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Smith's Bible Dictionary
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Jaakan
(he shall surround), the same as Jakan, the forefather of
Bene-Jaakan. (10:6)
Jaakobah
(supplanter), one of the princes of the families of Simeon. (1
Chronicles 4:36) (B.C. about 710.)
Jaala
(wild she-goat). Bene-Jaala were among the descendants of
"Solomon's slaves" who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel.
(Nehemiah 7:58) (B.C. before 536.) The name also occurs as
Ja-alah.
Jaalah
(wild goat). (Ezra 2:56)
Jaalam
(whom God hides), a son of Esau, (Genesis 36:5,14,18) comp.
1Chr 1:35 And a head of a tribe of Edom. (B.C. 1790.).
Jaanai
(whom Jehovah answers), a chief man in the tribe of Gad. (1
Chronicles 5:12)
Jaareoregim
(forests of the weavers), (2 Samuel 21:19) a Bethlehemite, and
the father of Elhanan who slew Goliath. In the parallel
passage, (1 Chronicles 20:5) Jair is found instead of Jaare,
and Oregim is omitted. (B.C. 1063.)
Jaasau
(whom Jehovah made), one of the Bene-Bani who had married a
foreign wife. (Ezra 10:37) (B.C. 459.)
Jaasiel
(whom God comforts), son of the great Abner. (1 Chronicles
27:21) (B.C. 1046-1014.)
Jaazaniah
(whom Jehovah hears).
+ One of the captains of the forces who accompanied Hohanan
ben-Kareah to pay his respects to Gedaliah at Mizpah, (2
Kings 25:23) and who appears afterwards to have assisted in
recovering Ishmael's prey from his clutches. Comp. (Jeremiah
41:11; 43:4,5) (B.C. 587.)
+ Son of Shaphan. (Ezekiel 8:11) It is possible that he is
identical with
+ Son of Azur; one of the princes of the people against whom
Ezekiel was directed to prophesy. (Ezekiel 11:1) (B.C. 593.)
+ A Rechabite, son of Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 35:3) (B.C. 606.)
Jaazer, Or Jazer
(Jehovah helps), a town on the east of Jordan, in or near to
Gilead. (Numbers 32:1,3; 1 Chronicles 26:31) We first hear of
it in possession of the Amorites, and as taken by Israel after
Heshbon, and on their way from thence to Bashan. (Numbers
21:32) It seems to have given its name to a district of
dependent or "daughter" towns, (Numbers 21:32) Authorized
Version "villages," 1 Macc. 5:8, the "land of Jazer." (Numbers
32:1)
Jaaziah
(whom Jehovah comforts), apparently a third son, or a
descendant, or Merari the Levite. (1 Chronicles 24:26,27) (B.C.
before 1014).
Jaaziel
(whom Jehovah comforts), one of the Levites appointed by David
to perform the musical service before the ark. (1 Chronicles
15:18) (B.C. 1014).
Jabal
(stream), the son of Lamech and Adah, (Genesis 4:20) and
brother of Jubal. He is described as the father of such as
dwell in tents and have cattle.
Jabbok
(emptying), a stream which intersects the mountain range of
Gilead, comp. (Joshua 12:2,5) and falls into the Jordan on the
east about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.
It was anciently the border of the children of Ammon. (Numbers
21:24; 2:37; 3:16) It was on the south bank of the Jabbok that
the interview took place between Jacob and Esau, (Genesis
32:22) and this river afterward became, toward its western
part, the boundary between the kingdoms of Sihon and Og.
(Joshua 12:2,5) Its modern name is Wady Zurka .
Jabesh
(dry).
+ Father of Shallum, the fifteenth king of Israel. (2 Kings
15:10,13,14)
+ Jabesh-gilead, or Jabesh in the territory of Gilead. In its
widest sense Gilead included the half tribe of Manasseh, (1
Chronicles 27:21) as well as the tribes of Gad and Reuben,
(Numbers 32:1-42) east of the Jordan; and of the cities of
Gilead, Jabesh was the chief. It is first mentioned in
(Judges 21:8-14) Being attacked subsequently by Nahash the
Ammonite, it gave Saul an opportunity of displaying his
prowess in its defence. (1 Samuel 11:1-15) Eusebius places it
beyond the Jordan, six miles from Pella on the mountain road
to Gerasa; where its name is probably preserved in the Wady
Yabes.
Jabez
(sorrow).
+ Apparently a place at which the families of the scribes
resided who belonged to the families of the Kenites. (1
Chronicles 2:55)
+ The name occurs again in the genealogies of Judah, (1
Chronicles 4:9,10) in a passage of remarkable detail inserted
in a genealogy again connected with Bethlehem. ver. 4.
Jabin
(whom God observes).
+ King of Hazor, who organized a confederacy of the northern
princes against the Israelites. (Joshua 11:1-3) Joshua
surprised the allied forces by the waters of Merom, ver. 7,
and utterly routed them. (B.C. 1448.) During the ensuing wars
Joshua again attacked Jabin, and burnt his city. (Joshua
11:1-14)
+ A king of Hazor, whose general, Sisera, was defeated by
Barak. (Judges 4:2,13) (B.C. 1316.)
Jabneel
(building of God).
+ One of the points on the northern boundary of Judah, not
quite at the sea, though near it. (Joshua 15:11) There is no
sign, however, of its ever having been occupied by Judah.
Josephus attributes it to the Danites. There was a constant
struggle going on between that tribe and the Philistines for
the possession of all the places in the lowland plains, and
it is not surprising that the next time we meet with Jabneel
it should be in the hands of the latter. (2 Chronicles 26:6)
Uzziah dispossessed them of it and demolished its
fortifications. Called also [652]Jabneh. At the time of the
fall of Jerusalem, Jabneh was one of the most populous places
of Judea. The modern village of Yebna, more accurately Ibna,
stands about two miles from the sea, on a slight eminence
just south of the Nahr Rubin .
+ One of the landmarks on the boundary of Naphtali, (Joshua
19:33) in upper Galilee.
Jabneh
(building of God), (2 Chronicles 26:6) [[653]Jabneel]
Jachan
(affliction), one of seven chief men of the tribe of Gad. (1
Chronicles 5:13)
Jachin
(he shall establish).
+ One of the two pillars which were set up "in the porch," (1
Kings 7:21) or before the temple. (2 Chronicles 3:17) of
Solomon. [[654]Boaz]
+ Fourth son of Simeon, (Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15) founder of
the family of the Jachinites. (Numbers 26:12)
+ Head of the twenty-first course of priests in the time of
David. (1 Chronicles 9:10; 24:17; Nehemiah 11:10)
Jacinth
a precious stone, forming one of the foundations of the walls
of the new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:20) Called hyacinth in the
Revised Version. This is simply a different English rendering
of the same Greek original. It is probably identical with the
lighure of (Exodus 28:19) The Jacinth or hyacinth is a red
variety of zircon, which is found in square prisms of a white,
gray, red, reddish-brown, yellow or pale-green color. The
expression in (Revelation 9:17) "of jacinth," is descriptive
simply of a dark-purple color.
Jacob
(supplanter), the second son of Isaac and Rebekah. He was born
with Esau, probably at the well of Lahai-roi, about B.C. 1837.
His history is related in the latter half of the book of
Genesis. He bought the birthright from his brother Esau, and
afterward acquired the blessing intended for Esau, by
practicing a well-known deceit on Isaac. (Jacob did not obtain
the blessing because of his deceit, but in spite of it. That
which was promised he would have received in some good way; but
Jacob and his mother, distrusting God's promise, sought the
promised blessing in a wrong way, and received with it trouble
and sorrow.--ED.) Jacob, in his 78th year, was sent from the
family home to avoid his brother, and to seek a wife among his
kindred in Padan-aram. As he passed through Bethel, God
appeared to him. After the lapse of twenty-one years he
returned from Padan-aram with two wives, two concubines, eleven
sons and a daughter, and large property. He escaped from the
angry pursuit of Laban, from a meeting with Esau, and from the
vengeance of the Canaanites provoked by the murder of Shechem;
and in each of these three emergencies he was aided and
strengthened by the interposition of God, and in sign of the
grace won by a night of wrestling with God his name was changed
at Jabbok into Israel. Deborah and Rachel died before he
reached Hebron; Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was sold
into Egypt eleven years before the death of Isaac; and Jacob
had probably exceeded his 130th year when he went tither. He
was presented to Pharaoh, and dwelt for seventeen years in
Rameses and Goshen, and died in his 147th year. His body was
embalmed, carried with great care and pomp into the land of
Canaan, and deposited with his fathers, and his wife Leah, in
the cave of Machpelah. The example of Jacob is quoted by the
first and the last of the minor prophets. Besides the frequent
mention of his name in conjunction with the names of the other
two patriarchs, there are distinct references to the events in
the life of Jacob in four books of the New Testament - (John
1:51; 4:5,12; Acts 7:12,16; Romans 9:11-13; Hebrews 11:21;
12:16)
Jacobs Well
a deep spring in the vicinity of Shechem (called Sychar in
Christ's time and Nablus at the present day). It was probably
dug by Jacob whose name it bears. On the curb of the well Jesus
sat and discoursed with the Samaritan woman. (John 4:5-26) It
is situated about half a mile southeast of Nablus, at the foot
of Mount Gerizim. It is about nine feet in diameter and 75 feet
deep. At some seasons it is dry; at others it contains a few
feet of water.
Jada
(wise), son of Onam and brother of Shammai, in the genealogy of
the sons of Jerahmeel by his wife Atarah. (1 Chronicles
2:28,32) (B.C. after 1445.)
Jadau
(loving), one of the Bene-Nebo who had taken a foreign wife.
(Ezra 10:43) (B.C. 459.)
Jaddua
(known).
+ Son and successor in the high priesthood of Jonathan or
Johanan. He is the last of the high priests mentioned in the
Old Testament, and probably altogether the latest name in the
canon. (Nehemiah 12:11,22) (B.C. 406-332.)
+ One of the chief of the people who sealed the covenant with
Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:21) (B.C. 410.)
Jadon
(judge), the Meronothite, who assisted to repair the wall of
Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 3:7) (B.C. 446.)
Jael
(mountain goat), the wife of Heber the Kenite. (B.C. 1316.) In
the headlong rout which followed the defeat of the Canaanites
by Barak, at Megiddo on the plain of Esdraelon, Sisera, their
general, fled to the tent of the Kenite chieftainess, at Kedesh
in Naphtali, four miles northwest of Lake Merom. He accepted
Jael's invitation to enter, and she flung a mantle over him as
he lay wearily on the floor. When thirst prevented sleep, and
he asked for water, she brought him buttermilk in her choicest
vessel. At last, with a feeling of perfect security, he feel
into a deep sleep. Then it was that Jael took one of the great
wooden pins which fastened down the cords of the tent, and with
one terrible blow with a mallet dashed it through Sisera's
temples deep into the earth. (Judges 5:27) She then waited to
meet the pursuing Barak, and led him into her tent that she
might in his presence claim the glory of the deed! Many have
supposed that by this act she fulfilled the saying of Deborah,
(Judges 4:9) and hence they have supposed that Jael was
actuated by some divine and hidden influence. But the Bible
gives no hint of such an inspiration.
Jagur
(lodging),a town of Judah, one of those farthest to the south,
on the frontier of Edom. (Joshua 15:21)
Jah
(Jehovah), the abbreviated form of Jehovah, used only in
poetry. It occurs frequently in the Hebrew, but with a single
exception, (Psalms 68:4) is rendered "Lord" in the Authorized
Version. The identity of Jah and Jehovah is strongly marked in
two passages of Isaiah-- (Isaiah 12:2; 26:4) [[655]Jehovah].
