
Jeruel
Jeruel — founded by God, a “desert” on the ascent from the valley of the Dead Sea towards Jerusalem. It lay beyond the wilderness of Tekoa, in the direction of Engedi (2 Chronicles 20:16, 2 Chronicles 20:20). It corresponds with the tract of country now called el-Hasasah.
Jerusalem
Jerusalem — called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2 Chronicles 25:28). This name is in the original in the dual form, and means “possession of peace,” or “foundation of peace.” The dual form probably refers to the two mountains on which it was built, viz., Zion and Moriah; or, as some suppose, to the two parts of the city, the “upper” and the “lower city.” Jerusalem is a “mountain city enthroned on a mountain fastness” (comp. Psalm 68:15, Psalm 68:16; Psalm 87:1; Psalm 125:2; Psalm 76:1, Psalm 76:2; Psalm 122:3). It stands on the edge of one of the highest table-lands in Palestine, and is surrounded on the south-eastern, the southern, and the western sides by deep and precipitous ravines.
It is first mentioned in Scripture under the name Salem (Genesis 14:18; comp. Psalm 76:2). When first mentioned under the name Jerusalem, Adonizedek was its king (Joshua 10:1). It is afterwards named among the cities of Benjamin (Judges 19:10; 1 Chronicles 11:4); but in the time of David it was divided between Benjamin and Judah. After the death of Joshua the city was taken and set on fire by the men of Judah (Judges 1:1-8); but the Jebusites were not wholly driven out of it. The city is not again mentioned till we are told that David brought the head of Goliath thither (1 Samuel 17:54). David afterwards led his forces against the Jebusites still residing within its walls, and drove them out, fixing his own dwelling on Zion, which he called “the city of David” (2 Samuel 5:5-9; 1 Chronicles 11:4-8). Here he built an altar to the Lord on the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:15-25), and thither he brought up the ark of the covenant and placed it in the new tabernacle which he had prepared for it. Jerusalem now became the capital of the kingdom.
After the death of David, Solomon built the temple, a house for the name of the Lord, on Mount Moriah ( 1010). He also greatly strengthened and adorned the city, and it became the great centre of all the civil and religious affairs of the nation (Deuteronomy 12:5; comp. Deuteronomy 12:14; Deuteronomy 14:23; Deuteronomy 16:11-16; Psalm 122).
After the disruption of the kingdom on the accession to the throne of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom of the two tribes. It was subsequently often taken and retaken by the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and by the kings of Israel (2 Kings 14:13, 2 Kings 14:14; 2 Kings 18:15, 2 Kings 18:16; 2 Kings 23:33-35; 2 Kings 24:14; 2 Chronicles 12:9; 2 Chronicles 26:9; 2 Chronicles 27:3, 2 Chronicles 27:4; 2 Chronicles 29:3; 2 Chronicles 32:30; 2 Chronicles 33:11), till finally, for the abounding iniquities of the nation, after a siege of three years, it was taken and utterly destroyed, its walls razed to the ground, and its temple and palaces consumed by fire, by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 39), 588. The desolation of the city and the land was completed by the retreat of the principal Jews into Egypt (Jeremiah 40-44), and by the final carrying captive into Babylon of all that still remained in the land (Jeremiah 52:3), so that it was left without an inhabitant ( 582). Compare the predictions, Deuteronomy 28; Leviticus 26:14-39.
But the streets and walls of Jerusalem were again to be built, in troublous times (Daniel 9:16, Daniel 9:19, Daniel 9:25), after a captivity of seventy years. This restoration was begun 536, “in the first year of Cyrus” (Ezra 1:2, Ezra 1:3, Ezra 1:5-11). The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah contain the history of the re-building of the city and temple, and the restoration of the kingdom of the Jews, consisting of a portion of all the tribes. The kingdom thus constituted was for two centuries under the dominion of Persia, till 331; and thereafter, for about a century and a half, under the rulers of the Greek empire in Asia, till 167. For a century the Jews maintained their independence under native rulers, the Asmonean princes. At the close of this period they fell under the rule of Herod and of members of his family, but practically under Rome, till the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, 70. The city was then laid in ruins.
The modern Jerusalem by-and-by began to be built over the immense beds of rubbish resulting from the overthrow of the ancient city; and whilst it occupies certainly the same site, there are no evidences that even the lines of its streets are now what they were in the ancient city. Till 131 the Jews who still lingered about Jerusalem quietly submitted to the Roman sway. But in that year the emperor (Hadrian), in order to hold them in subjection, rebuilt and fortified the city. The Jews, however, took possession of it, having risen under the leadership of one Bar-Chohaba (i.e., “the son of the star”) in revolt against the Romans. Some four years afterwards ( 135), however, they were driven out of it with great slaughter, and the city was again destroyed; and over its ruins was built a Roman city called Aelia Capitolina, a name which it retained till it fell under the dominion of the Mohammedans, when it was called el-Khuds, i.e., “the holy.”
In 326 Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with the view of discovering the places mentioned in the life of our Lord. She caused a church to be built on what was then supposed to be the place of the nativity at Bethlehem. Constantine, animated by her example, searched for the holy sepulchre, and built over the supposed site a magnificent church, which was completed and dedicated 335. He relaxed the laws against the Jews till this time in force, and permitted them once a year to visit the city and wail over the desolation of “the holy and beautiful house.”
In 614 the Persians, after defeating the Roman forces of the emperor Heraclius, took Jerusalem by storm, and retained it till 637, when it was taken by the Arabians under the Khalif Omar. It remained in their possession till it passed, in 960, under the dominion of the Fatimite khalifs of Egypt, and in 1073 under the Turcomans. In 1099 the crusader Godfrey of Bouillon took the city from the Moslems with great slaughter, and was elected king of Jerusalem. He converted the Mosque of Omar into a Christian cathedral. During the eighty-eight years which followed, many churches and convents were erected in the holy city. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was rebuilt during this period, and it alone remains to this day. In 1187 the sultan Saladin wrested the city from the Christians. From that time to the present day, with few intervals, Jerusalem has remained in the hands of the Moslems. It has, however, during that period been again and again taken and retaken, demolished in great part and rebuilt, no city in the world having passed through so many vicissitudes.
In the year 1850 the Greek and Latin monks residing in Jerusalem had a fierce dispute about the guardianship of what are called the “holy places.” In this dispute the emperor Nicholas of Russia sided with the Greeks, and Louis Napoleon, the emperor of the French, with the Latins. This led the Turkish authorities to settle the question in a way unsatisfactory to Russia. Out of this there sprang the Crimean War, which was protracted and sanguinary, but which had important consequences in the way of breaking down the barriers of Turkish exclusiveness.
Modern Jerusalem “lies near the summit of a broad mountain-ridge, which extends without interruption from the plain of Esdraelon to a line drawn between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean.” This high, uneven table-land is everywhere from 20 to 25 geographical miles in breadth. It was anciently known as the mountains of Ephraim and Judah.
“Jerusalem is a city of contrasts, and differs widely from Damascus, not merely because it is a stone town in mountains, whilst the latter is a mud city in a plain, but because while in Damascus Moslem religion and Oriental custom are unmixed with any foreign element, in Jerusalem every form of religion, every nationality of East and West, is represented at one time.”
Jerusalem is first mentioned under that name in the Book of Joshua, and the Tell-el-Amarna collection of tablets includes six letters from its Amorite king to Egypt, recording the attack of the Abiri about 1480. The name is there spelt Uru-Salim (“city of peace”). Another monumental record in which the Holy City is named is that of Sennacherib’s attack in 702. The “camp of the Assyrians” was still shown about 70, on the flat ground to the north-west, included in the new quarter of the city.
The city of David included both the upper city and Millo, and was surrounded by a wall built by David and Solomon, who appear to have restored the original Jebusite fortifications. The name Zion (or Sion) appears to have been, like Ariel (“the hearth of God”), a poetical term for Jerusalem, but in the Greek age was more specially used of the Temple hill. The priests’ quarter grew up on Ophel, south of the Temple, where also was Solomon’s Palace outside the original city of David. The walls of the city were extended by Jotham and Manasseh to include this suburb and the Temple (2 Chronicles 27:3; 2 Chronicles 33:14).
Jerusalem is now a town of some 50,000 inhabitants, with ancient mediaeval walls, partly on the old lines, but extending less far to the south. The traditional sites, as a rule, were first shown in the 4th and later centuries , and have no authority. The results of excavation have, however, settled most of the disputed questions, the limits of the Temple area, and the course of the old walls having been traced.
Jerusha
Jerusha — possession, or possessed; i.e., “by a husband”, the wife of Uzziah, and mother of king Jotham (2 Kings 15:33).
Jeshaiah
Jeshaiah — deliverance of Jehovah. (1.) A Kohathite Levite, the father of Joram, of the family of Eliezer (1 Chronicles 26:25); called also Isshiah (1 Chronicles 24:21).
(2.) One of the sons of Jeduthum (1 Chronicles 25:3, 1 Chronicles 25:15).
(3.) One of the three sons of Hananiah (1 Chronicles 3:21).
(4.) Son of Athaliah (Ezra 8:7).
(5.) A Levite of the family of Merari (Ezra 8:19).
Jeshanah
Jeshanah — a city of the kingdom of Israel (2 Chronicles 13:19).
Jesharelah
Jesharelah — upright towards God, the head of the seventh division of Levitical musicians (1 Chronicles 25:14).
