Ja’akan
(he shall surround), the same as Jakan, the forefather of Bene-Jaakan.
De 10:6
Ja-ak’obah
(supplanter), one of the princes of the families of Simeon.
1Ch 4:36
(B.C. about 710.)
Ja-a’la
(wild she-goat). Bene-Jaala were among the descendants of "Solomon’s slaves" who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel.
Ne 7:58
(B.C. before 536.) The name also occurs as Ja-alah.
Ja-a’lah
(wild goat).
Ezr 2:56
Ja-a’lam
(whom God hides), a son of Esau,
Ge 36:5,14,18
comp. 1Chr 1:35 and a head of a tribe of Edom. (B.C. 1790.).
Ja’ana-i
(whom Jehovah answers), a chief man in the tribe of Gad.
1Ch 5:12
Ja’are-or’egim
(forests of the weavers),
2Sa 21:19
a Bethlehemite, and the father of Elhanan who slew Goliath. In the parallel passage,
1Ch 20:5
Jair is found instead of Jaare, and Oregim is omitted. (B.C. 1063.)
Ja-a’sau
(whom Jehovah made), one of the Bene-Bani who had married a foreign wife.
Ezr 10:37
(B.C. 459.)
Ja-a’si-el
(whom God comforts), son of the great Abner.
1Ch 27:21
(B.C. 1046-1014.)
Ja-azani’ah
(whom Jehovah hears).
1. One of the captains of the forces who accompanied Hohanan ben-Kareah to pay his respects to Gedaliah at Mizpah,
2Ki 25:23
and who appears afterwards to have assisted in recovering Ishmael’s prey from his clutches. Comp.
Jer 41:11; 43:4,5
(B.C. 587.)
2. Son of Shaphan.
Eze 8:11
It is possible that he is identical with
3. Son of Azur; one of the princes of the people against whom Ezekiel was directed to prophesy.
Eze 11:1
(B.C. 593.)
4. A Rechabite, son of Jeremiah.
Jer 35:3
(B.C. 606.)
Ja-a’zer,
or Ja’zer(Jehovah helps), a town on the east of Jordan, in or near to Gilead.
Nu 32:1,3; 1Ch 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.
Nu 21:32
It seems to have given its name to a district of dependent or "daughter" towns,
Nu 21:32
Authorized Version "villages," 1 Macc. 5:8, the "land of Jazer."
Nu 32:1
Ja-azi’ah
(whom Jehovah comforts), apparently a third son, or a descendant, or Merari the Levite.
1Ch 24:26,27
(B.C. before 1014).
Ja-a’zi-el
(whom Jehovah comforts), one of the Levites appointed by David to perform the musical service before the ark.
1Ch 15:18
(B.C. 1014).
Ja’bal
(stream), the son of Lamech and Adah,
Ge 4:20
and brother of Jubal. He is described as the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle.
Jab’bok
(emptying), a stream which intersects the mountain range of Gilead, comp.
Jos 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.
Nu 21:24; De 2:37; 3:16
It was on the south bank of the Jabbok that the interview took place between Jacob and Esau,
Ge 32:22
and this river afterward became, toward its western part, the boundary between the kingdoms of Sihon and Og.
Jos 12:2,5
Its modern name is Wady Zurka.
Ja’besh
(dry).
1. Father of Shallum, the fifteenth king of Israel.
2Ki 15:10,13,14
2. Jabesh-gilead, or Jabesh in the territory of Gilead. In its widest sense Gilead included the half tribe of Manasseh,
1Ch 27:21
as well as the tribes of Gad and Reuben,
Nu 32:1-42
east of the Jordan; and of the cities of Gilead, Jabesh was the chief. It is first mentioned in
Jud 21:8-14
Being attacked subsequently by Nahash the Ammonite, it gave Saul an opportunity of displaying his prowess in its defence.
1Sa 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.
Ja’bez
(sorrow).
1. Apparently a place at which the families of the scribes resided who belonged to the families of the Kenites.
1Ch 2:55
2. The name occurs again in the genealogies of Judah,
1Ch 4:9,10
in a passage of remarkable detail inserted in a genealogy again connected with Bethlehem. ver. 4.
Ja’bin
(whom God observes).
1. King of Hazor, who organized a confederacy of the northern princes against the Israelites.
Jos 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.
Jos 11:1-14
2. A king of Hazor, whose general, Sisera, was defeated by Barak.
Jud 4:2,13
(B.C. 1316.)
Jab’ne-el
(building of God).
1. One of the points on the northern boundary of Judah, not quite at the sea, though near it.
Jos 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.
2Ch 26:6
Uzziah dispossessed them of it and demolished its fortifications. Called also 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.
JABNEH -
2. One of the landmarks on the boundary of Naphtali,
Jos 19:33
in upper Galilee.
Jab’neh
(building of God),
2Ch 26:6
[JABNEEL]
JABNEEL -
Ja’chan
(affliction), one of seven chief men of the tribe of Gad.
1Ch 5:13
Ja’chin
(he shall establish).
1. One of the two pillars which were set up "in the porch,"
1Ki 7:21
or before the temple.
2Ch 3:17
of Solomon. [BOAZ]
BOAZ -
2. Fourth son of Simeon,
Ge 46:10; Ex 6:15
founder of the family of the Jachinites.
Nu 26:12
3. Head of the twenty-first course of priests in the time of David.
1Ch 9:10; 24:17; Ne 11:10
Jacinth,
a precious stone, forming one of the foundations of the walls of the new Jerusalem.
Re 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
Ex 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
Re 9:17
"of jacinth," is descriptive simply of a dark-purple color.
Ja’cob
(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 -
Joh 1:51; 4:5,12; Ac 7:12,16; Ro 9:11-13; Heb 11:21;
12:16
Ja’cob’s 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.
Joh 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.
Ja’da
(wise), son of Onam and brother of Shammai, in the genealogy of the sons of Jerahmeel by his wife Atarah.
1Ch 2:28,32
(B.C. after 1445.)
Jada’u
(loving), one of the Bene-Nebo who had taken a foreign wife.
Ezr 10:43
(B.C. 459.)
Jaddu’a
(known).
1. 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.
Ne 12:11,22
(B.C. 406-332.)
2. One of the chief of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah.
Ne 10:21
(B.C. 410.)
Ja’don
(judge), the Meronothite, who assisted to repair the wall of Jerusalem.
Ne 3:7
(B.C. 446.)
Ja’el
(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.
Jud 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,
Jud 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.
Ja’gur
(lodging),a town of Judah, one of those farthest to the south, on the frontier of Edom.
Jos 15:21
Jah
(Jehovah), the abbreviated form of Jehovah, used only in poetry. It occurs frequently in the Hebrew, but with a single exception,
Ps 68:4
is rendered "Lord" in the Authorized Version. The identity of Jah and Jehovah is strongly marked in two passages of Isaiah—
Isa 12:2; 26:4
[JEHOVAH].
JEHOVAH -
Ja’hath
(union).
1. Son of Libni, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.
1Ch 6:20
(B.C. after 1706.)
2. Head of a later house in the family of Gershom, being the eldest son of Shimei, the son of Laadan.
1Ch 23:10,11
3. A man in the genealogy of Judah,
1Ch 4:2
son of Reaiah ben-Shobal.
