Smith's Bible Dictionary
Jecamiah — Jeshuah
Jecamiah
Jecami’ah (whom Jehovah gathers), one of seven who were introduced into the royal line, on the failure of it in the person of Jehoiachin. 1 Chronicles 3:18.
Jecholiah
Jecholi’ah (strong through Jehovah), wife of Amaziah king of Judah, and mother of Azariah or Uzziah his successor. 2 Kings 15:2. (b.c. 824–807.)
Jeconias
Jeconi’as, the Greek form of Jeconiah, an altered form of Jehoiachin. [JEHOIACHIN.]
Jecoliah
Jecoli’ah. The same as JECHOLIAH. 2 Chronicles 26:3.
Jeconiah
Jeconi’ah (whom Jehovah establishes). [See JEHOIACHIN.]
Jedaiah
Jedai’ah (praise Jehovah).
1. Head of the second course of priests, as they were divided in the time of David. 1 Chronicles 24:7. (b.c. 1014.) Some of them survived to return to Jerusalem after the Babylonish captivity, as appears from Ezra 2:36; Nehemiah 7:39.
2. A priest in the time of Jeshua the high priest. Zechariah 6:10, Zechariah 6:14. (b.c. 536.)
Jedaiah
Jeda’iah.
1. A Simeonite, forefather of Ziza. 1 Chronicles 4:37.
2. Son of Harumaph; a man who did his part in the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 3:10. (b.c. 446.)
Jedia-el
Jedi’a-el (known of God).
1. A chief patriarch of the tribe of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 7:6, 1 Chronicles 7:11. It is usually assumed that Jediael is the same as Ashbel, Genesis 46:21; Numbers 26:38; 1 Chronicles 8:1; but this is not certain.
2. Second son of Meshelemiah, a Levite. 1 Chronicles 26:1, 1 Chronicles 26:2.
3. Son of Shimri; one of the heroes of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:45. (b.c. 1046.)
4. One of the chiefs of the thousands of Manasseh who joined David on his march to Ziklag. 1 Chronicles 12:20; comp. 1 Samuel 30:9, 1 Samuel 30:10. (b.c. 1053.)
Jedidah
Jed’idah (one beloved), queen of Amon and mother of the good king Josiah. 2 Kings 22:1. (b.c. 648.)
Jedidiah
Jedidi’ah (beloved of Jehovah), Je-did-jah (darling of Jehovah), the name bestowed, through Nathan the prophet, on David’s son Solomon. 2 Samuel 12:25.
Jeduthun
Jed’uthun (praising), a Levite of the family of Merari, is probably the same as Ethan. Comp. 1 Chronicles 15:17, 1 Chronicles 15:19 with 1 Chronicles 16:41, 1 Chronicles 16:42; 1 Chronicles 25:1, 1 Chronicles 25:3, 1 Chronicles 25:6; 2 Chronicles 35:15. His office was generally to preside over the music of the temple service. Jeduthun’s name stands at the head of the Psalm 39th, Psalm 62, and Psalm 77th Psalms, indicating probably that they were to be sung by his choir. (b.c. 1014.)
Je-ezer
Je-e’zer (father of help), Numbers 26:30, the name of a descendant of Manasseh and founder of the family of the Jeezerites. In parallel lists the name is given as Abi-ezer.
Jegar-sahadutha
Je’gar-sahadu’tha (heap of testimony), the Aramæan name given by Laban the Syrian to the heap of stones which he erected as a memorial of the compact between Jacob and himself. Genesis 31:47. Galeed, a “witness heap,” which is given as the Hebrew equivalent, does not exactly represent Jegar-sahadutha.
Jehalele-el
Jehal’ele-el (who praises God). Four men of the Bene-Jehaleleel are introduced abruptly into the genealogies of Judah. 1 Chronicles 4:16.
Jehalelel
Jehal’elel (who praises God), a Merarite Levite, father of Azariah. 2 Chronicles 29:12.
Jehdeiah
Jehde’iah (whom Jehovah makes glad).
1. The representative of the Bene-Shubael, in the time of David. 1 Chronicles 24:20.
2. A Meronothite who had charge of the she-asses of David. 1 Chronicles 27:30. (b.c. 1046.)
Jehezekel
Jehez’ekel (whom God makes strong), a priest to whom was given by David the charge of the twentieth of the twenty-four courses in the service of the house of Jehovah. 1 Chronicles 24:16. (b.c. 1014.)
Jehiah
Jehi’ah (Jehovah lives), “doorkeeper for the ark” at the time of its establishment in Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 15:24. (b.c. 1043.)
Jehiel
Jehi’el (God lives).
1. One of the Levites appointed by David to assist in the service of the house of God. 1 Chronicles 15:18, 1 Chronicles 15:20; 1 Chronicles 16:5.
2. One of the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, put to death by his brother Jehoram. 2 Chronicles 21:2, 2 Chronicles 21:4. (b.c. 887.)
3. One of the rulers of the house of God at the time of the reforms of Josiah. 2 Chronicles 35:8. (b.c. 623.)
4. A Gershonite Levite, 1 Chronicles 23:8, who had charge of the treasures. ch. 1 Chronicles 29:8.
5. A son of Hachmoni named in the list of David’s officers, 1 Chronicles 27:32, as “with the king’s sons,” whatever that may mean.
6. A Levite who took part in the restorations of King Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 29:14. (b.c. 726.)
7. Another Levite at the same period. 2 Chronicles 31:13.
8. Father of Obadiah, of the Bene-Joab. Ezra 8:9. (b.c. before 459.)
9. One of the Bene-Elam, father of Shechaniah. Ezra 10:2.
10. A member of the same family, who himself had to part with his wife. Ezra 10:26.
11. A priest, one of the Bene-Harim, who also had to put away his foreign wife. Ezra 10:21. (b.c. 459.)
Jehiel
Jehi’el (treasured of God), a perfectly distinct name from the last.
1. A man described as father of Gibeon; a forefather of King Saul. 1 Chronicles 9:35.
2. One of the sons of Hotham the Aroerite; a member of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:44. (b.c. 1046.)
Jehieli
Jehi’eli (a Jehielite), according to the Authorized Version a Gershonite Levite of the family of Laadan. 1 Chronicles 26:21, 1 Chronicles 26:22.
Jehizkiah
Jehizki’ah (Jehovah strengthens), son of Shallum, one of the heads of the tribe of Ephraim in the time of Ahaz. 2 Chronicles 28:12; comp. 2 Chronicles 28:15. (b.c. 738.)
Jehoadah
Jeho’adah (whom Jehovah adorns), one of the descendants of Saul. 1 Chronicles 8:36.
Jeho-addan
Jeho-ad’dan (whom Jehovah adorns), queen to King Joash, and mother of Amaziah of Judah. 2 Kings 14:2; 2 Chronicles 25:1. (b.c. 862–837.)
Jehoahaz
Jeho’ahaz (whom the Lord sustains).
1. The son and successor of Jehu, reigned 17 years, b.c. 856–840, over Israel in Samaria. His inglorious history is given in 2 Kings 13:1-9. Throughout his reign, ver. 2 Kings 13:22, he was kept in subjection by Hazael king of Damascus. Jehoahaz maintained the idolatry of Jeroboam; but in the extremity of his humiliation he besought Jehovah, and Jehovah gave Israel a deliverer—probably either Jehoash, vs. 2 Kings 13:23 and 2 Kings 13:25, or Jeroboam II, 2 Kings 14:24, 2 Kings 14:25.
2. Jehoahaz, otherwise called Shallum, son of Josiah, whom he succeeded as king of Judah. He was chosen by the people in preference to his elder (comp. 2 Kings 23:31, 2 Kings 23:36) brother, b.c. 610, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. Pharaoh-necho sent to Jerusalem to depose him and to fetch him to Riblah. There he was cast into chains, and from thence he was taken into Egypt, where he died.
3. The name given, 2 Chronicles 21:17, to Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram king of Judah.
Jehoash
Jeho’ash (given by the Lord), the uncontracted form of Joash.
1. The eighth king of Judah; son of Ahaziah. 2 Kings 11:21; 2 Kings 12:1, 2 Kings 12:2, 2 Kings 12:4, 2 Kings 12:6, 2 Kings 12:7, 2 Kings 12:18; 2 Kings 14:13. [JOASH, 1.]
2. The twelfth king of Israel; son of Jehoahaz. 2 Kings 13:10, 2 Kings 13:25; 2 Kings 14:8, 2 Kings 14:9, 2 Kings 14:11, 2 Kings 14:13, 2 Kings 14:15, 2 Kings 14:16, 2 Kings 14:17. [JOASH, 2.]
Jehohanan
Jeho’hanan (whom Jehovah gave), a name of which John is the contraction.
1. A Korhite Levite, one of the doorkeepers to the tabernacle. 1 Chronicles 26:3; comp. 1 Chronicles 25:1. (b.c. 1014.)
2. One of the principal men of Judah under King Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 17:15; comp. 2 Chronicles 17:13 and 2 Chronicles 17:19. (b.c. 910.)
3. Father of Ishmael, one of the “captains of hundreds” whom Jehoiada the priest took into his confidence about the restoration of the line of Judah. 2 Chronicles 23:1. (b.c. 910.)