Jeshebeab
Jeshebeab — seat of his father, the head of the fourteenth division of priests (1 Chronicles 24:13).
Jesher
Jesher — uprightness, the first of the three sons of Caleb by Azubah (1 Chronicles 2:18).
Jeshimon
Jeshimon — the waste, probably some high waste land to the south of the Dead Sea (Numbers 21:20; Numbers 23:28; 1 Samuel 23:19, 1 Samuel 23:24); or rather not a proper name at all, but simply “the waste” or “wilderness,” the district on which the plateau of Ziph (q.v.) looks down.
Jeshua
Jeshua — (1.) Head of the ninth priestly order (Ezra 2:36); called also Jeshuah (1 Chronicles 24:11).
(2.) A Levite appointed by Hezekiah to distribute offerings in the priestly cities (2 Chronicles 31:15).
(3.) Ezra 2:6; Nehemiah 7:11.
(4.) Ezra 2:40; Nehemiah 7:43.
(5.) The son of Jozadak, and high priest of the Jews under Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 7:7; Nehemiah 12:1, Nehemiah 12:7, Nehemiah 12:10, Nehemiah 12:26); called Joshua (Haggai 1:1, Haggai 1:12; Haggai 2:2, Haggai 2:4; Zechariah 3:1, Zechariah 3:3, Zechariah 3:6, Zechariah 3:8, Zechariah 3:9).
(6.) A Levite (Ezra 8:33).
(7.) Nehemiah 3:19.
(8.) A Levite who assisted in the reformation under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:7; Nehemiah 9:4, Nehemiah 9:5).
(9.) Son of Kadmiel (Nehemiah 12:24).
(10.) A city of Judah (Nehemiah 11:26).
(11.) Nehemiah 8:17; Joshua, the son of Nun.
Jeshurun
Jeshurun — a poetical name for the people of Israel, used in token of affection, meaning, “the dear upright people” (Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 33:5, Deuteronomy 33:26; Isaiah 44:2).
Jesse
Jesse — firm, or a gift, a son of Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 4:17, Ruth 4:22; Matthew 1:5, Matthew 1:6; Luke 3:32). He was the father of eight sons, the youngest of whom was David (1 Samuel 17:12). The phrase “stem of Jesse” is used for the family of David (Isaiah 11:1), and “root of Jesse” for the Messiah (Isaiah 11:10; Revelation 5:5). Jesse was a man apparently of wealth and position at Bethlehem (1 Samuel 17:17, 1 Samuel 17:18, 1 Samuel 17:20; Psalm 78:71). The last reference to him is of David’s procuring for him an asylum with the king of Moab (1 Samuel 22:3).
Jesus
Jesus — (1.) Joshua, the son of Nun (Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8; R.V., “Joshua”).
(2.) A Jewish Christian surnamed Justus (Colossians 4:11).
Je’sus, the proper, as Christ is the official, name of our Lord. To distinguish him from others so called, he is spoken of as “Jesus of Nazareth” (John 18:7), and “Jesus the son of Joseph” (John 6:42).
This is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which was originally Hoshea (Numbers 13:8, Numbers 13:16), but changed by Moses into Jehoshua (Numbers 13:16; 1 Chronicles 7:27), or Joshua. After the Exile it assumed the form Jeshua, whence the Greek form Jesus. It was given to our Lord to denote the object of his mission, to save (Matthew 1:21).
The life of Jesus on earth may be divided into two great periods, (1) that of his private life, till he was about thirty years of age; and (2) that of his public life, which lasted about three years.
In the “fulness of time” he was born at Bethlehem, in the reign of the emperor Augustus, of Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter (Matthew 1:1; Luke 3:23; comp. John 7:42). His birth was announced to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20). Wise men from the east came to Bethlehem to see him who was born “King of the Jews,” bringing gifts with them (Matthew 2:1-12). Herod’s cruel jealousy led to Joseph’s flight into Egypt with Mary and the infant Jesus, where they tarried till the death of this king (Matthew 2:13-23), when they returned and settled in Nazareth, in Lower Galilee (Matthew 2:23; comp. Luke 4:16; John 1:46, etc.). At the age of twelve years he went up to Jerusalem to the Passover with his parents. There, in the temple, “in the midst of the doctors,” all that heard him were “astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luke 2:41, etc.).
Eighteen years pass, of which we have no record beyond this, that he returned to Nazareth and “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
He entered on his public ministry when he was about thirty years of age. It is generally reckoned to have extended to about three years. “Each of these years had peculiar features of its own. (1.) The first year may be called the year of obscurity, both because the records of it which we possess are very scanty, and because he seems during it to have been only slowly emerging into public notice. It was spent for the most part in Judea. (2.) The second year was the year of public favour, during which the country had become thoroughly aware of him; his activity was incessant, and his frame rang through the length and breadth of the land. It was almost wholly passed in Galilee. (3.) The third was the year of opposition, when the public favour ebbed away. His enemies multiplied and assailed him with more and more pertinacity, and at last he fell a victim to their hatred. The first six months of this final year were passed in Galilee, and the last six in other parts of the land.”, Stalker’s Life of Jesus Christ, p. 45.
The only reliable sources of information regarding the life of Christ on earth are the Gospels, which present in historical detail the words and the work of Christ in so many different aspects. (See CHRIST.)
Jether
Jether — surplus; excellence. (1.) Father-in-law of Moses (Exodus 4:18 marg.), called elsewhere Jethro (q.v.).
(2.) The oldest of Gideon’s seventy sons (Judges 8:20).
(3.) The father of Amasa, David’s general (1 Kings 2:5, 1 Kings 2:32); called Ithra (2 Samuel 17:25).
(4.) 1 Chronicles 7:38.
(5.) 1 Chronicles 2:32; one of Judah’s posterity.
(6.) 1 Chronicles 4:17.
Jetheth
Jetheth — a peg, or a prince, one of the Edomitish kings of Mount Seir (Genesis 36:40).
Jethlah
Jethlah — suspended; high, a city on the borders of Dan (Joshua 19:42).
Jethro
Jethro — his excellence, or gain, a prince or priest of Midian, who succeeded his father Reuel. Moses spent forty years after his exile from the Egyptian court as keeper of Jethro’s flocks. While the Israelites were encamped at Sinai, and soon after their victory over Amalek, Jethro came to meet Moses, bringing with him Zipporah and her two sons. They met at the “mount of God,” and “Moses told him all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh” (Exodus 18:8). On the following day Jethro, observing the multiplicity of the duties devolving on Moses, advised him to appoint subordinate judges, rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, to decide smaller matters, leaving only the weightier matters to be referred to Moses, to be laid before the Lord. This advice Moses adopted (Exodus 18). He was also called Hobab (q.v.), which was probably his personal name, while Jethro was an official name. (See MOSES.)
Jetur
Jetur — an enclosure, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael (Genesis 25:15).
Jeuel
Jeuel — snatched away by God, a descendant of Zerah (1 Chronicles 9:6).
Jeush
Jeush — assembler. (1.) The oldest of Esau’s three sons by Aholibamah (Genesis 36:5, Genesis 36:14, Genesis 36:18).
(2.) A son of Bilhan, grandson of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 7:10).
(3.) A Levite, one of the sons of Shimei (1 Chronicles 23:10, 1 Chronicles 23:11).
(4.) One of the three sons of Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:19).
(5.) 1 Chronicles 8:39.
Jew
Jew — the name derived from the patriarch Judah, at first given to one belonging to the tribe of Judah or to the separate kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 16:6; 2 Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 32:12; Jeremiah 38:19; Jeremiah 40:11; Jeremiah 41:3), in contradistinction from those belonging to the kingdom of the ten tribes, who were called Israelites.
During the Captivity, and after the Restoration, the name, however, was extended to all the Hebrew nation without distinction (Esther 3:6, Esther 3:10; Daniel 3:8, Daniel 3:12; Ezra 4:12; Ezra 5:1, Ezra 5:5).
Originally this people were called Hebrews (Genesis 39:14; Genesis 40:15; Exodus 2:7; Exodus 3:18; Exodus 5:3; 1 Samuel 4:6, 1 Samuel 4:9, etc.), but after the Exile this name fell into disuse. But Paul was styled a Hebrew (2 Corinthians 11:22; Philippians 3:5).
The history of the Jewish nation is interwoven with the history of Palestine and with the narratives of the lives of their rulers and chief men. They are now [1897] dispersed over all lands, and to this day remain a separate people, “without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image [R.V. ‘pillar,’ marg. ‘obelisk’], and without an ephod, and without teraphim” (Hosea 3:4). Till about the beginning of the present century [1800] they were everywhere greatly oppressed, and often cruelly persecuted; but now their condition is greatly improved, and they are admitted in most European countries to all the rights of free citizens. In 1860 the “Jewish disabilities” were removed, and they were admitted to a seat in the British Parliament. Their number in all is estimated at about six millions, about four millions being in Europe.
There are three names used in the New Testament to designate this people, (1.) Jews, as regards their nationality, to distinguish them from Gentiles. (2.) Hebrews, with regard to their language and education, to distinguish them from Hellenists, i.e., Jews who spoke the Greek language. (3.) Israelites, as respects their sacred privileges as the chosen people of God. “To other races we owe the splendid inheritance of modern civilization and secular culture; but the religious education of mankind has been the gift of the Jew alone.”