4. A Levite, son of Shelomoth.
1Ch 24:22
5. A Merarite Levite in the reign of Josiah.
2Ch 34:12
(B.C. 623.)
Ja’haz,
also Jaha’za, Jaha’zah and Juh’zah(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.
Nu 21:23; De 2:32; Jud 11:20
It was in the allotment of Reuben.
Jos 13:18
Like many others relating to the places east of the Dead Sea, the question of its site must await further research.
Jaha’za
(trodden down).
Jos 13:18
[JAHAZ]
JAHAZ -
Jaha’zah
(trodden down).
Jos 21:36; Jer 48:21
[JAHAZ]
JAHAZ -
Jahnzi’ah
(whom Jehovah watches over), son of Tikvah, apparently a priest.
Ezr 10:15
Jaha’zi-el
(whom God watches over)
1. One of the heroes of Benjamin who joined David at Ziklag.
1Ch 12:4
(B.C. 1055.)
2. A priest in the reign of David.
1Ch 16:6
3. A Kohathite Levite, third son of Hebron.
1Ch 23:19; 24:23
4. Son of Zechariah, a Levite of the Bene-Asaph in the reign of Jehoshaphat.
2Ch 20:14
(B.C. 896.)
5. The "son of Jahaziel" was the chief of the Bene-Shecaniah who returned from Babylon with Ezra.
Ezr 8:5
(B.C. before 459.)
Jah’da-i
(whom Jehovah directs), a man who appears to be thrust abruptly into the genealogy of Caleb, as the father of six sons.
1Ch 2:47
Jah’di-el
(whom Jehovah makes joyful), a chieftain of Manasseh on the east of Jordan.
1Ch 5:24
(B.C. 320.)
Jah’do
(united), a Gadite,
1Ch 5:14
son of Buz and father of Jeshishai.
Jah’le-el
(hoping in Jehovah), the third of the three sons of Zebulun,
Ge 46:14; Nu 26:26
founder of the family of Jahleelites. (B.C. 1706.)
Jah’ma-i
(whom Jehovah guards), a man of Issachar, one of the heads of the house of Tolah.
1Ch 7:2
(B.C. 1491)
Jah’zah
(trodden down).
1Ch 6:78
[JAHAZ]
JAHAZ -
Jah’ze-el
(whom God allots), the first of the four sons of Naphtali,
Ge 46:24
founder of the family of the Jahzeelites.
Nu 26:48
(B.C. 1306.)
Jahze’rah
(whom God leads back), a priest of the house of Immer.
1Ch 9:12
Jah’zi-el
(whom God allots), the same as JAHZEEL.
JAHZEEL -
1Ch 7:13
Ja’ir
(enlightener).
1. 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
De 3:14
and in addition possessed himself of some nomad villages in Gilead, which he called after his own name Havoth-Jair.
Nu 32:41; 1Ch 2:23
2. JAIR THE GILEADITE, who judged Israel for two-and-twenty years.
Jud 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.
3. A Benjamite, son of Kish and father of Mordecai.
Es 2:5
(B.C. before 598.)
4. The father of Elhanan, one of the heroes of David’s army.
1Ch 20:6
Ja’irite
(descendant of Jair). The IRA THE JAIRITE was a priest (Authorized Version "chief ruler") to David
IRA -
2Sa 20:26
Ja’irus
(whom God enlightens).
1. A ruler of a synagogue, probably in some town near the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Mt 9:18; Mr 5:22; Lu 8:41
(A.D. 28.) 2.
Es 11:2
[JAIR, 3]
JAIR -
Ja’kan
(sagacious), son of Ezer the Horite.
1Ch 1:42
The same as JAAKAN. [And see AKAN]
JAAKAN -
AKAN -
See 5205Ja’keh
(pious). [PROVERBS, BOOK OF]
PROVERBS -
BOOK -
See 5814Ja’kim
(whom God sets up).
1. Head of the twelfth course of priests in the reign of David.
1Ch 24:12
(B.C. 1014.)
2. A Benjamite, one of the Bene-Shimhi.
1Ch 8:19
(B.C. 588.)
Ja’lon
(abiding), one of the sons of Ezra.
1Ch 4:17
Jam’bres.
[JANNES AND JAMBRES]
JANNES -
James
(the Greek form of Jacob, supplanter).
1. 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,
Mr 1:20
when at the call of the Master he left all, and became, one and forever, his disciple, in the spring of 28.
Mt 10:2; Mr 3:14; Lu 6:13; Ac 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.
Mr 10:37; Lu 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.
Ac 1:13
Shortly before the day of the Passover, in the year 44, he was put to death by Herod Agrippa I.
Ac 12:1,2
2. James the son of Alpheus, one of the twelve apostles.
Mt 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
Mt 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
Mt 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
Lu 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
Mt 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.
1Co 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.
Ac 9:27; Ga 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.
Ac 12:17; 15:13,19; 21:18; Ga 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.
Ja’min
(right hand).
1. Second son of Simeon, (Gene 46:10; Exod 6:15; 1Chr 4:24 founder of the family of the Jaminites.
Nu 26:12
(B.C. 1706.)
2. A man of Judah, second son of Ram the Jerahmeelite.
1Ch 2:27
3. One of the Levites who expounded the law to the people.
Ne 8:7
(B.C. 410.)
Jam’lech
(whom God makes king), one of the chief men of the tribe of Simeon.
1Ch 4:34
Jam’nin.
[JABNEEL]
JABNEEL -
Jan’na
(flourishing), son of Joseph, and father of Melchi, in the genealogy of Christ.
Lu 3:24
In the Revised Version written JANNAI.
Jan’nes
and
Jam’bres, the names of two Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses. Exod 7:9-13; 2Tim 3:8,9. (B.C. 1492.)Jano’ah
(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.
2Ki 15:29
No trace of it appears elsewhere.
Jano’hah
(rest), a place on the boundary of Ephraim
Jos 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.
Ja’num
(slumber), a town of Judah in the mountain district, apparently not far from Hebron.
Jos 15:53
Ja’pheth
(enlargement), one of the three sons of Noah. The descendants of Japheth occupied the "isles of the Gentiles,"
Ge 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.
Japhi’a
(splended) The boundary of Zebulun ascended from Daberath to Japhia, and thence passed to Gath-hepher.
Jos 19:12
Yafa, two miles south of Nazareth. ,is not unlikely to be identical with Japhin.
Japhi’a
(splendid).
1. King of Lachish at the time of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites.
Jos 10:3
(B.C. 1450.)
2. One of the sons of David born to him in Jerusalem.
2Sa 5:15; 1Ch 3:7; 14:6
(B.C. 1046.)
Japh’let
(whom God delivers) a descendant of Asher through Beriah.
1Ch 7:32,33
Japh’leli
(the Japhletite). The boundary of the "Japhletite" is one of the landmarks on the south boundary line of Ephraim.
Jos 16:3
Ja’pho
(beauty).
Joh 19:46
The Hebrew form for the better-known JOPPA.
JOPPA -
2Ch 2:16; Ezr 3:7; Jon 1:3
In its modern garb it is Yafa.
Ja’rah
(honey), a descendant of Saul; son of Micah and great-grandson of Mephibosheth.
1Ch 9:42
comp. 1Chr 9:40
Ja’reb
(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,
Ho 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.