4. One of the Bene-Bebai who was forced to put away his foreign wife. Ezra 10:28. (b.c. 459.)
5. A priest, Nehemiah 12:13, during the high priesthood of Joiakim. ver. Nehemiah 12:12. (b.c. 406.)
6. A priest who took part in the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 12:42. (b.c. 446.)
Jeho-iachin
Jeho-i’achin (whom Jehovah has appointed), son of Jehoiakim, and for three months and ten days king of Judah. (b.c. 597.) At his accession Jerusalem was quite defenceless, and unable to offer any resistance to the army which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it. 2 Kings 24:10, 2 Kings 24:11. In a very short time Jehoiachin surrendered at discretion; and he, and the queen-mother, and all his servants, captains, and officers, came out and gave themselves up to Nebuchadnezzar, who carried them, with the harem and the eunuchs, to Babylon. Jeremiah 29:2; Ezekiel 17:12; Ezekiel 19:9. There he remained a prisoner, actually in prison and wearing prison garments, for thirty-six years, viz., till the death of Nebuchadnezzar, when Evil-merodach, succeeding to the throne of Babylon, brought him out of prison, and made him sit at his own table. The time of his death is uncertain.
Jeho-iada
Jeho-i’ada (Jehovah knows).
1. Father of Benaiah, David’s well-known warrior. 2 Samuel 8:18; 1 Kings 1 and 1 Kings 2 passim; 1 Chronicles 18:17, etc. (b.c. before 1046.)
2. Leader of the Aaronites, i.e., the priests; who joined David at Hebron. 1 Chronicles 12:27. (b.c. 1053–46.)
3. According to 1 Chronicles 27:34, son of Benaiah; but in all probability Benaiah the son of Jehoinda is meant. Probably an error in copying. 1 Chronicles 18:17; 2 Samuel 8:18.
4. High priest at the time of Athaliah’s usurpation of the throne of Judah, b.c. 884–878, and during the greater portion of the forty-years reign of Joash. He married Jehosheba; and when Athaliah slew all the seed royal of Judah after Ahaziah had been put to death by Jehu, he and his wife stole Joash from among the king’s sons and hid him for six years in the temple, and eventually replaced him on the throne of his ancestors. [ATHALIAH.] The destruction of Baal-worship and the restoration of the temple were among the great works effected by Jehoiada. He died b.c. 834.
5. Second priest, or sagan, to Seraiah the high priest. Jeremiah 29:25-29; 2 Kings 25:18.
6. Son of Paseach, who assisted to repair the old gate of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 3:6.
Jeho-iakim
Jeho-i’akim (whom Jehovah sets up), called Eliakim, son of Josiah and king of Judah. After deposing Jehoahaz, Pharaoh-necho set Eliakim, his elder brother, upon the throne, and changed his name to Jehoiakim, b.c. 608–597. For four years Jehoiakim was subject to Egypt, when Nebuchadnezzar, after a short siege, entered Jerusalem, took the king prisoner, bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon, and took also some of the precious vessels of the temple and carried them to the land of Shinar. Jehoiakim became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar after his invasion of Judah, and continued so for three years, but at the end of that time broke his oath of allegiance and rebelled against him. 2 Kings 24:1. Nebuchadnezzar sent against him numerous bands of Chaldeans, with Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, 2 Kings 24:7, and who cruelly harassed the whole country. Either in an engagement with some of these forces or else by the hand of his own oppressed subjects Jehoiakim came to a violent end in the eleventh year of his reign. His body was cast out ignominiously on the ground, and then was dragged away and buried “with the burial of an ass,” without pomp or lamentation, “beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” Jeremiah 22:18, Jeremiah 22:19; Jeremiah 36:30. All the accounts we have of Jehoiakim concur in ascribing to him a vicious and irreligious character. 2 Kings 23:37; 2 Kings 24:9; 2 Chronicles 36:5. The reign of Jehoiakim extends from b.c. 609 to b.c. 598, or, as some reckon, 599.
Jeho-iarib
Jeho-i’arib (whom Jehovah defends), head of the first of the twenty-four courses of priests. 1 Chronicles 24:7.
Jehonadab
Jehon’adab (whom Jehovah impels) and Jon’adab, the son of Rechab, founder of the Rechabites, an Arab chief. When Jehu was advancing, after the slaughter of Betheked, on the city of Samaria, he was suddenly met by Jehonadab, who joined with him in “slaying all that remained unto Ahab.” 2 Kings 10:15-17.
Jehonathan
Jehon’athan (whom Jehovah gave).
1. Son of Uzziah; superintendent of certain of King David’s storehouses. 1 Chronicles 27:25. (b.c. 1014.)
2. One of the Levites who were sent by Jehoshaphat through the cities of Judah, with a book of the law, to teach the people. 2 Chronicles 17:8. (b.c. 910.)
3. A priest, Nehemiah 12:18, the representative of the family of Shemaiah, ver. Nehemiah 12:6, when Joiakim was high priest. (b.c. after 536.)
Jehoram
Jeho’ram (whom Jehovah has exalted).
1. Son of Ahab king of Israel, who succeeded his brother Ahaziah b.c. 896, and died b.c. 884. The alliance between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, commenced by his father and Jehoshaphat, was very close throughout his reign. We first find him associated with Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom in a war against the Moabites. The three armies were in the utmost danger of perishing for want of water. The piety of Jehoshaphat suggested an inquiry of Jehovah, through Elisha. After reproving Jehoram, Elisha, for Jehoshaphat’s sake, inquired of Jehovah, and received the promise of an abundant supply of water, and of a great victory over the Moabites; a promise which was immediately fulfilled. The allies pursued them with great slaughter into their own land, which they utterly ravaged and destroyed most of its cities. Kirharaseth alone remained, and there the king of Moab made his last stand. An attempt to break through the besieging army having failed, he resorted to the desperate expedient of offering up his eldest son, as a burnt offering, upon the wall of the city, in the sight of the enemy. Upon this the Israelites retired and returned to their own land. 2 Kings 3. A little later, when war broke out between Syria and Israel, we find Elisha befriending Jehoram; but when the terrible famine in Samaria arose, the king immediately attributed the evil to Elisha, and determined to take away his life. The providential interposition by which both Elisha’s life was saved and the city delivered is narrated 2 Kings 7, and Jehoram appears to have returned to friendly feeling toward Elisha. 2 Kings 8:4. It was soon after these events that the revolution in Syria predicted by Elisha took place, giving Jehoram a good opportunity of recovering Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians. He accordingly made an alliance with his nephew Ahaziah, who had just succeeded Joram on the throne of Judah, and the two kings proceeded to occupy Ramoth-gilead by force. The expedition was an unfortunate one. Jehoram was wounded in battle, and obliged to return to Jezreel to be healed of his wounds. 2 Kings 8:29; 2 Kings 9:14, 2 Kings 9:15. Jehu and the army under his command revolted from their allegiance to Jehoram, 2 Kings 9, and hastily marching to Jezreel, surprised Jehoram, wounded and defenceless as he was. Jehoram, going out to meet him, fell pierced by an arrow from Jehu’s bow on the very plot of ground which Ahab had wrested from Naboth the Jezreelite; thus fulfilling to the letter the prophecy of Elijah. 1 Kings 21:29. With the life of Jehoram ended the dynasty of Omri.
2. Eldest son of Jehoshaphat, succeeded his father on the throne of Judah at the age of 32, and reigned eight years, from b.c. 893–2 to 885–4. As soon as he was fixed on the throne, he put his six brothers to death, with many of the chief nobles of the land. He then, probably at the instance of his wife Athaliah the daughter of Ahab, proceeded to establish the worship of Baal. A prophetic writing from the aged prophet Elijah, 2 Chronicles 21:12, failed to produce any good effect upon him. The remainder of his reign was a series of calamities. First the Edomites, who had been tributary to Jehoshaphat, revolted from his dominion and established their permanent independence. Next Libnah, 2 Kings 19:8, rebelled against him. Then followed invasion by armed bands of Philistines and of Arabians, who stormed the king’s palace, put his wives and all his children, except his youngest son Ahaziah, to death, 2 Chronicles 22:1, or carried them into captivity, and plundered all his treasures. He died of a terrible disease. 2 Chronicles 21:19, 2 Chronicles 21:20.
Jehoshabe-ath
Jehoshab’e-ath (whose oath is Jehovah). 2 Chronicles 22:11. [See JEHOSHEBA.]
Jehoshaphat
Jehosh’aphat (whom Jehovah judges).