Jewess
Jewess — a woman of Hebrew birth, as Eunice, the mother of Timothy (Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5), and Drusilla (Acts 24:24), wife of Felix, and daughter of Herod Agrippa I.
Jezebel
Jezebel — chaste, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Zidonians, and the wife of Ahab, the king of Israel (1 Kings 16:31). This was the “first time that a king of Israel had allied himself by marriage with a heathen princess; and the alliance was in this case of a peculiarly disastrous kind. Jezebel has stamped her name on history as the representative of all that is designing, crafty, malicious, revengeful, and cruel. She is the first great instigator of persecution against the saints of God. Guided by no principle, restrained by no fear of either God or man, passionate in her attachment to her heathen worship, she spared no pains to maintain idolatry around her in all its splendour. Four hundred and fifty prophets ministered under her care to Baal, besides four hundred prophets of the groves [R.V., ‘prophets of the Asherah’], which ate at her table (1 Kings 18:19). The idolatry, too, was of the most debased and sensual kind.” Her conduct was in many respects very disastrous to the kingdom both of Israel and Judah (1 Kings 21:1-29). At length she came to an untimely end. As Jehu rode into the gates of Jezreel, she looked out at the window of the palace, and said, “Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?” He looked up and called to her chamberlains, who instantly threw her from the window, so that she was dashed in pieces on the street, and his horses trod her under their feet. She was immediately consumed by the dogs of the street (2 Kings 9:7-37), according to the word of Elijah the Tishbite (1 Kings 21:19).
Her name afterwards came to be used as the synonym for a wicked woman (Revelation 2:20).
It may be noted that she is said to have been the grand-aunt of Dido, the founder of Carthage.
Jeziel
Jeziel — assembled by God, a son of Azmaveth. He was one of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:3).
Jezreel
Jezreel — God scatters. (1.) A town of Issachar (Joshua 19:18), where the kings of Israel often resided (1 Kings 18:45; 1 Kings 21:1; 2 Kings 9:30). Here Elijah met Ahab, Jehu, and Bidkar; and here Jehu executed his dreadful commission against the house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:14-37; 2 Kings 10:1-11). It has been identified with the modern Zerin, on the most western point of the range of Gilboa, reaching down into the great and fertile valley of Jezreel, to which it gave its name.
(2.) A town in Judah (Joshua 15:56), to the south-east of Hebron. Ahinoam, one of David’s wives, probably belonged to this place (1 Samuel 27:3).
(3.) A symbolical name given by Hosea to his oldest son (Hosea 1:4), in token of a great slaughter predicted by him, like that which had formerly taken place in the plain of Esdraelon (comp. Hosea 1:4, Hosea 1:5).
Jezreel, Blood of
Jezreel, Blood of — the murder perpetrated here by Ahab and Jehu (Hosea 1:4; comp. 1 Kings 18:4; 2 Kings 9:6-10).
Jezreel, Day of
Jezreel, Day of — the time predicted for the execution of vengeance for the deeds of blood committed there (Hosea 1:5).
Jezreel, Ditch of
Jezreel, Ditch of — (1 Kings 21:23; comp. 1 Kings 21:13), the fortification surrounding the city, outside of which Naboth was executed.
Jezreel, Fountain of
Jezreel, Fountain of — where Saul encamped before the battle of Gilboa (1 Samuel 29:1). In the valley under Zerin there are two considerable springs, one of which, perhaps that here referred to, “flows from under a sort of cavern in the wall of conglomerate rock which here forms the base of Gilboa. The water is excellent; and issuing from crevices in the rocks, it spreads out at once into a fine limpid pool forty or fifty feet in diameter, full of fish” (Robinson). This may be identical with the “well of Harod” (Judges 7:1; comp. 2 Samuel 23:25), probably the ‘Ain Jalud, i.e., the “spring of Goliath.”
Jezreel, Portion of
Jezreel, Portion of — the field adjoining the city (2 Kings 9:10, 2 Kings 9:21, 2 Kings 9:36, 2 Kings 9:37). Here Naboth was stoned to death (1 Kings 21:13).
Jezreel, Tower of
Jezreel, Tower of — one of the turrets which guarded the entrance to the city (2 Kings 9:17).
Jezreel, Valley of
Jezreel, Valley of — lying on the northern side of the city, between the ridges of Gilboa and Moreh, an offshoot of Esdraelon, running east to the Jordan (Joshua 17:16; Judges 6:33; Hosea 1:5). It was the scene of the signal victory gained by the Israelites under Gideon over the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the “children of the east” (Judges 6:3). Two centuries after this the Israelites were here defeated by the Philistines, and Saul and Jonathan, with the flower of the army of Israel, fell (1 Samuel 31:1-6).
This name was in after ages extended to the whole of the plain of Esdraelon (q.v.). It was only this plain of Jezreel and that north of Lake Huleh that were then accessible to the chariots of the Canaanites (comp. 2 Kings 9:21; 2 Kings 10:15).
Joab
Joab — Jehovah is his father. (1.) One of the three sons of Zeruiah, David’s sister, and “captain of the host” during the whole of David’s reign (2 Samuel 2:13; 2 Samuel 10:7; 2 Samuel 11:1; 1 Kings 11:15). His father’s name is nowhere mentioned, although his sepulchre at Bethlehem is mentioned (2 Samuel 2:32). His two brothers were Abishai and Asahel, the swift of foot, who was killed by Abner (2 Samuel 2:13-32), whom Joab afterwards treacherously murdered (2 Samuel 3:22-27). He afterwards led the assault at the storming of the fortress on Mount Zion, and for this service was raised to the rank of “prince of the king’s army” (2 Samuel 5:6-10; 1 Chronicles 27:34). His chief military achievements were, (1) against the allied forces of Syria and Ammon; (2) against Edom (1 Kings 11:15, 1 Kings 11:16); and (3) against the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10:7-19; 2 Samuel 11:1, 2 Samuel 11:11). His character is deeply stained by the part he willingly took in the murder of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:14-25). He acted apparently from a sense of duty in putting Absalom to death (2 Samuel 18:1-14). David was unmindful of the many services Joab had rendered to him, and afterwards gave the command of the army to Amasa, Joab’s cousin (2 Samuel 20:1-13; 2 Samuel 19:13). When David was dying Joab espoused the cause of Adonijah in preference to that of Solomon. He was afterwards slain by Benaiah, by the command of Solomon, in accordance with his father’s injunction (2 Samuel 3:29; 2 Samuel 20:5-13), at the altar to which he had fled for refuge. Thus this hoary conspirator died without one to lift up a voice in his favour. He was buried in his own property in the “wilderness,” probably in the north-east of Jerusalem (1 Kings 2:5, 1 Kings 2:28-34). Benaiah succeeded him as commander-in-chief of the army.
(2.) 1 Chronicles 4:14.
(3.) Ezra 2:6.
Joah
Joah — Jehovah his brother; i.e., helper. (1.) One of the sons of Obed-edom (1 Chronicles 26:4), a Korhite porter.
(2.) A Levite of the family of Gershom (1 Chronicles 6:21), probably the same as Ethan (42).
(3.) The son of Asaph, and “recorder” (q.v.) or chronicler to King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:18, 2 Kings 18:26, 2 Kings 18:37).
(4.) Son of Joahaz, and “recorder” (q.v.) or keeper of the state archives under King Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:8).
Joahaz
Joahaz — (2 Chronicles 34:8), a contracted form of Jehoahaz (q.v.).
Joanna
Joanna — whom Jehovah has graciously given. (1.) The grandson of Zerubbabel, in the lineage of Christ (Luke 3:27); the same as Hananiah (1 Chronicles 3:19).
(2.) The wife of Chuza, the steward of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee (Luke 8:3). She was one of the women who ministered to our Lord, and to whom he appeared after his resurrection (Luke 8:3; Luke 24:10).
Joash
Joash — whom Jehovah bestowed. (1.) A contracted form of Jehoash, the father of Gideon (Judges 6:11, Judges 6:29; Judges 8:13, Judges 8:29, Judges 8:32).
(2.) One of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:3).
(3.) One of King Ahab’s sons (1 Kings 22:26).
(4.) King of Judah (2 Kings 11:2; 2 Kings 12:19, 2 Kings 12:20). (See JEHOASH [1].)
(5.) King of Israel (2 Kings 13:9, 2 Kings 13:12, 2 Kings 13:13, 2 Kings 13:25). (See JEHOASH [2].)
(6.) 1 Chronicles 7:8.
(7.) One who had charge of the royal stores of oil under David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 27:28).
Job
Job — persecuted, an Arabian patriarch who resided in the land of Uz (q.v.). While living in the midst of great prosperity, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a series of sore trials that fell upon him. Amid all his sufferings he maintained his integrity. Once more God visited him with the rich tokens of his goodness and even greater prosperity than he had enjoyed before. He survived the period of trial for one hundred and forty years, and died in a good old age, an example to succeeding generations of integrity (Ezekiel 14:14, Ezekiel 14:20) and of submissive patience under the sorest calamities (James 5:11). His history, so far as it is known, is recorded in his book.
Jobab
Jobab — dweller in the desert. (1.) One of the sons of Joktan, and founder of an Arabian tribe (Genesis 10:29). (2.) King of Edom, succeeded Bela (Genesis 36:33, Genesis 36:34). (3.) A Canaanitish king (Joshua 11:1) who joined the confederacy against Joshua.