Ja’red
(descent), one of the antediluvian patriarchs, and further of Enoch
Ge 5:15,16,18-20; Lu 3:37
In the lists of Chronicles the name is given in the Authorized Version JERED.
JERED -
Jaresi’ah
(whom Jehovah nourishes),a Benjamite, one of the Bene-Jehoram.
1Ch 8:17
Jar’ha,
the Egyptian servant of Sheshan, about the time of Eli, to whom his master gave his daughter and heir in marriage;
1Ch 2:34,35
(B.C. before 1491.)
Ja’rib
(adversary).
1. Named in the list of
1Ch 4:24
only, as a son of Simeon. Perhaps the same as JACHIN. Gene 46; Exod 6; Numb 26.
JACHIN -
2. One of the "chief men" who accompanied Ezra on his journey from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Ezr 8:16
(B.C. 469.)
3. 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.
Ezr 10:18
(B.C. 459.)
4. 1 Macc. 14:29. A contraction or corruption of the name JOARIB. ch. 2:1.
Jar’imoth
(heights). 1 Esd. 9:28. [JEREMOTH]
JEREMOTH -
Jar’muth
(high).
1. A town in the low country of Judah.
Jos 16:35
Its king, Piram, was one of the five who conspired. to punish Gibeon for having made alliance with Israel,
Jos 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.
2. A city of Issachar allotted with its suburbs to the Gershonite Levites.
Jos 21:29
Jaro’ah
(moon), a chief man of the tribe of Gad
1Ch 5:14
Ja’shen
(sleeping). Bene-Jashen —"sons of Jashen"— are named in the catalogue of the heroes of David’s guard in
2Sa 23:32
(B.C. 1046.)
Ja’sher
(upright)
,Book of ("the book of the upright"), alluded to in two passages only of the Old Testament.Jos 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.
Jasho’be-am
(to whom the people turn), named first among the chief of the mighty men of David.
1Ch 11:11
(B.C. 1046.) He came to David at Ziklag. His distinguishing exploit was that he slew 300 (or 800,)
2Sa 23:8
men at one time.
Ja’shub
(he turns).
1. The third son of Issachar, and founder of the family of the Jashubites.
Nu 26;24; 1Ch 7:1
(B.C. 1706.)
2. One of the sons of Bani, who had to put away his foreign wife.
Ezr 10:29
(B.C. 459.)
Jash’ubi-le’hem
(turner back for food), a person or a place named among the descendants of Shelah, the son of Judah by Bath-shua the Canaanitess.
1Ch 4:22
Ja’si-el
(whom God made), the last named on the list of David’s heroes in
1Ch 11:47
Ja’son
(one who will heal), called the Thessalonian, entertained Paul and Silas, and was in consequence attacked by the Jewish mob.
Ac 17:5,6,7,9
(A.D. 48.) He is probably the same as the Jason mentioned in
Ro 16:21
It is conjectured that Jason and Secundus,
Ac 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,
Ex 28:20; 39:13
and the first of the twelve used in the foundations of the new Jerusalem.
Re 21:19
The characteristics of the stone as far as they are specified in Scripture,
Re 21:11
are that it "was most precious," and "like crystal;" we may also infer from
Re 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.
Jath’ni-el
(whom God gives), a Korhite Levite, the fourth of the family of Meshelemiah.
1Ch 26:2
(B.C. 1014.)
Jat’tir
(pre-eminent), a town of Judah in the mountain districts,
Jos 15:48
one of the group containing Socho, Eshtemoa, etc. See also
Jos 21:14; 1Sa 30:27; 1Ch 6:57
By Robinson it is identified with ’Attir, six miles north of Molada and ten miles south of Hebron.
Ja’van
(clay).
1. A son of Japheth.
Ge 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.
2. A town in the souther part of Arabia (Yemen), whither the Phoenicians traded.
Eze 27:19
Javelin.
[ARMS]
ARMS -
Ja’zer
(Jehovah helps). [JAAZER]
JAAZER -
Ja’ziz
(whom God moves), a Hagarite who had charge of the flocks of King David.
1Ch 27:31
(B.C. 1046.)
Je’arim
(forests)
, Mount, a place named in specifying the northern boundary of Judah.Jos 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.
Je-at’era-i
(whom Jehovah leads), a Gershonite Levite, son of Zerah.
1Ch 6:21
Jeberechi’ah
(whom Jehovah blesses), father of a certain Zechariah, in the reign of Ahaz, mentioned
Isa 8:2
(B.C. about 739.)
Je’bus
(threshing-floor), one of the names of Jerusalem, the city of the Jebusites, are called JEBUSI.
JEBUSI -
Jos 15:8; 18:16,28; Jud 19:10,11; 1Ch 11:4,5
[JERUSALEM]
JERUSALEM -
Jebu’si
(from Jebus), the name employed for the city of JEBUS.
JEBUS -
Jos 15:8; 18:16,28
Jeb’usites
(descendants of Jebus)
, The, were descended from the third son of Canaan.Ge 10:16; 1Ch 1:14
The actual people first appear in the invaluable report of the spies.
Nu 13:29
When Jabin organized his rising against Joshua, the Jebusites joined him.
Jos 11:3
"Jebus, which is Jerusalem," lost its king in the slaughter of Beth-horon,
Jos 10:1,5,26
comp. Josh 12:10 was sacked and burned by the men of Judah,
Jud 1:21
and its citadel finally scaled and occupied by David.
2Sa 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.
2Sa 24:23; 1Ch 21:24,25
Jecami’ah
(whom Jehovah gathers), one of seven who were introduced into the royal line, on the failure of it in the person of Jehoiachin.
1Ch 3:18
Jecholi’ah
(strong through Jehovah) wife of Amaziah king of Judah, and mother of Azariah or Uzziah his successor.
2Ki 15:2
(B.C. 824-807.)
Jeconi’as,
the Greek form of Jeconiah, an altered form of Jehoiachin. [JEHOIACHIN]
JEHOIACHIN -
Jecoli’ah.
The same as JECHOLIAH.
JECHOLIAH -
2Ch 26:3
Jeconi’ah
(whom Jehovah establishes). [See JEHOIACHIN]
JEHOIACHIN -
Jedai’ah
(praise Jehovah).
1. Head of the second course of priests, as they were divided in the time of David.
1Ch 24:7
(B.C. 1014.) some of them survived to return to Jerusalem after the Babylonish captivity, as appears from
Ezr 2:36; Ne 7:39
2. A priest in the time of Jeshua the high priest.
Zec 6:10,14
(B.C. 536.)
Jeda’iah.
1. A Simeonite, forefather of Ziza.
1Ch 4:37
2. Son of Harumaph; a man who did his part in the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.
Ne 3:10
(B.C. 446.)
Jedi’a-el
(known of God).
1. A chief patriarch of the tribe of Benjamin.
1Ch 7:6,11
It is usually assumed that Jediael is the same as Ashbel,
Ge 46:21; Nu 26:38; 1Ch 8:1
but this is not certain.
2. Second son of Meshelemiah, a Levite.
1Ch 26:1,2
3. Son of Shimri; one of the heroes of David’s guard.
1Ch 11:45
(B.C. 1046.)
4. One of the chiefs of the thousands of Manasseh who joined David on his march to Ziklag.
1Ch 12:20
comp. 1Sam 30:9,10 (B.C. 1053.)
