Smith's Bible Dictionary
Joshah — Juttah
Joshah
Jo’shah (whom Jehovah lets dwell), a prince of the house of Simeon. 1 Chronicles 4:34, 1 Chronicles 4:38-41.
Joshaphat
Josh’aphat (whom Jehovah judges), the Mithnite, one of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:43.
Joshaviah
Joshavi’ah (whom Jehovah makes dwell), the son of Elnaam, and one of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:46. (b.c. 1046.)
Joshbekashah
Joshbek’ashah (a seat in a hard place), son of Heman, head of the seventeenth course of musicians. 1 Chronicles 25:4, 1 Chronicles 25:24. (b.c. 1014.)
Joshua
Josh’ua (saviour, or whose help is Jehovah). His name appears in the various forms of Hoshea, Oshea, Jehoshua, Jeshua, and Jesus.
1. The son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim. 1 Chronicles 7:27. (b.c. 1530–1420.) He was nearly forty years old when he shared in the hurried triumph of the exodus. He is mentioned first in connection with the fight against Amalek at Rephidim, when he was chosen by Moses to lead the Israelites. Exodus 17:9. Soon afterward he was one of the twelve chiefs who were sent, Numbers 13:17, to explore the land of Canaan, and one of the two, ch. Numbers 14:6, who gave an encouraging report of their journey. Moses, shortly before his death, was directed, Numbers 27:18, to invest Joshua with authority over the people. God himself gave Joshua a charge by the mouth of the dying lawgiver. Deuteronomy 31:14, Deuteronomy 31:23. Under the direction of God again renewed, Joshua 1:1, Joshua assumed the command of the people at Shittim, sent spies into Jericho, crossed the Jordan, fortified a camp at Gilgal, circumcised the people, kept the passover, and was visited by the Captain of the Lord’s host. A miracle made the fall of Jericho more terrible to the Canaanites. In the great battle of Beth-horon the Amorites were signally routed, and the south country was open to the Israelites. Joshua returned to the camp at Gilgal, master of half of Palestine. He defeated the Canaanites under Jabin king of Hazor. In six years, six tribes, with thirty-one petty chiefs, were conquered. Joshua, now stricken in years, proceeded to make the division of the conquered land. Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim was assigned as Joshua’s peculiar inheritance. After an interval of rest, Joshua convoked an assembly from all Israel. He delivered two solemn addresses, recorded in Joshua 23:24. He died at the age of 110 years, and was buried in his own city, Timnath-serah.
2. An inhabitant of Beth-shemesh, in whose land was the stone at which the milch-kine stopped when they drew the ark of God with the offerings of the Philistines from Ekron to Beth-shemesh. 1 Samuel 6:14, 1 Samuel 6:18. (b.c. 1124.)
3. A governor of the city who gave his name to a gate of Jerusalem. 2 Kings 23:8. (In the reign of Josiah, b.c. 628.)
4. Jeshua the son of Jozadak. Haggai 1:14; Haggai 2:12; Zechariah 3:1, etc.
Joshua Book of
Josh’ua, Book of. Named from Joshua the son of Nun, who is the principal character in it. The book may be regarded as consisting of three parts:
1. The conquest of Canaan; chs. Joshua 1-12. 2. The partition of Canaan; chs. Joshua 13-22. 3. Joshua’s farewell; chs. Joshua 24. Nothing is really known as to the authorship of the book. Joshua himself is generally named as the author by the Jewish writers and the Christian fathers; but no contemporary assertion or sufficient historical proof of the fact exists, and it cannot be maintained without qualification. The last verses, ch. Joshua 24:29-33, were obviously added at a later time. Some events, such as the capture of Hebron, of Debir, Joshua 15:13-19 and Judges 1:10-15, of Leshem, Joshua 19:47 and Judges 18:7, and the joint occupation of Jerusalem, Joshua 15:63 and Judges 1:21, probably did not occur till after Joshua’s death. (It was written probably during Joshua’s life, or soon after his death (b.c. 1420), and includes his own records, with revision by some other person not long afterward.)
Josiah
Josi’ah (whom Jehovah heals).