1. King of Judah, son of Asa, succeeded to the throne b.c. 914, when he was 35 years old, and reigned 25 years. His history is to be found among the events recorded in 1 Kings 15:24; 2 Kings 8:16, or in a continuous narrative in 2 Chronicles 17:1-21:3. He was contemporary with Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jehoram. He was one of the best, most pious, and prosperous kings of Judah, the greatest since Solomon. At first he strengthened himself against Israel; but soon afterward the two Hebrew kings formed an alliance. In his own kingdom Jehoshaphat ever showed himself a zealous follower of the commandments of God: he tried to put down the high places and groves in which the people of Judah burnt incense, and sent the wisest Levites through the cities and towns to instruct the people in true morality and religion. Riches and honors increased around him. He received tribute from the Philistines and Arabians, and kept up a large standing army in Jerusalem. It was probably about the 16th year of his reign, b.c. 898, when he became Ahab’s ally in the great battle of Ramoth-gilead, for which he was severely reproved by Jehu. 2 Chronicles 19:2. He built at Ezion-geber, with the help of Ahaziah, a navy designed to go to Tarshish; but it was wrecked at Ezion-geber. Before the close of his reign he was engaged in two additional wars. He was miraculously delivered from a threatened attack of the people of Ammon, Moab, and Seir. After this, perhaps, must be dated the war which Jehoshaphat, in conjunction with Jehoram king of Israel and the king of Edom, carried on against the rebellious king of Moab. 2 Kings 3. In his declining years the administration of affairs was placed, probably b.c. 891, in the hands of his son Jehoram.
2. Son of Ahilud, who filled the office of recorder or annalist in the courts of David, 2 Samuel 8:16, etc., and Solomon. 1 Kings 4:3.
3. One of the priests in David’s time. 1 Chronicles 15:24.
4. Son of Paruah; one of the twelve purveyors of King Solomon. 1 Kings 4:17.
5. Son of Nimshi and father of King Jehu. 2 Kings 9:2, 2 Kings 9:14.
Jehoshaphat Valley of
Jehosh’aphat, Valley of (valley of the judgment of Jehovah), a valley mentioned by Joel only, as the spot in which, after the return of Judah and Jerusalem from captivity, Jehovah would gather all the heathen, Joel 3:2, and would there sit to judge them for their misdeeds to Israel. ch. Joel 3:12. The scene of “Jehovah’s judgment” has been localized, and the name has come down to us attached to that deep ravine which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, through which at one time the Kedron forced its stream. At what period the name “valley of Jehoshaphat” was first applied to this spot is unknown. It is not mentioned in the Bible or Josephus, but is first encountered in the middle of the fourth century. Both Moslems and Jews believe that the last judgment is to take place there. The steep sides of the ravine, wherever a level strip affords the opportunity, are crowded—in places almost paved—by the sepulchres of the Moslems, or the simpler slabs of the Jewish tombs, alike awaiting the assembly of the last judgment. The name is generally confined by travellers to the upper part of the glen. (Others suppose that the name is only an imaginary one, “the valley of the judgment of Jehovah” referring to some great victories of God’s people in which judgment was executed upon the heathen; or perhaps, as Keil, etc., to the end of the world.—Ed.)
Tomb of St. James (so called), in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Jehosheba
Jehosh’eba (Jehovah’s oath), daughter of Joram king of Israel, and wife of Jehoiada the high priest. 2 Kings 11:2. Her name in the Chronicles is given Jehoshabeath. (b.c. 882.) As she is called, 2 Kings 11:2, “the daughter of Joram, sister of Ahaziah,” it has been conjectured that she was the daughter, not of Athaliah, but of Joram by another wife. She is the only recorded instance of the marriage of a princess of the royal house with a high priest.
Jehoshua
Jehosh’ua (whose help is Jehovah; help of Jehovah or saviour). In this form is given the name of Joshua in Numbers 13:16. Once more only the name appears—as
Jehoshuah
Jehosh’uah, in the genealogy of Ephraim. 1 Chronicles 7:27.
Jehovah
Jeho’vah (I am; the eternal living one). The Scripture appelation of the supreme Being, usually interpreted as signifying self-derived and permanent existence. The Jews scrupulously avoided every mention of this name of God, substituting in its stead one or other of the words with whose proper vowel-points it may happen to be written. This custom, which had its origin in reverence, was founded upon an erroneous rendering of Leviticus 24:16, from which it was inferred that the mere utterance of the name constituted a capital offence. According to Jewish tradition, it was pronounced but once a year, by the high priest on the day of atonement when he entered the holy of holies; but on this point there is some doubt. When Moses received his commission to be the deliverer of Israel, the Almighty, who appeared in the burning bush, communicated to him the name which he should give as the credentials of his mission: “And God said unto Moses, I am that I am אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (ehyeh asher ehyeh); and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you.” That this passage is intended to indicate the etymology of Jehovah, as understood by the Hebrews, no one has ventured to doubt. While Elohim exhibits God displayed in his power as the creator and governor of the physical universe, the name Jehovah designates his nature as he stands in relation to man, as the only almighty, true, personal, holy Being, a spirit and “the father of spirits,” Numbers 16:22; comp. John 4:24, who revealed himself to his people, made a covenant with them, and became their lawgiver, and to whom all honor and worship are due.
Jehovah-jireh
Jeho’vah-ji’reh (Jehovah will see or provide), the name given by Abraham to the place on which he had been commanded to offer Isaac, to commemorate the interposition of the angel of Jehovah, who appeared to prevent the sacrifice, Genesis 22:14, and provided another victim.
Jehovah-nissi
Jeho’vah-nis’si (Jehovah my banner), the name given by Moses to the altar which he built in commemoration of the discomfiture of the Amalekites. Exodus 17:15.
Jehovah-shalom
Jeho’vah-sha’lom (Jehovah (is) peace), or, with an ellipsis, “Jehovah the God of peace.” The altar erected by Gideon in Ophrah was so called in memory of the salutation addressed to him by the angel of Jehovah, “Peace be unto thee.” Judges 6:24.
Jehozabad
Jehoz’abad (whom Jehovah gave).
1. A Korhite Levite, second son of Obededom, and one of the porters of the south gate of the temple and of the storehouse there in the time of David. 1 Chronicles 26:4, 1 Chronicles 26:15, compared with Nehemiah 12:25. (b.c. 1014.)
2. A Benjamite, captain of 180,000 armed men, in the days of King Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 17:18. (b.c. 910.)
3. Son of Shomer or Shimrith, a Moabitish woman, who with another conspired against King Joash and slew him in his bed. 2 Kings 12:21; 2 Chronicles 24:26. (b.c. 837.)
Jehozadak
Jehoz’adak (Jehovah justifies), usually called Jozadak or Josedech. He was the son of the high priest Seraiah. 1 Chronicles 6:14, 1 Chronicles 6:15. When his father was slain at Riblah by order of Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 25:18, 2 Kings 25:21, Jehozadak was led away captive to Babylon. 1 Chronicles 6:15. (b.c. 588.) He himself never attained the high priesthood, but he was the father of Jeshua the high priest, and of all his successors till the pontificate of Alcimus. Ezra 3:2; Nehemiah 12:26, etc.
Jehu
Je’hu (the living).
1. The founder of the fifth dynasty of the kingdom of Israel, son of Jehoshaphat. 2 Kings 9:2. He reigned over Israel 28 years, b.c. 884Ä856. His first appearance in history is when he heard the warning of Elijah against the murderer of Naboth. 2 Kings 9:25. In the reigns of Ahaziah and Jehoram, Jehu rose to importance. He was, under the last-named king, captain of the host in the siege of Ramoth-gilead. During this siege he was anointed by Elisha’s servant, and told that he was appointed to be king of Israel and destroyer of the house of Ahab. 2 Kings 9:12. The army at once ordained him king, and he set off full speed for Jezreel. Jehoram, who was lying ill in Jezreel, came out to meet him, as it happened on the fatal field of Naboth. 2 Kings 9:21-24. Jehu seized his opportunity, and shot him through the heart. 2 Kings 9:24. Jehu himself advanced to the gates of Jezreel and fulfilled the divine warning on Jezebel as already on Jehoram. He then entered on a work of extermination hitherto unparalleled in the history of the Jewish monarchy. All the descendants of Ahab that remained in Jezreel, together with the officers of the court and the hierarchy of Astarte, were swept away. His next step was to secure Samaria. For the pretended purpose of inaugurating anew the worship of Baal, he called all the Baalites together at Samaria. The vast temple raised by Ahab, 1 Kings 16:32, was crowded from end to end. The chief sacrifice was offered, as if in the excess of his zeal, by Jehu himself. As soon as it was ascertained that all, and none but, the idolaters were there, the signal was given to eighty trusted guards, and a sweeping massacre removed at one blow the whole heathen population of the kingdom of Israel. This is the last public act recorded of Jehu. The remaining twenty-seven years of his long reign are passed over in a few words, in which two points only are material:—He did not destroy the calf-worship of Jeroboam:—The transjordanic tribes suffered much from the ravages of Hazael. 2 Kings 10:29-33. He was buried in state in Samaria, and was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. 2 Kings 10:35. His name is the first of the Israelite kings which appears in the Assyrian monuments.
The Black Obelisk, inscribed with the names of Jehu and Hazael.
2. Jehu son of Hanani; a prophet of Judah, but whose ministrations were chiefly directed to Israel. His father was probably the seer who attacked Asa. 2 Chronicles 16:7. He must have begun his career as a prophet when very young. He first denounced Baasha, 1 Kings 16:1, 1 Kings 16:7, and then, after an interval of thirty years, reappeared to denounce Jehoshaphat for his alliance with Ahab. 2 Chronicles 19:2, 2 Chronicles 19:3. He survived Jehoshaphat and wrote his life. ch. 2 Chronicles 20:34.