Jahath
(union).
+ Son of Libni, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. (1
Chronicles 6:20) (B.C. after 1706.)
+ Head of a later house in the family of Gershom, being the
eldest son of Shimei, the son of Laadan. (1 Chronicles
23:10,11)
+ A man in the genealogy of Judah, (1 Chronicles 4:2) son of
Reaiah ben-Shobal.
+ A Levite, son of Shelomoth. (1 Chronicles 24:22)
+ A Merarite Levite in the reign of Josiah. (2 Chronicles
34:12) (B.C. 623.)
Jahaz, Also Jahaza, Jahazah And Juhzah
(trodden down). Under these four forms is given in the
Authorized Version the name of a place which in the Hebrew
appears as Yahats and Yahtsah . At Jahaz the decisive battle
was fought between the children of Israel and Sihon king of the
Amorites. (Numbers 21:23; 2:32; Judges 11:20) It was in the
allotment of Reuben. (Joshua 13:18) Like many others relating
to the places east of the Dead Sea, the question of its site
must await further research.
Jahaza
(trodden down). (Joshua 13:18) [[656]Jahaz, Also Jahaza,
Jahazah And Juhzah]
Jahazah
(trodden down). (Joshua 21:36; Jeremiah 48:21) [[657]Jahaz,
Also Jahaza, Jahazah And Juhzah]
Jahaziel
(whom God watches over)
+ One of the heroes of Benjamin who joined David at Ziklag. (1
Chronicles 12:4) (B.C. 1055.)
+ A priest in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 16:6)
+ A Kohathite Levite, third son of Hebron. (1 Chronicles 23:19;
24:23)
+ Son of Zechariah, a Levite of the Bene-Asaph in the reign of
Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 20:14) (B.C. 896.)
+ The "son of Jahaziel" was the chief of the Bene-Shecaniah who
returned from Babylon with Ezra. (Ezra 8:5) (B.C. before
459.)
Jahdai
(whom Jehovah directs), a man who appears to be thrust abruptly
into the genealogy of Caleb, as the father of six sons. (1
Chronicles 2:47)
Jahdiel
(whom Jehovah makes joyful), a chieftain of Manasseh on the
east of Jordan. (1 Chronicles 5:24) (B.C. 320.)
Jahdo
(united), a Gadite, (1 Chronicles 5:14) son of Buz and father
of Jeshishai.
Jahleel
(hoping in Jehovah), the third of the three sons of Zebulun,
(Genesis 46:14; Numbers 26:26) founder of the family of
Jahleelites. (B.C. 1706.)
Jahmai
(whom Jehovah guards), a man of Issachar, one of the heads of
the house of Tolah. (1 Chronicles 7:2) (B.C. 1491)
Jahnziah
(whom Jehovah watches over), son of Tikvah, apparently a
priest. (Ezra 10:15)
Jahzah
(trodden down). (1 Chronicles 6:78) [[658]Jahaz, Also Jahaza,
Jahazah And Juhzah]
Jahzeel
(whom God allots), the first of the four sons of Naphtali,
(Genesis 46:24) founder of the family of the Jahzeelites.
(Numbers 26:48) (B.C. 1306.)
Jahzerah
(whom God leads back), a priest of the house of Immer. (1
Chronicles 9:12)
Jahziel
(whom God allots), the same as [659]Jahzeel. (1 Chronicles
7:13)
Jair
(enlightener).
+ A man who on his father's side was descended from Judah, and
on his mother's from Manasseh. (B.C. 1451.) During, the
conquest he took the whole of the tract of Argob (3:14) and
in addition possessed himself of some nomad villages in
Gilead, which he called after his own name Havoth-Jair.
(Numbers 32:41; 1 Chronicles 2:23)
+ JAIR THE GILEADITE, who judged Israel for two-and-twenty
years. (Judges 10:3-5) (B.C. 1160.) He had thirty sons, and
possessed thirty cities in the land of Gilead, which like
those of their namesakes were called Havoth-jair.
+ A Benjamite, son of Kish and father of Mordecai. (Esther 2:5)
(B.C. before 598.)
+ The father of Elhanan, one of the heroes of David's army. (1
Chronicles 20:6)
Jairite
(descendant of Jair). The [660]Ira THE JAIRITE was a priest
(Authorized Version "chief ruler") to David (2 Samuel 20:26)
Jairus
(whom God enlightens).
+ A ruler of a synagogue, probably in some town near the
western shore of the Sea of Galilee. (Matthew 9:18; Mark
5:22; Luke 8:41) (A.D. 28.)
+ (Esther 11:2) [[661]Jair, 3]
Jakamean
(who gathers the people together), a Levite in the time of King
David; fourth of the sons of Hebron, the son of Kohath. (1
Chronicles 23:19; 24:23) (B.C. 1014.)
Jakan
(sagacious), son of Ezer the Horite. (1 Chronicles 1:42) The
same as [662]JaakanJA[663]Akan. [And see [664]Akan]
Jakeh
(pious). [[665]Proverbs, Book Of, [666]Book OF]
Jakim
(whom God sets up).
+ Head of the twelfth course of priests in the reign of David.
(1 Chronicles 24:12) (B.C. 1014.)
+ A Benjamite, one of the Bene-Shimhi. (1 Chronicles 8:19)
(B.C. 588.)
Jalon
(abiding), one of the sons of Ezra. (1 Chronicles 4:17)
Jambres
[[667]Jannes AND JAMBRES]
James
(the Greek form of Jacob, supplanter).
+ James the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles. He was
elder brother of the evangelist John. His mother's name was
Salome. We first hear of him in A.D. 27, (Mark 1:20) when at
the call of the Master he left all, and became, one and
forever, his disciple, in the spring of 28. (Matthew 10:2;
Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13; Acts 1:13) It would seem to have been
at the time of the appointment of the twelve apostles that
the name of Boanerges was given to the sons of Zebedee. The
"sons of thunder" had a burning and impetuous spirit, which
twice exhibits itself. (Mark 10:37; Luke 9:54) On the night
before the crucifixion James was present at the agony in the
garden. On the day of the ascension he is mentioned as
persevering with the rest of the apostles and disciples, in
prayer. (Acts 1:13) Shortly before the day of the Passover,
in the year 44, he was put to death by Herod Agrippa I. (Acts
12:1,2)
+ James the son of Alpheus, one of the twelve apostles.
(Matthew 10:3) Whether or not this James is to be identified
with James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, the brother of our
Lord, is one of the most difficult questions in the gospel
history. By comparing (Matthew 27:56) and Mark 15:40 with
John 19:25 We find that the Virgin Mary had a sister named,
like herself, Mary, who was the wife of Clopas or Alpheus
(varieties of the same name), and who had two sons, James the
Less and Joses. By referring to (Matthew 13:55) and Mark 6:3
We find that a James the Less and Joses, with two other
brethren called Jude and Simon, and at least three sisters,
were sisters with the Virgin Mary at Nazareth by referring to
(Luke 6:16) and Acts 1:13 We find that there were two
brethren named James and Jude among the apostles. It would
certainly be natural to think that we had here but one family
of four brothers and three or more sisters, the children of
Clopas and Mary, nephews and nieces of the Virgin Mary. There
are difficulties however, in the way of this conclusion into
which we cannot here enter; but in reply to the objection
that the four brethren in (Matthew 13:55) are described as
the brothers of Jesus, not as his cousins, it must be
recollected that adelphoi, which is here translated
"brethren," may also signify cousins.
James The Less
called the Less because younger or smaller in stature than
James the son of Zebedee. He was the son of Alpheus or Clopas
and brother of our Lord (see above); was called to the
apostolate, together with his younger brother Jude, in the
spring of the year 28. At some time in the forty days that
intervened between the resurrection and the ascension the Lord
appeared to him. (1 Corinthians 15:7) Ten years after we find
James on a level with Peter, and with him deciding on the
admission of St. Paul into fellowship with the Church at
Jerusalem; and from henceforth we always find him equal, or in
his own department superior, to the very chiefest apostles,
Peter, John and Paul. (Acts 9:27; Galatians 1:18,19) This
pre-eminence is evident throughout the after history of the
apostles, whether we read it in the Acts, in the epistles or in
ecclesiastical writers. (Acts 12:17; 15:13,19; 21:18; Galatians
2:9) According to tradition, James was thrown down from the
temple by the scribes and Pharisees; he was then stoned, and
his brains dashed out with a fuller's club.
James, The General Epistle Of
The author of this epistle was in all probability James the son
of Alphaeus, and our Lord's brother It was written from
Jerusalem, which St. James does not seem to have ever left. It
was probably written about A.D. 62, during the interval between
Paul's two imprisonments. Its main object is not to teach
doctrine, but to improve morality. St. James is the moral
teacher of the New Testament. He wrote for the Jewish
Christians, whether in Jerusalem or abroad, to warn them
against the sins to which as Jews they were most liable, and to
console and exhort them under the sufferings to which as
Christians they were most exposed.
Jamin
(right hand).
+ Second son of Simeon, (Genesis46:10; Exod 6:15; 1Chr 4:24
Founder of the family of the Jaminites. (Numbers 26:12) (B.C.
1706.)
+ A man of Judah, second son of Ram the Jerahmeelite. (1
Chronicles 2:27)
+ One of the Levites who expounded the law to the people.
(Nehemiah 8:7) (B.C. 410.)
Jamlech
(whom God makes king), one of the chief men of the tribe of
Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:34)
Jamnin
[[668]Jabneel]
Janna
(flourishing), son of Joseph, and father of Melchi, in the
genealogy of Christ. (Luke 3:24) In the Revised Version written
JANNAI.
Jannes
and Jam'bres, the names of two Egyptian magicians who opposed
Moses. Exod 7:9-13; 2Tim 3:8,9. (B.C. 1492.)
Janoah
(rest), a place apparently in the north of Galilee, or the
"land of Naphtali,"--one of those taken by Tiglath-pileser in
his first incursion into Palestine. (2 Kings 15:29) No trace of
it appears elsewhere.
Janohah
(rest), a place on the boundary of Ephraim (Joshua 16:6,7) east
of Neapolis. A little less than twelve miles from Nablus and
about southeast in direction, two miles from Akrabeh is the
village of Yanun, doubtless identical with the ancient Janohah.
Janum
(slumber), a town of Judah in the mountain district, apparently
not far from Hebron. (Joshua 15:53)
Japheth
(enlargement), one of the three sons of Noah. The descendants
of Japheth occupied the "isles of the Gentiles," (Genesis
10:5)--i.e. the coast lands of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe
and Asia Minor-- whence they spread northward over the whole
continent of Europe and a considerable portion of Asia.
Japhia
(splendid).
+ King of Lachish at the time of the conquest of Canaan by the
Israelites. (Joshua 10:3) (B.C. 1450.)
+ One of the sons of David born to him in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel
5:15; 1 Chronicles 3:7; 14:6) (B.C. 1046.)
(splended) The boundary of Zebulun ascended from Daberath to
Japhia, and thence passed to Gath-hepher. (Joshua 19:12) Yafa,
two miles south of Nazareth.,is not unlikely to be identical
with Japhin.
Japhleli
(the Japhletite). The boundary of the "Japhletite" is one of
the landmarks on the south boundary line of Ephraim. (Joshua
16:3)
Japhlet
(whom God delivers) a descendant of Asher through Beriah. (1
Chronicles 7:32,33)
Japho
(beauty). (John 19:46) The Hebrew form for the better-known
[669]Joppa, Or Japho. (2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7; Jonah 1:3)
In its modern garb it is Yafa .