1. The son of Amon and Jedidah, succeeded his father b.c. 641, in the eighth year of his age, and reigned 31 years. His history is contained in 2 Kings 22-24:2 Kings 24:30; 2 Chronicles 34, 2 Chronicles 35; and the first twelve chapters of Jeremiah throw much light upon the general character of the Jews in his day. He began in the eighth year of his reign to seek the Lord; and in his twelfth year, and for six years afterward, in a personal progress throughout all the land of Judah and Israel, he destroyed everywhere high places, groves, images, and all outward signs and relics of idolatry. The temple was restored under a special commission; and in the course of the repairs Hilkiah the priest found that book of the law of the Lord which quickened so remarkably the ardent zeal of the king. He was aided by Jeremiah the prophet in spreading through his kingdom the knowledge and worship of Jehovah. The great day of Josiah’s life was the day of the passover in the eighteenth year of his reign. After this his endeavors to abolish every trace of idolatry and superstition were still carried on; but the time drew near which had been indicated by Huldah. 2 Kings 22:20. When Pharaoh-necho went from Egypt to Carchemish to carry on his war against Assyria, Josiah opposed his march along the seacoast. Necho reluctantly paused and gave him battle in the valley of Esdraelon. Josiah was mortally wounded, and died before he could reach Jerusalem. He was buried with extraordinary honors.
2. The son of Zephaniah, at whose house took place the solemn and symbolical crowning of Joshua the high priest. Zechariah 6:10. (b.c. about 1520.)
Josias
Josi’as. Josiah, king of Judah. Matthew 1:10, Matthew 1:11.
Josibiah
Josibi’ah (to whom God gaves a dwelling), the father of Jehu, a Simeonite. 1 Chronicles 4:35.
Josiphiah
Josiphi’ah (whom Jehovah will increase), the father or ancestor of Shelomith, who returned with Ezra. Ezra 8:10. (b.c. 459.)
Jot
Jot, the English form of the Greek iota, i.e., the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. The Hebrew is yod, or y formed like an apostrophe (’). It is used metaphorically to express the minutest thing.
Jotbah
Jot’bah (goodness), the native place of Meshullemeth, the queen of Manasseh. 2 Kings 21:19.
Jotbath
Jot’bath, or Jot’bathah (goodness), Deuteronomy 10:7; Numbers 33:33, a desert station of the Israelites.
Jotham
Jo’tham (Jehovah is upright).
1. The youngest son of Gideon, Judges 9:5, who escaped from the massacre of his brethren. (b.c. after 1256.) His parable of the reign of the bramble is the earliest example of the kind.
2. The son of King Uzziah or Azariah and Jerushah. After administering the kingdom for some years during his father’s leprosy, he succeeded to the throne b.c. 758, when he was 25 years old, and reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. He was contemporary with Pekah and with the prophet Isaiah. His history is contained in 2 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 27.
3. A descendant of Judah, son of Jahdai. 1 Chronicles 2:47.
Jozabad
Joz’abad (Jehovah justifies).
1. A captain of the thousands of Manasseh, who deserted to David before the battle of Gilboa. 1 Chronicles 12:20. (b.c. 1053.)
2. A hero of Manasseh, like the preceding. 1 Chronicles 12:20.
3. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 31:13. (b.c. 726.)
4. A chief Levite in the reign of Josiah. 2 Chronicles 35:9.
5. A Levite, son of Jeshua, in the days of Ezra. Ezra 8:33. (b.c. 459.) Probably identical with No. 7.
6. A priest of the sons of Pashur, who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:22.
7. A Levite among those who returned with Ezra and had married foreign wives. He is probably identical with Jozabad the Levite, Nehemiah 8:7, and with Jozabad who presided over the outer work of the temple. Nehemiah 11:16. (b.c. 459.)
Jozachar
Joz’achar (whom Jehovah has remembered), one of the murderers of Joash king of Judah. 2 Kings 12:21. The writer of the Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 24:26, calls him Zabad. (b.c. 837.)
Jozadak
Joz’adak (whom Jehovah has made just). Ezra 3:2, Ezra 3:8; Ezra 5:2; Ezra 10:18; Nehemiah 12:26. The contracted form of Jehozadak.
Jubal
Ju’bal (music), a son of Lamech by Adah, and the inventor of the “harp and organ.” Genesis 4:21.
Jubilee The year of
Jubilee, The year of. (1. The name.—The name jubilee is derived from the Hebrew jobel, the joyful shout or clangor of trumpets, by which the year of jubilee was announced.