3. A man of Judah of the house of Hezron. 1 Chronicles 2:38.
4. A Simeonite, son of Josibiah. 1 Chronicles 4:35.
5. Jehu the Antothite was one of the chief of the heroes of Benjamin who joined David at Ziklag. 1 Chronicles 12:3.
Jehubbah
Jehub’bah (protected), a man of Asher, son of Shamer or Shomer, of the house of Beriah. 1 Chronicles 7:34. (b.c. perhaps about 1450.)
Jehucal
Je’hucal (able), son of Shelemiah; one of two persons sent by King Zedekiah to Jeremiah to entreat his prayers and advice. Jeremiah 37:3. (b.c. 589.)
Jehud
Je’hud (praised), one of the towns of the tribe of Dan, Joshua 19:45, named between Baalath and Bene-berak.
Jehudi
Jehu’di (a Jew), son of Nethaniah, a man employed by the princes of Jehoiakim’s court to fetch Baruch to read Jeremiah’s denunciation, Jeremiah 36:14, and then by the king to fetch the volume itself and read it to him. vs. Jeremiah 36:23. (b.c. 605.)
Jehudijah
Jehudi’jah (the Jewess). There is really no such name in the Hebrew Bible as that which our Authorized Version exhibits at 1 Chronicles 4:18. If it is a proper name at all, it is Ha-jehudijah, like Hammelech, Hak-koz, etc.; and it seems to be rather an appellative, “the Jewess.”
Jehush
Je’hush (to whom God hastens), son of Eshek, a remote descendant of Saul. 1 Chronicles 8:39.
Je-iel
Je-i’el (treasured of God).
1. A Reubenite of the house of Joel. 1 Chronicles 5:7.
2. A Merarite Levite, one of the gate-keepers to the sacred tent. 1 Chronicles 15:18. His duty was also to play the harp, ver. 1 Chronicles 15:21, or the psaltery and harp, 1 Chronicles 16:5, in the service before the ark. (b.c. 1043.)
3. A Gershonite Levite, one of the Bene-Asaph, forefather of Jahaziel in the time of King Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 20:14. (b.c. 910.)
4. The scribe who kept the account of the numbers of King Uzziah’s irregular predatory warriors. 2 Chronicles 26:11. (b.c. 803.)
5. A Gershonite Levite, one of the Bene-Elizaphan. 2 Chronicles 29:13.
6. One of the chiefs of the Levites in the time of Josiah. 2 Chronicles 35:9. (b.c. 623.)
7. One of the Bene-Adonikam who formed part of the caravan of Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezra 8:13. (b.c. 459.)
8. A layman of the Bene-Nebo, who had taken a foreign wife and had to relinquish her. Ezra 10:43. (b.c. 459.)
Jekabze-el
Jekab’ze-el (what God gathers), a fuller form of the name of Kabzeel, the most remote city of Judah on the southern frontier. Nehemiah 11:25.
Jekameam
Jekame’am (who gathers the people together), a Levite in the time of King David; fourth of the sons of Hebron, the son of Kohath. 1 Chronicles 23:19; 1 Chronicles 24:23. (b.c. 1014.)
Jekamiah
Jekami’ah (whom Jehovah gathers), son of Shallum, in the line of Ahlai. 1 Chronicles 2:41. (b.c. about 588.)
Jekuthi-el
Jeku’thi-el, a man recorded in the genealogies of Judah. 1 Chronicles 4:18.
Jemima
Jemi’ma (dove), the eldest of the three daughters born to Job after the restoration of his prosperity. Job 42:14.
Jemuel
Jemu’el (day of God), the eldest son of Simeon. Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15. (b.c. 1706.)
Jephthae
Jeph’thae (whom God sets free), Hebrews 11:32, the Greek form of the name JEPHTHAH.
Jephthah
Jeph’thah (whom God sets free), a judge about b.c. 1143–1137. His history is contained in Judges 11:1-12:8. He was a Gileadite, the son of Gilead and a concubine. Driven by the legitimate sons from his father’s inheritance, he went to Tob and became the head of a company of freebooters in a debatable land probably belonging to Ammon. 2 Samuel 10:6. (This land was east of the Jordan and southeast of Gilead, and bordered on the desert of Arabia.—Ed.) His fame as a bold and successful captain was carried back to his native Gilead; and when the time was ripe for throwing off the yoke of Ammon, Jephthah consented to become the captain of the Gileadite bands, on the condition, solemnly ratified before the Lord in Mizpeh, that in the event of his success against Ammon he should still remain as their acknowledged head. Vowing his vow unto God, Judges 11:31, that he would offer up as a burnt offering whatsoever should come out to meet him if successful, he went forth to battle. The Ammonites were routed with great slaughter; but as the conqueror returned to Mizpeh there came out to meet him his daughter, his only child, with timbrels and dancing. The father is heart-stricken; but the maiden asks only for a respite of two months in which to prepare for death. When that time was ended she returned to her father, who “did with her according to his vow.” The tribe of Ephraim challenged Jephthah’s right to go to war as he had done, without their concurrence, against Ammon. He first defeated them, then intercepted the fugitives at the fords of Jordan, and there put forty-two thousand men to the sword. He judged Israel six years, and died. It is generally conjectured that his jurisdiction was limited to the transjordanic region. That the daughter of Jephthah was really offered up to God in sacrifice is a conclusion which it seems impossible to avoid. (But there is no word of approval, as if such a sacrifice was acceptable to God. Josephus well says that “the sacrifice was neither sanctioned by the Mosaic ritual nor acceptable to God.” The vow and the fulfillment were the mistaken conceptions of a rude chieftain, not acts pleasing to God.—Ed.)
Jephunneh
Jephun’neh (for whom a way is prepared).
1. Father of Caleb the spy, appears to have belonged to an Edomitish tribe called Kenezites, from Kenaz their founder. See Numbers 13:6, etc., Numbers 32:12, etc.; Joshua 14:14, etc.; 1 Chronicles 4:15. (b.c. 1530.)
2. A descendant of Asher, eldest of the three sons of Jether. 1 Chronicles 7:38. (b.c. 1017.)
Jerah
Je’rah (the moon), the fourth in order of the sons of Joktan, Genesis 10:26; 1 Chronicles 1:20, and the progenitor of a tribe of southern Arabia.
Jerahme-el
Jerah’me-el (mercy of God).
1. First-born son of Hezron, the son of Pharez, the son of Judah, 1 Chronicles 2:9, 1 Chronicles 2:25-27, 1 Chronicles 2:33, 1 Chronicles 2:42, and founder of the family of Jerahmeelites. 1 Samuel 27:10. (b.c. before 1491.)
2. A Merarite Levite, the representative of the family of Kish, the son of Mahli. 1 Chronicles 24:29; comp. 1 Chronicles 23:21. (b.c. 1014.)
3. Son of Hammelech, who was employed by Jehoiakim to make Jeremiah and Baruch prisoners, after he had burnt the roll of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jeremiah 36:26. (b.c. 505.)
Jerahme-elites
Jerah’me-elites (descendants of Jerahmeel), The, the tribe descended from the first of the foregoing persons. 1 Samuel 27:10. They dwelt in the south of Judah.
Jered
Je’red (descent).
1. Son of Mahalaleel and father of Enoch. 1 Chronicles 1:2.
2. One of the descendants of Judah signalized as the “father”—i.e., the founder—“of Gedor.” 1 Chronicles 4:18.
Jerema-i
Jer’ema-i (dwelling in heights), a layman, one of the Bene-Hashum, who was compelled by Ezra to put away his foreign wife. Ezra 10:33. (b.c. 459.)
Jeremiah
Jeremi’ah (whom Jehovah has appointed) was “the son of Hilkiah of the priests that were in Anathoth.” Jeremiah 1:1.
1. History.—He was called very young (b.c. 626) to the prophetic office, and prophesied forty-two years; but we have hardly any mention of him during the eighteen years between his call and Josiah’s death, or during the short reign of Jehoahaz. During the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, b.c. 607–598, he opposed the Egyptian party, then dominant in Jerusalem, and maintained that the only way of safety lay in accepting the supremacy of the Chaldeans. He was accordingly accused of treachery, and men claiming to be prophets had their “word of Jehovah” to set against his. Jeremiah 14:13; Jeremiah 23:7. As the danger from the Chaldeans became more threatening, the persecution against Jeremiah grew hotter. ch. Jeremiah 18. The people sought his life; then follows the scene in Jeremiah 19:10-13. He was set, however, “as a fenced grazen wall,” ch. Jeremiah 15:20, and went on with his work, reproving king and nobles and people. The danger which Jeremiah had so long foretold at last came near. First Jehoiakim, and afterwards his successor Jehoiachin, were carried into exile, 2 Kings 24; but Zedekiah, b.c. 597–586, who was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, was more friendly to the prophet, though powerless to help him. The approach of an Egyptian army, and the consequent departure of the Chaldeans, made the position of Jeremiah full of danger, and he sought to effect his escape from the city; but he was seized and finally thrown into a prison-pit to die, but was rescued. On the return of the Chaldean army he showed his faith in God’s promises, and sought to encourage the people by purchasing the field at Anathoth which his kinsman Hanameel wished to get rid of. Jeremiah 32:6-9. At last the blow came. The city was taken, the temple burnt. The king and his princes shared the fate of Jehoiachin. The prophet gave utterance to his sorrow in the Lamentations. After the capture of Jerusalem, b.c. 586, by the Chaldeans, we find Jeremiah receiving better treatment; but after the death of Gedaliah, the people, disregarding his warnings, took refuge in Egypt, carrying the prophet with them. In captivity his words were sharper and stronger than ever. He did not shrink, even there, from speaking of the Chaldean king once more as “the servant of Jehovah.” Jeremiah 43:10. After this all is uncertain, but he probably died in Egypt.