Jarah
(honey), a descendant of Saul; son of Micah and great-grandson
of Mephibosheth. (1 Chronicles 9:42) comp. 1Chr 9:40
Jareb
(adversary) is to be explained either as the proper name of a
country or person, as a noun in apposition, or as a verb from a
root, rub, "to contend plead." All these senses are represented
in the Authorized Version and the marginal readings, (Hosea
5:13; 10:6) and the east preferable has been inserted in the
text. Jareb is most probably the name of some city of Assyria
or another name of the country itself.
Jared
(descent), one of the antediluvian patriarchs, and further of
Enoch (Genesis 5:15,16,18-20; Luke 3:37) In the lists of
Chronicles the name is given in the Authorized Version
[670]Jered.
Jaresiah
(whom Jehovah nourishes),a Benjamite, one of the Bene-Jehoram.
(1 Chronicles 8:17)
Jarha
the Egyptian servant of Sheshan, about the time of Eli, to whom
his master gave his daughter and heir in marriage; (1
Chronicles 2:34,35) (B.C. before 1491.)
Jarib
(adversary).
+ Named in the list of (1 Chronicles 4:24) only, as a son of
Simeon. Perhaps the same as [671]Jachin. Genesis46; Exod 6;
Numb 26.
+ One of the "chief men" who accompanied Ezra on his journey
from Babylon to Jerusalem. (Ezra 8:16) (B.C. 469.)
+ A priest of the house of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, who had
married a foreign wife, and was compelled by Ezra to put her
away. (Ezra 10:18) (B.C. 459.)
+ 1 Macc. 14:29. A contraction or corruption of the name
JOARIB. ch. 2:1.
Jarimoth
(heights). 1 Esd. 9:28. [[672]Jeremoth]
Jarmuth
(high).
+ A town in the low country of Judah. (Joshua 16:35) Its king,
Piram, was one of the five who conspired. to punish Gibeon
for having made alliance with Israel, (Joshua 10:3,5) and who
were routed at Beth-horon and put to death by Joshua at
Makkedah. ver. 33. Its site is probably the modern Yarmuk .
+ A city of Issachar allotted with its suburbs to the
Gershonite Levites. (Joshua 21:29)
Jaroah
(moon), a chief man of the tribe of Gad (1 Chronicles 5:14)
Jashen
(sleeping). Bene-Jashen--"sons of Jashen"-- are named in the
catalogue of the heroes of David's guard in (2 Samuel 23:32)
(B.C. 1046.)
Jasher
(upright),Book of ("the book of the upright"), alluded to in
two passages only of the Old Testament. (Joshua 10:13) and 2Sam
1:18 It was probably written in verse; and it has been
conjectured that it was a collection of ancient records of
honored men or noble deeds. It is wholly lost.
Jashobeam
(to whom the people turn), named first among the chief of the
mighty men of David. (1 Chronicles 11:11) (B.C. 1046.) He came
to David at Ziklag. His distinguishing exploit was that he slew
300 (or 800,) (2 Samuel 23:8) men at one time.
Jashub
(he turns).
+ The third son of Issachar, and founder of the family of the
Jashubites. (Numbers 26:24; 1 Chronicles 7:1) (B.C. 1706.)
+ One of the sons of Bani, who had to put away his foreign
wife. (Ezra 10:29) (B.C. 459.)
Jashubilehem
(turner back for food), a person or a place named among the
descendants of Shelah, the son of Judah by Bath-shua the
Canaanitess. (1 Chronicles 4:22)
Jasiel
(whom God made), the last named on the list of David's heroes
in (1 Chronicles 11:47)
Jason
(one who will heal), called the Thessalonian, entertained Paul
and Silas, and was in consequence attacked by the Jewish mob.
(Acts 17:5,6,7,9) (A.D. 48.) He is probably the same as the
Jason mentioned in (Romans 16:21) It is conjectured that Jason
and Secundus, (Acts 20:4) were the same.
Jasper
a precious stone frequently noticed in Scripture. It was the
last of the twelve inserted in the high priest's breastplate,
(Exodus 28:20; 39:13) and the first of the twelve used in the
foundations of the new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:19) The
characteristics of the stone as far as they are specified in
Scripture, (Revelation 21:11) are that it "was most precious,"
and "like crystal;" we may also infer from (Revelation 4:3)
that it was a stone of brilliant and transparent light. The
stone which we name "jasper" does not accord with this
description. There can be no doubt that the diamond would more
adequately answer to the description in the book of Revelation.
Jathniel
(whom God gives), a Korhite Levite, the fourth of the family of
Meshelemiah. (1 Chronicles 26:2) (B.C. 1014.)
Jattir
(pre-eminent), a town of Judah in the mountain districts,
(Joshua 15:48) one of the group containing Socho, Eshtemoa,
etc. See also (Joshua 21:14; 1 Samuel 30:27; 1 Chronicles 6:57)
By Robinson it is identified with 'Attir, six miles north of
Molada and ten miles south of Hebron.
Javan
(clay).
+ A son of Japheth. (Genesis 10:2,4) Javan was regarded as the
representative of the Greek race. The name was probably
introduced into Asia by the Phoenicians, to whom the Ionians
were naturally better known than any other of the Hellenic
races, on account of their commercial activity and the high
prosperity of their towns on the western coast of Asia Minor.
+ A town in the souther part of Arabia (Yemen), whither the
Phoenicians traded. (Ezekiel 27:19)
Javelin
[[673]Arms, Armor]
Jazer
(Jehovah helps). [[674]Jaazer, Or Jazer]
Jaziz
(whom God moves), a Hagarite who had charge of the flocks of
King David. (1 Chronicles 27:31) (B.C. 1046.)
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Table of Contents
Jearim
(forests), Mount, a place named in specifying the northern
boundary of Judah. (Joshua 15:10) The boundary ran from Mount
Seir to "the shoulder of Mount Jearim, which is Cesalon"--that
is, Cesalon was the landmark on the mountain. Kesla, seven
miles due west of Jerusalem, stands on a high point on the
north slope of a lofty ridge, which is probably Mount Jearim.
Jeaterai
(whom Jehovah leads), a Gershonite Levite, son of Zerah. (1
Chronicles 6:21)
Jeberechiah
(whom Jehovah blesses), father of a certain Zechariah, in the
reign of Ahaz, mentioned (Isaiah 8:2) (B.C. about 739.)
Jebus
(threshing-floor), one of the names of Jerusalem, the city of
the Jebusites, are called [675]Jebusi. (Joshua 15:8; 18:16,28;
Judges 19:10,11; 1 Chronicles 11:4,5) [[676]Jerusalem]
Jebusi
(from Jebus), the name employed for the city of [677]Jebus.
(Joshua 15:8; 18:16,28)
Jebusites
(descendants of Jebus), The, were descended from the third son
of Canaan. (Genesis 10:16; 1 Chronicles 1:14) The actual people
first appear in the invaluable report of the spies. (Numbers
13:29) When Jabin organized his rising against Joshua, the
Jebusites joined him. (Joshua 11:3) "Jebus, which is
Jerusalem," lost its king in the slaughter of Beth-horon,
(Joshua 10:1,5,26) comp. Josh 12:10 Was sacked and burned by
the men of Judah, (Judges 1:21) and its citadel finally scaled
and occupied by David. (2 Samuel 5:6) After this they emerge
from the darkness but once, in the person of Araunah the
Jebusite, "Araunah the king," who appears before us in true
kingly dignity in his well-known transaction with David. (2
Samuel 24:23; 1 Chronicles 21:24,25)
Jecamiah
(whom Jehovah gathers), one of seven who were introduced into
the royal line, on the failure of it in the person of
Jehoiachin. (1 Chronicles 3:18)
Jecholiah
(strong through Jehovah) wife of Amaziah king of Judah, and
mother of Azariah or Uzziah his successor. (2 Kings 15:2) (B.C.
824-807.)
Jecoliah
The same as [678]Jecholiah. (2 Chronicles 26:3)
Jeconiah
(whom Jehovah establishes). [See [679]Jehoiachin]
Jeconias
the Greek form of Jeconiah, an altered form of Jehoiachin.
[[680]Jehoiachin]
Jedaiah
+ A Simeonite, forefather of Ziza. (1 Chronicles 4:37)
+ Son of Harumaph; a man who did his part in the rebuilding of
the wall of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 3:10) (B.C. 446.)
(praise Jehovah).
+ 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)
+ A priest in the time of Jeshua the high priest. (Zechariah
6:10,14) (B.C. 536.)
Jediael
(known of God).
+ A chief patriarch of the tribe of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles
7:6,11) 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.
+ Second son of Meshelemiah, a Levite. (1 Chronicles 26:1,2)
+ Son of Shimri; one of the heroes of David's guard. (1
Chronicles 11:45) (B.C. 1046.)
+ One of the chiefs of the thousands of Manasseh who joined
David on his march to Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:20) comp. 1Sam
30:9,10 (B.C. 1053.)
Jedidah
(one beloved), queen of Amon and mother of the good king
Josiah. (2 Kings 22:1) (B.C. 648.)
Jedidiah
(beloved of Jehovah), Jedid-jah (darling of Jehovah), the name
bestowed, through Nathan the prophet, on David's son Solomon.
(2 Samuel 12:25)
Jeduthun
(praising), a Levite of the family of Merari, is probably the
same as Ethan. Comp. (1 Chronicles 15:17,19) with 1Chr
16:41,42; 25:1,3,6; 2Chr 35:15 His office was generally to
preside over the music of the temple service, Jeduthun's name
stands at the head of the 39th, 62d and 77th Psalms, indicating
probably that they were to be sung by his choir. (B.C. 1014.)
Jeezer
(father of help), (Numbers 26:30) the name of a descendant of
Manasseh and founder of the family of the Jeezerites. In
parallel lists the name is given as ABI-EZER.
Jegarsahadutha
(heap of testimony), the Aramaean name given by Laban the
Syrian to the heap of stones which he erected as a memorial of
the compact between Jacob and himself. (Genesis 31:47) Galeed,
a "witness heap," which is given as the Hebrew equivalent, does
not exactly represent Jegar-sahadutha.
Jehaleleel
(who praises God). Four men of the Bene-Jehaleleel are
introduced abruptly into the genealogies of Judah. (1
Chronicles 4:16)
Jehalelel
(who praises God), a Merarite Levite, father of Azariah. (2
Chronicles 29:12)
Jehdeiah
(whom Jehovah makes glad).
+ The representative of the Bene-Shubael, in the time of David.
(1 Chronicles 24:20)
+ A Meronothite who had charge of the she-asses of David. (1
Chronicles 27:30) (B.C. 1046.)
Jehezekel
(whom God makes strong), a priest to whom was given by David
the charge of the twentieth of the twenty-four courses in the
service of the house of Jehovah. (1 Chronicles 24:16) (B.C.
1014.)
Jehiah
(Jehovah lives), "doorkeeper for the ark" at the time of its
establishment in Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 15:24) (B.C. 1043.)
Jehiel
(treasured of God), a perfectly distinct name from the last.
+ A man described as father of Gibeon; a fore-father of King
Saul. (1 Chronicles 9:35)
+ One of the sons of Hotham the Aroerite; a member of David's
guard. (1 Chronicles 11:44) (B.C. 1046.)
(God lives).
+ One of the Levites appointed by David to assist in the
service of the house of God. (1 Chronicles 15:18,20; 16:5)
+ One of the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, put to death by
his brother Jehoram. (2 Chronicles 21:2,4) (B.C. 887.)