2. The time of its celebration.—It was celebrated every fiftieth year, marking the half century; so that it followed the seventh sabbatic year, and for two years in succession the land lay fallow. It was announced by the blowing of trumpets on the day of atonement (about the 1st of October), the tenth day of the first month of the Israelites’ civil year (the seventh of their ecclesiastical year).
3. The laws connected with the jubilee.—These embrace three points: (1) Rest for the soil. Leviticus 25:11, Leviticus 25:12. The land was to lie fallow, and there was to be no tillage as on the ordinary sabbatic year. The land was not to be sown, nor the vineyards and oliveyards dressed; and neither the spontaneous fruits of the soil nor the produce of the vine and olive was to be gathered, but all was to be left for the poor, the slave, the stranger, and the cattle. Exodus 23:10, Exodus 23:11. The law was accompanied by a promise of treble fertility in the sixth year, the fruit of which was to be eaten till the harvest sown in the eighth year was reaped in the ninth. Leviticus 25:20-22. But the people were not debarred from other sources of subsistence, nor was the year to be spent in idleness. They could fish and hunt, take care of their bees and flocks, repair their buildings and furniture, and manufacture their clothing. (2) Reversion of landed property. “The Israelites had a portion of land divided to each family by lot. This portion of the promised land they held of God, and were not to dispose of it as their property in fee-simple. Hence no Israelite could part with his landed estate but for a term of years only. When the jubilee arrived, it again reverted to the original owners.”—Bush. This applied to fields and houses in the country and to houses of the Levites in walled cities; but other houses in such cities, if not redeemed within a year from their sale, remained the perpetual property of the buyer. (3) The manumission of those Israelites who had become slaves. “Apparently this periodic emancipation applied to every class of Hebrew servants—to him who had sold himself because he had become too poor to provide for his family, to him who had been taken and sold for debt, and to him who had been sold into servitude for crime. This latter case, however, is doubtful. Noticeably, this law provides for the family rights of the servant.”—Cowles’ Hebrew History.
4. The reasons for the institution of the jubilee.—It was to be a remedy for those evils which accompany human society and human government; and had these laws been observed, they would have made the Jewish nation the most prosperous and perfect that ever existed. (1) The jubilee tended to abolish poverty. It prevented large and permanent accumulations of wealth. It gave unfortunate families an opportunity to begin over again with a fair start in life. It particularly favored the poor, without injustice to the rich. (2) It tended to abolish slavery, and in fact did abolish it; and it greatly mitigated it while it existed. “The effect of this law was at once to lift from the heart the terrible incubus of a life-long bondage—that sense of a hopeless doom which knows no relief till death.”—Cowles. (3) “As an agricultural people, they would have much leisure; they would observe the sabbatic spirit of the year by using its leisure for the instruction of their families in the law, and for acts of devotion; and in accordance with this there was a solemn reading of the law to the people assembled at the feast of tabernacles.”—Smith’s larger Dictionary. (4) “This law of entail, by which the right heir could never be excluded, was a provision of great wisdom for preserving families and tribes perfectly distinct, and their genealogies faithfully recorded, in order that all might have evidence to establish their right to the ancestral property. Hence the tribe and family of Christ were readily discovered at his birth.”
5. Mode of celebration.—“The Bible says nothing of the mode of celebration, except that it was to be proclaimed by trumpets, and that it was to be a sabbatic year. Tradition tells us that every Israelite blew nine blasts, so as to make the trumpet literally ‘sound throughout the land,’ and that from the feast of trumpets or new year till the day of atonement (ten days after), the slaves were neither manumitted to return to their homes, nor made use of by their masters, but ate, drank, and rejoiced; and when the day of atonement came, the judges blew the trumpets, the slaves were manumitted to go to their homes, and the fields were set free.”—McClintock and Strong.
6. How long observed.—Though very little is said about its observance in the Bible history of the Jews, yet it is referred to, and was no doubt observed with more or less faithfulness, till the Babylonish captivity.—Ed.)
Jucal
Ju’cal (powerful), son of Shelemiah. Jeremiah 38:1.
Juda
Ju’da (praised).