2. Character.—Canon Cook says of Jeremiah, “His character is most interesting. We find him sensitive to a most painful degree, timid, shy, hopeless, desponding, constantly complaining, and dissatisfied with the course of events, but never flinching from duty. . . . Timid in resolve, he was unflinching in execution; as fearless when he had to face the whole world as he was dispirited and prone to murmuring when alone with God. Judged by his own estimate of himself, he was feeble, and his mission a failure; really, in the hour of action and when duty called him, he was in very truth ‘a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land.’ ch. Jeremiah 1:18 He was a noble example of the triumph of the moral over the physical nature.”
(It is not strange that he was desponding when we consider his circumstances. He saw the nation going straight to irremediable ruin, and turning a deaf ear to all warnings. “A reign of terror had commenced (in the preceding reign), during which not only the prophets but all who were distinguished for religion and virtue were cruelly murdered.” “The nation tried to extirpate the religion of Jehovah”; “Idolatry was openly established,” “and such was the universal dishonesty that no man trusted another, and society was utterly disorganized.” How could one who saw the nation about to reap the awful harvest they had been sowing, and yet had a vision of what they might have been and might yet be, help indulging in “Lamentations”?—Ed.)
Jeremiah
Jeremi’ah. Seven other persons bearing the same name as the prophet are mentioned in the Old Testament:—
1. Jeremiah of Libnah, father of Hamutal wife of Josiah. 2 Kings 23:31. (b.c. before 632.)
2, 3, 4 Three warriors—two of the tribe of Gad—in David’s army. 1 Chronicles 12:4, 1 Chronicles 12:10, 1 Chronicles 12:13. (b.c. 1061–53.)
5. One of the “mighty men of valor” of the transjordanic half-tribe of Manasseh. 1 Chronicles 5:24. (b.c. 782.)
6. A priest of high rank, head of the second or third of the twenty-one courses which are apparently enumerated in Nehemiah 10:2-8; Nehemiah 12:1, Nehemiah 12:12. (b.c. 446–410.)
7. The father of Jazaniah the Rechabite. Jeremiah 35:3. (b.c. before 606.)
Jeremiah Book of
Jeremi’ah, Book of. “There can be little doubt that the book of Jeremiah grew out of the roll which Baruch wrote down at the prophet’s mouth in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. ch. Jeremiah 36:2. Apparently the prophets kept written records of their predictions, and collected into larger volumes such of them as were intended for permanent use.”—Canon Cook.
In the present order we have two great divisions:—I. Chs. Jeremiah 1-45. Prophecies delivered at various times, directed mainly to Judah, or connected with Jeremiah’s personal history. II. Chs. Jeremiah 46-51. Prophecies connected with other nations. Looking more closely into each of these divisions, we have the following sections:
1. Chs. Jeremiah 1-21, including prophecies from the thirteenth year of Josiah to the fourth of Jehoiakim; ch. Jeremiah 21 belongs to the later period. 2. Chs. Jeremiah 22-25. Shorter prophecies, delivered at different times, against the kings of Judah and the false prophets. Ch. Jeremiah 25:14 evidently marks the conclusion of a series of prophecies; and that which follows, ch. Jeremiah 25:15-38, the germ of the fuller predictions in chs. Jeremiah 46-49, has been placed here as a kind of completion to the prophecy of the seventy years and the subsequent fall of Babylon. 3. Chs. Jeremiah 26-28. The two great prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem, and the history connected with them. 4. Chs. Jeremiah 29-31. The message of comfort for the exiles in Babylon. 5. Chs. Jeremiah 32-44. The history of the last two years before the capture of Jerusalem, and of Jeremiah’s work in them and in the period that followed. 6. Chs. Jeremiah 46-51. The prophecies against foreign nations, ending with the great prediction against Babylon. 7. The supplementary narrative of ch. Jeremiah 52.
Jeremias
Jeremi’as, the Greek form of the name of Jeremiah the prophet. Matthew 16:14.
Jeremoth
Jer’emoth (heights).
1. A Benjamite chief, a son of the house of Beriah of Elpaal. 1 Chronicles 8:14; comp. 1 Chronicles 8:12 to 1 Chronicles 8:18. (b.c. about 588.)
2. A Merarite Levite, son of Mushi. 1 Chronicles 23:23.
3. Son of Heman; head of the thirteenth course of musicians in the divine service. 1 Chronicles 25:22. (b.c. 1014.)
4. One of the sons of Elam, and,
5. One of the sons of Zattu, who had taken strange wives. Ezra 10:26, Ezra 10:27. (b.c. 459.)
6. The name which appears in the same list as “and Ramoth,” ver. Ezra 10:29.
Jeremy
Jer’emy, the prophet Jeremiah. Matthew 2:17; Matthew 27:9.
Jeriah
Jeri’ah, a Kohathite Levite, chief of the great house of Hebron when David organized the service. 1 Chronicles 23:19; 1 Chronicles 24:23. b.c. 1014. The same man is mentioned again as Jerijah. 1 Chronicles 26:31.
Jeriba-i
Jer’iba-i (whom Jehovah defends), one of the Bene-Elnaan, named among the heroes of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:46.
Jericho
Jer’icho (place of fragrance), a city of high antiquity, situated in a plain traversed by the Jordan, and exactly over against where that river was crossed by the Israelites under Joshua. Joshua 3:16. It was five miles west of the Jordan and seven miles northwest of the Dead Sea. It had a king. Its walls were so considerable that houses were built upon them. ch. Joshua 2:15. The spoil that was found in it betokened its affluence. Jericho is first mentioned as the city to which the two spies were sent by Joshua from Shittim. Joshua 2:1-21. It was bestowed by him upon the tribe of Benjamin, ch. Joshua 18:21, and from this time a long interval elapses before Jericho appears again upon the scene. Its second foundation under Hiel the Bethelite is recorded in 1 Kings 16:34. Once rebuilt, Jericho rose again slowly into consequence. In its immediate vicinity the sons of the prophets sought retirement from the world; Elisha “healed the spring of the waters”; and over against it, beyond Jordan, Elijah “went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” 2 Kings 2:1-22. In its plains Zedekiah fell into the hands of the Chaldeans. 2 Kings 25:5; Jeremiah 39:5. In the return under Zerubbabel the “children of Jericho,” 345 in number, are comprised. Ezra 2:34; Nehemiah 7:36. Under Herod the Great it again became an important place. He fortified it and built a number of new palaces, which he named after his friends. If he did not make Jericho his habitual residence, he at last retired thither to die, and it was in the amphitheatre of Jericho that the news of his death was announced to the assembled soldiers and people by Salome. Soon afterward the palace was burnt and the town plundered by one Simon, slave to Herod; but Archelaus rebuilt the former sumptuously, and founded a new town on the plain, that bore his own name; and, most important of all, diverted water from a village called Neæra to irrigate the plain which he had planted with palms. Thus Jericho was once more “a city of palms” when our Lord visited it. Here he restored sight to the blind. Matthew 20:30; Mark 10:46; Luke 18:35. Here the descendant of Rahab did not disdain the hospitality of Zacchæus the publican. Finally, between Jerusalem and Jericho was laid the scene of his story of the good Samaritan. The city was destroyed by Vespasian. The site of ancient (the first) Jericho is placed by Dr. Robinson in the immediate neighborhood of the fountain of Elisha; and that of the second (the city of the New Testament and of Josephus) at the opening of the Wady Kelt (Cherith), half an hour from the fountain. (The village identified with Jericho lies a mile and a half from the ancient site, and is called Riha. It contains probably 200 inhabitants, indolent and licentious, and about 40 houses. Dr. Olin says it is the “meanest and foulest village of Palestine”; yet the soil of the plain is of unsurpassed fertility.—Ed.)
Jericho.
Fountain of Elisha at Jericho.
Jeri-el
Je’ri-el (people of God), a man of Issachar, one of the six heads of the house of Tola. 1 Chronicles 7:2.
Jerijah
Jeri’jah (people of Jehovah). [See JERIAH.]
Jerimoth
Jer’imoth (heights).
1. Son or descendant of Bela. 1 Chronicles 7:7. He is perhaps the same as
2. who joined David at Ziklag. 1 Chronicles 12:5. (b.c. 1055.)