+ One of the rulers of the house of God at the time of the
reforms of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 35:8) (B.C. 623.)
+ A Gershonite Levite, (1 Chronicles 23:8) who had charge of
the treasures. ch. (1 Chronicles 28:8)
+ 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.
+ A Levite who took part in the restorations of King Hezekiah.
(2 Chronicles 29:14) (B.C. 726.)
+ Another Levite at the same period. (2 Chronicles 31:13)
+ Father of Obadiah, of the Bene-Joab. (Ezra 8:9) (B.C. before
459.)
+ One of the Bene-Elam, father of Shechaniah. (Ezra 10:2)
+ A member of the same family, who himself had to part with his
wife. (Ezra 10:26)
+ A priest, one of the Bene-Harim, who also had to put away his
foreign wife. (Ezra 10:21) (B.C. 459.)
Jehieli
(a Jehielite), according to the Authorized Version a Gershonite
Levite of the family of Laadan. (1 Chronicles 26:21,22)
Jehizkiah
(Jehovah strengthens), son of Shallum, one of the heads of the
tribe of Ephraim in the time of Ahaz. (2 Chronicles 28:12)
comp. 2Chr 28:8,13,15 (B.C. 738.)
Jehoadah
(whom Jehovah adorns), one of the descendants of Saul. (1
Chronicles 8:36)
Jehoaddan
(Whom Jehovah adorns), queen to King Josiah, and mother of
Amaziah of Judah. (2 Kings 14:2; 2 Chronicles 25:1) (B.C.
862-837.)
Jehoahaz
(whom the Lord sustains).
+ 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 2Kin 13:25 Or Jeroboam II., (2 Kings
14:24,25)
+ 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) and 2Kin
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.
+ The name given, (2 Chronicles 21:17) to Ahaziah, the youngest
son of Jehoram king of Judah.
Jehoash
(given by the Lord), the uncontracted form of Joash.
+ The eighth king of Judah; son of Ahaziah. (2 Kings 11:21;
12:1,2,4,6,7,18; 14:13) [[681]Joash, 1]
+ The twelfth king of Israel; son of Jehoahaz. (2 Kings
13:10,25; 14:8,9,11,13,15,16,17) [[682]Joash, 2]
Jehohanan
(whom Jehovah gave), a name of which John is the contraction.
+ A Korhite Levite, one of the doorkeepers to the tabernacle.
(1 Chronicles 26:3) comp. 1Chr 25:1 (B.C. 1014.)
+ One of the principal men of Judah under King Jehoshaphat. (2
Chronicles 17:15) comp. 2Chr 17:13 and 2Chr 17:19 (B.C. 910.)
+ 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.)
+ One of the Bene-Bebai who was forced to put away his foreign
wife. (Ezra 10:28) (B.C. 459.)
+ A priest, (Nehemiah 12:13) during the high priesthood of
Joiakim. ver. (Nehemiah 12:12) (B.C. 406.)
+ A priest who took part in the dedication of the wall of
Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 12:42) (B.C. 446.)
Jehoiachin
(whom Jehovah has appointed), son of Jehoiakim, and for three
months and ten days king of Judah. (B.C. 597.) At his accession
Jerusalem was quite defenseless, and unable to offer any
resistance to the army which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it.
(2 Kings 24:10,11) In a very short time Jehoiachin surrendered
at discretion; and he, and the queen-mother, and all his
servants, captains and officers, came out and gave themselves
up to Nebuchadnezzar, who carried them, with the harem and the
eunuchs, to Babylon. (Jeremiah 29:2; Ezekiel 17:12; 19:9) There
he remained a prisoner, actually in prison and wearing prison
garments, for thirty-six years, viz., till the death of
Nebuchadnezzar, when Evilmerodach, succeeding to the throne of
Babylon, brought him out of prison, and made him sit at this
own table. The time of his death is uncertain.
Jehoiada
(Jehovah knows).
+ Father of Benaiah, David's well-known warrior. (2 Samuel
8:18) 1Kin 1 and 2 passim ; (1 Chronicles 18:17) etc. (B.C.
before 1046.)
+ Leader of the Aaronites, i.e. the priests; who joined David
at Hebron. (1 Chronicles 12:27) (B.C. 1053-46.)
+ According to (1 Chronicles 27:34) son of Benaiah; but in all
probability Benaiah the sons of Jehoiada is meant. Probably
an error in copying. (1 Chronicles 18:17; 2 Samuel 8:18)
+ 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 to 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. [[683]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.
+ Second priest, or sagan, to Seraiah the high priest.
(Jeremiah 29:25-29; 2 Kings 25:18)
+ Son of Paseach, who assisted to repair the old gate of
Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 3:6)
Jehoiakim
(whom Jehovah sets up), called Eliakim, son of Josiah and king
of Judah. After deposing Jehoahaz, Pharaoh-necho set Eliakim,
his elder brother, upon the throne, and changed his name to
Jehoiakim, B.C. 608-597. For four years Jehoiakim was subject
toi Egypt, when Nebuchadnezzar, after a short siege, entered
Jerusalem, took the king prisoner, bound him in fetters to
carry him to Babylon, and took also some of the precious
vessels of the temple and carried them to the land of Shinar.
Jehoiakim became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar after his invasion
of Judah, and continued so for three years, but at the end of
that time broke his oath of allegiance and rebelled against
him. (2 Kings 24:1) Nebuchadnezzar sent against him numerous
bands of Chaldeans, with Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites, (2
Kings 24:7) and who cruelly harassed the whole country. Either
in an engagement with some of these forces or else by the hand
of his own oppressed subjects Jehoiakim came to a violent end
in the eleventh year of his reign. His body was cast out
ignominiously on the ground, and then was dragged away and
buried "with the burial of an ass," without pomp or
lamentation, "beyond the gates of Jerusalem." (Jeremiah
22:18,19; 36:30) All the accounts we have of Jehoiakim concur
in ascribing to him a vicious and irreligious character. (2
Kings 23:37; 24:9; 2 Chronicles 36:5) The reign of Jehoiakim
extends from B.C. 609 to B.C. 598, or, as some reckon, 599.
Jehoiarib
(whom Jehovah defends), head of the first of the twenty-four
courses of priests. (1 Chronicles 24:7)
Jehonadab
(whom Jehovah impels) and Jon'adab, the son of Rechab, founder
of the Rechabites, an Arab chief. When Jehu was advancing,
after the slaughter of Betheked, on the city of Samaria, he was
suddenly met by Jehonadab, who joined with him in "slaying all
that remained unto Ahab." (2 Kings 10:15-17)
Jehonathan
(whom Jehovah gave).
+ Son of Uzziah; superintendent of certain of King David's
storehouses. (1 Chronicles 27:25) (B.C. 1014).
+ 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.)
+ A priest, (Nehemiah 12:18) the representative of the family
of Shemaiah, ver. 6, when Joiakim was high priest. (B.C.
after 536.)
Jehoram
(whom Jehovah has exalted).
+ 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, thorough 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, the 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 3:1) ... 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 the city delivered is narrated (2 Kings 7:1) ... and
Jehoram appears to have returned to friendly feeling toward
Elisha. (2 Kings 8:4) It was soon after these vents 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; 9:14,15) jehu and the army under his
command revolted from their allegiance to Jehoram, (2 Kings
9:1) ... and hastily marching to Jezreel, surprised Jehoram,
wounded and defenseless 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.
+ 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 21:19,20)
Jehoshabeath
(whose oath is Jehovah). (2 Chronicles 22:11) [See
[684]Jehosheba]
Jehoshaphat
(whom Jehovah judges.)
+ 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; 2 Chronicles 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 3:1) ... In his declining years the
administration of affairs was placed, probably B.C. 891, in
the hands of his son Jehoram.
+ Son of Ahilud, who filled the office of recorder of annalist
in the courts of David, (2 Samuel 8:16) etc., and Solomon. (1
Kings 4:3)
+ One of the priests in David's time. (1 Chronicles 15:24)
+ Son of Paruah; one of the twelve purveyors of King Solomon.
(1 Kings 4:17)
+ Son of Nimshi and father of King Jehu. (2 Kings 9:2,14)
Jehoshaphat, Valley Of
(valley of the judgment of Jehovah), a valley mentioned by Joel
only, as the spot in which, after the return of Judah and
Jerusalem from captivity, Jehovah would gather all the heathen,
(Joel 3:2) and would there sit to judge them for their misdeeds
to Israel. ch. (Joel 3:12) The scene of "Jehovah's judgment" as
been localized, and the name has come down to us attached to
that deep ravine which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of
Olives, through which at one time the Kedron forced its stream.
At what period the name "valley of Jehoshaphat" was first
applied to this spot is unknown. It is not mentioned in the
Bible or Josephus, but is first encountered in the middle of
the fourth century. Both Moslems and Jews believe that the last
judgment is to take place there. The steep sides of the ravine,
wherever a level strip affords the opportunity, are crowded--in
places almost paved-- by the sepulchres of the Moslems, or the
simpler slabs of the Jewish tombs, alike awaiting the assembly
of the last judgment. The name is generally confined by
travellers to the upper part of the glen. (Others suppose that
the name is only an imaginary one, "the valley of the judgment
of Jehovah" referring to some great victories of God's people
in which judgment was executed upon the heathen; or perhaps, as
Keil, etc., to the end of the world.--ED.)
Jehosheba
(Jehovah's oath), daughter of Joram king of Israel, and wife of
jehoiada the high priest. (2 Kings 11:2) Her name in the
Chronicles is given [685]Jehoshabeath. (B.C. 882.) As she is
called, (2 Kings 11:2) "the daughter of Joram, sister of
Ahaziah," it has been conjectured that she was the daughter,
not of Athaliah, but of Joram by another wife. She is the only
recorded instance of the marriage of a princess of the royal
house with a high priest.
Jehoshua
(whose help is Jehovah; Help of Jehovah or savoiur). In this
form is given the name of Joshua in (Numbers 13:16) Once more
only the name appears,--as Jehosh'uah.
Jehoshuah
in the genealogy of Ephraim. (1 Chronicles 7:27)
Jehovah
(I am; the eternal living one). The Scripture appellation of
the supreme Being, usually interpreted as signifying
self-derived and permanent existence. The Jews scrupulously
avoided every mention of this name of God, substituting in its
stead one or other of the words with whose proper vowel-points
it may happen to be written. This custom, which had its origin
in reverence, was founded upon an erroneous rendering of
(Leviticus 24:16) from which it was inferred that the mere
utterance of the name constituted a capital offence. According
to Jewish tradition, it was pronounced but once a year, by the
high priest on the day of atonement when he entered the holy of
holies; but on this point there is some doubt. When Moses
received his commission to be the deliverer of Israel, the
Almighty, who appeared in the burning bush, communicated to him
the name which he should give as the credentials of his
mission: "And God said unto Moses, "I AM THAT I AM (ehyea asher
ehyeh); and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." That this passage is
intended to indicate the etymology of Jehovah, as understood by
the Hebrews, no one has ventured to doubt. While Elohim
exhibits God displayed in his power as the creator and governor
of the physical universe, the name Jehovah designates his
nature as he stands in relation to man, as the only almighty,
true, personal, holy Being, a spirit and "the father of
spirits," (Numbers 16:22) comp. John 4:24 Who revealed himself
to his people, made a covenant with them, and became their
lawgiver, and to whom all honor and worship are due.