1. Son of Joseph, in the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3:30.
2. Son of Joanna, or Hananiah. [HANANIAH, 8.] Luke 3:26. He seems to be certainly the same person as Abiud in Matthew 1:13.
3. One of the Lord’s brethren, enumerated in Mark 6:3.
4. The patriarch Judah. Susanna 56; Luke 3:33; Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5; Revelation 7:5.
Judæa
Judæa (Judaea, Judea) — (from Judah), a territorial division which succeeded to the overthrow of the ancient landmarks of the tribes of Israel and Judah in their respective captivities. The word first occurs (Daniel 5:13) Authorized Version "Jewry," and the first mention of the "province of Judea" is in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 5:8) It is alluded to in (Nehemiah 11:3) (Authorized Version "Judah"). In the apocryphal books the word "province" is dropped, and throughout them and the New Testament the expressions are "the land of Judea", "Judea." In a wide and more improper sense, the term Judea was sometimes extended to the whole country of the Canaanites, its ancient inhabitants; and even in the Gospels we read of the coasts of Judea "beyond Jordan." (Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1) Judea was, in strict language, the name of the third district, west of the Jordan and south of Samaria. It was made a portion of the Roman province of Syria upon the deposition of Archelaus, the ethnarch of Judea, in A.D. 6, and was governed by a procurator, who was subject to the governor of Syria.
Judah
Ju’dah (praised, celebrated), the fourth son of Jacob and the fourth of Leah. (b.c. after 1753.) Of Judah’s personal character more traits are preserved than of any other of the patriarchs, with the exception of Joseph, whose life he in conjunction with Reuben saved. Genesis 37:26-28. During the second visit to Egypt for corn it was Judah who undertook to be responsible for the safety of Benjamin, ch. Genesis 43:3-10; and when, through Joseph’s artifice, the brothers were brought back to the palace, he is again the leader and spokesman of the band. So, too, it is Judah who is sent before Jacob to smooth the way for him in the land of Goshen. ch. Genesis 46:28. This ascendency over his brethren is reflected in the last words addressed to him by his father. The families of Judah occupy a position among the tribes similar to that which their progenitor had taken among the patriarchs. The numbers of the tribe at the census at Sinai were 74,600. Numbers 1:26, Numbers 1:27. On the borders of the promised land they were 76,500. Genesis 26:22. The boundaries and contents of the territory allotted to Judah are narrated at great length, and with greater minuteness than the others, in Joshua 15:20-63. The north boundary, for the most part coincident with the south boundary of Benjamin, began at the embouchure of the Jordan and ended on the west at Jabneel on the coast of the Mediterranean, four miles south of Joppa. On the east the Dead Sea, and on the west the Mediterranean, formed the boundaries. The southern line is hard to determine, since it is denoted by places many of which have not been identified. It left the Dead Sea at its extreme south end, and joined the Mediterranean at the Wady el-Arish. This territory is in average length about 45 miles, and in average breadth about 50.
Judah Kingdom of
Judah, Kingdom of. Extent.—When the disruption of Solomon’s kingdom took place at Shechem, b.c. 975, only the tribe of Judah followed David, but almost immediately afterward the larger part of Benjamin joined Judah. A part, if not all, of the territory of Simeon, 1 Samuel 27:6; 1 Kings 19:3, comp. Joshua 19:1, and of Dan, 2 Chronicles 11:10, comp. Joshua 19:41, Joshua 19:42, was recognized as belonging to Judah; and in the reigns of Abijah and Asa the southern kingdom was enlarged by some additions taken out of the territory of Ephraim. 2 Chronicles 13:19; 2 Chronicles 15:8; 2 Chronicles 17:2. It is estimated that the territory of Judah contained about 3450 square miles.
Advantages.—The kingdom of Judah possessed many advantages which secured for it a longer continuance than that of Israel. A frontier less exposed to powerful enemies, a soil less fertile, a population hardier and more united, a fixed and venerated centre of administration and religion, a hereditary aristocracy in the sacerdotal caste, an army always subordinate, a succession of kings which no revolution interrupted; so that Judah survived her more populous and more powerful sister kingdom by 135 years, and lasted from b.c. 975 to b.c. 536.