Job, Book of
Job, Book of — A great diversity of opinion exists as to the authorship of this book. From internal evidence, such as the similarity of sentiment and language to those in the Psalms and Proverbs (see Psalm 88 and Psalm 89), the prevalence of the idea of “wisdom,” and the style and character of the composition, it is supposed by some to have been written in the time of David and Solomon. Others argue that it was written by Job himself, or by Elihu, or Isaiah, or perhaps more probably by Moses, who was “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and mighty in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). He had opportunities in Midian for obtaining the knowledge of the facts related. But the authorship is altogether uncertain.
As to the character of the book, it is a historical poem, one of the greatest and sublimest poems in all literature. Job was a historical person, and the localities and names were real and not fictious. It is “one of the grandest portions of the inspired Scriptures, a heavenly-repleished storehouse of comfort and instruction, the patriarchal Bible, and a precious monument of primitive theology. It is to the Old Testament what the Epistle to the Romans is to the New.” It is a didactic narrative in a dramatic form.
This book was apparently well known in the days of Ezekiel, B.C. 600 (Ezekiel 14:14). It formed a part of the sacred Scriptures used by our Lord and his apostles, and is referred to as a part of the inspired Word (Hebrews 12:5; 1 Corinthians 3:19).
The subject of the book is the trial of Job, its occasion, nature, endurance, and issue. It exhibits the harmony of the truths of revelation and the dealings of Providence, which are seen to be at once inscrutable, just, and merciful. It shows the blessedness of the truly pious, even amid sore afflictions, and thus ministers comfort and hope to tried believers of every age. It is a book of manifold instruction, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
It consists of,
(1.) An historical introduction in prose (ch. Job 1,Job 2).
(2.) The controversy and its solution, in poetry (ch. Job 3-42).
Job’s desponding lamentation (ch. Job 3) is the occasion of the controversy which is carried on in three courses of dialogues between Job and his three friends. The first course gives the commencement of the controversy (ch. Job 4-14); the second the growth of the controversy (Job 15-21); and the third the height of the controversy (Job 22-27). This is followed by the solution of the controversy in the speeches of Elihu and the address of Jehovah, followed by Job’s humble confession (Job 42:1-6) of his own fault and folly.
(3.) The third division is the historical conclusion, in prose (Job 42:7-15).
Sir J. W. Dawson in “The Expositor” says: “It would now seem that the language and theology of the book of Job can be better explained by supposing it to be a portion of Minean [Southern Arabia] literature obtained by Moses in Midian than in any other way. This view also agrees better than any other with its references to natural objects, the art of mining, and other matters.”
Jochebed
Jochebed — Jehovah is her glory, the wife of Amram, and the mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses (Numbers 26:59). She is spoken of as the sister of Kohath, Amram’s father (Exodus 6:20; comp. Exodus 6:16, Exodus 6:18; Exodus 2:1-10).
Joel
Joel — Jehovah is his God. (1.) The oldest of Samuel’s two sons appointed by him as judges in Beersheba (1 Samuel 8:2). (See VASHNI —(n/a).) (2.) A descendant of Reuben (1 Chronicles 5:4,1 Chronicles 5:8). (3.) One of David’s famous warriors (1 Chronicles 11:38). (4.) A Levite of the family of Gershom (1 Chronicles 15:7, 1 Chronicles 15:11). (5.) 1 Chronicles 7:3. (6.) 1 Chronicles 27:20. (7.) The second of the twelve minor prophets. He was the son of Pethuel. His personal history is only known from his book.
Joelah
Joelah — a Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:7).
Joel, Book of
Joel, Book of — Joel was probably a resident in Judah, as his commission was to that people. He makes frequent mention of Judah and Jerusalem (Joel 1:14; Joel 2:1, Joel 2:15, Joel 2:32; Joel 3:1, Joel 3:12, Joel 3:17, Joel 3:20, Joel 3:21).
He probably flourished in the reign of Uzziah (about B.C. 800), and was contemporary with Amos and Isaiah.
The contents of this book are, (1.) A prophecy of a great public calamity then impending over the land, consisting of a want of water and an extraordinary plague of locusts (Joel 1:1-2:11). (2.) The prophet then calls on his countrymen to repent and to turn to God, assuring them of his readiness to forgive (Joel 2:12-17), and foretelling the restoration of the land to its accustomed fruitfulness (Joel 2:18-26). (3.) Then follows a Messianic prophecy, quoted by Peter (Acts 2:39). (4.) Finally, the prophet foretells portents and judgments as destined to fall on the enemies of God (ch. Joel 3, but in the Hebrew text 4).
Joezer
Joezer — Jehovah is his help, one of the Korhites who became part of David’s body-guard (1 Chronicles 12:6).
Johanan
Johanan — whom Jehovah graciously bestows. (1.) One of the Gadite heroes who joined David in the desert of Judah (1 Chronicles 12:12).
(2.) The oldest of King Josiah’s sons (1 Chronicles 3:15).
(3.) Son of Careah, one of the Jewish chiefs who rallied round Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had made governor in Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:23; Jeremiah 40:8). He warned Gedaliah of the plans of Ishmael against him, a warning which was unheeded (Jeremiah 40:13, Jeremiah 40:16). He afterwards pursued the murderer of the governor, and rescued the captives (Jeremiah 41:8, Jeremiah 41:13, Jeremiah 41:15, Jeremiah 41:16). He and his associates subsequently fled to Tahpanhes in Egypt (Jeremiah 43:2, Jeremiah 43:4, Jeremiah 43:5), taking Jeremiah with them. “The flight of Gedaliah’s community to Egypt extinguished the last remaining spark of life in the Jewish state. The work of the ten centuries since Joshua crossed the Jordan had been undone.”
John
John — (1.) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John (Acts 4:6). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown.
(2.) The Hebrew name of Mark (q.v.). He is designated by this name in the acts of the Apostles (Acts 12:12, Acts 12:25; Acts 13:5, Acts 13:13; Acts 15:37).
(3.) THE APOSTLE, brother of James the “Greater” (Matthew 4:21; Matthew 10:2; Mark 1:19; Mark 3:17; Mark 10:35). He was one, probably the younger, of the sons of Zebedee (Matthew 4:21) and Salome (Matthew 27:56; comp. Mark 15:40), and was born at Bethsaida. His father was apparently a man of some wealth (comp. Mark 1:20; Luke 5:3; John 19:27). He was doubtless trained in all that constituted the ordinary education of Jewish youth. When he grew up he followed the occupation of a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee. When John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness of Judea, John, with many others, gathered round him, and was deeply influenced by his teaching. There he heard the announcement, “Behold the Lamb of God,” and forthwith, on the invitation of Jesus, became a disciple and ranked among his followers (John 1:36, John 1:37) for a time. He and his brother then returned to their former avocation, for how long is uncertain. Jesus again called them (Matthew 4:21; Luke 5:1-11), and now they left all and permanently attached themselves to the company of his disciples. He became one of the innermost circle (Mark 5:37; Matthew 17:1; Matthew 26:37; Mark 13:3). He was the disciple whom Jesus loved. In zeal and intensity of character he was a “Boanerges” (Mark 3:17). This spirit once and again broke out (Matthew 20:20-24; Mark 10:35-41; Luke 9:49, Luke 9:54). At the betrayal he and Peter follow Christ afar off, while the others betake themselves to hasty flight (John 18:15). At the trial he follows Christ into the council chamber, and thence to the praetorium (John 18:16, John 18:19, John 18:28) and to the place of crucifixion (John 19:26, John 19:27). To him and Peter, Mary first conveys tidings of the resurrection (John 20:2), and they are the first to go and see what her strange words mean. After the resurrection he and Peter again return to the Sea of Galilee, where the Lord reveals himself to them (John 21:1, John 21:7). We find Peter and John frequently after this together (Acts 3:1; Acts 4:13). John remained apparently in Jerusalem as the leader of the church there (Acts 15:6; Galatians 2:9). His subsequent history is unrecorded. He was not there, however, at the time of Paul’s last visit (Acts 21:15-40). He appears to have retired to Ephesus, but at what time is unknown. The seven churches of Asia were the objects of his special care (Revelation 1:11). He suffered under persecution, and was banished to Patmos (Revelation 1:9); whence he again returned to Ephesus, where he died, probably about A.D. 98, having outlived all or nearly all the friends and companions even of his maturer years. There are many interesting traditions regarding John during his residence at Ephesus, but these cannot claim the character of historical truth.
John, First Epistle of
John, First Epistle of — the fourth of the catholic or “general” epistles. It was evidently written by John the evangelist, and probably also at Ephesus, and when the writer was in advanced age. The purpose of the apostle (1 John 1:1-4) is to declare the Word of Life to those to whom he writes, in order that they might be united in fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. He shows that the means of union with God are, (1) on the part of Christ, his atoning work (1 John 1:7; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 3:5; 1 John 4:10, 1 John 4:14; 1 John 5:11, 1 John 5:12) and his advocacy (1 John 2:1); and (2), on the part of man, holiness (1 John 1:6), obedience (1 John 2:3), purity (1 John 3:3), faith (1 John 3:23; 1 John 4:3; 1 John 5:5), and love (1 John 2:7, 1 John 2:8; 1 John 3:14; 1 John 4:7; 1 John 5:1).