3. A son of Becher, 1 Chronicles 7:8, and head of a Benjamite house.
4. Son of Mushi, the son of Merari. 1 Chronicles 24:30.
5. Son of Heman, head of the fifteenth ward of musicians. 1 Chronicles 25:4, 1 Chronicles 25:22. (b.c. 1014.)
6. Son of Azriel, ruler of the tribe of Naphtali in the reign of David. 1 Chronicles 27:19.
7. Son of King David, whose daughter Mahalath was one of the wives of Rehoboam, her cousin Abihail being the other. 2 Chronicles 11:18. (b.c. before 1014.)
8. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 31:13. (b.c. 726.)
Jerioth
Jer’ioth (curtains), one of the elder Caleb’s wives. 1 Chronicles 2:18.
Jeroboam
Jerobo’am (whose people are many).
1. The first king of the divided kingdom of Israel, b.c. 975–954, was the son of an Ephraimite of the name of Nebat. He was raised by Solomon to the rank of superintendent over the taxes and labors exacted from the tribe of Ephraim. 1 Kings 11:28. He made the most of his position, and at last was perceived by Solomon to be aiming at the monarchy. He was leaving Jerusalem, when he was met by Ahijah the prophet, who gave him the assurance that, on condition of obedience to his laws, God would establish for him a kingdom and dynasty equal to that of David. 1 Kings 11:29-40. The attempts of Solomon to cut short Jeroboam’s designs occasioned his flight into Egypt. There he remained until Solomon’s death. After a year’s longer stay in Egypt, during which Jeroboam married Ano, the elder sister of the Egyptian queen Tahpenes, he returned to Shechem, where took place the conference with Rehoboam [REHOBOAM], and the final revolt which ended in the elevation of Jeroboam to the throne of the northern kingdom. Now occurred the fatal error of his policy. Fearing that the yearly pilgrimages to Jerusalem would undo all the work which he effected, he took the bold step of rending the religious unity of the nation, which was as yet unimpaired, asunder. He caused two golden figures of Mnevis, the sacred calf, to be made and set up at the two extremities of his kingdom, one at Dan and the other at Bethel. It was while dedicating the altar at Bethel that a prophet from Judah suddenly appeared, who denounced the altar, and foretold its desecration by Josiah, and violent overthrow. The king, stretching out his hand to arrest the prophet, felt it withered and paralyzed, and only at the prophet’s prayer saw it restored, and acknowledged his divine mission. Jeroboam was at constant war with the house of Judah, but the only act distinctly recorded is a battle with Abijah, son of Rehoboam, in which he was defeated. The calamity was severely felt; he never recovered the blow, and soon after died, in the 22nd year os his reign, 2 Chronicles 13:20, and was buried in his ancestral sepulchre. 1 Kings 14:20.
2. Jeroboam II, the son of Joash, the fourth of the dynasty of Jehu. (b.c. 825–784.) The most prosperous of the kings of Israel. He repelled the Syrian invaders, took their capital city Damascus, 2 Kings 14:28, and recovered the whole of the ancient dominion from Hamah to the Dead Sea. ch. 2 Kings 14:25. Ammon and Moab were reconquered, and the transjordanic tribes were restored to their territory, 2 Kings 13:5; 1 Chronicles 5:17-22; but it was merely an outward restoration.
Jeroham
Jer’oham (cherished).
1. Father of Elkanah, the father of Samuel, of the house of Kohath. 1 Samuel 1:1; 1 Chronicles 6:27, 1 Chronicles 6:34. (b.c. before 1142.)
2. A Benjamite, and the founder of a family of Bene-Jeroham. 1 Chronicles 8:27. Probably the same as
3. Father (or progenitor) of Ibneiah. 1 Chronicles 9:8; comp. 1 Chronicles 9:3 and 1 Chronicles 9:9. (b.c. before 588.)
4. A descendant of Aaron, of the house of Immer, the leader of the sixteenth course of priests; son of Pashur, and father of Adaiah. 1 Chronicles 9:12. He appears to be mentioned again in Nehemiah 11:12. (b.c. before 586.)
5. Jeroham of Gedor, some of whose sons joined David at Ziklag. 1 Chronicles 12:7. (b.c. before 1055.)
6. A Danite, whose son or descendant Azareel was head of his tribe in the time of David. 1 Chronicles 27:22.
7. Father of Azariah, one of the “captains of hundreds” in the time of Athaliah. 2 Chronicles 23:1. (b.c. before 876.)
Jerubbaai
Jerubba’ai, or Jerub’ba-al (contender with Baal), the surname of Gideon, which he acquired in consequence of destroying the altar of Baal, when his father defended him from the vengeance of the Abiezrites. Judges 6;Judges 6:32.
Jerubbesheth
Jerub’besheth (contender with the shame), a name of Gideon. 2 Samuel 11:21.
Jeruel
Jer’uel (founded by God), The wilderness of, the place in which Jehoshaphat was informed by Jahaziel the Levite that he should encounter the hordes of Ammon, Moab, and the Mehunims. 2 Chronicles 20:16. The name has not been met with.
Jerusalem
Jeru’salem (the habitation of peace). Jerusalem stands in latitude 31°46’35’’ north and longitude 35°18’30’’ east of Greenwich. It is 32 miles distant from the sea and 18 from the Jordan, 20 from Hebron and 36 from Samaria. “In several respects,” says Dean Stanley, “its situation is singular among the cities of Palestine. Its elevation is remarkable; occasioned not from its being on the summit of one of the numerous hills of Judea, like most of the towns and villages, but because it is on the edge of one of the highest table-lands of the country. Hebron indeed is higher still by some hundred feet, and from the south, accordingly (even from Bethlehem), the approach to Jerusalem is by a slight descent. But from any other side the ascent is perpetual; and to the traveller approaching the city from the east or west it must always have presented the appearance beyond any other capital of the then known world—we may say beyond any important city that has ever existed on the earth—of a mountain city; breathing, as compared with the sultry plains of Jordan, a mountain air; enthroned, as compared with Jericho or Damascus, Gaza or Tyre, on a mountain fastness.”—S. & P. 170,
1. Jerusalem, if not actually in the centre of Palestine, was yet virtually so. “It was on the ridge, the broadest and most strongly-marked ridge of the backbone of the complicated hills which extend through the whole country from the plain of Esdraelon to the desert.”
Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.
General View of Modern Jerusalem. (From an original Photograph.)
Roads.—There appear to have been but two main approaches to the city:—
1. From the Jordan valley by Jericho and the Mount of Olives. This was the route commonly taken from the north and east of the country. 2. From the great maritime plain of Philistia and Sharon. This road led by the two Beth-horons up to the high ground at Gibeon, whence it turned south, and came to Jerusalem by Ramah and Gibeah, and over the ridge north of the city.
Topography.—To convey an idea of the position of Jerusalem, we may say, roughly, that the city occupies the southern termination of a table-land which is cut off from the country round it on its west, south, and east sides by ravines more than usually deep and precipitous. These ravines leave the level of the table-land, the one on the west and the other on the northeast of the city, and fall rapidly until they form a junction below its southeast corner. The eastern one—the valley of the Kedron, commonly called the valley of Jehoshaphat—runs nearly straight from north to south. But the western one—the valley of Hinnom—runs south for a time, and then takes a sudden bend to the east until it meets the valley of Jehoshaphat, after which the two rush off as one to the Dead Sea. How sudden is their descent may be gathered from the fact that the level at the point of junction—about a mile and a quarter from the starting-point of each—is more than 600 feet below that of the upper plateau from which they began their descent. So steep is the fall of the ravines, so trench-like their character, and so close do they keep to the promontory at whose feet they run, as to leave on the beholder almost the impression of the ditch at the foot of a fortress rather than of valleys formed by nature. The promontory thus encircled is itself divided by a longitudinal ravine running up it from south to north, called the valley of the Tyropœon, rising gradually from the south, like the external ones, till at last it arrives at the level of the upper plateau, dividing the central mass into two unequal portions. Of these two, that on the west is the higher and more massive, on which the city of Jerusalem now stands, and in fact always stood. The hill on the east is considerably lower and smaller, so that to a spectator from the south the city appears to slope sharply toward the east. Here was the temple, and here stands now the great Mohammedan sanctuary with its mosques and domes. The name of Mount Zion has been applied to the western hill from the time of Constantine to the present day. The eastern hill, called Mount Moriah in 2 Chronicles 3:1, was, as already remarked, the site of the temple. It was situated in the southwest angle of the area, now known as the Haram area, and was, as we learn from Josephus, an exact square of a stadium, or 600 Greek feet, on each side. (Conder (“Bible Handbook,” 1879) states that by the latest surveys the Haram area is a quadrangle with unequal sides. The west wall measures 1601 feet, the south 922, the east 1530, the north 1042. It is thus nearly a mile in circumference, and contains 35 acres.—Ed.) Attached to the northwest angle of the temple was the Antonia, a tower or fortress. North of the side of the temple is the building now known to Christians as the Mosque of Omar, but by Moslems called the Dome of the Rock. The southern continuation of the eastern hill was named Ophel, which gradually came to a point at the junction of the valleys Tyropœon and Jehoshaphat; and the northern Bezetha, “the new city,” first noticed by Josephus, which was separated from Moriah by an artificial ditch, and overlooked the valley of Kedron on the east; this hill was enclosed within the walls of Herod Agrippa. Lastly, Acra lay westward of Moriah and northward of Zion, and formed the “lower city” in the time of Josephus.