History.—The first three kings of Judah seem to have cherished the hope of re-establishing their authority over the ten tribes; for sixty years there was war between them and the kings of Israel. The victory achieved by the daring Abijah brought to Judah a temporary accession of territory. Asa appears to have enlarged it still further. Hanani’s remonstrance, 2 Chronicles 16:7, prepares us for the reversal by Jehoshaphat of the policy which Asa pursued toward Israel and Damascus. A close alliance sprang up with strange rapidity between Judah and Israel. Jehoshaphat, active and prosperous, commanded the respect of his neighbors; but under Amaziah Jerusalem was entered and plundered by the Israelites. Under Uzziah and Jotham, Judah long enjoyed prosperity, till Ahaz became the tributary and vassal of Tiglath-pileser. Already in the fatal grasp of Assyria, Judah was yet spared for a checkered existence of almost another century and a half after the termination of the kingdom of Israel. The consummation of the ruin came upon its people in the destruction of the temple by the hand of Nebuzaradan, b.c. 536. There were 19 kings, all from the family of David.
(Population.—We have a gauge as to the number of the people at different periods in the number of soldiers. If we estimate the population at four times the fighting men, we will have the following table:
| King | Date | Soldiers | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| David | b.c. 1056—1015 | 500,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Rehoboam | 975—957 | 180,000 | 720,000 |
| Abijah | 957—955 | 400,000 | 1,600,000 |
| Asa | 955—914 | 500,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Jehoshaphat | 914—889 | 1,160,000 | 4,640,000 |
| Amaziah | 839—810 | 300,000 | 1,200,000 |
—Ed.)
Judas
Ju’das, the Greek form of the Hebrew name Judah, occurring in the LXX and the New Testament.
1. The patriarch Judah. Matthew 1:2, Matthew 1:3.
2. A man residing at Damascus, in “the street which is called Straight,” in whose house Saul of Tarsus lodged after his miraculous conversion. Acts 9:11.
Judas
Ju’das, surnamed Barsabas, a leading member of the apostolic church at Jerusalem, Acts 15:22, endued with the gift of prophecy, ver. Acts 15:32, chosen with Silas to accompany Paul and Barnabas as delegates to the church at Antioch. (a.d. 47.) Later, Judas went back to Jerusalem.
Judas of Galilee
Ju’das of Galilee, the leader of a popular revolt “in the days of the taxing” (i.e., the census, under the prefecture of P. Sulp. Quirinus, a.d. 6, a.u.c. 759), referred to by Gamaliel in his speech before the Sanhedrin. Acts 5:37. According to Josephus, Judas was a Gaulonite of the city of Gamala, probably taking his name of Galilean from his insurrection having had its rise in Galilee. The Gaulonites, as his followers were called, may be regarded as the doctrinal ancestors of the Zealots and Sicarii of later days.
Judas Iscariot
Ju’das Iscar’iot (Judas of Kerioth). He is sometimes called “the son of Simon,” John 6:71; John 13:2, John 13:26, but more commonly Iscariotes. Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:16, etc. The name Iscariot has received many interpretations more or less conjectural. The most probable is from Ish Kerioth, i.e., “man of Kerioth,” a town in the tribe of Judah. Joshua 15:25. Of the life of Judas before the appearance of his name in the lists of the apostles we know absolutely nothing. What that appearance implies, however, is that he had previously declared himself a disciple. He was drawn, as the others were, by the preaching of the Baptist, or his own Messianic hopes, or the “gracious words” of the new Teacher, to leave his former life, and to obey the call of the Prophet of Nazareth. The choice was not made, we must remember, without a provision of its issue. John 6:64. The germs of the evil, in all likelihood, unfolded themselves gradually. The rules to which the twelve were subject in their first journey, Matthew 10:9, Matthew 10:10, sheltered him from the temptation that would have been most dangerous to him. The new form of life, of which we find the first traces in Luke 8:3, brought that temptation with it. As soon as the twelve were recognized as a body, travelling hither and thither with their Master, receiving money and other offerings, and redistributing what they received to the poor, it became necessary that some one should act as the steward and almoner of the small society, and this fell to Judas. John 12:6; John 13:29. The Galilean or Judean peasant found himself entrusted with larger sums of money than before, and with this there came covetousness, unfaithfulness, embezzlement. Several times he showed his tendency to avarice and selfishness. This, even under the best of influences, grew worse and worse, till he betrayed his Master for thirty pieces of silver.