John, Gospel of
John, Gospel of — The genuineness of this Gospel, i.e., the fact that the apostle John was its author, is beyond all reasonable doubt. In recent times, from about 1820, many attempts have been made to impugn its genuineness, but without success.
The design of John in writing this Gospel is stated by himself (John 20:31). It was at one time supposed that he wrote for the purpose of supplying the omissions of the synoptical, i.e., of the first three, Gospels, but there is no evidence for this. “There is here no history of Jesus and his teaching after the manner of the other evangelists. But there is in historical form a representation of the Christian faith in relation to the person of Christ as its central point; and in this representation there is a picture on the one hand of the antagonism of the world to the truth revealed in him, and on the other of the spiritual blessedness of the few who yield themselves to him as the Light of life” (Reuss).
After the prologue (John 1:1-5), the historical part of the book begins with verse John 1:6, and consists of two parts. The first part (John 1:6-ch. John 12) contains the history of our Lord’s public ministry from the time of his introduction to it by John the Baptist to its close. The second part (ch. John 13-21) presents our Lord in the retirement of private life and in his intercourse with his immediate followers (John 13-17), and gives an account of his sufferings and of his appearances to the disciples after his resurrection (John 18-21).
The peculiarities of this Gospel are the place it gives (1) to the mystical relation of the Son to the Father, and (2) of the Redeemer to believers; (3) the announcement of the Holy Ghost as the Comforter; (4) the prominence given to love as an element in the Christian character. It was obviously addressed primarily to Christians.
It was probably written at Ephesus, which, after the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), became the centre of Christian life and activity in the East, about A.D. 90.
John, Second Epistle of
John, Second Epistle of — is addressed to “the elect lady,” and closes with the words, “The children of thy elect sister greet thee;” but some would read instead of “lady” the proper name Kyria. Of the thirteen verses composing this epistle seven are in the First Epistle. The person addressed is commended for her piety, and is warned against false teachers.
John the Baptist
John the Baptist — the “forerunner of our Lord.” We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1 Chronicles 24:10), and his mother, Elisabeth, was of the daughters of Aaron (Luke 1:5). The mission of John was the subject of prophecy (Matthew 3:3; Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1). His birth, which took place six months before that of Jesus, was foretold by an angel. Zacharias, deprived of the power of speech as a token of God’s truth and a reproof of his own incredulity with reference to the birth of his son, had the power of speech restored to him on the occasion of his circumcision (Luke 1:64). After this no more is recorded of him for thirty years than what is mentioned in Luke 1:80. John was a Nazarite from his birth (Luke 1:15; Numbers 6:1-12). He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judah lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Matthew 3:1-12).
At length he came forth into public life, and great multitudes from “every quarter” were attracted to him. The sum of his preaching was the necessity of repentance. He denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a “generation of vipers,” and warned them of the folly of trusting to external privileges (Luke 3:8). “As a preacher, John was eminently practical and discriminating. Self-love and covetousness were the prevalent sins of the people at large. On them, therefore, he enjoined charity and consideration for others. The publicans he cautioned against extortion, the soldiers against crime and plunder.” His doctrine and manner of life roused the entire south of Palestine, and the people from all parts flocked to the place where he was, on the banks of the Jordan. There he baptized thousands unto repentance.
The fame of John reached the ears of Jesus in Nazareth (Matthew 3:5), and he came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John, on the special ground that it became him to “fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). John’s special office ceased with the baptism of Jesus, who must now “increase” as the King come to his kingdom. He continued, however, for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus. He pointed him out to his disciples, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God.” His public ministry was suddenly (after about six months probably) brought to a close by his being cast into prison by Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of having taken to himself the wife of his brother Philip (Luke 3:19). He was shut up in the castle of Machaerus (q.v.), a fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, 9 miles east of the Dead Sea, and here he was beheaded. His disciples, having consigned the headless body to the grave, went and told Jesus all that had occurred (Matthew 14:3-12). John’s death occurred apparently just before the third Passover of our Lord’s ministry. Our Lord himself testified regarding him that he was a “burning and a shining light” (John 5:35).
John, Third Epistle of
John, Third Epistle of — is addressed to Caius, or Gaius, but whether to the Christian of that name in Macedonia (Acts 19:29) or in Corinth (Romans 16:23) or in Derbe (Acts 20:4) is uncertain. It was written for the purpose of commending to Gaius some Christians who were strangers in the place where he lived, and who had gone thither for the purpose of preaching the gospel (ver. 3 John 7).
The Second and Third Epistles were probably written soon after the First, and from Ephesus.
Joiada
Joiada — (whom Jehovah favours) = Jehoiada. (1.) Nehemiah 3:6. (2.) One of the high priests (Nehemiah 12:10, Nehemiah 12:11, Nehemiah 12:22).
Joiakim
Joiakim — (whom Jehovah has set up) = Jehoiakim, a high priest, the son and successor of Jeshua (Nehemiah 12:10, Nehemiah 12:12, Nehemiah 12:26).
Joiarib
Joiarib — (whom Jehovah defends) = Jehoiarib. (1.) The founder of one of the courses of the priests (Nehemiah 11:10).
(2.) Nehemiah 11:5; a descendant of Judah.
(3.) Nehemiah 12:6.
(4.) Ezra 8:16, a “man of understanding” whom Ezra sent to “bring ministers for the house of God.”
Jokdeam
Jokdeam — a city in the mountains of Judah (Joshua 15:56).
Jokim
Jokim — whom Jehovah has set up, one of the descendants of Shelah (1 Chronicles 4:22).
Jokmeam
Jokmeam — gathering of the people, a city of Ephraim, which was given with its suburbs to the Levites (1 Chronicles 6:68). It lay somewhere in the Jordan valley (1 Kings 4:12, R.V.; but in A.V. incorrectly “Jokneam”).
Jokneam
Jokneam — gathered by the people, (Joshua 19:11; Joshua 21:34), a city “of Carmel” (Joshua 12:22), i.e., on Carmel, allotted with its suburbs to the Merarite Levites. It is the modern Tell Kaimon, about 12 miles south-west of Nazareth, on the south of the river Kishon.
Jokshan
Jokshan — snarer, the second son of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:2, Genesis 25:3; 1 Chronicles 1:32).
Joktan
Joktan — little, the second of the two sons of Eber (Genesis 10:25; 1 Chronicles 1:19). There is an Arab tradition that Joktan (Arab. Kahtan) was the progenitor of all the purest tribes of Central and Southern Arabia.
Joktheel
Joktheel — subdued by God. (1.) A city of Judah near Lachish (Joshua 15:38. Perhaps the ruin Kutlaneh, south of Gezer.
(2.) Amaziah, king of Judah, undertook a great expedition against Edom (2 Chronicles 25:5-10), which was completely successful. He routed the Edomites and slew vast numbers of them. So wonderful did this victory appear to him that he acknowledged that it could have been achieved only by the special help of God, and therefore he called Selah (q.v.), their great fortress city, by the name of Joktheel (2 Kings 14:7).
Jonadab
Jonadab — =Jehon’adab. (1.) The son of Rechab, and founder of the Rechabites (q.v.), 2 Kings 10:15; Jeremiah 35:6, Jeremiah 35:10.
(2.) The son of Shimeah, David’s brother (2 Samuel 13:3). He was “a very subtil man.”
Jonah
Jonah — a dove, the son of Amittai of Gath-hepher. He was a prophet of Israel, and predicted the restoration of the ancient boundaries (2 Kings 14:25-27) of the kingdom. He exercised his ministry very early in the reign of Jeroboam II., and thus was contemporary with Hosea and Amos; or possibly he preceded them, and consequently may have been the very oldest of all the prophets whose writings we possess. His personal history is mainly to be gathered from the book which bears his name. It is chiefly interesting from the two-fold character in which he appears, (1) as a missionary to heathen Nineveh, and (2) as a type of the “Son of man.”
Jonah, Book of
Jonah, Book of — This book professes to give an account of what actually took place in the experience of the prophet. Some critics have sought to interpret the book as a parable or allegory, and not as a history. They have done so for various reasons. Thus (1) some reject it on the ground that the miraculous element enters so largely into it, and that it is not prophetical but narrative in its form; (2) others, denying the possibility of miracles altogether, hold that therefore it cannot be true history.
Jonah and his story is referred to by our Lord (Matthew 12:39, Matthew 12:40; Luke 11:29), a fact to which the greatest weight must be attached. It is impossible to interpret this reference on any other theory. This one argument is of sufficient importance to settle the whole question. No theories devised for the purpose of getting rid of difficulties can stand against such a proof that the book is a veritable history.
There is every reason to believe that this book was written by Jonah himself. It gives an account of (1) his divine commission to go to Nineveh, his disobedience, and the punishment following (Jonah 1:1-17); (Jonah 2) his prayer and miraculous deliverance (Jonah 1:17-2:10); (Jonah 3) the second commission given to him, and his prompt obedience in delivering the message from God, and its results in the repentance of the Ninevites, and God’s long-sparing mercy toward them (ch. Jonah 3); (Jonah 4) Jonah’s displeasure at God’s merciful decision, and the rebuke tendered to the impatient prophet (ch. Jonah 4). Nineveh was spared after Jonah’s mission for more than a century. The history of Jonah may well be regarded “as a part of that great onward movement which was before the Law and under the Law; which gained strength and volume as the fulness of the times drew near.”, Perowne’s Jonah.