Plan of Jerusalem at the time of King Herod.
1. Temple of Solomon. 2. Palace of Solomon. 3. Added by Herod. (1, 2, and 3: Herod’s Temple.) 4. Exhedra. 5. Antonia. 6. Choisters joining Antonia to Temple. 7. Xystus. 8. Agrippa’s Palace. 9. Zion. 10. Lower Pool of Gihon. 11. Herod’s Palace. 12. Bethesda. 13. Bridge built by Herod. 14. The Lower City.
Jerusalem in the time of Christ.
Zion.
Walls.—These are described by Josephus. The first or old wall was built by David and Solomon, and enclosed Zion and part of Mount Moriah. (The second wall enclosed a portion of the city called Aera or Millo, on the north of the city, from the tower of Mariamne to the tower of Antonia. It was built as the city enlarged in size; begun by Uzziah 140 years after the first wall was finished, continued by Jotham 50 years later, and by Manasseh 100 years later still. It was restored by Nehemiah. Even the latest explorations have failed to decide exactly what was its course. (See Conder’s Handbook of the Bible, art, Jerusalem.) The third wall was built by King Herod Agrippa, and was intended to enclose the suburbs which had grown out on the northern sides of the city, which before this had been left exposed. After describing these walls, Josephus adds that the whole circumference of the city was 33 stadia, or nearly four English miles, which is as near as may be the extent indicated by the localities. He then adds that the number of towers in the old wall was 60, the middle wall 40, and the new wall 99.
Eastern Wall and Moslem Tombs.
Walls of Jerusalem.
Water supply.—(Jerusalem had no natural water supply, unless we so consider the “Fountain of the Virgin,” which wells up with an intermittent action from under Ophel. The private citizens had cisterns, which were supplied by the rain from the roofs; and the city had a water supply “perhaps the most complete and extensive ever undertaken by a city,” and which would enable it to endure a long siege. There were three aqueducts, a number of pools and fountains, and the temple area was honeycombed with great reservoirs, whose total capacity is estimated at 10,000,000 gallons. Thirty of these reservoirs are described, varying from 25 to 50 feet in depth; and one, called the great Sea, would hold 2,000,000 gallons. These reservoirs and the pools were supplied with water by the rainfall and by the aqueducts. One of these, constructed by Pilate, has been traced for 40 miles, though in a straight line the distance is but 13 miles. It brought water from the spring Elam, on the south, beyond Bethlehem, into the reservoirs under the temple enclosure.—Ed.)
Pools and fountains.—A part of the system of water supply. Outside the walls on the west side were the Upper and Lower Pools of Gihon, the latter close under Zion, the former more to the northwest on the Jaffa road. At the junction of the valleys of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat was Enrogel, the “Well of Job,” in the midst of the king’s gardens. Within the walls, immediately north of Zion, was the “Pool of Hezekiah.” A large pool existing beneath the temple (referred to in Sirach 1:3) was probably supplied by some subterranean aqueduct. The “King’s Pool” was probably identical with the “Fountain of the Virgin,” at the southern angle of Moriah. It possesses the peculiarity that it rises and falls at irregular periods; it is supposed to be fed from the cistern below the temple. From this a subterranean channel cut through the solid rock leads the water to the pool of Siloah or Siloam, which has also acquired the character of being an intermittent fountain. The pool to which tradition has assigned the name of Bethesda is situated on the north side of Moriah; it is now named Birket Israil.
Pool of Hezekiah, inside the Jaffa Gate.
Burial-grounds.—The main cemetery of the city seems from an early date to have been where it is still—on the steep slopes of the valley of the Kedron. The tombs of the kings were in the city of David, that is, Mount Zion. The royal sepulchres were probably chambers containing separate recesses for the successive kings.
Gardens.—The king’s gardens of David and Solomon seem to have been in the bottom formed by the confluence of the Kedron and Hinnom. Nehemiah 3:15. The Mount of Olives, as its name and the names of various places upon it seem to imply, was a fruitful spot. At its foot was situated the garden of Gethsemane. At the time of the final siege the space north of the wall of Agrippa was covered with gardens, groves, and plantations of fruit trees, enclosed by hedges and walls; and to level these was one of Titus’ first operations. We know that the gate Gennath (i.e., “of gardens”) opened on this side of the city.
Gates.—The following is a complete list of the gates named in the Bible and by Josephus, with the references to their occurrence:—
1. Gate of Ephraim. 2 Chronicles 25:23; Nehemiah 8:16; Nehemiah 12:39. This is probably the same as the—2. Gate of Benjamin. Jeremiah 20:2; Jeremiah 37:13; Zechariah 14:10. If so, it was 400 cubits distant from the—3. Corner gate. 2 Chronicles 25:23; 2 Chronicles 26:9; Jeremiah 31:38; Zechariah 14:10. 4. Gate of Joshua, governor of the city. 2 Kings 23:8. 5. Gate between the two walls. 2 Kings 25:4; Jeremiah 39:4. 6. Horse gate. Nehemiah 3:28; 2 Chronicles 23:15; Jeremiah 31:40. 7. Ravine gate (i.e., opening on ravine of Hinnom). 2 Chronicles 26:9; Nehemiah 2:13, Nehemiah 2:15; Nehemiah 3:13. 8. Fish gate. 2 Chronicles 33:14; Nehemiah 3:13; Zephaniah 1:10. 9. Dung gate. Nehemiah 2:13; Nehemiah 3:13. 10. Sheep gate. Nehemiah 3:1, Nehemiah 3:32; Nehemiah 12:39. 11. East gate. Nehemiah 3:29. 12. Miphkad. Nehemiah 3:31. 13. Fountain gate (Siloam?). Nehemiah 12:37. 14. Water gate. Nehemiah 12:37. 15. Old gate. Nehemiah 12:39. 16. Prison gate. Nehemiah 12:39. 17. Gate Harsith (perhaps the Sun; Authorized Version East gate). Jeremiah 19:2. 18. First gate. Zechariah 14:10. 19. Gate Gennath (Gardens). Jos. B. J. v. 4, §4. 20. Essences’ gate. Jos. B. J. 4, §2. To these should be added the following gates of the temple:—Gate Sur, 2 Kings 11:6; called also gate of foundation. 2 Chronicles 23:5. Gate of the guard, or behind the guard, 2 Kings 11:6, 2 Kings 11:19; called the high gate. 2 Kings 15:35; 2 Chronicles 23:20; 2 Chronicles 27:3. Gate Shallecheth. 1 Chronicles 26:16. At present the chief gates are—
1. The Zion’s gate and the dung gate, in the south wall; 2. St. Stephen’s gate and the golden gate (now walls up), in the east wall; 3. The Damascus gate and 4. Herod’s gate, in the north wall; and 5. The Jaffa gate, in the west wall.
The Golden Gate of Jerusalem.
Jaffa Gate and David’s Tower, Jerusalem.
St. Stephen’s Gate, Jerusalem.
Population.—Taking the area of the city enclosed by the two old walls at 750,000 yards, and that enclosed by the wall of Agrippa at 1,500,000 yards, we have 2,250,000 yards for the whole. Taking the population of the old city at the probable number of one person to 50 yards, we have 15,000 and at the extreme limit of 30 yards we should have 25,000 inhabitants for the old city, and at 100 yards to each individual in the new city about 15,000 more; so that the population of Jerusalem, in its days of greatest prosperity, may have amounted to from 30,000 to 45,000 souls, but could hardly ever have reached 50,000; and assuming that in times of festival one-half was added to this amount, which is an extreme estimate, there may have been 60,000 or 70,000 in the city when Titus came up against it. (Josephus says that at the siege of Jerusalem the population was 3,000,000; but Tacitus’ statement that it was 600,000 is nearer the truth. This last is certainly within the limits of possibility.—Ed.)
Streets, houses, etc.—Of the nature of these in the ancient city we have only the most scattered notices. The “east street,” 2 Chronicles 29:4; the “street of the city,” i.e., the city of David, 2 Chronicles 32:6; the “street facing the water gate,” Nehemiah 8:1, Nehemiah 8:3, or, according to the parallel account in 1 Esdras 9:38, the “broad place of the temple towards the east”; the “street of the house of God,” Ezra 10:9; the “street of the gate of Ephraim,” Nehemiah 8:16; and the “open place of the first gate toward the east,” must have been not “streets,” in our sense of the word, so much as the open spaces found in eastern towns round the inside of the gates. Streets, properly so called, there were, Jeremiah 5:1; Jeremiah 11:13, etc.; but the name of only one, “the bakers’ street,” Jeremiah 37:21, is preserved to us. The Via Dolorosa, or street of sorrows, is a part of the street through which Christ is supposed to have been led on his way to his crucifixion. To the houses we have even less clue; but there is no reason to suppose that in either houses or streets the ancient Jerusalem differed very materially from the modern. No doubt the ancient city did not exhibit that air of mouldering dilapidation which is now so prominent there. The whole of the slopes south of the Haram area (the ancient Ophel), and the modern Zion, and the west side of the valley of Jehoshaphat, presents the appearance of gigantic mounds of rubbish. In this point at least the ancient city stood in favorable contrast with the modern, but in many others the resemblance must have been strong.