Jehovahjireh
(Jehovah will see or provide), the name given by Abraham to the
place on which he had been commanded to offer Isaac, to
commemorate the interposition of the angel of Jehovah, who
appeared to prevent the sacrifice, (Genesis 22:14) and provided
another victim.
Jehovahnissi
(Jehovah my banner), the name given by Moses to the altar which
he built in commemoration of the discomfiture of the
Amalekites. (Exodus 17:15)
Jehovahshalom
(Jehovah (is) peace), or, with an ellipsis, "Jehovah the God of
peace." The altar erected by Gideon in Orphrah was so called in
memory of the salutation addressed to him by the angel of
Jehovah, "Peace be unto thee." (Judges 6:24)
Jehozabad
(whom Jehovah gave).
+ A Korhite Levite, second son of Obed-edom, and one of the
porters of the south gate of the temple and of the storehouse
there in the time of David. (1 Chronicles 26:4,15) compared
with Nehe 12:25 (B.C. 1014.)
+ A Benjamite, captain of 180,000 armed men, in the days of
King Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:18) (B.C. 910.)
+ Son of Shomer or Shimrith, a Moabitish woman, who with
another conspired against King Joash and slew him in his bed.
(2 Kings 2:21; 2 Chronicles 24:26) (B.C. 837.)
Jehozadak
(Jehovah justifies), usually called Jozadak or Josedech. He was
the son of the high priest Seraiah. (1 Chronicles 6:14,15) When
his father was slain at Riblah by order of Nebuchadnezzar, (2
Kings 25:18,21) Jehozadak was led away captive to Babylon. (1
Chronicles 6:15) (B.C. 588.) He himself never attained the high
priesthood, but he was the father of Jeshua the high priest,
and of all his successors till the pontificate of Alcimus.
(Ezra 3:2; Nehemiah 12:26), etc.
Jehu
(the living).
+ 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. 884-856. 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 Eastward, 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
Bailouts 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 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.
+ 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 16:1,7) and then, after an
interval of thirty years, reappeared to denounce Jehoshaphat
for his alliance with Ahab. (2 Chronicles 19:2,3) He survived
Jehoshaphat and wrote his life. ch. (2 Chronicles 20:34)
+ A man of Judah of the house of Hezron. (1 Chronicles 2:38)
+ A Simeonite, son of Josibiah. (1 Chronicles 4:35)
+ Jehu the Antothite was one of the chief of the heroes of
Benjamin who joined David at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:3)
Jehubbah
(protected), a man of Asher, son of Shamer or Shomer, of the
house of Beriah. (1 Chronicles 7:34) (B.C. perhaps about 1450.)
Jehucal
(able), son of Shelemiah; one of two persons sent by King
Zedekiah to Jeremiah to entreat his prayers and advice.
(Jeremiah 37:3) (B.C. 589.)
Jehud
(praised), one of the towns of the tribe of Dan, (Joshua 19:45)
named between Baalath and Bene-berak.
Jehudi
(a Jew), son of Nethaniah, a man employed by the princes of
Jehoiakim's court to fetch Baruch to read Jeremiah's
denunciation, (Jeremiah 36:14) and then by the king to fetch
the volume itself and read it to him. vs. (Jeremiah 36:21,23)
(B.C. 605.)
Jehudijah
(the Jewess). There is really no such name in the Hebrew Bible
as that which our Authorized Version exhibits at (1 Chronicles
4:18) If it is a proper name at all, it is Ha-jehudijah, like
Hammelech, Hak-koz, etc.; and it seems to be rather an
appellative, "the Jewess."
Jehush
(to whom God hastens), son of eshek, a remote descendant of
Saul. (1 Chronicles 8:39)
Jeiel
(treasured of God).
+ A Reubenite of the house of Joel. (1 Chronicles 5:7)
+ 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.)
+ A Gershonite Levite, one of the Bene-Asaph, forefather of
Jahaziel in the time of King Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles
20:14) (B.C. 910.)
+ The scribe who kept the account of the numbers of King
Uzziah's irregular predatory warriors. (2 Chronicles 26:11)
(B.C. 803.)
+ A Gershonite Levite, one of the Bene-Elizaphan. (2 Chronicles
29:13)
+ One of the chiefs of the Levites in the time of Josiah. (2
Chronicles 35:9) (B.C. 623.)
+ One of the Bene-Adonikam who formed part of the caravan of
Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem. (Ezra 8:13) (B.C. 459.)
+ A layman of the Bene-Nebo, who had taken a foreign wife and
had to relinquish her. (Ezra 10:43) (B.C. 459.)
Jekabzeel
(what God gathers), a fuller form of the name of [686]Kabzeel,
the most remote city of Judah on the southern frontier.
(Nehemiah 11:25)
Jekamiah
(whom Jehovah gathers), son of Shallum, in the line of Ahlai.
(1 Chronicles 2:41) (B.C. about 588.)
Jekuthiel
a man recorded in the genealogies of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:18)
Jemima
(dove), the eldest of the three daughters born to Job after the
restoration of his prosperity. (Job 42:14)
Jemuel
(day of God), the eldest son of Simeon. (Genesis 46:10; Exodus
6:15) (B.C. 1706.)
Jephthae
(whom God sets free), (Hebrews 11:32) the Greek form of the
name [687]Jephthah.
Jephthah
(whom God sets free), A judge about B.C. 1143-1137. His history
is contained in (Judges 11:1; Judges 12:8) He was a Gileadite,
the son of Gilead and a concubine. Driven by the legitimate
sons from his father's inheritance, he went to Tob and became
the head of a company of freebooters in a debatable land
probably belonging to Ammon. (2 Samuel 10:6) (This land was
east of Jordan and southeast of Gilead, and bordered on the
desert of Arabia.--ED.) His fame as a bold and successful
captain was carried back to his native Gilead; and when the
time was ripe for throwing off the yoke of Ammon, Jephthah
consented to become the captain of the Gileadite bands, on the
condition, solemnly ratified before the Lord in Mizpeh, that
int he event of his success against Ammon he should still
remain as their acknowledged head. Vowing his vow unto God,
(Judges 11:31) that he would offer up as a burn offering
whatsoever should come out to meet him if successful, he went
forth to battle. The Ammonites were routed with great
slaughter; but as the conqueror returned to Mizpeh there came
out to meet him his daughter, his only child, with timbrels and
dancing. The father is heart-stricken; but the maiden asks only
for a respite of two months in which to prepare for death. When
that time was ended she returned to her father, who "did with
her according to his vow." The tribe of Ephraim challenged
Jephthah's right to go to war as he had done, without their
concurrence, against Ammon. He first defeated them, then
intercepted the fugitives at the fords of Jordan, and there put
forty-two thousand men to the sword. He judged Israel six
years, and died. It is generally conjectured that his
jurisdiction was limited to the transjordanic region. That the
daughter of Jephthah was really offered up to God in sacrifice
is a conclusion which it seems impossible to avoid. (But there
is no word of approval, as if such a sacrifice was acceptable
to God. Josephus well says that "the sacrifice was neither
sanctioned by the Mosaic ritual nor acceptable to God." The vow
and the fulfillment were the mistaken conceptions of a rude
chieftain, not acts pleasing to God.--ED.)
Jephunneh
(for whom a way is prepared).
+ Father of Caleb the spy, appears to have belonged to an
Edomitish tribe called Kenezites, from Kenaz their founder.
See (Numbers 13:6) etc.; Numb 32:12 etc.; Josh 14:14 etc.;
1Chr 4:15 (B.C. 1530.)
+ A descendant of Asher, eldest of the three sons of Jether. (1
Chronicles 7:38) (B.C. 1017.)
Jerah
(the moon), the fourth in order of the sons of Joktan, (Genesis
10:26; 1 Chronicles 1:20) and the progenitor of a tribe of
southern Arabia.
Jerahmeel
(mercy of God).
+ First-born son of hezron, the son of Pharez, the son of
Judah, (1 Chronicles 2:9,25-27,33,42) and founder of the
family of Jerahmeelites. (1 Samuel 27:10) (B.C. before 1491.)
+ A Merarite Levite, the representative of the family of Kish,
the son of Mahli. (1 Chronicles 24:29) comp. 1Chr 23:21 (B.C.
1014.)
+ Son of Hammelech, who was employed by Jehoiakim to make
Jeremiah and baruch prisoners, after the had burnt the roll
of Jeremiah's prophecy. (Jeremiah 36:26) (B.C. 505.)
Jerahmeelites
(descendants of Jerahmeel), The, the tribe descended from the
first of the foregoing persons. (1 Samuel 27:10) They dwelt in
the south of Judah.
Jered
(descent).
+ Son of Mahalaleel and father of Enoch. (1 Chronicles 1:2)
+ One of the descendants of Judah signalized as the
"father"--i.e. the founder-- "of Gedor." (1 Chronicles 4:18)
Jeremai
(dwelling in heights), a layman, one of the Bene-Hashum, who
was compelled by Ezra to put away his foreign wife. (Ezra
10:33) (B.C. 459.)
Jeremiah
Seven other persons bearing the same name as the prophet are
mentioned in the Old Testament:--
+ 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 12:4,10,13)
(B.C. 1061-53.)
+ One of the "mighty men of valor" of the transjordanic
half-tribe of Manasseh. (1 Chronicles 5:24) (B.C. 782.)
+ 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; 12:1,12) (B.C. 446-410).
+ The father of Jazaniah the Rechabite. (Jeremiah 35:3) (B.C.
before 606.)
(whom Jehovah has appointed) was "the son of Hilkiah of the
priests that were in Anathoth." (Jeremiah 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 they only way of safety lay in
accepting the supremacy of the Chaldeans. He was accordingly
accused of treachery, and men claiming to be prophets had the
"word of Jehovah" to set against his. (Jeremiah 14:13; 23:7)
As the danger from the Chaldeans became more threatening, the
persecution against Jeremiah grew hotter. ch. 18. The people
sought his life; then follows the scene in (Jeremiah
19:10-13) he was set, however, "as a fenced brazen wall," ch.
(Jeremiah 15:20) and went on with his work, reproving king
and nobles and people. The danger which Jeremiah had so long
foretold at last came near. First Jehoiakim, and afterwards
his successor Jehoiachin, were carried into exile, 2Kin 24;
but Zedekiah, B.C. 597-586, who was appointed by
Nebuchadnezzar, was more friendly to the prophet, though
powerless to help him. The approach of an Egyptian army, and
the consequent departure of the Chaldeans, made the position
of Jeremiah full of danger, and he sought to effect his
escape from the city; but he was seized and finally thrown
into a prison-pit to die, but was rescued. On the return of
the Chaldean army he showed his faith in God's promises, and
sought to encourage the people by purchasing the field at
Anathoth which his kinsman Hanameel wished to get rid of.
(Jeremiah 32:6-9) At last the blow came. The city was taken,
the temple burnt. The king and his princes shared the fate of
Jehoiachin. The prophet gave utterance to his sorrow in the
Lamentations. After the capture of Jerusalem, B.C. 586, by
the Chaldeans, we find Jeremiah receiving better treatment;
but after the death of Gedaliah, the people, disregarding his
warnings, took refuge in Egypt, carrying the prophet with
them. In captivity his words were sharper and stronger than
ever. He did not shrink, even there, from speaking of the
Chaldean king once more as "the servant of Jehovah."
(Jeremiah 43:10) After this all is uncertain, but he probably
died in Egypt.