(Why was such a man chosen to be one of the twelve?—(1) There was needed among the disciples, as in the Church now, a man of just such talents as Judas possessed—the talent for managing business affairs. (2) Though he probably followed Christ at first from mixed motives, as did the other disciples, he had the opportunity of becoming a good and useful man. (3) It doubtless was included in God’s plans that there should be thus a standing argument for the truth and honesty of the gospel; for if any wrong or trickery had been concealed, it would have been revealed by the traitor in self-defence. (4) Perhaps to teach the Church that God can bless and the gospel can succeed even though some bad men may creep into the fold.
What was Judas’ motive in betraying Christ?—(1) Anger at the public rebuke given him by Christ at the supper in the house of Simon the leper. Matthew 26:6-14. (2) Avarice, covetousness, the thirty pieces of silver. John 12:6. (3) The reaction of feeling in a bad soul against the Holy One whose words and character were a continual rebuke, and who knew the traitor’s heart. (4) A much larger covetousness—an ambition to be the treasurer, not merely of a few poor disciples, but of a great and splendid temporal kingdom of the Messiah. He would hasten on the coming of that kingdom by compelling Jesus to defend himself. (5) Perhaps disappointment because Christ insisted on foretelling his death instead of receiving his kingdom. He began to fear that there was to be no kingdom, after all. (6) Perhaps, also, Judas “abandoned what seemed to him a failing cause, and hoped by his treachery to gain a position of honor and influence in the Pharisaic party.”
The end of Judas.—(1) Judas, when he saw the results of his betrayal, “repented himself.” Matthew 27:3-10. He saw his sin in a new light, and “his conscience bounded into furty.” (2) He made ineffectual struggles to escape, by attempting to return the reward to the Pharisees; and when they would not receive it, he cast it down at their feet and left it. Matthew 27:5. But (a) restitution of the silver did not undo the wrong; (b) it was restored in a wrong spirit—a desire for relief rather than hatred of sin; (c) he confessed to the wrong party, or rather to those who should have been secondary, and who could not grant forgiveness; (d) “compunction is not conversion.” (3) The money was used to buy a burial-field for poor strangers. Matthew 27:6-10. (4) Judas himself, in his despair, went out and hanged himself, Matthew 27:5, at Aceldama, on the southern slope of the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, and in the act he fell down a precipice and was dashed into pieces. Acts 1:18. “And he went to his own place.” Acts 1:25. “A guilty conscience must find either hell or pardon.” (5) Judas’ repentance may be compared to that of Esau. Genesis 27:32-38; Hebrews 12:16, Hebrews 12:17. It is contrasted with that of Peter. Judas proved his repentance to be false by immediately committing another sin, suicide. Peter proved his to be true by serving the Lord faithfully ever after.—Ed.)
Judas Maccabæus
Judas Maccabæus (Judas Maccabaeus) — MACCABEES
Jude
Jude, or Ju’das, called also Lebbeus and Thaddeus, Authorized Version “Judas the brother of James,” one of the twelve apostles. The name of Jude occurs only once in the Gospel narrative. John 14:22; Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:16; John 14:22; Acts 1:13. Nothing is certainly known of the later history of the apostle. Tradition connects him with the foundation of the church at Edessa.
Judas the Lord’s brother
Ju’das, the Lord’s brother. Among the brethren of our Lord mentioned by the people of Nazareth. Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3. Whether this and the Jude above are the same is still a disputed point.
Jude Epistle of
Jude, Epistle of. Its author was probably Jude, one of the brethren of Jesus, the subject of the preceding article. There are no data from which to determine its date or place of writing, but it is placed about a.d. 65. The object of the epistle is plainly enough announced, ver. Jude 3; the reason for this exhortation is given, ver. Jude 4. The remainder of the epistle is almostly entirely occupied by a minute depiction of the adversaries of the faith. The epistle closes by briefly reminding the readers of the oft-repeated prediction of the apostles—among whom the writer seems not to rank himself—that the faith would be assailed by such enemies as he has depicted, vs. Jude 17-19, exhorting them to maintain their own steadfastness in the faith, vs. Jude 21, while they earnestly sought to rescue others from the corrupt example of those licentious livers, vs. Jude 23, and commending them to the power of God in language which forcibly recalls the closing benediction of the epistle to the Romans. vs. Jude 25; cf. Romans 16:25-27. This epistle presents one peculiarity, which, as we learn from St. Jerome, caused its authority to be impugned in very early times—the supposed citation of apocryphal writings. vs. Jude 15. The larger portion of this epistle, vs. Jude 3-16 is almost identical in language and subject with a part of the Second Epistle of Peter. 2 Peter 2:1-19.