Street in Jerusalem.
Arch of Ecce Homo, Jerusalem.
The Way of the Cross (Via Dolorosa), Jerusalem.
Annals of the city.—If, as is possible, Salem is the same with Jerusalem, the first mention of Jerusalem is in Genesis 14:18, about b.c. 2080. It is next mentioned in Joshua 10:1, b.c. 1451. The first siege appears to have taken place almost immediately after the death of Joshua—cir. 1400 b.c. Judah and Simeon “fought against it and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.” Judges 1:8. In the fifteen centuries which elapsed between this siege and the siege and destruction of the city by Titus, a.d. 70, the city was besieged no fewer than seventeen times; twice it was razed to the ground, and on two other occasions its walls were levelled. In this respect it stands without a parallel in any city, ancient or modern. David captured the city b.c. 1046, and made it his capital, fortified and enlarged it. Solomon adorned the city with beautiful buildings, including the temple, but made no additions to its walls. The city was taken by the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Jehoram, b.c. 886, and by the Israelites in the reign of Amaziah, b.c. 826. It was thrice taken by Nebuchadnezzar, in the years b.c. 607, 597 and 586, in the last of which it was utterly destroyed. Its restoration commenced under Cyrus, b.c. 538, and was completed under Artaxerxes I, who issued commissions for this purpose to Ezra, b.c. 457, and Nehemiah, b.c. 445. In b.c. 332 it was captured by Alexander the Great. Under the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ the town was prosperous, until Antiochus Epiphanes sacked it, b.c. 170. In consequence of his tyranny, the Jews rose under the Maccabees, and Jerusalem became again independent, and retained its position until its capture by the Romans under Pompey, b.c. 63. The temple was subsequently plundered by Crassus, b.c. 54, and the city by the Parthians, b.c. 40. Herod took up his residence there as soon as he was appointed sovereign, and restored the temple with great magnificence. On the death of Herod it became the residence of the Roman procurators, who occupied the fortress of Antonia. The greatest siege that it sustained, however, was at the hands of the Romans under Titus, when it held out nearly five months, and when the town was completely destroyed, a.d. 70. Hadrian restored it as a Roman colony, a.d. 135, and among other buildings erected a temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on the site of the temple. He gave to it the name of Ælia Capitolina, thus combining his own family name with that of the Capitoline Jupiter. The emperor Constantine established the Christian character by the erection of a church on the supposed site of the holy sepulchre, a.d. 532. It was taken by the Persians under Chosroes II in a.d. 614. The dominion of the Christians in the holy city was now rapidly drawing to a close. In a.d. 637 the patriarch Sophronius surrendered to the khalif Omar in person. With the fall of the Abassides the holy city passed into the hands of the Fatimite dynasty, under whom the sufferings of the Christians in Jerusalem reached their height. About the year 1084 it was bestowed upon Ortok, chief of a Turkman horde. It was taken by the Crusaders in 1099, and for eighty-eight years Jerusalem remained in the hands of the Christians. In 1187 it was retaken by Saladin after a siege of several weeks. In 1277 Jerusalem was nominally annexed to the kingdom of Sicily. In 1517 it passed under the sway of the Ottoman sultan Selim I, whose successor Suliman built the present walls of the city in 1542. Mohammed Aly, the pasha of Egypt, took possession of it in 1832; and in 1840, after the bombardment of Acre, it was again restored to the sultan.
Coin to Commemorate the Capture of Judea, a.d. 70.
(Modern Jerusalem, called by the Arabs el-Khuds, is built upon the ruins of ancient Jerusalem. The accumulated rubbish of centuries is very great, being 100 feet deep around the temple walls and 40 feet deep on the hill of Zion. The modern wall, built in 1542, forms an irregular quadrangle about 2½ miles in circuit, with seven gates and 34 towers. It varies in height from 20 to 60 feet. The streets within are narrow, ungraded, crooked, and often filthy. The houses are of hewn stone, with flat roofs and frequent domes. There are few windows toward the street.
The most beautiful part of modern Jerusalem is the former temple area (Mount Moriah), “with its lawns and cypress trees, and its noble dome rising high above the wall.” This enclosure, now called Haram esh-Sherı̂f, is 35 acres in extent, and is nearly a mile in circuit.
On the site of the ancient temple stands the Mosque of Omar, “perhaps the very noblest specimen of building-art in Asia.” “It is the most prominent as well as the most beautiful building in the whole city.” The mosque is an octagonal building, each side measuring 66 feet. It is surmounted by a dome, whose top is 170 feet from the ground.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.
Interior of the Greek Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Mosque of Omar—Site of Solomon’s Temple.
View in the Court of the Mosque of Omar.
The church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is claimed, but without sufficient reason, to be upon the site of Calvary, is “a collection of chapels and altars of different ages and a unique museum of religious curiosities from Adam to Christ.”
The present number of inhabitants in Jerusalem is various estimated. Probably Pierotti’s estimate is very near the truth—20,330; of whom 5068 are Christians, 7556 Mohammedans (Arabs and Turks), and 7706 Jews.—Ed.)
Jerusha
Jeru’sha (possessed), daughter of Zadok and queen of Uzziah. 2 Kings 15:33. (b.c. 806.)
Jerushah
Jeru’shah (possessed). 2 Chronicles 27:1. The same as the preceding.
Jesaiah
Jesa’iah (salvation of Jehovah).
1. Son of Hananiah, brother of Pelatiah and grandson of Zerubbabel. 1 Chronicles 3:21 (b.c. after 536.)
2. A Benjamite. Nehemiah 11:7.
Jeshaiah
Jesha’iah (salvation of Jehovah).
1. One of the six sons of Jeduthun. 1 Chronicles 25:3, 1 Chronicles 25:15. (b.c. 1014.)
2. A Levite in the reign of David, eldest son of Rehabiah, a descendant of Amram through Moses. 1 Chronicles 26:25. [ISSHIAH.] (b.c. before 1014.)
3. The son of Athaliah, and chief of the house of the Bene-Elam who returned with Ezra. Ezra 8:7. [JOSIAS.] (b.c. 459.)
4. A Merarite who returned with Ezra. Ezra 8:19.
Jeshanah
Jesh’anah (old), a town which, with its dependent villages, was one of the three taken from Jeroboam by Abijah. 2 Chronicles 13:19.
Jesharelah
Jeshar’elah (right before God), son of Asaph, and head of the seventh of the twenty-four wards into which the musicians of the Levites were divided. 1 Chronicles 25:14. [ASARELAH.] (b.c. 1014.)
Jeshebe-ab
Jesheb’e-ab (father’s seat), head of the fourteenth course of priests. 1 Chronicles 24:13. [JEHOIARIB.]
Jesher
Je’sher (uprightness), one of the sons of Caleb the son of Hezron by his wife Azubah. 1 Chronicles 2:18. (b.c. before 1491.)
Jeshimon
Jesh’imon (a wilderness), a name which occurs in Numbers 21:20 and Numbers 23:28, in designating the position of Pisgah and Peor; both described as “facing the Jeshimon.” Perhaps the dreary, barren waste of hills lying immediately on the west of the Dead Sea.
Jeshisha-i
Jeshish’a-i (descended from an old man), one of the ancestors of the Gadites who dwelt in Gilead. 1 Chronicles 5:14.
Jeshohaiah
Jeshoha’iah (whom Jehovah casts down), a chief of the Simeonites, descended from Shimei. 1 Chronicles 4:36. (b.c. about 711.)
Jeshua
Jesh’ua (a saviour), another form of the name Joshua or Jesus.
1. Joshua the son of Nun. Nehemiah 8:17. [JOSHUA.]
2. A priest in the reign of David, to whom the ninth course fell by lot. 1 Chronicles 24:11. (b.c. 1014.)
3. One of the Levites in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 31:15. (b.c. 726.)
4. Son of Jehozadak, first high priest after the Babylonish captivity, b.c. 536. Jeshua was probably born in Babylon, whither his father Jehozadak had been taken captive while young. 1 Chronicles 6:15, Authorized Version. He came up from Babylon in the first year of Cyrus, with Zerubbabel, and took a leading part with him in the rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of the Jewish commonwealth. The two prophecies concerning him in Zechariah 3 and Zechariah 6:9-15 point him out as an eminent type of Christ.
5. Head of a Levitical house, one of those which returned from the Babylonish captivity. Ezra 2:40; Ezra 3:9; Nehemiah 3:19; Nehemiah 8:7; Nehemiah 9:4, Nehemiah 9:5; Nehemiah 12:8, etc.
6. A branch of the family of Pahathmoab, one of the chief families, probably, of the tribe of Judah. Nehemiah 10:14; Nehemiah 7:11, etc.; Ezra 10:30.
Jeshua
Jesh’ua (whom Jehovah helps), one of the towns reinhabited by the people of Judah after the return from captivity. Nehemiah 11:26. It is not mentioned elsewhere.
Jeshuah
Jesh’uah, a priest in the reign of David, 1 Chronicles 24:11, the same as JESHUA, No. 2. (b.c. 1014.)