Jed’idah
(one beloved), queen of Amon and mother of the good king Josiah.
2Ki 22:1
(B.C. 648.)
Jedidi’ah
(beloved of Jehovah)
, Jedid-jah (darling of Jehovah), the name bestowed, through Nathan the prophet, on David’s son Solomon.2Sa 12:25
Jed’uthun
(praising), a Levite of the family of Merari, is probably the same as Ethan. Comp.
1Ch 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.)
Je-e’zer
(father of help),
Nu 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.
ABIEZER -
Je’gar-sahadu’tha
(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.
Ge 31:47
Galeed, a "witness heap," which is given as the Hebrew equivalent, does not exactly represent Jegar-sahadutha.
Jehal’ele-el
(who praises God). Four men of the Bene-Jehaleleel are introduced abruptly into the genealogies of Judah.
1Ch 4:16
Jehal’elel
(who praises God), a Merarite Levite, father of Azariah.
2Ch 29:12
Jehde’iah
(whom Jehovah makes glad).
1. The representative of the Bene-Shubael, in the time of David.
1Ch 24:20
2. A Meronothite who had charge of the she-asses of David.
1Ch 27:30
(B.C. 1046.)
Jehez’ekel
(whom God makes strong), a priest to whom was given by David the charge of the twentieth of the twenty-four courses in the service of the house of Jehovah.
1Ch 24:16
(B.C. 1014.)
Jehi’ah
(Jehovah lives), "doorkeeper for the ark" at the time of its establishment in Jerusalem.
1Ch 15:24
(B.C. 1043.)
Jehi’el
(God lives).
1. One of the Levites appointed by David to assist in the service of the house of God.
1Ch 15:18,20; 16:5
2. One of the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, put to death by his brother Jehoram.
2Ch 21:2,4
(B.C. 887.)
3. One of the rulers of the house of God at the time of the reforms of Josiah.
2Ch 35:8
(B.C. 623.)
4. A Gershonite Levite,
1Ch 23:8
who had charge of the treasures. ch.
1Ch 28:8
5. A son of Hachmoni named in the list of David’s officers,
1Ch 27:32
as "with the king’s sons," whatever that may mean.
6. A Levite who took part in the restorations of King Hezekiah.
2Ch 29:14
(B.C. 726.)
7. Another Levite at the same period.
2Ch 31:13
8. Father of Obadiah, of the Bene-Joab.
Ezr 8:9
(B.C. before 459.)
9. One of the Bene-Elam, father of Shechaniah.
Ezr 10:2
10. A member of the same family, who himself had to part with his wife.
Ezr 10:26
11. A priest, one of the Bene-Harim, who also had to put away his foreign wife.
Ezr 10:21
(B.C. 459.)
Jehi’el
(treasured of God), a perfectly distinct name from the last.
1. A man described as father of Gibeon; a fore-father of King Saul.
1Ch 9:35
2. One of the sons of Hotham the Aroerite; a member of David’s guard.
1Ch 11:44
(B.C. 1046.)
Jehi’eli
(a Jehielite), according to the Authorized Version a Gershonite Levite of the family of Laadan.
1Ch 26:21,22
Jehizki’ah
(Jehovah strengthens), son of Shallum, one of the heads of the tribe of Ephraim in the time of Ahaz.
2Ch 28:12
comp. 2Chr 28:8,13,15 (B.C. 738.)
Jeho’adah
(whom Jehovah adorns), one of the descendants of Saul.
1Ch 8:36
Jeho-ad’dan
(Whom Jehovah adorns), queen to King Josiah, and mother of Amaziah of Judah.
2Ki 14:2; 2Ch 25:1
(B.C. 862-837.)
Jeho’ahaz
(whom the Lord sustains).
1. The son and successor of jehu, reigned 17 years, B.C. 856-840, over Israel in Samaria. His inglorious history is given in
2Ki 13:1-9
Throughout his reign, ver.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 13:23
and 2Kin 13:25 or Jeroboam II.,
2Ki 14:24,25
2. Jehoahaz, otherwise called Shallum, son of Josiah, whom he succeeded as king of Judah. He was chosen by the people in preference to his elder (comp.
2Ki 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.
3. The name given,
2Ch 21:17
to Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram king of Judah.
Jeho’ash
(given by the Lord), the uncontracted form of Joash.
1. The eighth king of Judah; son of Ahaziah.
2Ki 11:21; 12:1,2,4,6,7,18; 14:13
[JOASH, 1]
JOASH -
2. The twelfth king of Israel; son of Jehoahaz.
2Ki 13:10,25; 14:8,9,11,13,15,16,17
[JOASH, 2]
JOASH -
Jeho’hanan
(whom Jehovah gave), a name of which John is the contraction.
1. A Korhite Levite, one of the doorkeepers to the tabernacle.
1Ch 26:3
comp. 1Chr 25:1 (B.C. 1014.)
2. One of the principal men of Judah under King Jehoshaphat.
2Ch 17:15
comp. 2Chr 17:13 and 2Chr 17:19 (B.C. 910.)
3. Father of Ishmael, one of the "captains of hundreds" whom Jehoiada the priest took into his confidence about the restoration of the line of Judah.
2Ch 23:1
(B.C. 910.)
4. One of the Bene-Bebai who was forced to put away his foreign wife.
Ezr 10:28
(B.C. 459.)
5. A priest,
Ne 12:13
during the high priesthood of Joiakim. ver.
Ne 12:12
(B.C. 406.)
6. A priest who took part in the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.
Ne 12:42
(B.C. 446.)
Jeho-i’achin
(whom Jehovah has appointed), son of Jehoiakim, and for three months and ten days king of Judah. (B.C. 597.) At his accession Jerusalem was quite defenseless, and unable to offer any resistance to the army which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it.
2Ki 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.
Jer 29:2; Eze 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.
Jeho-i’ada
(Jehovah knows).
1. Father of Benaiah, David’s well-known warrior.
2Sa 8:18
1Kin 1 and 2 passim;
1Ch 18:17
etc. (B.C. before 1046.)
2. Leader of the Aaronites, i.e. the priests; who joined David at Hebron.
1Ch 12:27
(B.C. 1053-46.)
3. According to
1Ch 27:34
son of Benaiah; but in all probability Benaiah the sons of Jehoiada is meant. Probably an error in copying.
1Ch 18:17; 2Sa 8:18
4. High priest at the time of Athaliah’s usurpation of the throne of Judah, B.C. 884-878, and during the greater portion of the forty-years reign of Joash. He married Jehosheba; and when Athaliah slew all the seed royal 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. [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.
ATHALIAH -
5. Second priest, or sagan, to Seraiah the high priest.
Jer 29:25-29; 2Ki 25:18
6. Son of Paseach, who assisted to repair the old gate of Jerusalem.
Ne 3:6
Jeho-i’akim
(whom Jehovah sets up), called Eliakim, son of Josiah and king of Judah. After deposing Jehoahaz, Pharaoh-necho set Eliakim, his elder brother, upon the throne, and changed his name to Jehoiakim, B.C. 608-597. For four years Jehoiakim was subject 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.
2Ki 24:1
Nebuchadnezzar sent against him numerous bands of Chaldeans, with Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites,
2Ki 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."