+ Character.--Canon Cook says of Jeremiah, "His character is
most interesting. We find him sensitive to a most painful
degree, timid, shy, hopeless, desponding, constantly
complaining and dissatisfied with the course of events, but
never flinching from duty...Timid in resolve, he was
unflinching in execution; as fearless when he had to face the
whole world as he was dispirited and prone to murmuring when
alone with God. Judged by his own estimate of himself, he was
feeble, and his mission a failure; really, in the hour of
action and when duty called him, he was in very truth 'a
defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against
the whole land.' ch. (Jeremiah 1:18) he was a noble example
of the triumph of the moral over the physical nature." (It is
not strange that he was desponding when we consider his
circumstances. He saw the nation going straight to
irremediable ruin, and turning a deaf ear to all warnings. "A
reign of terror had commenced (in the preceding reign),
during which not only the prophets but all who were
distinguished for religion and virtue were cruelly murdered."
"The nation tried to extirpate the religion of Jehovah;"
"Idolatry was openly established," "and such was the
universal dishonesty that no man trusted another, and society
was utterly disorganized." How could one who saw the nation
about to reap the awful harvest they had been sowing, and yet
had a vision of what they might have been and might yet be,
help indulging in "Lamentations"?--ED.)
Jeremiah, Book Of
"There can be little doubt that the book of Jeremiah grew out
of the roll which Baruch wrote down at the prophet's mouth in
the fourth year of Jehoiakim. ch. (Jeremiah 36:2) Apparently
the prophets kept written records of their predictions, and
collected into larger volumes such of them as were intended for
permanent use."--Canon Cook. In the present order we have two
great divisions:-- I. Chs. 1-45. Prophecies delivered at
various times, directed mainly to Judah, or connected with
Jeremiah's personal history. II. Chs. 46-51. Prophecies
connected with other nations. Looking more closely into each of
these divisions, we have the following sections:
+ Chs. 1-21, including prophecies from the thirteenth year of
Josiah to the fourth of Jehoiakim; ch. 21; belongs to the
later period.
+ Chs. 22-25. Shorter prophecies, delivered at different times,
against the kings of Judah and the false prophets. Ch.
(Jeremiah 25:13,14) evidently marks the conclusion of a
series of prophecies; and that which follows, ch. (Jeremiah
25:15-38) the germ of the fuller predictions in chs. 46-49,
has been placed here as a kind of completion to the prophecy
of the seventy years and the subsequent fall of Babylon.
+ Chs. 26-28. The two great prophecies of the fall of
Jerusalem, and the history connected with them.
+ Chs. 29-31. The message of comfort for the exiles in Babylon.
+ Chs. 32-44. The history of the last two years before the
capture of Jerusalem, and of Jeremiah's work int hem and in
the period that followed.
+ Chs. 46-51. The prophecies against foreign nations, ending
with the great prediction against Babylon.
+ The supplementary narrative of ch. 52.
Jeremias
the Greek form of the name of Jeremiah the prophet. (Matthew
16:14)
Jeremoth
(heights).
+ A Benjamite chief, a son of the house of Beriah of Elpaal. (1
Chronicles 8:14) comp. 1Chr 8:12-18 (B.C. about 588.)
+ A merarite levite, son of Mushi. (1 Chronicles 23:23)
+ Son of Heman; head of the thirteenth course of musicians in
the divine service. (1 Chronicles 25:22) (B.C. 1014.)
+ One of the sons of Elam, and,
+ One of the sons of Zattu, who had taken strange wives. (Ezra
10:26,27) (B.C. 459.)
+ The name which appears in the same list as "and RAMOTH," ver.
29.
Jeremy
the prophet Jeremiah. (Matthew 2:17; 27:9)
Jeriah
a Kohathite Levite, chief of the great house of Hebron when
David organized the service. (1 Chronicles 23:19; 24:23) B.C.
1014. The same man is mentioned again as [688]Jerijah. (1
Chronicles 26:31)
Jeribai
(whom Jehovah defends), one of the Bene-Elnaan, named among the
heroes of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 11:46)
Jericho
(place of fragrance), a city of high antiquity, situated in a
plain traversed by the Jordan, and exactly over against where
that river was crossed by the Israelites under Joshua. (Joshua
3:16) It was five miles west of the Jordan and seven miles
northwest of the Dead Sea. It had a king. Its walls were so
considerable that houses were built upon them. ch. (Joshua
2:15) The spoil that was found in it betokened its affluence.
Jericho is first mentioned as the city to which the two spies
were sent by Joshua from Shittim. (Joshua 2:1-21) It was
bestowed by him upon the tribe of Benjamin, ch. (Joshua 18:21)
and from this time a long interval elapses before Jericho
appears again upon the scene. Its second foundation under Hiel
the Bethelite is recorded in (1 Kings 16:34) Once rebuilt,
Jericho rose again slowly into consequence. In its immediate
vicinity the sons of the prophets sought retirement from the
world; Elisha "healed the spring of the waters;" and over
against it, beyond Jordan, Elijah "went up by a whirlwind into
heaven." (2 Kings 2:1-22) In its plains Zedekiah fell into the
hands of the Chaldeans. (2 Kings 25:5; Jeremiah 39:5) In the
return under Zerubbabel the "children of Jericho," 345 in
number, are comprised. (Ezra 2:34; Nehemiah 7:36) Under Herod
the Great it again became an important place. He fortified it
and built a number of new palaces, which he named after his
friends. If he did not make Jericho his habitual residence, he
at last retired thither to die, and it was in the amphitheater
of Jericho that the news of his death was announced to the
assembled soldiers and people by Salome. Soon afterward the
palace was burnt and the town plundered by one Simon, slave to
Herod; but Archelaus rebuilt the former sumptuously, and
founded a new town on the plain, that bore his own name; and,
most important of all, diverted water from a village called
Neaera to irrigate the plain which he had planted with palms.
Thus Jericho was once more "a city of palms" when our Lord
visited it. Here he restored sight to the blind. (Matthew
20:30; Mark 10:46; Luke 18:35) Here the descendant of Rahab did
not disdain the hospitality of Zaccaeus the publican. Finally,
between Jerusalem and Jericho was laid the scene of his story
of the good Samaritan. The city was destroyed by Vespasian. The
site of ancient (the first) Jericho is placed by Dr. Robinson
in the immediate neighborhood of the fountain of Elisha; and
that of the second (the city of the New Testament and of
Josephus) at the opening of the Wady Kelt (Cherith), half an
hour from the fountain. (The village identified with jericho
lies a mile and a half from the ancient site, and is called
Riha . It contains probably 200 inhabitants, indolent and
licentious and about 40 houses. Dr. Olin says it is the
"meanest and foulest village of Palestine;" yet the soil of the
plain is of unsurpassed fertility.--ED.)
Jeriel
(people of God), a man of Issachar, one of the six heads of the
house of Tola. (1 Chronicles 7:2)
Jerijah
(people of Jehovah). [See [689]Jeriah]
Jerimoth
(heights).
+ Son or descendant of Bela. (1 Chronicles 7:7) He is perhaps
the same as
+ who joined David at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:5) (B.C. 1055.)
+ A son of Beecher, (1 Chronicles 7:8) and head of a Benjamite
house.
+ Son of Mushi, the son of Merari. (1 Chronicles 24:30)
+ Son of Heman, head of fifteenth ward of musicians. (1
Chronicles 25:4,22) (B.C. 1014.)
+ Son of Zariel, ruler of the tribe of Naphtali in the reign of
David. (1 Chronicles 27:19)
+ 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.)
+ A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 31:13) (B.C.
726.)
Jerioth
(curtains), one of the elder Caleb's wives. (1 Chronicles 2:18)
Jeroboam
(whose people are many).
+ 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 [[690]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 22d
year of his reign, (2 Chronicles 13:20) and was buried in his
ancestral sepulchre. (1 Kings 14:20)
+ 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
(cherished).
+ Father of Elkanah, the father of Samuel, of the house of
Kohath. (1 Samuel 1:1; 1 Chronicles 6:27,34) (B.C. before
1142.)
+ A Benjamite, the founder of a family of Bene-Jeroham. (1
Chronicles 8:27) Probably the same as
+ Father (or progenitor) of Ibneiah. (1 Chronicles 9:8) comp.
1Chr 9:3 and 1Chr 9:9. (B.C. before 588.)
+ 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.)
+ Jeroham of Gedor, some of whose sons joined David at Ziglag.
(1 Chronicles 12:7) (B.C. before 1055.)
+ A Danite, whose son or descendant Azareel was head of his
tribe in the time of David. (1 Chronicles 27:22)
+ Father of Azariah, one of the "captains of hundreds" in the
time of Athaliah. (2 Chronicles 23:1) (B.C. before 876.)
Jerubbaal, Or Jerubbaal
(contender with Baal), the surname of Gideon, which he acquired
in consequence of destroying the altar of Baal, when his father
defended him from the vengeance of the Abiezrites. (Judges
6:32)
Jerubbesheth
(contender with the shame), a name of Gideon. (2 Samuel 11:21)
Jeruel
(founded by God), The wilderness of, the place in which
Jehoshaphat was informed by Jahaziel the Levite that he should
encounter the hordes of Ammon, Moab and the Mehunims. (2
Chronicles 20:16) The name has not been met with.
Jerusalem
(the habitation of peace), Jerusalem stands in latitude 31
degrees 46' 35" north and longitude 35 degrees 18' 30" east of
Greenwich. It is 32 miles distant from the sea and 18 from the
Jordan, 20 from Hebron and 36 from Samaria. "In several
respects," says Dean Stanley, "its situation is singular among
the cities of Palestine. Its elevation is remarkable;
occasioned not from its being on the summit of one of the
numerous hills of Judea, like most of the towns and villages,
but because it is on the edge of one of the highest table-lands
of the country. Hebron indeed is higher still by some hundred
feet, and from the south, accordingly (even from Bethlehem),
the approach to Jerusalem is by a slight descent. But from any
other side the ascent is perpetual; and to the traveller
approaching the city from the east or west it must always have
presented the appearance beyond any other capital of the then
known world--we may say beyond any important city that has ever
existed on the earth--of a mountain city; breathing, as
compared with the sultry plains of Jordan, a mountain air;
enthroned, as compared with jericho or Damascus, Gaza or Tyre,
on a mountain fastness."--S. & P. 170,
+ Jerusalem, if not actually in the centre of Palestine, was
yet virtually so. "It was on the ridge, the broadest and most
strongly-marked ridge of the backbone of the complicated
hills which extend through the whole country from the plain
of Esdraelon to the desert." Roads.--There appear to have
been but two main approaches to the city:--
+ 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.
+ 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 the table-land which is cut off from the
country round it on its west, south and east sides by ravines
more than usually deep and precipitous. These ravines leave
the level of the table-land, the one on the west and the
other on the northeast of the city, and fall rapidly until
they form a junction below its southeast corner. The eastern
one--the valley of the Kedron, commonly called the valley of
Jehoshaphat--runs nearly straight from north by south. But
the western one--the valley of Hinnom-- runs south for a
time, and then takes a sudden bend to the east until it meets
the valley of Jehoshaphat, after which the two rush off as
one to the Dead Sea. How sudden is their descent may be
gathered from the fact that the level at the point of
junction -about a mile and a quarter from the starting-point
of each-- is more than 600 feet below that of the upper
plateau from which they began their descent. So steep is the
fall of the ravines, so trench-like their character, and so
close do they keep to the promontory at whose feet they run,
as to leave on the beholder almost the impression of the
ditch at the foot of a fortress rather than of valleys formed
by nature. The promontory thus encircled is itself divided by
a longitudinal ravine running up it from south to north,
called the valley of the Tyropoeon, rising gradually from the
south, like the external ones, till at last it arrives at the
level of the upper plateau, dividing the central mass into
two unequal portions. Of these two, that on the west is the
higher and more massive, on which the city of Jerusalem now
stands, and in fact always stood. The hill on the east is
considerably lower and smaller, so that to a spectator from
the south the city appears to slope sharply toward the east.