Jonas
Jonas — (1.) Greek form of Jonah (Matthew 12:39, Matthew 12:40, Matthew 12:41, etc.).
(2.) The father of the apostles Peter (John 21:15-17) and Andrew; but the reading should be (also in John 1:42), as in the Revised Version, “John,” instead of Jonas.
Jonathan
Jonathan — whom Jehovah gave, the name of fifteen or more persons that are mentioned in Scripture. The chief of these are, (1.) A Levite descended from Gershom (Judges 18:30). His history is recorded in Judges 17:7-13 and Judges 18:30. The Rabbins changed this name into Manasseh “to screen the memory of the great lawgiver from the stain of having so unworthy an apostate among his near descendants.” He became priest of the idol image at Dan, and this office continued in his family till the Captivity.
(2.) The eldest son of king Saul, and the bosom friend of David. He is first mentioned when he was about thirty years of age, some time after his father’s accession to the throne (1 Samuel 13:2). Like his father, he was a man of great strength and activity (2 Samuel 1:23), and excelled in archery and slinging (1 Chronicles 12:2;2 Samuel 1:22). The affection that evidently subsisted between him and his father was interrupted by the growth of Saul’s insanity. At length, “in fierce anger,” he left his father’s presence and cast in his lot with the cause of David (1 Samuel 20:34). After an eventful career, interwoven to a great extent with that of David, he fell, along with his father and his two brothers, on the fatal field of Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:2, 1 Samuel 31:8). He was first buried at Jabesh-gilead, but his remains were afterwards removed with those of his father to Zelah, in Benjamin (2 Samuel 21:12-14). His death was the occasion of David’s famous elegy of “the Song of the Bow” (2 Samuel 1:17-27). He left one son five years old, Merib-baal, or Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 4:4; comp. 1 Chronicles 8:34).
(3.) Son of the high priest Abiathar, and one who adhered to David at the time of Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 15:27, 2 Samuel 15:36). He is the last descendant of Eli of whom there is any record.
(4.) Son of Shammah, and David’s nephew, and also one of his chief warriors (2 Samuel 21:21). He slew a giant in Gath.
Jonath-elem-rechokim
Jonath-elem-rechokim — dove of the dumbness of the distance; i.e., “the silent dove in distant places”, title of Psalm 56. This was probably the name of some well known tune or melody to which the psalm was to be sung.
Joppa
Joppa — beauty, a town in the portion of Dan (Joshua 19:46; A.V., “Japho”), on a sandy promontory between Caesarea and Gaza, and at a distance of 30 miles north-west from Jerusalem. It is one of the oldest towns in Asia. It was and still is the chief sea-port of Judea. It was never wrested from the Phoenicians. It became a Jewish town only in the second century It was from this port that Jonah “took ship to flee from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3). To this place also the wood cut in Lebanon by Hiram’s men for Solomon was brought in floats (2 Chronicles 2:16); and here the material for the building of the second temple was also landed (Ezra 3:7). At Joppa, in the house of Simon the tanner, “by the sea-side,” Peter resided “many days,” and here, “on the house-top,” he had his “vision of tolerance” (Acts 9:36-43). It bears the modern name of Jaffa, and exibituds all the decrepitude and squalor of cities ruled over by the Turks. “Scarcely any other town has been so often overthrown, sacked, pillaged, burned, and rebuilt.” Its present population is said to be about 16,000. It was taken by the French under Napoleon in 1799, who gave orders for the massacre here of 4,000 prisoners. It is connected with Jerusalem by the only carriage road that exists in the country, and also by a railway completed in 1892. It is noticed on monuments 1600-1300, and was attacked by Sannacharib 702.
Joram
Joram — =Jeho’ram. (1.) One of the kings of Israel (2 Kings 8:16, 2 Kings 8:25, 2 Kings 8:28). He was the son of Ahab.
(2.) Jehoram, the son and successor of Jehoshaphat on the throne of Judah (2 Kings 8:24).
Jordan
Jordan — Heb. Yarden, “the descender;” Arab. Nahr-esh-Sheriah, “the watering-place” the chief river of Palestine. It flows from north to south down a deep valley in the centre of the country. The name descender is significant of the fact that there is along its whole course a descent to its banks; or it may simply denote the rapidity with which it “descends” to the Dead Sea.
It originates in the snows of Hermon, which feed its perennial fountains. Two sources are generally spoken of. (1.) From the western base of a hill on which once stood the city of Dan, the northern border-city of Palestine, there gushes forth a considerable fountain called the Leddan, which is the largest fountain in Syria and the principal source of the Jordan. (2.) Beside the ruins of Banias, the ancient Caesarea Philippi and the yet more ancient Panium, is a lofty cliff of limestone, at the base of which is a fountain. This is the other source of the Jordan, and has always been regarded by the Jews as its true source. It rushes down to the plain in a foaming torrent, and joins the Leddan about 5 miles south of Dan (Tell-el-Kady). (3.) But besides these two historical fountains there is a third, called the Hasbany, which rises in the bottom of a valley at the western base of Hermon, 12 miles north of Tell-el-Kady. It joins the main stream about a mile below the junction of the Leddan and the Banias. The river thus formed is at this point about 45 feet wide, and flows in a channel from 12 to 20 feet below the plain. After this it flows, “with a swift current and a much-twisted course,” through a marshy plain for some 6 miles, when it falls into the Lake Huleh, “the waters of Merom” (q.v.).
During this part of its course the Jordan has descended about 1,100 feet. At Banias it is 1,080 feet above sea-level. Flowing from the southern extremity of Lake Huleh, here almost on a level with the sea, it flows for 2 miles “through a waste of islets and papyrus,” and then for 9 miles through a narrow gorge in a foaming torrent onward to the Sea of Galilee (q.v.).
“In the whole valley of the Jordan from the Lake Huleh to the Sea of Galilee there is not a single settled inhabitant. Along the whole eastern bank of the river and the lakes, from the base of Hermon to the ravine of Hieromax, a region of great fertility, 30 miles long by 7 or 8 wide, there are only some three inhabited villages. The western bank is almost as desolate. Ruins are numerous enough. Every mile or two is an old site of town or village, now well nigh hid beneath a dense jungle of thorns and thistles. The words of Scripture here recur to us with peculiar force: ‘I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation … And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it … And your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate’ (Leviticus 26:31-34).”, Dr. Porter’s Handbook.
From the Sea of Galilee, at the level of 682 feet below the Mediterranean, the river flows through a long, low plain called “the region of Jordan” (Matthew 3:5), and by the modern Arabs the Ghor, or “sunken plain.” This section is properly the Jordan of Scripture. Down through the midst of the “plain of Jordan” there winds a ravine varying in breadth from 200 yards to half a mile, and in depth from 40 to 150 feet. Through it the Jordan flows in a rapid, rugged, tortuous course down to the Dead Sea. The whole distance from the southern extremity of the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is in a straight line about 65 miles, but following the windings of the river about 200 miles, during which it falls 618 feet. The total length of the Jordan from Banias is about 104 miles in a straight line, during which it falls 2,380 feet.
There are two considerable affluents which enter the river between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, both from the east. (1.) The Wady Mandhur, called the Yarmuk by the Rabbins and the Hieromax by the Greeks. It formed the boundary between Bashan and Gilead. It drains the plateau of the Hauran. (2.) The Jabbok or Wady Zerka, formerly the northern boundary of Ammon. It enters the Jordan about 20 miles north of Jericho.
The first historical notice of the Jordan is in the account of the separation of Abraham and Lot (Genesis 13:10). “Lot beheld the plain of Jordan as the garden of the Lord.” Jacob crossed and recrossed “this Jordan” (Genesis 32:10). The Israelites passed over it as “on dry ground” (Joshua 3:17; Psalm 114:3). Twice afterwards its waters were miraculously divided at the same spot by Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:8, 2 Kings 2:14).
The Jordan is mentioned in the Old Testament about one hundred and eighty times, and in the New Testament fifteen times. The chief events in gospel history connected with it are (1) John the Baptist’s ministry, when “there went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and were baptized of him in Jordan” (Matthew 3:6). (2.) Jesus also “was baptized of John in Jordan” (Mark 1:9).
Joseph
Joseph — remover or increaser. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Genesis 30:23, Genesis 30:24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, “God hath taken away [Heb. ‘asaph] my reproach.” “The Lord shall add [Heb. yoseph] to me another son” (Genesis 30:24). He was a child of probably six years of age when his father returned from Haran to Canaan and took up his residence in the old patriarchal town of Hebron. “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age,” and he “made him a long garment with sleeves” (Genesis 37:3, R.V. marg.), i.e., a garment long and full, such as was worn by the children of nobles. This seems to be the correct rendering of the words. The phrase, however, may also be rendered, “a coat of many pieces”, i.e., a patchwork of many small pieces of divers colours.
When he was about seventeen years old Joseph incurred the jealous hatred of his brothers (Genesis 37:4). They “hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.” Their anger was increased when he told them his dreams (Genesis 37:11).