Jer 22:18,19; 36:30
All the accounts we have of Jehoiakim concur in ascribing to him a vicious and irreligious character.
2Ki 23:37; 24:9; 2Ch 36:5
The reign of Jehoiakim extends from B.C. 609 to B.C. 598, or, as some reckon, 599.
Jeho-i’arib
(whom Jehovah defends), head of the first of the twenty-four courses of priests.
1Ch 24:7
Jehon’adab
(whom Jehovah impels) and Jon’adab, the son of Rechab, founder of the Rechabites, an Arab chief. When Jehu was advancing, after the slaughter of Betheked, on the city of Samaria, he was suddenly met by Jehonadab, who joined with him in "slaying all that remained unto Ahab."
2Ki 10:15-17
Jehon’athan
(whom Jehovah gave).
1. Son of Uzziah; superintendent of certain of King David’s storehouses.
1Ch 27:25
(B.C. 1014).
2. One of the Levites who were sent by Jehoshaphat through the cities of Judah, with a book of the law, to teach the people.
2Ch 17:8
(B.C. 910.)
3. A priest,
Ne 12:18
the representative of the family of Shemaiah, ver. 6, when Joiakim was high priest. (B.C. after 536.)
Jeho’ram
(whom Jehovah has exalted).
1. Son of Ahab king of Israel, who succeeded his brother Ahaziah B.C. 896, and died B.C. 884. The alliance between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, commenced by his father and Jehoshaphat, was very close throughout his reign. We first find him associated with Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom in a war against the Moabites. The three armies were in the utmost danger of perishing for want of water. The piety of Jehoshaphat suggested an inquiry of Jehovah, 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.
2Ki 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
2Ki 7:1
... and Jehoram appears to have returned to friendly feeling toward Elisha.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 8:29; 9:14,15
jehu and the army under his command revolted from their allegiance to Jehoram,
2Ki 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.
1Ki 21:29
With the life of Jehoram ended the dynasty of Omri.
2. Eldest son of Jehoshaphat, succeeded his father on the throne of Judah at the age of 32, and reigned eight years, from B.C. 893-2 to 885-4. As soon as he was fixed on the throne, he put his six brothers to death, with many of the chief nobles of the land. He then, probably at the instance of his wife Athaliah the daughter of Ahab, proceeded to establish the worship of Baal. A prophetic writing from the aged prophet Elijah,
2Ch 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,
2Ki 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,
2Ch 22:1
or carried them into captivity, and plundered all his treasures. he died of a terrible disease.
2Ch 21:19,20
Jehoshab’e-ath
(whose oath is Jehovah).
2Ch 22:11
[See JEHOSHEBA]
JEHOSHEBA -
Jehosh’aphat
(whom Jehovah judges.)
1. King of Judah, son of Asa, succeeded to the throne B.C. 914, when he was 35 years old, and reigned 25 years. His history is to be found among the events recorded in
1Ki 15:24; 2Ki 8:16
or in a continuous narrative in
2Ch 17:1 ... 21:3
He was contemporary with Ahab, Ahaziah and Jehoram. He was one of the best, most pious and prosperous kings of Judah, the greatest since Solomon. At first he strengthened himself against Israel; but soon afterward the two Hebrew kings formed an alliance. In his own kingdom Jehoshaphat ever showed himself a zealous follower of the commandments of God: he tried to put down the high places and groves in which the people of Judah burnt incense, and sent the wisest Levites through the cities and towns to instruct the people in true morality and religion. Riches and honors increased around him. He received tribute from the Philistines and Arabians, and kept up a large standing army in Jerusalem. It was probably about the 16th year of his reign, B.C. 898, when he became Ahab’s ally in the great battle of Ramoth-gilead, for which he was severely reproved by Jehu.
2Ch 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.
2Ki 3:1
... In his declining years the administration of affairs was placed, probably B.C. 891, in the hands of his son Jehoram.
2. Son of Ahilud, who filled the office of recorder of annalist in the courts of David,
2Sa 8:16
etc., and Solomon.
1Ki 4:3
3. One of the priests in David’s time.
1Ch 15:24
4. Son of Paruah; one of the twelve purveyors of King Solomon.
1Ki 4:17
5. Son of Nimshi and father of King Jehu.
2Ki 9:2,14
Jehosh’aphat, Valley of
(valley of the judgment of Jehovah), a valley mentioned by Joel only, as the spot in which, after the return of Judah and Jerusalem from captivity, Jehovah would gather all the heathen,
Joe 3:2
and would there sit to judge them for their misdeeds to Israel. ch.
Joe 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.)
Jehosh’eba
(Jehovah’s oath), daughter of Joram king of Israel, and wife of jehoiada the high priest.
2Ki 11:2
Her name in the Chronicles is given JEHOSHABEATH. (B.C. 882.) As she is called,
JEHOSHABEATH -
2Ki 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.
Jehosh’ua
(whose help is Jehovah; Help of Jehovah or savoiur). In this form is given the name of Joshua in
Nu 13:16
Once more only the name appears, —as Jehosh’uah.
Jehosh’uah,
in the genealogy of Ephraim.
1Ch 7:27
Jeho’vah
(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
Le 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,"
Nu 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.
Jeho’vah-ji’reh
(Jehovah will see or provide), the name given by Abraham to the place on which he had been commanded to offer Isaac, to commemorate the interposition of the angel of Jehovah, who appeared to prevent the sacrifice,
Ge 22:14
and provided another victim.
Jeho’vah-nis’si
(Jehovah my banner), the name given by Moses to the altar which he built in commemoration of the discomfiture of the Amalekites.
Ex 17:15
Jeho’vah-sha’lom
(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."
Jud 6:24
Jehoz’abad
(whom Jehovah gave).
1. 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.
1Ch 26:4,15
compared with Nehe 12:25 (B.C. 1014.)
2. A Benjamite, captain of 180,000 armed men, in the days of King Jehoshaphat.
2Ch 17:18
(B.C. 910.)
3. Son of Shomer or Shimrith, a Moabitish woman, who with another conspired against King Joash and slew him in his bed.
2Ki 2:21; 2Ch 24:26
(B.C. 837.)
Jehoz’adak
(Jehovah justifies), usually called Jozadak or Josedech. He was the son of the high priest Seraiah.
1Ch 6:14,15
When his father was slain at Riblah by order of Nebuchadnezzar,
2Ki 25:18,21
Jehozadak was led away captive to Babylon.
1Ch 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.
Ezr 3:2; Ne 12:26
, etc.
Je’hu
(the living).
1. The founder of the fifth dynasty of the kingdom of Israel, son of Jehoshaphat.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 9:21-24
Jehu seized his opportunity, and shot him through the heart.
2Ki 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,
1Ki 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.
2Ki 10:29-33
He was buried in state in Samaria, and was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz.
2Ki 10:35
His name is the first of the Israelite kings which appears in the Assyrian monuments.
2. Jehu son of Hanani; a prophet of Judah, but whose ministrations were chiefly directed to Israel. His father was probably the seer who attacked Asa.
2Ch 16:7
He must have begun his career as a prophet when very young. He first denounced Baasha,
1Ki 16:1,7
and then, after an interval of thirty years, reappeared to denounce Jehoshaphat for his alliance with Ahab.
2Ch 19:2,3
He survived Jehoshaphat and wrote his life. ch.