Here was the temple, and here stands now the great Mohammedan
sanctuary with its mosques and domes. The name of [691]Mount,
[692]Mount, Mountain [693]Zion has been applied to the
western hill from the time of Constantine to the present day.
The eastern hill, called [694]Mount, [695]Mount, Mountain
[696]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
[697]Ophel, which gradually came to a point at the junction
of the valleys Tyropoeon and Jehoshaphat; and the norther
BEZETHA, "the new city," first noticed by Josephus, which was
separated from Moriah by an artificial ditch, and overlooked
the valley of Kedron on the east; this hill was enclosed
within the walls of Herod Agrippa. Lastly, ACRA lay westward
of Moriah and northward of Zion, and formed the "lower city"
in the time of Josephus. Walls.--These are described by
Josephus. The first or old wall was built by David and
Solomon, and enclosed Zion and part of Mount Moriah. (The
second wall enclosed a portion of the city called Acra or
Millo, on the north of the city, from the tower of Mariamne
to the tower of Antonia. It was built as the city enlarged in
size; begun by Uzziah 140 years after the first wall was
finished, continued by Jotham 50 years later, and by Manasseh
100 years later still. It was restored by Nehemiah. Even the
latest explorations have failed to decide exactly what was
its course. (See Conder's Handbook of the Bible, art.
Jerusalem.) The third wall was built by King Herod Agrippa,
and was intended to enclose the suburbs which had grown out
on the northern sides of the city, which before this had been
left exposed. After describing these walls, Josephus adds
that the whole circumference of the city was 33 stadia, or
nearly four English miles, which is as near as may be the
extent indicated by the localities. He then adds that the
number of towers in the old wall was 60, the middle wall 40,
and the new wall 99. Water Supply--(Jerusalem had no natural
water supply, unless we so consider the "Fountain of the
Virgin," which wells up with an intermittent action from
under Ophel. The private citizens had cisterns, which were
supplied by the rain from the roofs; and the city had a water
supply "perhaps the most complete and extensive ever
undertaken by a city," and which would enable it to endure a
long siege. There were three aqueducts, a number of pools and
fountains, and the temple area was honeycombed with great
reservoirs, whose total capacity is estimated at 10,000,000
gallons. Thirty of these reservoirs are described, varying
from 25 to 50 feet in depth; and one, call the great Sea,
would hold 2,000,000 gallons. These reservoirs and the pools
were supplied with water by the rainfall and by the
aqueducts. One of these, constructed by Pilate, has been
traced for 40 miles, though in a straight line the distance
is but 13 miles. It brought water from the spring Elam, on
the south, beyond Bethlehem, into the reservoirs under the
temple enclosure.--ED.) 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 [698]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 [699]Enrogel, the "Well of Job," in the midst
of the king's gardens. Within the walls, immediately north of
Zion, was the "Pool of Hezekiah." A large pool existing
beneath the temple (referred to in Ecclus. 1:3) was probably
supplied by some subterranean aqueduct. The "King's Pool" was
probably identical with the "Fountain of the Virgin," at the
southern angle of Moriah. It possesses the peculiarity that
it rises and falls at irregular periods; it is supposed to be
fed form the cistern below the temple. From this a
subterranean channel cut through solid rock leads the water
to the pool of [700]Siloah, The Pool Of or [701]Siloam, which
has also acquired the character of being an intermittent
fountain. The pool of which tradition has assigned the name
of [702]Bethesda is situated on the north side of Moriah; it
is now named Birket Israil . 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 Himmon. (Nehemiah 3:15) The Mount of Olives, as
its name, and the names of various places upon it seem to
imply, was a fruitful spot. At its foot was situated the
garden of Gethsemane. At the time of the final siege the
space north of the wall of Agrippa was covered with gardens,
groves and plantations of fruit trees, enclosed by hedges and
walls; and to level these was one of Titus' first operations.
We know that the Gennath (i.e. "of gardens") opened on this
side of the city. Gates.--The following is a complete list of
the gates named in the Bible and by Josephus, with the
reference to their occurrence:--
+ Gate of Ephraim. (2 Chronicles 25:23; Nehemiah 8:16; 12:39)
This is probably the same as the--
+ Gate of Benjamin. (Jeremiah 20:2; 37:13; Zechariah 14:10) If
so, it was 400 cubits distant from the--
+ Corner gate. (2 Chronicles 25:23; 26:9; Jeremiah 31:38;
Zechariah 14:10)
+ Gate of Joshua, governor of the city. (2 Kings 23:8)
+ Gate between the two walls. (2 Kings 25:4; Jeremiah 39:4)
+ Horse gate. (Nehemiah 3:28; 2 Chronicles 23:15; Jeremiah
31:40)
+ Ravine gate (i.e. opening on ravine of Hinnom). (2 Chronicles
26:9; Nehemiah 2:13,15; 3:13)
+ Fish gate. (2 Chronicles 33:14; Nehemiah 3:13; Zephaniah
1:10)
+ Dung gate. (Nehemiah 2:13; 3:13)
+ Sheep gate. (Nehemiah 3:1,32; 12:39)
+ East gate. (Nehemiah 3:29)
+ Miphkad. (Nehemiah 3:31)
+ Fountain gate (Siloam?). (Nehemiah 12:37)
+ Water gate. (Nehemiah 12:37)
+ Old Gate. (Nehemiah 12:39)
+ Prison gate. (Nehemiah 12:39)
+ Gate Harsith (perhaps the Sun; Authorized Version East gate).
(Jeremiah 19:2)
+ First gate. (Zechariah 14:10)
+ Gate Gennath (gardens). Jos B.J. v. 4, - 4.
+ Essenes' gate. Jos. B.J. 4, - 2. To these should be added the
following gates to 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 11:6,19); called the
high gate. (2 Kings 15:35; 2 Chronicles 23:20; 27:3) Gate
Shallecheth. (1 Chronicles 26:16) At present the chief gates
are--
+ The Zion's gate and the dung gate, in the south wall;
+ St. Stephen's gate and the golden gate (now walled up), in
the east wall;
+ The Damascus gate and
+ Herod's gate, in the north wall; and
+ The Jaffa gate, in the west wall. Population.--Taking the
area of the city enclosed by the two old walls at 750,000
yards, and that enclosed by the wall of Agrippa at 1,500,000
yards, we have 2,250,000 yards for the whole. Taking the
population of the old city at the probable number of the one
person to 50 yards, we have 15,000 and at the extreme limit
of 30 yards we should have 25,000 inhabitants for the old
city, and at 100 yards to each individual in the new city
about 15,000 more; so that the population of Jerusalem, in
its days of greatest prosperity, may have amounted to from
30,000 to 45,000 souls, but could hardly ever have reached
50,000; and assuming that in times of festival one-half was
added to this amount, which is an extreme estimate, there may
have been 60,000 or 70,000 in the city when Titus came up
against it. (Josephus says that at the siege of Jerusalem the
population was 3,000,000; but Tacitus' statement that it was
600,000 is nearer the truth. This last is certainly within
the limits of possibility. Streets, houses, etc.--Of the
nature of these in the ancient city we have only the most
scattered notices. The "east street," (2 Chronicles 29:4) the
"street of the city," i.e. the city of David, (2 Chronicles
32:6) the "street facing the water gate," (Nehemiah 8:1,3)
or, according to the parallel account in 1 Esdr. 9:38, the
"broad place of the temple towards the east;" the "street of
the house of God," (Ezra 10:9) the "street of the gate of
Ephraim," (Nehemiah 8:16) and the "open place of the first
gate toward the east," must have been not "streets," in our
sense of the word, so much as the open spaces found in easter
towns round the inside of the gates. Streets, properly so
called, there were, (Jeremiah 5:1; 11:13) etc.; but the name
of only one, "the bakers' street," (Jeremiah 37:21) is
preserved to us. The Via Dolorosa, or street of sorrows, is a
part of the street thorough which Christ is supposed to have
been led on his way to his crucifixion. To the houses we have
even less clue; but there is no reason to suppose that in
either houses or streets the ancient Jerusalem differed very
materially from the modern. No doubt the ancient city did not
exhibit that air of mouldering dilapidation which is now so
prominent there. The whole of the slopes south of the Haram
area (the ancient Ophel), and the modern Zion, and the west
side of the valley of Jehoshaphat, presents the appearance of
gigantic mounds of rubbish. In this point at least the
ancient city stood in favorable contrast with the modern, but
in many others the resemblance must have been strong. Annals
of the city.--If, as is possible, Salem is the same with
Jerusalem, the first mention of Jerusalem is in (Genesis
14:18) about B.C. 2080. It is next mentioned in (Joshua 10:1)
B.C. 1451. The first siege appears to have taken place almost
immediately after the death of Joshua--cir. 1400 B.C. Judah
and Simeon "fought against it and took it, and smote it with
the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire." (Judges
1:8) In the fifteen centuries which elapsed between this
siege and the siege and destruction of the city by Titus,
A.D. 70, the city was besieged no fewer than seventeen times;
twice it was razed to the ground, on two other occasions its
walls were levelled. In this respect it stands without a
parallel in any city, ancient or modern. David captured the
city B.C. 1046, and made it his capital, fortified and
enlarged it. Solomon adorned the city with beautiful
buildings, including the temple, but made no additions to its
walls. The city was taken by the Philistines and Arabians in
the reign of Jehoram, B.C. 886, and by the Israelites in the
reign of Amaziah, B.C. 826. It was thrice taken by
Nebuchadnezzar, in the years B.C. 607, 597 and 586, in the
last of which it was utterly destroyed. Its restoration
commenced under Cyrus, B.C. 538, and was completed under
Artaxerxes I., who issued commissions for this purpose to
Ezra, B.C. 457, and Nehemiah, B.C. 445. In B.C. 332 it was
captured by Alexander the Great. Under the Ptolemies and the
Seleucidae the town was prosperous, until Antiochus Epiphanes
sacked it, B.C. 170. In consequence of his tyranny, the Jews
rose under the Maccabees, and Jerusalem became again
independent, and retained its position until its capture by
the Romans under Pompey, B.C. 63. The temple was subsequently
plundered by Crassus, B.C. 545, and the city by the
Parthians, B.C. 40. Herod took up his residence there as soon
as he was appointed sovereign, and restored the temple with
great magnificence. On the death of Herod it became the
residence of the Roman procurators, who occupied the fortress
of Antonia. The greatest siege that it sustained, however,
was at the hands of the Romans under Titus, when it held out
nearly five months, and when the town was completely
destroyed, A.D. 70. Hadrian restored it as a Roman colony,
A.D. 135, and among other buildings erected a temple of
Jupiter Capitolinus on the site of the temple. He gave to it
the name of AElia Capitolina, thus combining his own family
name with that of the Capitoline Jupiter. The emperor
Constantine established the Christian character by the
erection of a church on the supposed site of the holy
sepulchre, A.D. 336. Justinian added several churches and
hospitals about A.D. 532. It was taken by the Persians under
Chosroes II in A.D. 614. The dominion of the Christians in
the holy city was now rapidly drawing to a close. In A.D. 637
the patriarch Sophronius surrendered to the khalif Omar in
person. With the fall of the Abassides the holy city passed
into the hands of the Fatimite dynasty, under whom the
sufferings of the Christians in Jerusalem reached their
height. About the year 1084 it was bestowed upon Ortok, chief
of a Turkman horde. It was taken by the Crusaders in 1099,
and for eighty-eight years Jerusalem remained in the hand of
the Christians. in 1187 it was retaken by Saladin after a
siege of several weeks. In 1277 Jerusalem was nominally
annexed to the kingdom of Sicily. In 1517 it passed under the
sway of the Ottoman sultan Selim I., whose successor Suliman
built the present walls of the city in 1542. Mohammed Aly,
the pasha of Egypt, took possession of it in 1832; and in
1840, after the bombardment of Acre, it was again restored to
the sultan. (Modern Jerusalem, called by the Arabs el-Khuds,
is built upon the ruins of ancient Jerusalem. The accumulated
rubbish of centuries is very great, being 100 feet deep on
the hill of Zion. The modern wall, built in 1542, forms an
irregular quadrangle about 2 1/2 miles in circuit, with seven
gates and 34 towers. It varies in height from 20 to 60 feet.