Judges
Judges. The judges were temporary and special deliverers, sent by God to deliver the Israelites from their oppressors; not supreme magistrates, succeeding to the authority of Moses and Joshua. Their power only extended over portions of the country, and some of them were contemporaneous. Their first work was that of deliverers and leaders in war; they then administered justice to the people, and their authority supplied the want of a regular government. Even while the administration of Samuel gave something like a settled government to the south, there was scope for the irregular exploits of Samson on the borders of the Philistines; and Samuel at last established his authority as judge and prophet, but still as the servant of Jehovah, only to see it so abused by his sons as to exhaust the patience of the people, who at length demanded a king, after the pattern of the surrounding nations. The following is a list of the judges, whose history is given under their respective names:—
| First servitude, to Mesopotamia— | 8 years |
| First judge: Othniel. | 40 years |
| Second servitude, to Moab— | 18 years |
| Second judge: Ehud; | 80 years |
| Third judge: Shamgar. | — years |
| Third servitude, to Jabin and Sisera— | 20 years |
| Fourth judge: Deborah and Barak. | 40 years |
| Fourth servitude, to Midian— | 7 years |
| Fifth judge: Gideon; | 40 years |
| Sixth judge: Abimelech; | 3 years |
| Seventh judge: Tola; | 23 years |
| Eighth judge: Jair. | 22 years |
| Fifth servitude, to Ammon— | 18 years |
| Ninth judge: Jephthah; | 6 years |
| Tenth judge: Ibzan; | 7 years |
| Eleventh judge: Elon; | 10 years |
| Twelfth judge: Abdon. | 8 years |
| Sixth servitude, to the Philistines— | 40 years |
| Thirteenth judge: Samson; | 20 years |
| Fourteenth judge: Eli; | 40 years |
| Fifteenth judge: Samuel. |
More than likely some of these ruled simultaneously. On the chronology of the judges, see the following article.
Judges Book of
Judges, Book of, of which the book of Ruth formed originally a part, contains a history from Joshua to Samson. The book may be divided into two parts:—
1. Chs. Judges 1-16. We may observe in general on this portion of the book that it is almost entirely a history of the wars of deliverance. 2. Chs. Judges 17-21. This part has no formal connection with the preceding, and is often called an appendix. The period to which the narrative relates is simply marked by the expression, “when there was no king in Israel.” ch. Judges 19:1; cf. Judges 18:1. It records—(a) The conquest of Laish by a portion of the tribe of Dan, and the establishment there of the idolatrous worship of Jehovah already instituted by Micah in Mount Ephraim. (b) The almost total extinction of the tribe of Benjamin. Chs. Judges 17-21 are inserted both as an illustration of the sin of Israel during the time of the judges and as presenting a contrast with the better order prevailing in the time of the kings. The time commonly assigned to the period contained in this book is 299 years. The dates given in the last article amount to 410 years, without the 40 years of Eli; but in 1 Kings 6:1, the whole period from the exodus to the building of the temple is stated as 480 years. But probably some of the judges were contemporary, so that their total period is 299 years instead of 410. Mr. Smith in his Old Testament history gives the following approximate dates:
| Periods | Years | Ending about b.c. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. From the exodus to the passage of Jordan. | 40 | 1451 | |
| 2. To the death of Joshua and the surviving elders. | [40] | 1411 | |
| 3. Judgeship of Othniel. | 40 | 1371 | |
| 4, 5. Judgeship of Ehud (Shamgar included). | 80 | 1291 | |
| 6. Judgeship of Deborah and Barak. | 40 | 1251 | |
| 7. Judgeship of Gideon. | 40 | 1211 | |
| 8, 9. Abimelech to Abdon, total. | [80] | 1131 | |
| 10. Oppression of the Philistines, contemporary with the judgeships of Eli, Samson (and Samuel?). | 40 | 1091 | |
| 11. Reign of Saul (including perhaps Samuel). | 40 | 1051 | |
| 12. Reign of David. | 40 | 1011 | |
| Total. | 480 | ||
On the whole, it seems safer to give up the attempt to ascertain the chronology exactly.