Jacob desiring to hear tidings of his sons, who had gone to Shechem with their flocks, some 60 miles from Hebron, sent Joseph as his messenger to make inquiry regarding them. Joseph found that they had left Shechem for Dothan, whither he followed them. As soon as they saw him coming they began to plot against him, and would have killed him had not Reuben interposed. They ultimately sold him to a company of Ishmaelite merchants for twenty pieces (shekels) of silver (about $2, 10s.), ten pieces less than the current value of a slave, for “they cared little what they had for him, if so be they were rid of him.” These merchants were going down with a varied assortment of merchandise to the Egyptian market, and thither they conveyed him, and ultimately sold him as a slave to Potiphar, an “officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard” (Genesis 37:36). “The Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake,” and Potiphar made him overseer over his house. At length a false charge having been brought against him by Potiphar’s wife, he was at once cast into the state prison (Genesis 39; Genesis 40), where he remained for at least two years. After a while the “chief of the cupbearers” and the “chief of the bakers” of Pharaoh’s household were cast into the same prison (Genesis 40:2). Each of these new prisoners dreamed a dream in the same night, which Joseph interpreted, the event occurring as he had said.
This led to Joseph’s being remembered subsequently by the chief butler when Pharaoh also dreamed. At his suggestion Joseph was brought from prison to interpret the king’s dreams. Pharaoh was well pleased with Joseph’s wisdom in interpreting his dreams, and with his counsel with reference to the events then predicted; and he set him over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:46), and gave him the name of Zaphnath-paaneah. He was married to Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On, and thus became a member of the priestly class. Joseph was now about thirty years of age.
As Joseph had interpreted, seven years of plenty came, during which he stored up great abundance of corn in granaries built for the purpose. These years were followed by seven years of famine “over all the face of the earth,” when “all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn” (Genesis 41:56, Genesis 41:57; Genesis 47:13, Genesis 47:14). Thus “Joseph gathered up all the money that was in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought.” Afterwards all the cattle and all the land, and at last the Egyptians themselves, became the property of Pharaoh.
During this period of famine Joseph’s brethren also came down to Egypt to buy corn. The history of his dealings with them, and of the manner in which he at length made himself known to them, is one of the most interesting narratives that can be read (Genesis 42-45). Joseph directed his brethren to return and bring Jacob and his family to the land of Egypt, saying, “I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land is yours.” Accordingly Jacob and his family, to the number of threescore and ten souls, together with “all that they had,” went down to Egypt. They were settled in the land of Goshen, where Joseph met his father, and “fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while” (Genesis 46:29).
The excavations of Dr. Naville have shown the land of Goshen to be the Wady Tumilat, between Ismailia and Zagazig. In Goshen (Egyptian Qosem) they had pasture for their flocks, were near the Asiatic frontier of Egypt, and were out of the way of the Egyptian people. An inscription speaks of it as a district given up to the wandering shepherds of Asia.
Jacob at length died, and in fulfilment of a promise which he had exacted, Joseph went up to Canaan to bury his father in “the field of Ephron the Hittite” (Genesis 47:29-31; Genesis 50:1-14). This was the last recorded act of Joseph, who again returned to Egypt.
“The ‘Story of the Two Brothers,’ an Egyptian romance written for the son of the Pharaoh of the Oppression, contains an episode very similar to the Biblical account of Joseph’s treatment by Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar and Potipherah are the Egyptian Pa-tu-pa-Ra, ‘the gift of the sun-god.’ The name given to Joseph, Zaphnath-paaneah, is probably the Egyptian Zaf-nti-pa-ankh, ‘nourisher of the living one,’ i.e., of the Pharaoh. There are many instances in the inscriptions of foreigners in Egypt receiving Egyptian names, and rising to the highest offices of state.”
By his wife Asenath, Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (Genesis 41:50). Joseph having obtained a promise from his brethren that when the time should come that God would “bring them unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,” they would carry up his bones out of Egypt, at length died, at the age of one hundred and ten years; and “they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin” (Genesis 50:26). This promise was faithfully observed. Their descendants, long after, when the Exodus came, carried the body about with them during their forty years’ wanderings, and at length buried it in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor (Joshua 24:32; comp. Genesis 33:19). With the death of Joseph the patriarchal age of the history of Israel came to a close.
The Pharaoh of Joseph’s elevation was probably Apepi, or Apopis, the last of the Hyksos kings. Some, however, think that Joseph came to Egypt in the reign of Thothmes III. (see PHARAOH ), long after the expulsion of the Hyksos.
The name Joseph denotes the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh in Deuteronomy 33:13-17; the kingdom of Israel in Ezekiel 37:16, Ezekiel 37:19, Amos 5:6; and the whole covenant people of Israel in Psalm 81:4.
(2.) One of the sons of Asaph, head of the first division of sacred musicians (1 Chronicles 25:2, 1 Chronicles 25:9).
(3.) The son of Judah, and father of Semei (Luke 3:26). Other two of the same name in the ancestry of Christ are also mentioned (Luke 3:24, Luke 3:30).
(4.) The foster-father of our Lord (Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23). He lived at Nazareth in Galilee (Luke 2:4). He is called a “just man.” He was by trade a carpenter (Matthew 13:55). He is last mentioned in connection with the journey to Jerusalem, when Jesus was twelve years old. It is probable that he died before Jesus entered on his public ministry. This is concluded from the fact that Mary only was present at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. His name does not appear in connection with the scenes of the crucifixion along with that of Mary (q.v.), John 19:25.
(5.) A native of Arimathea, probably the Ramah of the Old Testament (1 Samuel 1:19), a man of wealth, and a member of the Sanhedrim (Matthew 27:57; Luke 23:50), an “honourable counsellor, who waited for the kingdom of God.” As soon as he heard the tidings of Christ’s death, he “went in boldly” (lit. “having summoned courage, he went”) “unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.” Pilate having ascertained from the centurion that the death had really taken place, granted Joseph’s request, who immediately, having purchased fine linen (Mark 15:46), proceeded to Golgotha to take the body down from the cross. There, assisted by Nicodemus, he took down the body and wrapped it in the fine linen, sprinkling it with the myrrh and aloes which Nicodemus had brought (John 19:39), and then conveyed the body to the new tomb hewn by Joseph himself out of a rock in his garden hard by. There they laid it, in the presence of Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joses, and other women, and rolled a great stone to the entrance, and departed (Luke 23:53, Luke 23:55). This was done in haste, “for the Sabbath was drawing on” (comp. Isaiah 53:9).
(6.) Surnamed Barsabas (Acts 1:23); also called Justus. He was one of those who “companied with the apostles all the time that the Lord Jesus went out and in among them” (Acts 1:21), and was one of the candidates for the place of Judas.
Joshua
Joshua — Jehovah is his help, or Jehovah the Saviour. The son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, the successor of Moses as the leader of Israel. He is called Jehoshua in Numbers 13:16 (A.V.), and Jesus in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 (R.V., Joshua).
He was born in Egypt, and was probably of the age of Caleb, with whom he is generally associated. He shared in all the events of the Exodus, and held the place of commander of the host of the Israelites at their great battle against the Amalekites in Rephidim (Exodus 17:8-16). He became Moses’ minister or servant, and accompanied him part of the way when he ascended Mount Sinai to receive the two tables (Exodus 32:17). He was also one of the twelve who were sent on by Moses to explore the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:16, Numbers 13:17), and only he and Caleb gave an encouraging report. Under the direction of God, Moses, before his death, invested Joshua in a public and solemn manner with authority over the people as his successor (Deuteronomy 31:23). The people were encamped at Shittim when he assumed the command (Joshua 1:1); and crossing the Jordan, they encamped at Gilgal, where, having circumcised the people, he kept the Passover, and was visited by the Captain of the Lord’s host, who spoke to him encouraging words (Joshua 1:1-9).
Now began the wars of conquest which Joshua carried on for many years, the record of which is in the book which bears his name. Six nations and thirty-one kings were conquered by him (Joshua 11:18-23; Joshua 12:24). Having thus subdued the Canaanites, Joshua divided the land among the tribes, Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim being assigned to himself as his own inheritance. (See SHILOH ; PRIEST.)
His work being done, he died, at the age of one hundred and ten years, twenty-five years after having crossed the Jordan. He was buried in his own city of Timnath-serah (Joshua 24); and “the light of Israel for the time faded away.”
Joshua has been regarded as a type of Christ (Hebrews 4:8) in the following particulars: (1) In the name common to both; (2) Joshua brings the people into the possession of the Promised Land, as Jesus brings his people to the heavenly Canaan; and (3) as Joshua succeeded Moses, so the Gospel succeeds the Law.
The character of Joshua is thus well sketched by Edersheim:, “Born a slave in Egypt, he must have been about forty years old at the time of the Exodus. Attached to the person of Moses, he led Israel in the first decisive battle against Amalek (Exodus 17:9, Exodus 17:13), while Moses in the prayer of faith held up to heaven the God-given ‘rod.’ It was no doubt on that occasion that his name was changed from Oshea, ‘help,’ to Jehoshua, ‘Jehovah is help’ (Numbers 13:16). And this name is the key to his life and work. Alike in bringing the people into Canaan, in his wars, and in the distribution of the land among the tribes, from the miraculous crossing of Jordan and taking of Jericho to his last address, he was the embodiment of his new name, ‘Jehovah is help.’ To this outward calling his character also corresponded. It is marked by singleness of purpose, directness, and decision … He sets an object before him, and unswervingly follows it” (Bible Hist., iii. 103)
Joshua, The Book of
Joshua, The Book of — contains a history of the Israelites from the death of Moses to that of Joshua. It consists of three parts: (1.) The history of the conquest of the land (Joshua 1-12). (2.) The allotment of the land to the different tribes, with the appointment of cities of refuge, the provision for the Levites (Joshua 13-22), and the dismissal of the eastern tribes to their homes. This section has been compared to the Domesday Book of the Norman conquest. (3.) The farewell addresses of Joshua, with an account of his death (Joshua 23, Joshua 24).