2Ch 20:34
3. A man of Judah of the house of Hezron.
1Ch 2:38
4. A Simeonite, son of Josibiah.
1Ch 4:35
5. Jehu the Antothite was one of the chief of the heroes of Benjamin who joined David at Ziklag.
1Ch 12:3
Jehub’bah
(protected), a man of Asher, son of Shamer or Shomer, of the house of Beriah.
1Ch 7:34
(B.C. perhaps about 1450.)
Je’hucal
(able), son of Shelemiah; one of two persons sent by King Zedekiah to Jeremiah to entreat his prayers and advice.
Jer 37:3
(B.C. 589.)
Je’hud
(praised), one of the towns of the tribe of Dan,
Jos 19:45
named between Baalath and Bene-berak.
Jehu’di
(a Jew), son of Nethaniah, a man employed by the princes of Jehoiakim’s court to fetch Baruch to read Jeremiah’s denunciation,
Jer 36:14
and then by the king to fetch the volume itself and read it to him. vs.
Jer 36:21,23
(B.C. 605.)
Jehudi’jah
(the Jewess). There is really no such name in the Hebrew Bible as that which our Authorized Version exhibits at
1Ch 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."
Je’hush
(to whom God hastens), son of eshek, a remote descendant of Saul.
1Ch 8:39
Je-i’el
(treasured of God).
1. A Reubenite of the house of Joel.
1Ch 5:7
2. A Merarite Levite, one of the gate-keepers to the sacred tent.
1Ch 15:18
His duty was also to play the harp, ver.
1Ch 15:21
or the psaltery and harp,
1Ch 16:5
in the service before the ark. (B.C. 1043.)
3. A Gershonite Levite, one of the Bene-Asaph, forefather of Jahaziel in the time of King Jehoshaphat.
2Ch 20:14
(B.C. 910.)
4. The scribe who kept the account of the numbers of King Uzziah’s irregular predatory warriors.
2Ch 26:11
(B.C. 803.)
5. A Gershonite Levite, one of the Bene-Elizaphan.
2Ch 29:13
6. One of the chiefs of the Levites in the time of Josiah.
2Ch 35:9
(B.C. 623.)
7. One of the Bene-Adonikam who formed part of the caravan of Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Ezr 8:13
(B.C. 459.)
8. A layman of the Bene-Nebo, who had taken a foreign wife and had to relinquish her.
Ezr 10:43
(B.C. 459.)
Jekab’ze-el
(what God gathers), a fuller form of the name of KABZEEL, the most remote city of Judah on the southern frontier.
KABZEEL -
Ne 11:25
Jakame’an
(who gathers the people together), a Levite in the time of King David; fourth of the sons of Hebron, the son of Kohath.
1Ch 23:19; 24:23
(B.C. 1014.)
Jekami’ah
(whom Jehovah gathers), son of Shallum, in the line of Ahlai.
1Ch 2:41
(B.C. about 588.)
Jeku’thi-el,
a man recorded in the genealogies of Judah.
1Ch 4:18
Jemi’ma
(dove), the eldest of the three daughters born to Job after the restoration of his prosperity.
Job 42:14
Jemu’el
(day of God), the eldest son of Simeon.
Ge 46:10; Ex 6:15
(B.C. 1706.)
Jeph’thae
(whom God sets free),
Heb 11:32
the Greek form of the name JEPHTHAH.
JEPHTHAH -
Jeph’thah
(whom God sets free), A judge about B.C. 1143-1137. His history is contained in
Jud 11:1 ... 12:8
He was a Gileadite, the son of Gilead and a concubine. Driven by the legitimate sons from his father’s inheritance, he went to Tob and became the head of a company of freebooters in a debatable land probably belonging to Ammon.
2Sa 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,
Jud 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.)
Jephun’neh
(for whom a way is prepared).
1. Father of Caleb the spy, appears to have belonged to an Edomitish tribe called Kenezites, from Kenaz their founder. See
Nu 13:6
etc.; Numb 32:12 etc.; Josh 14:14 etc.; 1Chr 4:15 (B.C. 1530.)
2. A descendant of Asher, eldest of the three sons of Jether.
1Ch 7:38
(B.C. 1017.)
Je’rah
(the moon), the fourth in order of the sons of Joktan,
Ge 10:26; 1Ch 1:20
and the progenitor of a tribe of southern Arabia.
Jerah’me-el
(mercy of God).
1. First-born son of hezron, the son of Pharez, the son of Judah,
1Ch 2:9,25-27,33,42
and founder of the family of Jerahmeelites.
1Sa 27:10
(B.C. before 1491.)
2. A Merarite Levite, the representative of the family of Kish, the son of Mahli.
1Ch 24:29
comp. 1Chr 23:21 (B.C. 1014.)
3. Son of Hammelech, who was employed by Jehoiakim to make Jeremiah and baruch prisoners, after the had burnt the roll of Jeremiah’s prophecy.
Jer 36:26
(B.C. 505.)
Jerah’me-elites
(descendants of Jerahmeel)
, The, the tribe descended from the first of the foregoing persons.1Sa 27:10
They dwelt in the south of Judah.
Je’red
(descent).
1. Son of Mahalaleel and father of Enoch.
1Ch 1:2
2. One of the descendants of Judah signalized as the "father" —i.e. the founder— "of Gedor."
1Ch 4:18
Jer’ema-i
(dwelling in heights), a layman, one of the Bene-Hashum, who was compelled by Ezra to put away his foreign wife.
Ezr 10:33
(B.C. 459.)
Jeremi’ah
(whom Jehovah has appointed) was "the son of Hilkiah of the priests that were in Anathoth."
Jer 1:1
1. History. —He was called very young (B.C. 626) to the prophetic office, and prophesied forty-two years; but we have hardly any mention of him during the eighteen years between his call and Josiah’s death, or during the short reign of Jehoahaz. During the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, B.C. 607-598, he opposed the Egyptian party, then dominant in Jerusalem, and maintained that 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.
Jer 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
Jer 19:10-13
he was set, however, "as a fenced brazen wall," ch.
Jer 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.
Jer 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."
Jer 43:10
After this all is uncertain, but he probably died in Egypt.
2. Character. —Canon Cook says of Jeremiah, "His character is most interesting. We find him sensitive to a most painful degree, timid, shy, hopeless, desponding, constantly complaining and dissatisfied with the course of events, but never flinching from duty...Timid in resolve, he was unflinching in execution; as fearless when he had to face the whole world as he was dispirited and prone to murmuring when alone with God. Judged by his own estimate of himself, he was feeble, and his mission a failure; really, in the hour of action and when duty called him, he was in very truth ‘a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land.’ ch.
Jer 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.)
Jeremi’ah.
Seven other persons bearing the same name as the prophet are mentioned in the Old Testament:—
1. Jeremiah of Libnah, father of Hamutal wife of Josiah.
2Ki 23:31
(B.C. before 632.) 2,3,4. Three warriors —two of the tribe of Gad— in David’s army.
1Ch 12:4,10,13
(B.C. 1061-53.)
5. One of the "mighty men of valor" of the transjordanic half-tribe of Manasseh.
1Ch 5:24
(B.C. 782.)
6. A priest of high rank, head of the second or third of the twenty-one courses which are apparently enumerated in
Ne 10:2-8; 12:1,12
(B.C. 446-410).