Judgment hall
Judgment hall. The word praetorium is so translated five times in the Authorized Version of the New Testament, and in those five passages it denotes two different places.
1. In John 18:28, John 18:33; John 19:9, it is the residence which Pilate occupied when he visited Jerusalem. The site of Pilate’s prætorium in Jerusalem has given rise to much dispute, some supposing it to be the palace of King Herod, others the tower of Antonia; but it was probably the latter, which was then and long afterward the citadel of Jerusalem. 2. In Acts 23:35 Herod’s judgment hall or prætorium in Cæsarea was doubtless a part of that magnificent range of buildings the erection of which by King Herod is described in Josephus. The word “palace,” or “Cæsar’s court,” in the Authorized Version of Philippians 1:13, is a translation of the same word prætorium. It may here have denoted the quarter of that detachment of the prætorian guards which was in immediate attendance upon the emperor, and had barracks in Mount Palatine at Rome.
Judith
Ju’dith (Jewess, or praised).
1. The daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and wife of Esau. Genesis 26:34. (b.c. 1797.)
2. The heroine of the apocryphal book which bears her name, who appears as an ideal type of piety, Judith 8:6, beauty, ch. Judith 11:21, courage and chastity. ch. Judith 16:22ff.
Judith The book of
Ju’dith, The book of, one of the books of the Apocrypha, belongs to the earliest specimens of historical fiction. As to its authorship it belongs to the Maccabæan period, b.c. 175–135, which it reflects not only in its general spirit, but even in its smaller traits.
Julia
Ju’lia (feminine of Julius), a Christian woman at Rome, probably the wife of Philologus, in connection with whom she is saluted by St. Paul. Romans 16:15. (a.d. 55.)
Julius
Ju’lius (soft-haired), the centurion of “Augustus’ band,” to whose charge St. Paul was delivered when he was sent prisoner from Cæsarea to Rome. Acts 27:1, Acts 27:3. (a.d. 60.)
Junia
Ju’nia (belonging to Juno), a Christian at Rome, mentioned by St. Paul as one of his kinsfolk and fellow prisoners, of note among the apostles, and in Christ before St. Paul. Romans 16:7. (a.d. 55.)
Junias
Ju’nias, Revised Version for Junia above. It is the more literal form.
Juniper
Juniper, 1 Kings 19:4, 1 Kings 19:5; Job 30:4; Psalm 120:4, a sort of broom, Genista monosperma, G. r™tam of Forskal, answering to the Arabic rethem. It is very abundant in the desert of Sinai, and affords shade and protection, in both heat and storm, to travellers. The rethem is a leguminous plant, and bears a white flower. It is found also in Spain, Portugal, and Palestine. (It grows like willow bushes along the shores of Spain. It is an erect shrub, with no main trunk, but many wand-like, slender branches, and is sometimes twelve feet high. Its use is very great in stopping the sand.—Ed.)
Jupiter
Ju’piter (a father that helps), the Greek Zeus. The Olympian Zeus was the national god of the Hellenic race, as well as the supreme ruler of the heathen world, and as such formed the true opposite to Jehovah. Jupiter or Zeus is mentioned in two passages of the New Testament, on the occasion of St. Paul’s visit to Lystra, Acts 14:12, Acts 14:13, where the expression “Jupier, which was before their city,” means that his temple was outside the city. Also in Acts 19:35.
Jushab-hesed
Ju’shab-he’sed (whose love is returned), son of Zerubbabel. 1 Chronicles 3:20.
Justus
Jus’tus (just).
1. A surname of Joseph, called Barsabas. Acts 1:23. (a.d. 30.)
2. A Christian at Corinth, with whom St. Paul lodged. Acts 18:7. (a.d. 49.) (Given in the Revised Version as Titus Justus; and it is possible that he may be the same person as Titus the companion of Paul.)
3. A surname of Jesus, a friend of St. Paul. Colossians 4:11. (a.d. 57.)
Juttah
Jut’tah (stretched out), a city in the mountain region of Judah, in the neighborhood of Maon and Carmel. Joshua 15:55. The place is now known as Yutta.