This book stands first in the second of the three sections, (1) the Law, (2) the Prophets, (3) the “other writings” = Hagiographa, into which the Jewish Church divided the Old Testament. There is every reason for concluding that the uniform tradition of the Jews is correct when they assign the authorship of the book to Joshua, all except the concluding section; the last verses (Joshua 24:29-33) were added by some other hand.
There are two difficulties connected with this book which have given rise to much discussion, (1.) The miracle of the standing still of the sun and moon on Gibeon. The record of it occurs in Joshua’s impassioned prayer of faith, as quoted (Joshua 10:12-15) from the “Book of Jasher” (q.v.). There are many explanations given of these words. They need, however, present no difficulty if we believe in the possibility of God’s miraculous interposition in behalf of his people. Whether it was caused by the refraction of the light, or how, we know not.
(2.) Another difficulty arises out of the command given by God utterly to exterminate the Canaanites. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” It is enough that Joshua clearly knew that this was the will of God, who employs his terrible agencies, famine, pestilence, and war, in the righteous government of this world. The Canaanites had sunk into a state of immorality and corruption so foul and degrading that they had to be rooted out of the land with the edge of the sword. “The Israelites’ sword, in its bloodiest executions, wrought a work of mercy for all the countries of the earth to the very end of the world.”
This book resembles the Acts of the Apostles in the number and variety of historical incidents it records, and in its many references to persons and places; and as in the latter case the epistles of Paul (see Paley’s Horae Paul.) confirm its historical accuracy by their incidental allusions and “undesigned coincidences,” so in the former modern discoveries confirm its historicity. The Amarna tablets (see ADONIZEDEC ) are among the most remarkable discoveries of the age. Dating from about B.C. 1480 down to the time of Joshua, and consisting of official communications from Amorite, Phoenician, and Philistine chiefs to the king of Egypt, they afford a glimpse into the actual condition of Palestine prior to the Hebrew invasion, and illustrate and confirm the history of the conquest. A letter, also still extant, from a military officer, “master of the captains of Egypt,” dating from near the end of the reign of Rameses II., gives a curious account of a journey, probably official, which he undertook through Palestine as far north as to Aleppo, and an insight into the social condition of the country at that time. Among the things brought to light by this letter and the Amarna tablets is the state of confusion and decay that had now fallen on Egypt. The Egyptian garrisons that had held possession of Palestine from the time of Thothmes III., some two hundred years before, had now been withdrawn. The way was thus opened for the Hebrews. In the history of the conquest there is no mention of Joshua having encountered any Egyptian force. The tablets contain many appeals to the king of Egypt for help against the inroads of the Hebrews, but no help seems ever to have been sent. Is not this just such a state of things as might have been anticipated as the result of the disaster of the Exodus? In many points, as shown under various articles, the progress of the conquest is remarkably illustrated by the tablets. The value of modern discoveries in their relation to Old Testament history has been thus well described:
“The difficulty of establishing the charge of lack of historical credibility, as against the testimony of the Old Testament, has of late years greatly increased. The outcome of recent excavations and explorations is altogether against it. As long as these books contained, in the main, the only known accounts of the events they mention, there was some plausibility in the theory that perhaps these accounts were written rather to teach moral lessons than to preserve an exact knowledge of events. It was easy to say in those times men had not the historic sense. But the recent discoveries touch the events recorded in the Bible at very many different points in many different generations, mentioning the same persons, countries, peoples, events that are mentioned in the Bible, and showing beyond question that these were strictly historic. The point is not that the discoveries confirm the correctness of the Biblical statements, though that is commonly the case, but that the discoveries show that the peoples of those ages had the historic sense, and, specifically, that the Biblical narratives they touch are narratives of actual occurrences.”
Josiah
Josiah — healed by Jehovah, or Jehovah will support. The son of Amon, and his successor on the throne of Judah (2 Kings 22:1; 2 Chronicles 34:1). His history is contained in 2 Kings 22, 2 Kings 23. He stands foremost among all the kings of the line of David for unswerving loyalty to Jehovah (2 Kings 23:25). He “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father.” He ascended the throne at the early age of eight years, and it appears that not till eight years afterwards did he begin “to seek after the God of David his father.” At that age he devoted himself to God. He distinguished himself by beginning a war of extermination against the prevailing idolatry, which had practically been the state religion for some seventy years (2 Chronicles 34:3; comp. Jeremiah 25:3, Jeremiah 25:11, Jeremiah 25:29).
In the eighteenth year of his reign he proceeded to repair and beautify the temple, which by time and violence had become sorely dilapidated (2 Kings 22:3, 2 Kings 22:5, 2 Kings 22:6; 2 Kings 23:23; 2 Chronicles 34:11). While this work was being carried on, Hilkiah, the high priest, discovered a roll, which was probably the original copy of the law, the entire Pentateuch, written by Moses.
When this book was read to him, the king was alarmed by the things it contained, and sent for Huldah, the “prophetess,” for her counsel. She spoke to him words of encouragement, telling him that he would be gathered to his fathers in peace before the threatened days of judgment came. Josiah immediately gathered the people together, and engaged them in a renewal of their ancient national covenant with God. The Passover was then celebrated, as in the days of his great predecessor, Hezekiah, with unusual magnificence. Nevertheless, “the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah” (2 Kings 22:3-20; 2 Kings 23:21-27; 2 Chronicles 35:1-19). During the progress of this great religious revolution Jeremiah helped it on by his earnest exhortations.
Soon after this, Pharaoh-Necho II. (q.v.), king of Egypt, in an expedition against the king of Assyria, with the view of gaining possession of Carchemish, sought a passage through the territory of Judah for his army. This Josiah refused to permit. He had probably entered into some new alliance with the king of Assyria, and faithful to his word he sought to oppose the progress of Necho.
The army of Judah went out and encountered that of Egypt at Megiddo, on the verge of the plain of Esdraelon. Josiah went into the field in disguise, and was fatally wounded by a random arrow. His attendants conveyed him toward Jerusalem, but had only reached Hadadrimmon, a few miles south of Megiddo, when he died (2 Kings 23:28, 2 Kings 23:30; comp. 2 Chronicles 35:20-27), after a reign of thirty-one years. He was buried with the greatest honours in fulfilment of Huldah’s prophecy (2 Kings 22:20; comp. Jeremiah 34:5). Jeremiah composed a funeral elegy on this the best of the kings of Israel (Lamentations 4:20; 2 Chronicles 35:25). The outburst of national grief on account of his death became proverbial (Zechariah 12:11; comp. Revelation 16:16).
Jot
Jot — or Iota, the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, used metaphorically or proverbially for the smallest thing (Matthew 5:18); or it may be = yod, which is the smallest of the Hebrew letters.
Jotham
Jotham — Jehovah is perfect. (1.) The youngest of Gideon’s seventy sons. He escaped when the rest were put to death by the order of Abimelech (Judges 9:5). When “the citizens of Shechem and the whole house of Millo” were gathered together “by the plain of the pillar” (i.e., the stone set up by Joshua, Joshua 24:26; comp. Genesis 35:4) “that was in Shechem, to make Abimelech king,” from one of the heights of Mount Gerizim he protested against their doing so in the earliest parable, that of the bramble-king. His words then spoken were prophetic. There came a recoil in the feelings of the people toward Abimelech, and then a terrible revenge, in which many were slain and the city of Shechem was destroyed by Abimelech (Judges 9:45). Having delivered his warning, Jotham fled to Beer from the vengeance of Abimelech (Judges 9:7-21).
(2.) The son and successor of Uzziah on the throne of Judah. As during his last years Uzziah was excluded from public life on account of his leprosy, his son, then twenty-five years of age, administered for seven years the affairs of the kingdom in his father’s stead (2 Chronicles 26:21, 2 Chronicles 26:23; 2 Chronicles 27:1). After his father’s death he became sole monarch, and reigned for sixteen years (B.C. 759-743). He ruled in the fear of God, and his reign was prosperous. He was contemporary with the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah, by whose ministrations he profited. He was buried in the sepulchre of the kings, greatly lamented by the people (2 Kings 15:38; 2 Chronicles 27:7-9).
Journey
Journey — (1.) A day’s journey in the East is from 16 to 20 miles (Numbers 11:31).
(2.) A Sabbath-day’s journey is 2,000 paces or yards from the city walls (Acts 1:12). According to Jewish tradition, it was the distance one might travel without violating the law of Exodus 16:29. (See SABBATH.)
Jozabad
Jozabad — whom Jehovah bestows. (1.) One of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:4).
(2.) A chief of the tribe of Manasseh (1 Chronicles 12:20).
Jozachar
Jozachar — Jehovah-remembered, one of the two servants who assassinated Jehoash, the king of Judah, in Millo (2 Kings 12:21). He is called also Zabad (2 Chronicles 24:26).
Jubal
Jubal — jubilee, music, Lamech’s second son by Adah, of the line of Cain. He was the inventor of “the harp” (Heb. kinnor, properly “lyre”) and “the organ” (Heb. ‘ugab, properly “mouth-organ” or Pan’s pipe), Genesis 4:21.