7. The father of Jazaniah the Rechabite.
Jer 35:3
(B.C. before 606.)
Jeremi’ah, Book of.
"There can be little doubt that the book of Jeremiah grew out of the roll which Baruch wrote down at the prophet’s mouth in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. ch.
Jer 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:
1. Chs. 1-21, including prophecies from the thirteenth year of Josiah to the fourth of Jehoiakim; ch. 21; belongs to the later period.
2. Chs. 22-25. Shorter prophecies, delivered at different times, against the kings of Judah and the false prophets. Ch.
Jer 25:13,14
evidently marks the conclusion of a series of prophecies; and that which follows, ch.
Jer 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.
3. Chs. 26-28. The two great prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem, and the history connected with them.
4. Chs. 29-31. The message of comfort for the exiles in Babylon.
5. 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.
6. Chs. 46-51. The prophecies against foreign nations, ending with the great prediction against Babylon.
7. The supplementary narrative of ch. 52.
Jeremi’as,
the Greek form of the name of Jeremiah the prophet.
Mt 16:14
Jer’emoth
(heights).
1. A Benjamite chief, a son of the house of Beriah of Elpaal.
1Ch 8:14
comp. 1Chr 8:12-18 (B.C. about 588.)
2. A merarite levite, son of Mushi.
1Ch 23:23
3. Son of Heman; head of the thirteenth course of musicians in the divine service.
1Ch 25:22
(B.C. 1014.)
4. One of the sons of Elam, and,
5. One of the sons of Zattu, who had taken strange wives.
Ezr 10:26,27
(B.C. 459.)
6. The name which appears in the same list as "and RAMOTH," ver.
29.
Jer’emy,
the prophet Jeremiah.
Mt 2:17; 27:9
Jeri’ah,
a Kohathite Levite, chief of the great house of Hebron when David organized the service.
1Ch 23:19; 24:23
B.C. 1014. The same man is mentioned again as JERIJAH.
JERIJAH -
1Ch 26:31
Jer’iba-i
(whom Jehovah defends), one of the Bene-Elnaan, named among the heroes of David’s guard.
1Ch 11:46
Jer’icho
(place of fragrance), a city of high antiquity, situated in a plain traversed by the Jordan, and exactly over against where that river was crossed by the Israelites under Joshua.
Jos 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.
Jos 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.
Jos 2:1-21
It was bestowed by him upon the tribe of Benjamin, ch.
Jos 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
1Ki 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."
2Ki 2:1-22
In its plains Zedekiah fell into the hands of the Chaldeans.
2Ki 25:5; Jer 39:5
In the return under Zerubbabel the "children of Jericho," 345 in number, are comprised.
Ezr 2:34; Ne 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.
Mt 20:30; Mr 10:46; Lu 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.)
Je’ri-el
(people of God), a man of Issachar, one of the six heads of the house of Tola.
1Ch 7:2
Jeri’jah
(people of Jehovah). [See JERIAH]
JERIAH -
Jer’imoth
(heights).
1. Son or descendant of Bela.
1Ch 7:7
He is perhaps the same as
2. who joined David at Ziklag.
1Ch 12:5
(B.C. 1055.)
3. A son of Beecher,
1Ch 7:8
and head of a Benjamite house.
4. Son of Mushi, the son of Merari.
1Ch 24:30
5. Son of Heman, head of fifteenth ward of musicians.
1Ch 25:4,22
(B.C. 1014.)
6. Son of Zariel, ruler of the tribe of Naphtali in the reign of David.
1Ch 27:19
7. Son of King David, whose daughter Mahalath was one of the wives of Rehoboam, her cousin Abihail being the other.
2Ch 11:18
(B.C. before 1014.)
8. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah.
2Ch 31:13
(B.C. 726.)
Jer’ioth
(curtains), one of the elder Caleb’s wives.
1Ch 2:18
Jerobo’am
(whose people are many).
1. The first king of the divided kingdom of Israel, B.C. 975-954, was the son of an Ephraimite of the name of Nebat. He was raised by Solomon to the rank of superintendent over the taxes and labors exacted from the tribe of Ephraim.
1Ki 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.
1Ki 11:29-40
The attempts of Solomon to cut short Jeroboam’s designs occasioned his flight into Egypt. There he remained until Solomon’s death. After a year’s longer stay in Egypt, during which Jeroboam married Ano, the elder sister of the Egyptian queen Tahpenes, he returned to Shechem, where took place the conference with Rehoboam [REHOBOAM], and the final revolt which ended in the elevation of Jeroboam to the throne of the northern kingdom. Now occurred the fatal error of his policy. Fearing that the yearly pilgrimages to Jerusalem would undo all the work which he effected, he took the bold step of rending the religious unity of the nation, which was as yet unimpaired, asunder. He caused two golden figures of Mnevis, the sacred calf, to be made and set up at the two extremities of his kingdom, one at Dan and the other at Bethel. It was while dedicating the altar at Bethel that a prophet from Judah suddenly appeared, who denounced the altar, and foretold its desecration by Josiah, and violent overthrow. The king, stretching out his hand to arrest the prophet, felt it withered and paralyzed, and only at the prophet’s prayer saw it restored, and acknowledged his divine mission. Jeroboam was at constant war with the house of Judah, but the only act distinctly recorded is a battle with Abijah, son of Rehoboam, in which he was defeated. The calamity was severely felt; he never recovered the blow, and soon after died, in the 22d year of his reign,
REHOBOAM -
2Ch 13:20
and was buried in his ancestral sepulchre.
1Ki 14:20
2. Jeroboam II., the son of Joash, the fourth of the dynasty of Jehu. (B.C. 825-784.) The most prosperous of the kings of Israel. He repelled the Syrian invaders, took their capital city Damascus,
2Ki 14:28
and recovered the whole of the ancient dominion from Hamah to the Dead Sea. ch
2Ki 14:25
Ammon and Moab were reconquered, and the transjordanic tribes were restored to their territory,
2Ki 13:5; 1Ch 5:17-22
but it was merely an outward restoration.
Jer’oham
(cherished).
1. Father of Elkanah, the father of Samuel, of the house of Kohath.
1Sa 1:1; 1Ch 6:27,34
(B.C. before 1142.)
2. A Benjamite, the founder of a family of Bene-Jeroham.
1Ch 8:27
Probably the same as
3. Father (or progenitor) of Ibneiah.
1Ch 9:8
comp. 1Chr 9:3 and 1Chr 9:9. (B.C. before 588.)
4. A descendant of Aaron, of the house of Immer, the leader of the sixteenth course of priests; son of Pashur, and father of Adaiah.
1Ch 9:12
He appears to be mentioned again in
Ne 11:12
(B.C. before 586.)
5. Jeroham of Gedor, some of whose sons joined David at Ziglag.
1Ch 12:7
(B.C. before 1055.)
6. A Danite, whose son or descendant Azareel was head of his tribe in the time of David.
1Ch 27:22
7. Father of Azariah, one of the "captains of hundreds" in the time of Athaliah.
2Ch 23:1
(B.C. before 876.)
Jerubba’al,
or Jerub’ba-al(contender with Baal), the surname of Gideon, which he acquired in consequence of destroying the altar of Baal, when his father defended him from the vengeance of the Abiezrites.