The streets within are narrow, ungraded, crooked, and often
filthy. The houses are of hewn stone, with flat roofs and
frequent domes. There are few windows toward the street. The
most beautiful part of modern Jerusalem is the former temple
area (Mount Moriah), "with its lawns and cypress tress, and
its noble dome rising high above the wall." This enclosure,
now called Haram esh-Sherif, is 35 acres in extent, and is
nearly a mile in circuit. On the site of the ancient temple
stands the Mosque of Omar, "perhaps the very noblest specimen
of building-art in Asia." "It is the most prominent as well
as the most beautiful building in the whole city." The mosque
is an octagonal building, each side measuring 66 feet. It is
surmounted by a dome, whose top is 170 feet from the ground.
The church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is claimed, but
without sufficient reason, to be upon the site of Calvary, is
"a collection of chapels and altars of different ages and a
unique museum of religious curiosities from Adam to Christ."
The present number of inhabitants in Jerusalem is variously
estimated. Probably Pierotti's estimate is very near the
truth,--20,330; of whom 5068 are Christians, 7556 Mohammedans
(Arabs and Turks), and 7706 Jews.--ED.)
Jerusha
(possessed), daughter of Zadok and queen of Uzziah. (2 Kings
15:33) (B.C. 806.)
Jerushah
(possessed). (2 Chronicles 27:1) The same as the preceding.
Jesaiah
(salvation of Jehovah).
+ Son of Hananiah, brother of Pelatiah and grandson of
Zerubbabel. (1 Chronicles 3:21) (B.C. after 536.)
Jeshaiah
(salvation of Jehovah).
+ One of the six sons of Jeduthun. (1 Chronicles 25:3,15) (B.C.
1014.)
+ 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.)
+ The son of Athaliah, and chief of the house of Bene-Elam who
returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:7) [[703]Josias] (B.C. 459.)
+ A Merarite who returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:19)
Jeshanah
(old), a town which, with its dependent villages, was one of
the three taken from Jeroboam by Abijah. (2 Chronicles 13:19)
Jesharelah
(right before God), son of Asaph, and head of the seventh of
the twenty-four wards into which the musicians of the Levites
were divided. (1 Chronicles 25:14) [[704]Asarelah] (B.C. 1014).
Jeshebeab
(father's seat), head of the fourteenth course of priests. (1
Chronicles 24:13) [[705]Jehoiarib]
Jesher
(uprightness), one of the sons of Caleb the son of Hezron by
his wife Azubah. (1 Chronicles 2:18) (B.C. before 1491).
Jeshimon
(a wilderness), a name which occurs in (Numbers 21:20) and Numb
23:28 In designating the position of Pisgah and Peor; both
described as "facing the Jeshimon." Perhaps the dreary, barren
waste of hills lying immediately on the west of the Dead Sea.
Jeshishai
(descended from an old man), one of the ancestors of the
Gadites who dwelt in Gilead. (1 Chronicles 5:14)
Jeshohaiah
(whom Jehovah casts down), a chief of the Simeonites, descended
from Shimei. (1 Chronicles 4:36) (B.C. about 711.)
Jeshua
(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.
(a saviour), another form of the name of Joshua of Jesus.
+ Joshua the son of Nun. (Nehemiah 8:17) [[706]Joshua]
+ A priest in the reign of David, to whom the nine course fell
by David, to whom the ninth course fell by lot. (1 Chronicles
24:11) (B.C. 1014.)
+ One of the Levites in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles
31:15) (B.C. 726.)
+ 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 3:1) ... and Zech
6:9-15 Point him out as an eminent type of Christ.
+ Head of a Levitical house, one of those which returned from
the Babylonish captivity. (Ezra 2:40; 3:9; Nehemiah 3:19;
8:7; 9:4,5; 12:8) etc.
+ A branch of the family of Pahath-moab, one of the chief
families, probably, of the tribe of Judah. (Nehemiah 10:14;
7:11) etc.; Ezra 10:30
Jeshuah
a priest in the reign of David, (1 Chronicles 24:11) the same
as [707]Jeshua, No. 2. (B.C. 1014.)
Jeshurun
(supremely happy), and once by mistake in Authorized Version
[708]Jesurun, (Isaiah 44:2) a symbolical name for Israel in
(32:15; 33:5,26; Isaiah 44:2) It is most probably derived from
a root signifying "to be blessed." With the intensive
termination Jeshurun would then denote Israel as supremely
happy or prosperous, and to this signification the context in
(32:15) points.
Jesiah
(whom Jehovah lends).
+ A Korhite, one of the mighty men who joined David's standard
at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:6) (B.C. 1055.)
+ The second son of Uzziel, the son of Kohath. (1 Chronicles
23:20)
Jesimiel
(whom God makes), a Simeonite chief of the family of Shimei. (1
Chronicles 4:36) (B.C. about 711.)
Jesse
(wealthy), the father of David, was the son of Obed, who again
was the fruit of the union of Boaz and the Moabitess Ruth. His
great-grandmother was Rahab the Canaanite, of Jericho. (Matthew
1:5) Jesse's genealogy is twice given in full in the Old
Testament, viz., (Ruth 4:18-22) and 1Chr 2:5-12 He is commonly
designated as "Jesse the Bethlehemite," (1 Samuel 16:1,18;
17:58) but his full title is "the Ephrathite of Bethlehem
Judah." ch. (1 Samuel 17:12) He is an "old man" when we first
meet with him, (1 Samuel 17:12) with eight sons, ch. (1 Samuel
16:10; 17:12) residing at Bethlehem. ch (1 Samuel 16:4,5)
Jesse's wealth seems to have consisted of a flock of sheep and
goats, which were under the care of David. ch. (1 Samuel 16:11;
17:34,35) After David's rupture with Saul he took his father
and his mother into the country of Moab and deposited them with
the king, and there they disappear from our view in the records
of Scripture. (B.C. 1068-61.) Who the wife of Jesse was we are
not told.
Jesui
(even, level), the son of Asher, whose descendants the Jesuites
were numbered in the plains of Moab at the Jordan of Jericho.
(Numbers 26:44) (B.C. 1451.) He is elsewhere called [709]Isui,
(Genesis 46:17) and [710]Ishuai. (1 Chronicles 7:30)
Jesuites
(the posterity of Jesui), The, a family of the tribe of Asher.
(Numbers 26:44)
Jesurun
[[711]Jeshurun]
Jesus
called Jestus, a Christian who was with St. Paul at Rome.
(Colossians 4:11) (A.D. 57.)
(saviour).
+ The Greek form of the name Joshua or Jeshua, a contraction of
Jehoshua, that is, "help of Jehovah" or "saviour." (Numbers
13:16)
+ Joshua the son of Nun. (Numbers 27:18; Hebrews 4:8)
[[712]Jehoshua]
Jesus Christ
"The life and character of Jesus Christ," says Dr. Schaff, "is
the holy of holies in the history of the world."
+ NAME.--The name Jesus signifies saviour . It is the Greek
form of [713]Jehoshua (Joshua). The name Christ signifies
anointed. Jesus was both priest and king. Among the Jews
priests were anointed, as their inauguration to their office.
(1 Chronicles 16:22) In the New Testament the name Christ is
used as equivalent to the Hebrew Messiah (anointed), (John
1:41) the name given to the long-promised Prophet and King
whom the Jews had been taught by their prophets to expect.
(Matthew 11:3; Acts 19:4) The use of this name, as applied to
the Lord, has always a reference to the promises of the
prophets. The name of Jesus is the proper name of our Lord,
and that of Christ is added to identify him with the promised
Messiah. Other names are sometimes added to the names Jesus
Christ, thus, "Lord," "a king," "King of Israel," "Emmanuel,"
"Son of David," "chosen of God." II. BIRTH.--Jesus Christ was
born of the Virgin Mary, God being his father, at Bethlehem
of Judea, six miles south of Jerusalem. The date of his birth
was most probably in December, B.C. 5, four years before the
era from which we count our years. That era was not used till
several hundred years after Christ. The calculations were
made by a learned monk, Dionysius Exiguus, in the sixth
century, who made an error of four years; so that to get the
exact date from the birth of Christ we must add four years to
our usual dates; i.e. A.D. 1882 is really 1886 years since
the birth of Christ. It is also more than likely that our
usual date for Christmas, December 25, is not far from the
real date of Christ's birth. Since the 25th of December comes
when the longest night gives way to the returning sun on his
triumphant march, it makes an appropriate anniversary to make
the birth of him who appeared in the darkest night of error
and sin as the true Light of the world. At the time of
Christ's birth Augustus Caesar was emperor of Rome, and Herod
the Great king of Judea, but subject of Rome. God's
providence had prepared the world for the coming of Christ,
and this was the fittest time in all its history.
+ All the world was subject to one government, so that the
apostles could travel everywhere: the door of every land was
open for the gospel.
+ The world was at peace, so that the gospel could have free
course.
+ The Greek language was spoken everywhere with their other
languages.
+ The Jews were scattered everywhere with synagogues and
Bibles. III. EARLY LIFE.--Jesus, having a manger at Bethlehem
for his cradle, received a visit of adoration from the three
wise men of the East. At forty days old he was taken to the
temple at Jerusalem; and returning to Bethlehem, was soon
taken to Egypt to escape Herod's massacre of the infants
there. After a few months stay there, Herod having died in
April, B.C. 4, the family returned to their Nazareth home,
where Jesus lived till he was about thirty years old, subject
to his parent, and increasing "in wisdom and stature, and in
favor with God and man." The only incident recorded of his
early life is his going up to Jerusalem to attend the
passover when he was twelve years old, and his conversation
with the learned men in the temple. But we can understand the
childhood and youth of Jesus better when we remember the
surrounding influences amid which he grew.
+ The natural scenery was rugged and mountainous, but full of
beauty. He breathed the pure air. He lived in a village, not
in a city.
+ The Roman dominion was irksome and galling. The people of God
were subject to a foreign yoke. The taxes were heavy. Roman
soldiers, laws, money, every reminded them of their
subjection, when they ought to be free and themselves the
rulers of the world. When Jesus was ten years old, there was
a great insurrection, (Acts 5:37) in Galilee. He who was to
be King of the Jews heard and felt all this.
+ The Jewish hopes of a Redeemer, of throwing off their
bondage, of becoming the glorious nation promised in the
prophet, were in the very air he breathed. The conversation
at home and in the streets was full of them.
+ Within his view, and his boyish excursions, were many
remarkable historic places,--rivers, hills, cities,
plains,--that would keep in mind the history of his people
and God's dealings with them.
+ His school training. Mr. Deutsch, in the Quarterly R