Jud 6:32
Jerub’besheth
(contender with the shame), a name of Gideon.
2Sa 11:21
Jer’uel
(founded by God)
, The wilderness of, the place in which Jehoshaphat was informed by Jahaziel the Levite that he should encounter the hordes of Ammon, Moab and the Mehunims.2Ch 20:16
The name has not been met with.
Jeru’salem
(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,
1. Jerusalem, if not actually in the centre of Palestine, was yet virtually so. "It was on the ridge, the broadest and most strongly-marked ridge of the backbone of the complicated hills which extend through the whole country from the plain of Esdraelon to the desert." Roads. —There appear to have been but two main approaches to the city:—
1. From the Jordan valley by Jericho and the Mount of Olives. This was the route commonly taken from the north and east of the country.
2. From the great maritime plain of Philistia and Sharon. This road led by the two Beth-horons up to the high ground at Gibeon, whence it turned south, and came to Jerusalem by Ramah and Gibeah, and over the ridge north of the city. Topography. —To convey an idea of the position of Jerusalem, we may say, roughly, that the city occupies the southern termination of the table-land which is cut off from the country round it on its west, south and east sides by ravines more than usually deep and precipitous. These ravines leave the level of the table-land, the one on the west and the other on the northeast of the city, and fall rapidly until they form a junction below its southeast corner. The eastern one —the valley of the Kedron, commonly called the valley of Jehoshaphat —runs nearly straight from north by south. But the western one —the valley of Hinnom— runs south for a time, and then takes a sudden bend to the east until it meets the valley of Jehoshaphat, after which the two rush off as one to the Dead Sea. How sudden is their descent may be gathered from the fact that the level at the point of junction -about a mile and a quarter from the starting-point of each— is more than 600 feet below that of the upper plateau from which they began their descent. So steep is the fall of the ravines, so trench-like their character, and so close do they keep to the promontory at whose feet they run, as to leave on the beholder almost the impression of the ditch at the foot of a fortress rather than of valleys formed by nature. The promontory thus encircled is itself divided by a longitudinal ravine running up it from south to north, called the valley of the Tyropoeon, rising gradually from the south, like the external ones, till at last it arrives at the level of the upper plateau, dividing the central mass into two unequal portions. Of these two, that on the west is the higher and more massive, on which the city of Jerusalem now stands, and in fact always stood. The hill on the east is considerably lower and smaller, so that to a spectator from the south the city appears to slope sharply toward the east. Here was the temple, and here stands now the great Mohammedan sanctuary with its mosques and domes. The name of MOUNT ZION has been applied to the western hill from the time of Constantine to the present day. The eastern hill, called MOUNT MORIAH in
MOUNT -
MOUNT -
See 8067ZION -
See 9605MORIAH -
See 80592Ch 3:1
was as already remarked, the site of the temple. It was situated in the southwest angle of the area, now known as the Haram area, and was, as we learn from Josephus, an exact square of a stadium, or 600 Greek feet, on each side. (Conder ("Bible Handbook," 1879) states that by the latest surveys the Haram area is a quadrangle with unequal sides. The west wall measures 1601 feet, the south 922, the east 1530, the north 1042. It is thus nearly a mile in circumference, and contains 35 acres. —ED.) Attached to the northwest angle of the temple was the Antonia, a tower or fortress. North of the side of the temple is the building now known to Christians as the Mosque of Omar, but by Moslems called the Dome of the Rock. The southern continuation of the eastern hill was named OPHEL, which gradually came to a point at the junction of the valleys Tyropoeon and Jehoshaphat; and the norther BEZETHA, "the new city," first noticed by Josephus, which was separated from Moriah by an artificial ditch, and overlooked the valley of Kedron on the east; this hill was enclosed within the walls of Herod Agrippa. Lastly, ACRA lay westward of Moriah and northward of Zion, and formed the "lower city" in the time of Josephus.
OPHEL -
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 GIHON, the latter close under Zion, the former more to the northwest on the Jaffa road. At the junction of the valleys of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat was ENROGEL, the "Well of Job," in the midst of the king’s gardens. Within the walls, immediately north of Zion, was the "Pool of Hezekiah." A large pool existing beneath the temple (referred to in Ecclus. 1:3) was probably supplied by some subterranean aqueduct. The "King’s Pool" was probably identical with the "Fountain of the Virgin," at the southern angle of Moriah. It possesses the peculiarity that it rises and falls at irregular periods; it is supposed to be fed form the cistern below the temple. From this a subterranean channel cut through solid rock leads the water to the pool of SILOAH or SILOAM, which has also acquired the character of being an intermittent fountain. The pool of which tradition has assigned the name of BETHESDA is situated on the north side of Moriah; it is now named Birket Israil.
GIHON -
ENROGEL -
See 6395SILOAH -
See 9050SILOAM -
See 9051BETHESDA -
See 5728Burial-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.
Ne 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:—
1. Gate of Ephraim.
2Ch 25:23; Ne 8:16; 12:39
This is probably the same as the—
2. Gate of Benjamin.
Jer 20:2; 37:13; Zec 14:10
If so, it was 400 cubits distant from the—
3. Corner gate.
2Ch 25:23; 26:9; Jer 31:38; Zec 14:10
4. Gate of Joshua, governor of the city.
2Ki 23:8
5. Gate between the two walls.
2Ki 25:4; Jer 39:4
6. Horse gate.
Ne 3:28; 2Ch 23:15; Jer 31:40
7. Ravine gate (i.e. opening on ravine of Hinnom).
2Ch 26:9; Ne 2:13,15; 3:13
8. Fish gate.
2Ch 33:14; Ne 3:13; Zep 1:10
9. Dung gate.
Ne 2:13; 3:13
10. Sheep gate.
Ne 3:1,32; 12:39
11. East gate.
Ne 3:29
12. Miphkad.
Ne 3:31
13. Fountain gate (Siloam?).
Ne 12:37
14. Water gate.
Ne 12:37
15. Old Gate.
Ne 12:39
16. Prison gate.
Ne 12:39
17. Gate Harsith (perhaps the Sun; Authorized Version East gate).
Jer 19:2
18. First gate.
Zec 14:10
19. Gate Gennath (gardens). Jos B.J. v. 4, - 4.
20. Essenes’ gate. Jos. B.J. 4, - 2. To these should be added the following gates to the temple: —Gate Sur,
2Ki 11:6
called also gate of foundation.
2Ch 23:5
Gate of the guard, or behind the guard,
2Ki 11:6,19
; called the high gate.
2Ki 15:35; 2Ch 23:20; 27:3
Gate Shallecheth.
1Ch 26:16
At present the chief gates are —
1. The Zion’s gate and the dung gate, in the south wall;
2. St. Stephen’s gate and the golden gate (now walled up), in the east wall;
3. The Damascus gate and
4. Herod’s gate, in the north wall; and
5. The Jaffa gate, in the west wall. 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,"
2Ch 29:4
the "street of the city," i.e. the city of David,
2Ch 32:6
the "street facing the water gate,"
Ne 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,"
Ezr 10:9
the "street of the gate of Ephraim,"
Ne 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,
Jer 5:1; 11:13
etc.; but the name of only one, "the bakers’ street,"
Jer 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
Ge 14:18
about B.C. 2080. It is next mentioned in
Jos 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."
Jud 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